Word of Salvation – Vol. 36 No. 42 – November 1991

 

Made Sin For Us

 

Sermon by Rev.  J.  Haverland on 2Corinthians 5:21

Reading: Genesis 22; Isaiah 53; 2Corinthians 5:16 – 6:2

 

Beloved congregation,

The New Testament contains 27 books and letters.  They all have one thing in common: they focus our gaze on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Each one directs our attention to his person and work.

They do that with a rich variety.  Each writer has his own perspective, his unique emphasis, his special purpose.

Yet we can divide the books of the New Testament into some broad categories.

One group contains the gospel.  These four accounts describe the birth, life and ministry of Jesus.  Each also records his suffering, trial and crucifixion, and then goes on to detail his resurrection.

Another division of the New Testament would include all the letters.  The letters are not so concerned with the facts of Jesus death as with its significance.  Why did He die?  What does it mean for us?  How does it affect you and me?

Here in this verse of his letter to the Corinthians Paul gives us a concise and clear explanation of what Jesus’ death his achieved.  It is in fact one of the sharpest explanations that the Bible gives us.

Paul is telling us that Jesus has borne the punishment and guilt of our sin, and has given us a right standing before God.

The theological word for this is ‘justification’.  By his death Jesus has justified us before God.

There two parts to justification.

1.  That Jesus bore our sin.

2.  That we receive His righteousness.

We will look at these two parts as we go carefully through this verse.

1.  Jesus Bore Our Sin

In dealing with the way Jesus bore our sin, Paul emphasises that Jesus ‘had no sin’.

The rest of the New Testament is very clear on this.

The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.

And Peter, quoting from Isaiah, tells us that He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When the gospel writers follow the trial and crucifixion of Jesus they emphasise this again and again.

In Luke’s account, Pilate, who was Jesus’s judge, comes out to his accusers three times to tell them that he found no basis for a charge against Jesus.  There were no grounds for death penalty.

The criminal on the cross rebuked the other criminal for his abuse of Jesus, telling him that while they were suffering justly, this man had done nothing wrong.

And the centurion, immediately after Jesus’ death, declared: Surely, this was a righteous man!

Jesus has to be righteous because only a perfect man could make a perfect sacrifice for sin.

Even the Old Testament foreshadowed this in requiring an unblemished animal as the sacrifice for sin.

Now God made him who had no sin ‘to be sin.’

This does not mean that Jesus became sinful, or that He became a sinner.

If that had been the case then our salvation would not have had any foundation.  Jesus had to be and to remain righteous if he was to pay for sin.  Only a righteous man could make full satisfaction of the law’s demands.

So when he was made ‘to be sin’, this sin was not internal; it was not intrinsic to him.  He remained holy, righteous, perfect.

To be ‘made sin’ means that Jesus bore the guilt of our sins.

In theological language we talk about God ‘imputing’ our sin to Jesus.  This means that God ‘laid it to his account’.

God gave us a powerful commentary on this through the prophet Isaiah:

‘He was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities.  The punishment that brought us peace was on him.  The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’

This means that when God looked at Jesus, He saw him as a sinner and treated him as such.

You could compare it to owing a debt.  Imagine that I owed a great debt which I could not possibly pay.  Then you find out about my predicament and you want to help me.  So you come along and you generously offer to take over the debt that I owe.

So my debt is transferred to you.  It is laid on your account.  You pick up the tab for it.

That obviously doesn’t change you or me as a person, but it does change our financial situation and our legal standing before the law.

In the same way Jesus has taken our debt.  It didn’t change him as a person.  It didn’t make him a sinner.

But it did change his standing before God.  Legally, God viewed him as a sinner.

Now Jesus did this ‘for us’.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.  In other words, Jesus substituted himself for us.

We all know what a substitute is.  If someone is playing soccer and he is injured another player will come on to substitute for him.  He will take the injured player’s place.  The substitute will play for the one who can’t play.

Jesus is our substitute.  He took our place.  He carried our guilt so that we would not have to carry it.

He took our punishment so that we would not be punished.  He died so that we would not have to die.  He was made sin for us.

When Paul tells us that God ‘made him’ to be sin we should not misunderstand this.

It was not as though Jesus was unwilling to do this; as though God was twisting his arm; forcing him to do something He really didn’t want to do.

No, Jesus did this willingly.  It was his choice.  His resolution.

Although He had no sin, He chose to be made sin for us.

This is one side of justification.  The negative side.

There is another side to it too – a positive side.

On the one hand, Jesus bore our sin; on the other, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness for us.  This is the second thing we need to consider.

2.  We Receive the Righteousness of Christ

Without this righteousness we would not be reconciled to God.  And the whole purpose of God’s work in Christ was ‘to reconcile the world to himself’.  (vs19).

To make this possible, God has given us the righteousness of Jesus.  The righteousness of Jesus is his perfect relationship with God based on his perfect loving obedience to God.  Jesus fulfils the law for us.  He trusted and obeyed God for us.  God said of Jesus: This my beloved Son.  I am pleased with him.  He has done all I asked.  God grants us the obedience and closeness of Jesus.

This is what God has done!  Not only has He cleared our guilt; He has also given us the righteousness of Jesus.

This doesn’t change us as people.  It doesn’t mean that we are made righteous internally.  It doesn’t make us perfect.

What it does do is give us a right standing with God.  God ‘imputes’ the righteousness of Christ to us.  He lays it to our account, and then declares that before the law we are righteous.

So Paul can write to the Romans: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1).

The charges are all cleared.  We are totally righteous before God.  All our sins are forgiven.

As far as God is concerned those who belong to Jesus have a clean record.  They are free from the guilt of sin and thus freed from its punishment.

This is what God has done for all who are in Christ.

Notice that I said that this is true of all those who are ‘in Christ.’ This is what Paul says.  ‘So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

‘God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.’ (vs.19).

‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!’ (vs.17).

We are made righteous, not by our keeping of the law, but by his keeping of the law.

The whole work of coming close to God is not dependent on what we do, but on what Jesus has done on the cross.

‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

But this doesn’t mean that we can just sit back as though it’s all sewn up.

Sometimes we receive papers that have words across the top of them: ‘Copy for your information’.

Now Paul did not write all of this just as ‘copy for your information’.  No, he wrote this as ‘copy for your action!’

The reason Paul explained all of this is so that people might be reconciled to God.  This was his message.  As he preached he implored them on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!

This is God’s appeal to you today too: Be reconciled to God!

To do that you must believe that when Jesus died on the cross, he died there for you.

The message of God comes to us today telling us that now is the time of God’s favour!  Now is the day of salvation!  Be reconciled to God!

But this passage also has something to say to the believer.

The message of God calls us to live a life that measures up to our calling.

We have been made righteous – let’s live as righteous people!  We have been forgiven – let’s forgive!

We have received mercy – let’s show mercy!

Let’s not ‘receive God’s favour in vain’, says Paul.  You have become the righteousness of God.  Now be what you are!

AMEN