I'm so blessed by the reading of God's Word tonight. Brother Stephen wrote, read downstairs in Zephaniah chapter 3. Such a blessing to my heart. And his prayer was a blessing to my heart. And also up here, Brother Paul read Isaiah 53. And his prayer blessed my heart. And my prayer is that this message We'll bless your heart.

We're going to be looking at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. And we'll be looking at 5.21. where it says, For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. For God hath made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

I remember a message years ago that Brother Paul preached from this text. It was called, Imputed Righteousness. What a blessing it was for this poor, wretched sinner. The title of my message is, How Can It Be That Christ Was Made Sin? Question of questions. It's impossible to answer. We only get a little. Our understanding is little. The righteousness of God is in Christ, not in what we do. In Christ is no sin. Christ never sinned. Christ never committed a sin, never thought sin, never talked or walked in sin. Christ was perfectly holy, unblameable, and unreprovable in God's sight. So how could Christ be made sin? With man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible.

There's some controversy in sovereign grace churches of this text. Since Christ was spotless, how could he be made sin? I believe the Bible teaches that Christ was made sin by imputation. Some say it could be more than that. I don't know. What I do know is that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.

What is imputation? Google says it means to attribute or ascribe to something such as a quality, a fault, or a value to someone else. Just to make it simple, it's a transfer, a trading of places. When the U.S. gets a new president, there's a transfer of power. When we transfer money from savings to checking, that's a type of imputation.

Imputation is like when we... I don't know if this is exactly right or where this needs to go, but I'm going to say it. Imputations like when we tried to balance our checkbook, our records, our calculations never seem to match what the bank says. We either have too much or we come up short. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The only way our account can be made right or reckoned is by agreeing with what the bank says it is, not by what we think it is.

In our text here in 2 Corinthians 5.21, imputation means that all the sins of God's elect, all our guilt, shame, Our sins of thought, our sins of commission, were charged or ascribed to our Lord Jesus Christ. And all the righteousness of God, which is in Christ, was charged or ascribed to all of God's elect. He was made sin, we were made His righteousness. Christ our Lord had no sins of His own. He was perfect before the law of God. He kept every jot and tittle of the law perfectly. Our sins were reckoned, were transferred to Christ. He was identified and numbered with the transgressors. Though he personally had no sin, God made him the greatest sinner who ever lived. I can hear people's jaws dropping after that statement. He was the greatest sinner who ever lived in God's sight. And how God sees it is how it is. What God's Word says, that's how it is. Christ was made to be sin, who knew no sin, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. Some may say, I don't see it like that. They say, that's not true. Blasphemy to say that. It doesn't matter how we see it. Who are we to reply against God? God's Word says Christ was made to be sin. Many are offended and confused about Christ being made sin.

Mankind was born confused. Man came forth from the womb speaking lies. In Ephesians 4, men walk in the vanity of their mind. And they who trust in lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Man's understanding is darkened, being alienated from the life of God. through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Lord, open up our hearts that we might see Christ as our substitute.

Let us turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. I hope you don't hear my knees shaking, but they are. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world, that come to naught. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. And verse 9 says, But as it is written, I hath not seen, ear heard, neither have entered in to the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Verse 12. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches. comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned or understood. But he that is Spiritual judges all things, but he himself is judged of no man. Who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Proverbs chapter 3. 5-7 says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lead not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes.

Go back to 2 Corinthians 5. The scripture says, for he hath made him to be sin. When we read the text as it is written, sin is a noun. A noun is a person, place, or thing. Sin is a thing, a thing to be gotten rid of. Now read the text with removing the words to be. To be or not to be. It reads this way. For he hath made him sin. Sin here could be a verb. A verb describes an action. For he hath made Christ sin. I never saw this before. If you read it like that, it's like God made Christ sin. Like God made Christ commit sin.

No, no, no, no. That's not how it is. God does not tempt any man with sin. In James 1.13, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man. All things are of God. God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways are past finding out. For of him and through him and to him are all things, whom be Glory forever and ever. Amen.

Our God is God. He is God Almighty over all things. So where did sin come from? I don't know. But it's here. Right here.

In Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, It says, Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Adam is the federal head of all his descendants. Eve was formed from a rib of Adam. which is a picture of Christ and His church.

Sin started in the garden. If you get it wrong in the fall, you've messed it all up. And I messed that poem up, too. You're wrong in it all.

And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil Thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest of it, thou shalt surely die.

I got to thinking about the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Whose sin was he? What was that shed for? Was it Adam? God knew that Adam would sin, for He said, For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. He knew Adam was going to sin.

And I thought of the quote by Thomas Watson that I love to hear Brother Paul proclaim. God has a hand in the action where sin is, but no hand in the action. No, but no hand in the sin of the action. And let me read that to you again. God has a hand in the action where sin is, but no hand in the sin of the action.

God is holy, righteous, just, and pure. And so is his son. And he knew Adam was going to fall, but it didn't cause him to fall. I don't understand. I don't understand. I just believe.

When Adam disobeyed God and partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, he sinned against God. And all his descendants became sinners. This is what is called original sin. Adam lived to be 900 years old, but he died spiritually. In Adam, all died. Even so, in Christ, shall all be made alive.

" Isaiah 53. Verse 6, All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was there to answer for our sins.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, but he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.

Let's go to 1 Peter 2. Y'all are too fast. In verse 21, Chapter 2, 1 Peter. For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered. He threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth rightly. who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we being dead to sins should live under righteousness by his stripes. He are healed for ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your soul. He bore our sins in His body on the tree. He was made sin. Who knew no sin? But yet He bore our sins in His body on the tree. I don't understand, but I just believe it.

And let's look here in Romans chapter 8. Oh, I love this. I love Romans chapter 8. We all do. God's people love God's Word. He that is of God feareth God's Word.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ. How can that be? God bore our sins in His body on the tree. Christ was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Substitution. Satisfaction.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death. The Gospel is the law of the Spirit of life. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Christ was made sin for His people and delivered them from their sins.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. It sounds just like 2 Corinthians 5.21. that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.

Religion likes to walk in the flesh. They boast of their good works and their free will and all the things they do, but they're not holding up the head. They're not walking in the Spirit. They're not looking to Christ. They're not trusting in Christ. They're looking to what they do.

For to be carnally minded is death. To be religious without Christ is death. For the carnal mind is amputee against God, for it's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Those who are religious without Christ cannot please God.

So I hope Something I said tonight would maybe clear up some things, would maybe bring you a little comfort of the Scriptures. If you would, let's all rise and we'll thank the Lord.