2 Corinthians 5:21
God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
This could possibly be the most powerful Scripture in the Bible. It certainly is my favourite! Jesus was the only perfect human being to walk this planet. He met God's standard to the tee. No one could ever have walked a more righteous life than Him, His life was the most righteous anyone could ever have lived. Because He was God in the flesh.
He knew God's standards, He knew God's requirements, He knew what righteousness was, because He was God. But then something radical happened. After only 33 years of walking this Earth, in the prime of His life, He walked into a trap condemning Him to be crucified, and He didn't even put up a fight. He was given the worst death sentence possible; death by crucifixion on a cross.
He carried His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, being shouted at and beaten as He went like He were a thug; while only days earlier the same people were cheering Him into the city. He was then nailed to a cross and left to hang there and die. The only perfect, sinless human being to ever live, crucified like He were a murderer. 6 hours later, the clouds became so thick it was like night-time. And Jesus, God in the flesh, died.
To most this doesn't make sense at all. Why would God come to Earth, live a very humble life, and then die at the hands of the very people He created?
Today's verse gives us a clear indication. Throughout the Bible, we know that mankind was corrupted by sin. Ever since Adam & Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, mankind had a corrupt nature of sin passed down through his DNA, and the planet was inhabited and being taken over by a species of sinful, selfish human beings.
Enter Jesus. God never forsook us. He could have wiped Adam and Eve out and started again. But He wanted to show off the Power of His Love. He came to Earth in the form of a human being, conceived in His mother's womb by the Holy Spirit, and the only Perfect human being to ever walk this planet was born. We call it Christmas.
By being brutally beaten and murdered 33 years later, He fulfilled God's justice, and paid for all man's sin once and for all. At the Cross, Jesus became sin itself. The sin of the world. Every sin ever committed, everything that was ever wrong with this corrupt world, Jesus took upon Himself. The most Perfect human being to ever live, became the most disgusting thing to ever die. He embodied sin.
Why? So that you and I can become the very Righteousness of God! It does not seem fair. It's not. That's why it's called the Gospel of Grace. Because in God's Grace and Love, He took all the sins of the world upon Himself, and in exchange made us 100% righteous!
You may say, “but I don't deserve to be righteous. You don't know what I've done.” Well, my friend, Jesus didn't deserve to become sin, but He did, for you. God loves you so much, that He destroyed the very thing that separated you and Him; sin. The Bible tells us that sin was dealt with and paid for once and for all! This means that once you come to Christ, you are made completely, 100% righteous! Because He became sin in a moment, in a moment you become the righteousness of God!
You may still find yourself making mistakes along the way, but my friend, the Good News is that Jesus paid for all your sins! Past, present, and future! No matter what you do, no matter what you've done, you can stand before your Loving Father in Heaven with confidence. You can enjoy His Presence forever because no matter what happens, you stand 100% righteous. You have “right-standing” with God. Forever.
This is the Gospel! This is the Good News! This is what changes lives forever! When we realise that we have been made 100% righteous, no matter what, it sets us free to live a life of passionate worship to Him! And if we make mistakes, we just pick ourselves right back up, fall into the loving arms of our Father, and receive His eternal Love and Grace for us.
My friend, may this Truth liberate you. May it settle in your heart that God so loves you that He dealt with your sin in the most radical way possible.
The verse tells us that “in Him” we become the righteousness of God. This means that when we are placed in Christ, we are made forever righteous. And being placed in Christ is very easy. All you need to do is accept Him as the Saviour of the world, the Son of God, and the One who paid for your sins on the Cross. The moment you do that, you are placed in Him, and nothing can separate you from His Love. If you don't know if you have been placed in Christ, I encourage you to go the back of this book and pray the prayer of salvation. So that you too can share in this amazing Grace. It is for everyone.
Today, may you walk confidently that you are righteous. When you believe that you are righteous, you will naturally find yourself living righteous. It is a process, but it is His Grace at work within you. Let His Grace drive you on today. Let His Grace permeate every part of your being, and may the Truth of this Great Exchange make you fall more in love with Jesus, your Saviour.
