Past redemption is the first stage of a three-part process, just as Israel's Passover redemption from Pharaoh was only the beginning of her relationship with God, followed by the covenant and the call to faithfulness (I Corinthians 10 presents Israel's experience as an example). Redeeming means buying back or rescuing from the power of something oppressive. Galatians 3:13 and 4:4-5 show that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, paying the ransom with His perfect life. The law itself is not a curse, but it carries a curse for those who break it. That curse is ultimately death, and it also includes the relational damage and the conditions listed in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, such as pestilence, poverty, fear, and confusion. God's commandments, which the Bible calls the law of liberty, were given to keep His people free from bondage, and the Sabbath is a large part of that liberty. Israel defiled the Sabbath and became re-enslaved. This past redemption from the law's curse corresponds to justification and to the cleansing received at baptism. It is the initial step, not the totality, since believers still need ongoing redemption from sin and still await the final redemption of the body.

Redemption in its past aspect centers on the completed act by which Christ has already purchased back those who were lost in sin and the world. The account of Mason reclaiming his guitar illustrates the basic idea of buying back a valued possession at a set price, and this pattern extends to the biblical definition of redemption as the payment of a ransom that frees slaves from bondage. Scripture records the past accomplishment in Galatians 3:13, where Christ has redeemed believers from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for them. The same finished work appears in the opening of Ruth, where the deaths of Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion remove Naomi from Moab and return her to the land of Judah. These deaths parallel the death of the Creator God, who gave His life so that people could be brought out of the world. First Peter 1:18-19 confirms that the price was not silver or gold but the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish. Titus 2:14 further states that He gave Himself to redeem from every lawless deed, establishing a legal change of status that places the redeemed in a new category before God. This past redemption therefore supplies the foundation for all subsequent growth, setting those who are redeemed apart as acceptable and preparing them for continued purification.