Christ became sin NIV

George Clayson

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2 Corinthians 5:21

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Introduction:

The word reconcile is used five times in verses 18-20. In verse 20 Paul exhorts the readers and listeners to “Be reconciled to God.”

The word reconciled means simply to be made friends again. It is used when two enemies are brought back into a peaceful relationship.

Why would people need to be reconciled back to God?

In the Apostle Paul gives the answer to this question. In the verses that we have read we see that the Apostle Paul states that God has reconciled the world to Himself by Jesus Christ and has given to Paul and to the preachers of His word this message of reconciliation to preach, which is the Gospel.

Two simple reasons God is holy, people are sinful.

God is separate from sin. He hates sin. He must judge and punish sin.

People are sinful. Their very nature from birth is sinful. They commit sin every day in word, thought and deed.

Paul tells us that God has sent the Apostles and preachers as ambassadors for Christ, as representatives for the King of kings to call people to be reconciled to God. Then in verse 20 the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians “We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

These two facts make people opposed to God and God opposed to people.

But yet Paul calls on sinful people to be reconciled to the eternal God of heaven.

The question that should arise in our minds the moment we hear that is; How? How can sinful people be reconciled to a holy God?

He implores them to be reconciled to God, to turn away from their sin and believe in Jesus Christ, then in verse 21 he gives them the reason why they should do so.

When we ask the question How? Its almost as though Paul says “I’m glad you asked...”

In verse 21 he goes on to explain exactly how sinful people can be reconciled to a holy God.

V.21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

v.21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.”

This verse explains exactly how sinners can be reconciled to God.

The verse splits neatly into two points.

I. Christ became sin

In other words the Apostle is saying here; “I’ll tell you why you should be reconciled to God... just look at everything that He has done for you. Look at the price He has paid. Look at His love.”

II. Sinners become righteous

Before we look in detail at what this verse tells us.

It is important just to emphasise that this verse provides the solution for every persons greatest problem.

Maybe you are here and you are asking this question. Why should I turn away from my sin and believe in Jesus Christ?

Your greatest need this evening is reconciliation with God.

Only reconciliation with God will bring true happiness and only reconciliation with God will avoid true misery.

Those of us who are believers this evening should sit in awe as we are reminded of all that God has done for us in Christ.

Well this verse contains the answer. I want us to look at this verse in two parts. The first part tells us what God has done for us. I’ve put this under the heading; Sin taken. The second part of the verse tells us why He has done it. I’ve put this under the heading; Righteousness given. What God has done, Why He has done it. Sin taken, Righteousness given.

Those of us who are not yet believers this evening need to seriously consider what is said in this verse of Scripture.

Our first point then… Christ became sin.

I. Christ became sin

v.21 Begins “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,”

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

In this part of the verse we see that God through Jesus Christ has done something for sinners. It must be emphasised here that it was God who has done it.

God of his own initiative and for his own glory sent the Saviour for us.

The holy eternal God is the one who provided the Saviour.

· Created everything

The God who in the beginning created the heaven and the earth.

The God who will one day judge the living and the dead.

· Completely righteous

He has done this.

What has he done?

· Holy

he made him to be sin for us.

Who was it and what does it mean?

· Judge of all the earth

Well the verse tells us that it was some one who had no sin.

That means that he had never had a personal experience of committing sin. He was sinless.

· Against whom we have all sinned

John Macarthur very helpfully points out that this narrows it down to one man. There is only one person who walked this planet who was sinless and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” ()

But of Jesus Christ it says;

He has done something for us. What has he done? The verse tells us the He made Jesus Christ to become sin for us. The verse tells us that Jesus Christ knew no sin, He was innocent, the perfect, sinless, spotless Son of God. God made Him, His only Begotten Son, His beloved to become sin for us.

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

This verse tells us that God made the Lord Jesus Christ, his Only Son, sin for us.

But, what does that mean?

Jesus Christ the sinless, perfect Son of God, was made sin for our sake.

What does it mean “he was made sin”?

That means that although you and I have sinned against God, we have broken His commandments and deserve to be punished. In spite of this God in His mercy and His love sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sin on our behalf. God took your sin and placed it upon Jesus. Your lies, your bad thoughts, your immorality. God took all of your sin and placed it upon Jesus Christ. He was sinless yet He took your sin upon Himself. The guilt of your sin was put upon Him.

The Bible here is referring to the death of Jesus Christ.

Paul is saying that when Jesus Christ died upon the cross all of the guilt of our sin was laid upon him. He became sin in the sense that the sin of all the world was laid upon him, and he took the wrath of God that sin deserves upon himself.

says “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, everyone to his own way and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus Christ died as a substitute for sinners.

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all”

each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all”

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all”

the iniquity of us all”

God sent Jesus Christ to die as a substitute for us, He died in our place, as us for our sin. The hymn puts it well;

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan..”

All of our sin was imputed to Jesus Christ and he died to take the punishment on our behalf.

Our sin was accounted to him and he died to pay the penalty.

‘Bearing shame, and scoffing rude,

The hymn puts it well;

“Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood. Sealed my pardon with his blood, Hallelujah, what a Saviour!”

This was the very reason he died. Not because he was betrayed, not to give a good example but to pay for the sin of his people.

In my place condemned He stood,

Yes Christ died on the behalf of sinners, he was made sin for our sake but he did not stay dead three days later he rose again from the dead victorious.

God raised Christ from the dead to show he accepted the price Christ paid. He was proved to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

Sealed my pardon with His blood,

App-

Putting all of this together what does it mean for us?

Hallelujah, what a Saviour!’

Well it means that although we have sinned against God, in his grace he sent the Lord Jesus Christ to take the guilt of our sin upon himself and die on our behalf. That means that those who believe in Christ can be freely forgiven because their debt has been paid by Christ on the cross.

The question I want to ask you before we go any further is do you believe in Jesus Christ this evening? Can it be said that your sin is forgiven?

This is what the cross was all about. This is what was taking place when the Son of God was being crucified. The wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus Christ, God forsook Him as He hung upon the cross, because our sin was upon Him. Jesus cried out “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?”.

Or are you excluding yourself from God’s mercy because you have not turned from your sin and believed in Jesus Christ?

If that’s the case then I echo the words of Paul in verse 20; “Be reconciled to God.” Turn to Jesus Christ and be saved.

God punished Christ upon the cross for our sin, for the wrong that we have done, for our guilt. However, Jesus Christ did not remain forsaken by God, once Jesus Christ had paid for our sin by His death upon the cross, three days later God raised Him from the dead. God in doing this showed that He accepted the price that Christ had paid. Proving to the world that Jesus’ death was for the sin of all the world and that all who believe in Him will receive forgiveness.

If you are a believer this evening then there should be great encouragement this evening. There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We do not need to fear hell or God’s judgement because our sin has been paid for in full by Christ on the cross. As far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

God made Christ to be sin for our sake. He did this so that our guilt can be taken by Christ but there is more. God did this not only so that our sin could be paid for by Christ but that we might be made righteous in his sight.

The verse tells us that all of this as for us. For you and for me. This is what God has done, but why has He done it? This leads to the second part of the verse. Righteousness Given.

This leads us to the second point.

Sinners become righteous.

II. Sinner become righteous

The verse continues.

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

Here Paul gives the purpose of Christ becoming sin for our sake. So that we might become the righteousness of God.

Here Paul is describing what is known as justification.

Paul is saying that our sin was imputed to Christ so that his righteousness might be imputed to us.

The Apostle Paul goes on and tells us why God made Jesus Christ to become sin for us. The Apostle says “That we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” God did it so that we could made righteous in His sight. Yes so that the wrong can be forgiven but also that it might be as if we had lived perfectly, and were righteous.

Conclusion

The one who never sinned was accounted sinful so that we who are not righteous might be accounted righteous.

To put it simply Christ died for the bad things we have done so that the good things he did might be accounted to us.

This means that people can have their sin forgiven and when they stand before God they will stand there with a perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God.

In other words they will stand before God as though they were sinless.

This is what takes place the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ. Their sin if forgiven and they are given the righteousness of Christ.

In Conclusion Paul tells the readers to “Be reconciled to God.”Then he answers how this is possible.How can sinful people be reconciled to a holy God?He answers with two points.Firstly, Christ became sin- For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin.God sent Jesus Christ his Son to die upon the cross in the place of sinners, taking their guilt upon himself and paying their penalty in full.Secondly, Sinners become righteous- So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.God did it so that sinners who turn and believe in Jesus Christ can be made righteous in the sight of God, those who believe are given the perfect righteousness of Christ as though it was their very own.As I said at the start your greatest need is reconciliation with God.Only reconciliation with God will bring true happiness and only reconciliation with God will avoid true misery.We will have true happiness because the result is eternal life, a relationship with God in this life and when we die we will be with God in heaven for eternity.We will avoid true misery because we will no longer be cut off from the God who made us and when we die we will not go to hell which is what we deserve.What then should our response be this evening?If you are in Christ then rejoice, you are justified before God because of all that Christ has done.If your are not in Christ this evening then your response must be to believe in him. Turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ for your self. I will leave you with the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in v.20 “Be reconciled to God.”Lets pray.

When God took our sin and laid it upon Jesus Christ, He also took the righteousness of Jesus Christ and He gives it to all who believe in Him. God sent Jesus to die in our place for our sin so that we although guilty, can stand before Him as though we were not guilty but as though we were righteous.

They are pronounced righteous in God’s sight.

Justified.

Ill-

One way of looking at it is like this; Its as though we have a filthy coat on, caked in dirt. That is our sin. Our dirty coat is taken off and put on Christ. And Jesus Christ has a pure white, spotless coat on which is his righteousness and he puts that on us.

”Here Paul gives the purpose of Christ becoming sin for our sake. So that we might become the righteousness of God.Here Paul is describing what is known as justification.Paul is saying that our sin was imputed to Christ so that his righteousness might be imputed to us.The one who never sinned was accounted sinful so that we who are not righteous might be accounted righteous. To put it simply Christ died for the bad things we have done so that the good things he did might be accounted to us.This means that people can have their sin forgiven and when they stand before God they will stand there with a perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God. In other words they will stand before God as though they were sinless.This is what takes place the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ. Their sin if forgiven and they are given the righteousness of Christ.They are pronounced righteous in God’s sight.Justified. Ill- One way of looking at it is like this; Its as though we have a filthy coat on, caked in dirt. That is our sin. Our dirty coat is taken off and put on Christ. And Jesus Christ has a pure white, spotless coat on which is his righteousness and he puts that on us.Christ takes our dirty coat and gives us his spotless coat. Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousnessApp-If you are a believer this evening then this is true for you. In God’s sight you are righteous. God does not see you with your many faults and failures, all your past sin is forgiven and in God’s sight you are perfectly righteous, as righteous as Jesus Christ. says “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” This means that we do not need to worry about being accepted by God, our sin has been paid for by Christ and we stand before God in perfect righteousness. We stand before God as though we have perfectly kept his law and never sinned once.If you are not a believer this evening then this is your greatest need. You need to be justified. You need a righteousness that is not your own, you need the perfect righteousness of Christ to be accounted to you. Without perfect righteousness there is no acceptance with God. You need to be made the righteousness of God.b) Only in HimNow there is something that we must notice and emphasise because if we miss this then we miss everything.The verse says “So that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.”Those two words are pivotal to everything I have just said.In him.It is only in Jesus Christ that a persons sin can be taken and they can be given a perfect righteousness which is not their own.He alone can justify us before God. He alone became sin for our sake and it is only in him that we can become the righteousness of God.The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”Elsewhere it says “Salvation is found in none other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we can be saved.”The Lord Jesus Christ himself said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”So, if it is only in Him, in Christ that our sin is dealt with and we are made righteous that means that it is not in us. Let me repeat.. it is not in us.There are a lot of people who pay lip service to believing in Christ but when you ask what will take them to heaven they reply with the sure answer “Because I am a good person, I try my best to do what is good.”When a person is relying upon their own righteousness they are not trusting in Christ. They do not have a true faith in Christ. Their faith is in themselves in what they can do, and not in Christ and what he has done.They are hoping to stand before God in their own righteousness and not in the perfect righteousness of Christ.This is foolish.The Bible clearly states-There is non righteous no not one, there is none that do good no not one.Again it says; Every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will become guilty before God.It says; All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God.The difference between relying on your own righteousness and having the righteousness of Christ is like the difference between jumping out of a plane and trying to save your self by flapping your arms, compared with jumping out of a plane with a parachute on.One is destined to fail every time the other is the only hope of safety.App-I must ask, which one describes you this evening?Are you trusting in your own righteousness, in the things that you do to take you to heaven? If you are it won’t be heaven you will be going, sadly it would be hell.That can change.. the Bible says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.Put your trust in him, in his death on the cross and his resurrection. In his righteousness. The Bible says “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”If you are a believer this evening then we must always keep coming back to this. We are not accepted by God because of what we do. We are accepted because of what Christ has done.Our salvation does not depend on our bible reading or our prayers but on Christ. Yes we do good because we are saved by God’s grace but that does not make us saved, we are saved by the death of Christ and we are accepted on the basis of his righteousness that has been accounted to us.Therefore we should serve the Lord not out of a slavish fear but our of a love for God, we should want to please him not to be accepted by him but because we are accepted by him.

When a person turns from their sin in repentance and believes in Jesus Christ their sin is taken and they are given the righteousness of Christ. To put it simply, God takes the bad things that we have done and He gives us the good things that Jesus Christ has done. Sin taken, Rightness given.

Christ takes our dirty coat and gives us his spotless coat. Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousness

App-

If you are a believer this evening then this is true for you. In God’s sight you are righteous. God does not see you with your many faults and failures, all your past sin is forgiven and in God’s sight you are perfectly righteous, as righteous as Jesus Christ.

says “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”

This means that we do not need to worry about being accepted by God, our sin has been paid for by Christ and we stand before God in perfect righteousness.

God takes our badness and gives us His goodness. God takes our debt and charges it to Christ and He takes Christ’s wealth and credits it to our account. This is what is meant why the term justified in the Bible. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We stand before God as though we have perfectly kept his law and never sinned once.

If you are not a believer this evening then this is your greatest need. You need to be justified. You need a righteousness that is not your own, you need the perfect righteousness of Christ to be accounted to you.

Here Paul gives the purpose of Christ becoming sin for our sake.

Without perfect righteousness there is no acceptance with God. You need to be made the righteousness of God.

b) Only in Him

Now there is something that we must notice and emphasise because if we miss this then we miss everything.

But why was all of this necessary?

The verse says “So that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.”

Those two words are pivotal to everything I have just said.

In him.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.”Here Paul gives the purpose of Christ becoming sin for our sake. So that we might become the righteousness of God.Here Paul is describing what is known as justification.Paul is saying that our sin was imputed to Christ so that his righteousness might be imputed to us.The one who never sinned was accounted sinful so that we who are not righteous might be accounted righteous. To put it simply Christ died for the bad things we have done so that the good things he did might be accounted to us.This means that people can have their sin forgiven and when they stand before God they will stand there with a perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God. In other words they will stand before God as though they were sinless.This is what takes place the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ. Their sin if forgiven and they are given the righteousness of Christ.They are pronounced righteous in God’s sight.Justified. Ill- One way of looking at it is like this; Its as though we have a filthy coat on, caked in dirt. That is our sin. Our dirty coat is taken off and put on Christ. And Jesus Christ has a pure white, spotless coat on which is his righteousness and he puts that on us.Christ takes our dirty coat and gives us his spotless coat. Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousnessApp-If you are a believer this evening then this is true for you. In God’s sight you are righteous. God does not see you with your many faults and failures, all your past sin is forgiven and in God’s sight you are perfectly righteous, as righteous as Jesus Christ. says “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” This means that we do not need to worry about being accepted by God, our sin has been paid for by Christ and we stand before God in perfect righteousness. We stand before God as though we have perfectly kept his law and never sinned once.If you are not a believer this evening then this is your greatest need. You need to be justified. You need a righteousness that is not your own, you need the perfect righteousness of Christ to be accounted to you. Without perfect righteousness there is no acceptance with God. You need to be made the righteousness of God.b) Only in HimNow there is something that we must notice and emphasise because if we miss this then we miss everything.The verse says “So that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.”Those two words are pivotal to everything I have just said.In him.It is only in Jesus Christ that a persons sin can be taken and they can be given a perfect righteousness which is not their own.He alone can justify us before God. He alone became sin for our sake and it is only in him that we can become the righteousness of God.The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”Elsewhere it says “Salvation is found in none other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we can be saved.”The Lord Jesus Christ himself said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”So, if it is only in Him, in Christ that our sin is dealt with and we are made righteous that means that it is not in us. Let me repeat.. it is not in us.There are a lot of people who pay lip service to believing in Christ but when you ask what will take them to heaven they reply with the sure answer “Because I am a good person, I try my best to do what is good.”When a person is relying upon their own righteousness they are not trusting in Christ. They do not have a true faith in Christ. Their faith is in themselves in what they can do, and not in Christ and what he has done.They are hoping to stand before God in their own righteousness and not in the perfect righteousness of Christ.This is foolish.The Bible clearly states-There is non righteous no not one, there is none that do good no not one.Again it says; Every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will become guilty before God.It says; All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God.The difference between relying on your own righteousness and having the righteousness of Christ is like the difference between jumping out of a plane and trying to save your self by flapping your arms, compared with jumping out of a plane with a parachute on.One is destined to fail every time the other is the only hope of safety.App-I must ask, which one describes you this evening?Are you trusting in your own righteousness, in the things that you do to take you to heaven? If you are it won’t be heaven you will be going, sadly it would be hell.That can change.. the Bible says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.Put your trust in him, in his death on the cross and his resurrection. In his righteousness. The Bible says “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”If you are a believer this evening then we must always keep coming back to this. We are not accepted by God because of what we do. We are accepted because of what Christ has done.Our salvation does not depend on our bible reading or our prayers but on Christ. Yes we do good because we are saved by God’s grace but that does not make us saved, we are saved by the death of Christ and we are accepted on the basis of his righteousness that has been accounted to us.Therefore we should serve the Lord not out of a slavish fear but our of a love for God, we should want to please him not to be accepted by him but because we are accepted by him.

It is only in Jesus Christ that a persons sin can be taken and they can be given a perfect righteousness which is not their own.

First, it must be made clear that we do not deserve what God has done for us. Nobody deserves what Christ did for them on the cross. We deserve God’s judgement because of our sin, the wrong things that we have done, our rebellion against the most High God. Lying, stealing, slander, gossip, jealousy, drunkenness, swearing, disobedience to our parents, and the list goes on.

He alone can justify us before God.

He alone became sin for our sake and it is only in him that we can become the righteousness of God.

The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”

So that we might become the righteousness of God.

Elsewhere it says “Salvation is found in none other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we can be saved.”

The Lord Jesus Christ himself said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”

No body deserves what God has done for them so why has He done it?

So, if it is only in Him, in Christ that our sin is dealt with and we are made righteous that means that it is not in us. Let me repeat.. it is not in us.

There are a lot of people who pay lip service to believing in Christ but when you ask what will take them to heaven they reply with the sure answer “Because I am a good person, I try my best to do what is good.”

When a person is relying upon their own righteousness they are not trusting in Christ. They do not have a true faith in Christ. Their faith is in themselves in what they can do, and not in Christ and what he has done.

Here Paul is describing what is known as justification.

They are hoping to stand before God in their own righteousness and not in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

This is foolish.

The only answer that can be given is that God is love. It is because He loves us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”

Paul is saying that our sin was imputed to Christ so that his righteousness might be imputed to us.

The Bible clearly states-

There is non righteous no not one, there is none that do good no not one.

The one who never sinned was accounted sinful so that we who are not righteous might be accounted righteous.

To put it simply Christ died for the bad things we have done so that the good things he did might be accounted to us.

Again it says; Every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will become guilty before God.

This means that people can have their sin forgiven and when they stand before God they will stand there with a perfect righteousness. The righteousness of God.

In other words they will stand before God as though they were sinless.

This is what takes place the moment a person believes in Jesus Christ. Their sin is forgiven and they are given the righteousness of Christ.They are pronounced righteous in God’s sight.Justified.

Ill- One way of looking at it is like this; Its as though we have a filthy coat on, caked in dirt. That is our sin. Our dirty coat is taken off and put on Christ. And Jesus Christ has a pure white, spotless coat on which is his righteousness and he puts that on us.

Christ takes our dirty coat and gives us his spotless coat. Christ takes our sin and gives us his righteousness

App-

If you are a believer this then this is true for you. In God’s sight you are righteous.

Conclusion

It says; All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God.

It is because God loves us and wants us to be reconciled to Himself. God wants our relationship with Him to be restored, so that we may love Him and glorify Him. Sin separates us from God, and God did not want us to be separated from Him. So He has made a way for our sin to be dealt with and for us to be made righteous in His eyes. God has made a way to forgive our sin. Of course God cannot just sweep our sin under the carpet and allow it to go unpunished. Justice requires that sin is dealt with and God is a just God, shall not the judge of all the earth do right?

The difference between relying on your own righteousness and having the righteousness of Christ is like the difference between jumping out of a plane and trying to save your self by flapping your arms, compared with jumping out of a plane with a parachute on.

One is destined to fail every time the other is the only hope of safety.

App-

I must ask, which one describes you this morning?

God does not see you with your many faults and failures, all your past sin is forgiven and in God’s sight you are perfectly righteous, as righteous as Jesus Christ. says “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” This means that we do not need to worry about being accepted by God, our sin has been paid for by Christ and we stand before God in perfect righteousness. We stand before God as though we have perfectly kept his law and never sinned once.If you are not a believer this evening then this is your greatest need. You need to be justified. You need a righteousness that is not your own, you need the perfect righteousness of Christ to be accounted to you. Without perfect righteousness there is no acceptance with God. You need to be made the righteousness of God.

Are you trusting in your own righteousness, in the things that you do to take you to heaven? If you are it won’t be heaven you will be going, sadly it would be hell.

So, how can God punish sin and yet forgive us at the same time? How can God take away our sin and make us righteous in His sight?

That can change.. the Bible says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

Put your trust in him, in his death on the cross and his resurrection. In his righteousness. The Bible says “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

If you are a believer this evening then we must always keep coming back to this. We are not accepted by God because of what we do. We are accepted because of what Christ has done.

b) Only in HimNow there is something that we must notice and emphasise because if we miss this then we miss everything.The verse says “So that IN HIM we might become the righteousness of God.”Those two words are pivotal to everything I have just said.In him.It is only in Jesus Christ that a persons sin can be taken and they can be given a perfect righteousness which is not their own.He alone can justify us before God. He alone became sin for our sake and it is only in him that we can become the righteousness of God.The Bible says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”Elsewhere it says “Salvation is found in none other for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we can be saved.”The Lord Jesus Christ himself said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”So, if it is only in Him, in Christ that our sin is dealt with and we are made righteous that means that it is not in us. Let me repeat.. it is not in us.There are a lot of people who pay lip service to believing in Christ but when you ask what will take them to heaven they reply with the sure answer “Because I am a good person, I try my best to do what is good.”When a person is relying upon their own righteousness they are not trusting in Christ. They do not have a true faith in Christ. Their faith is in themselves in what they can do, and not in Christ and what he has done.They are hoping to stand before God in their own righteousness and not in the perfect righteousness of Christ.This is foolish.The Bible clearly states-There is non righteous no not one, there is none that do good no not one.Again it says; Every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will become guilty before God.It says; All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God.The difference between relying on your own righteousness and having the righteousness of Christ is like the difference between jumping out of a plane and trying to save your self by flapping your arms, compared with jumping out of a plane with a parachute on.One is destined to fail every time the other is the only hope of safety.App-I must ask, which one describes you this evening?Are you trusting in your own righteousness, in the things that you do to take you to heaven? If you are it won’t be heaven you will be going, sadly it would be hell.That can change.. the Bible says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.Put your trust in him, in his death on the cross and his resurrection. In his righteousness. The Bible says “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”If you are a believer this evening then we must always keep coming back to this. We are not accepted by God because of what we do. We are accepted because of what Christ has done.Our salvation does not depend on our bible reading or our prayers but on Christ. Yes we do good because we are saved by God’s grace but that does not make us saved, we are saved by the death of Christ and we are accepted on the basis of his righteousness that has been accounted to us.Therefore we should serve the Lord not out of a slavish fear but our of a love for God, we should want to please him not to be accepted by him but because we are accepted by him.

Our salvation does not depend on our bible reading or our prayers but on Christ. Yes we do good because we are saved by God’s grace but that does not make us saved, we are saved by the death of Christ and we are accepted on the basis of his righteousness that has been accounted to us.

Therefore we should serve the Lord not out of a slavish fear but our of a love for God, we should want to please him not to be accepted by him but because we are accepted by him.

“For He has made Him who knew no sin, to become sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” He did it through sending His Son, to die for our sin on our behalf, rising again three days later. God in His love sent His own Son to save us.

Conclusion

In Conclusion Paul tells the readers to “Be reconciled to God.”

Illustration- Judge, Daughter, speeding, max fine. Judge pays.

Then he answers how this is possible.

Now we must notice how the verse finishes. If we miss this we have missed everything. It says “that we might me made the righteousness of God IN HIM” IN HIM.

How can sinful people be reconciled to a holy God?

You can only receive forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Jesus Christ if you turn from your sin and out your trust in Jesus Christ. He is the only way. You must believe in Him, trusting alone in His death and resurrection to deal with your sin and make you right before God. You must rely completely upon Him. You cannot rely upon your own good works, its no use thinking you are a good person and that you can be accepted before God with out Jesus Christ, you are a sinner who is guilty before God and you need a Saviour, and there is ONLY ONE and that is Jesus Christ. Only those who believe and trust in Him have their sin taken away and are given the perfect righteousness of Christ.

He answers with two points.

There is a hymn that puts true faith into words for us;

Firstly, Christ became sin- God made him who had no sin to be sin for us

My hope is built on nothing less,

God sent Jesus Christ his Son to die upon the cross in the place of sinners, taking their guilt upon himself and paying their penalty in full.

Than Jesus blood and righteousness,

Secondly, Sinners become righteous- So that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

God did it so that sinners who turn and believe in Jesus Christ can be made righteous in the sight of God, those who believe are given the perfect righteousness of Christ as though it was their very own.

But wholly lean on Jesus name.

As I said at the start your greatest need is reconciliation with God.

What must you do to be saved? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” You need to be In Him, In Christ. The way that takes place is by forsaking your sin and believing in Jesus Christ.

Only reconciliation with God will bring true happiness and only reconciliation with God will avoid true misery.

But why? Why would anyone want to do that? Why should you turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ?

We will have true happiness because the result is eternal life, a relationship with God in this life and when we die we will be with God in heaven for eternity.

Lets listen to the reasoning of the Apostle Paul... Just look at everything that God has done for you. Look at His love for you. Why would you refuse Him any longer?

We will avoid true misery because we will no longer be cut off from the God who made us and when we die we will not go to hell which is what we deserve.

If you come to Him today in repentace toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ your sin will be taken away and you will be given a perfect righteousness which is not your own. Sin take, Righteousness given.

What then should our response be this morning?

Will you do that?

If you are in Christ then rejoice, you are justified before God because of all that Christ has done.

Preached-

If your are not in Christ this morning then your response must be to believe in him. Turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ for your self.

Lockbrickland, Greenbank, Dulverton, Dolton, Loanhad, Heavitree,

I will leave you with the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in v.20 “Be reconciled to God.”