If you would, turn with me to Leviticus 16 to start with. Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16, and I'm gonna begin in verse 5. Read. 5-10, And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of a sin offering which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering. but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement with him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Now I know that was my text, at least to start out with, but I want you to turn over with me to 2 Corinthians 5. 2 Corinthians 5, that's where I'm gonna actually preach from. 2 Corinthians 5. Very familiar passage to you, and I'll go ahead and just read that verse, 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. 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.

I know this passage is familiar to a lot of people. Not to just us here, but a lot of people. And there's been some division over this passage. I won't go into all the details necessarily, but one thought about this passage is Christ was made sin by imputation. I'm not necessarily gonna disagree with anyone who says that. if you know what amputation means, and we'll look at that a little later. But they will tell you that he did, those who say it was by amputation only, they will tell you that he did not take our sin in his own body, but just on, that's the way they say it, on him. And they'll say it as, you know, in reference to this scapegoat, had the hands laid on him. Later on it goes on to tell you about him laying his hands on the scapegoat. And then the scapegoat carried the sins away.

The other is that he actually was made sin and he bore our sins in his own body. And it wasn't just like a backpack. But those two different thoughts on the matter, and I'm not trying to lie on them. I heard them both sides say this type of thing on this argument. I stand more closely with the second of those thoughts.

But let's be clear about any of man's thoughts or opinions. Man's opinions about the matter does not matter. It's what God says about it that matters. My opinion and your opinion does not matter. I don't care what any man says about it. If he's not saying what God says in his word, it's simply man's opinion and that's it. We should say what God says and stop right there when we're proclaiming, thus saith the Lord. If it's our opinion, then we at least should just admit that it's our opinion.

We know the Old Testament has a lot of types and shadows. As Walter said, a shadow does not show all the features. You're going to see a silhouette or an outline of the image. Not everything in the Old Testament is a type, though. But when it comes to the Messiah and his work, a lot of those things are in type, especially as you read about the law and the ordinances. It's just a fact. And that's what it says in scripture. We're told in Hebrews 9, 8 and 9, Hebrews 9, 8 and 9, it says, the Holy Ghost thus signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure. for the time being present. That's what scripture says. So that's not my opinion, that's what God says about it.

The law and the ordinances contain types. The New Testament, as it's been said before, you can say is the Old Testament revealed, if you will. And the New Testament is Christ revealed. When we read the New Testament as we've just done, we will look at exactly what it says. We're not going to assume anything. God does not make us guess what he's saying. God has nothing to hide. He does have things that he has not revealed for sure. And those things not revealed are not for us. He would have revealed them to us in his word if we were to know them. It does not, per se, take a special gift to know what God is saying. It takes His revealing power by His Spirit through His Word. It takes a gift, yes, but it is a gift of Him giving the Holy Spirit to reveal what He's saying in His Word. And we don't have to figure out what God is saying. He says what He means. And if He doesn't say it, then we cannot assume it. We just take what he's revealed in his word, and it's not what someone might think scripture implies. If we go down that path, then scripture can mean anything. God has given his word of his son, and he wants us to hear of his son.

So as it concerns this passage in 2 Corinthians 5.21, I wanna look at Christ made sin. I'm not gonna tell you how Christ was made sin, I'm going to tell you that he was made sin. Because as we will see, God did not tell us how he made him sin for us. He just said that he did make him sin. So my points will be, who made him sin? What was he made? What was his relationship to sin? Why was he made sin? All in this one verse. But for today, I'm only going to concentrate on who made him sin and what was he made. I'll have several other messages on this passage and Leviticus as well.

So first, who made him sin? So we start this verse out in 2 Corinthians 5.21 and it says, for he. So it says, for he, that would be God the Father, because if you go back in verse 18, it says, all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. And I'm not making this up. Jesus Christ is God. Of that, we have no doubt, because scripture says so. But scripture also tells us these three are one. God makes the distinction of God in three persons, if you will. And I'm not sure that's the best way to say it, but God in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And these three are one, it says.

So here we can see that it is pretty evident that it is God the Father has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. Reading it here, we see that there's something that Jesus Christ will go through, but now we can say has went through to bring us back to God. That is, give us favor before God, reconcile us. It says here that he was not imputing our sins to his people. Not that we were not guilty or are not guilty. in and of ourselves, but God was working salvation out by His Son and therefore not imputing our sins to us. He is long-suffering because of what God was doing in Christ. He was bringing us back to God. And we know how God did this because God tells us how He did in verse 21. God does not always tell us how He does something. But reconciliation was done by and through Jesus Christ because he was made sin.

There are some who believe Christ was imputed our sin, where it says he did not impute our sins to us, but rather imputed it to Christ. That's what they say. They say that implies that he imputed it to Christ. The only problem with that is that's not what it says. It would have been a perfect place to say it if that is what God meant to say. One thing is for sure, he was not pleased to say that. And again, I want to stress that if God wants us to know something, he says it in his word. If he does not say it, then he does not want us to know it. So we are fighting against God when we think we have a better insight than the spirit of God.

It also says in verse 18 that we have been given the word of reconciliation. And that word of reconciliation is that we have been reconciled to God by his son, Jesus Christ, who was made sin for us, who knew no sin. He was not intimate with sin. What does that tell us? He was spotless. And we know that any sacrifice for sin must be a spotless lamb or it would not be acceptable. He was a spotless lamb who made sin. How do you explain that? He was made sin because it says so, but he knew no sin at the same time.

Nowhere in scripture do you ever read of Jesus Christ being imputed, our sin. It would not have to use the actual word impute, just any words that mean that. And I'll give you some for instances. And you've heard this before. Nowhere in scripture does it say the phrase God is sovereign using those exact words. There are other words used that mean that very thing all over the place. Some examples, Psalm 115.3. But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. That says God is sovereign. Another one in Daniel. Daniel 4, 34 and 35. At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes into heaven and mine understanding returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? That says God is sovereign.

Nowhere does it say Christ was imputed our sin. It's not there. But it does say he was made sin. And it does say he bore our sins in his own body. God is not to be figured out. He is to be believed and bowed down to and given honor and glory just as Nebuchadnezzar did. So it is the sovereign God, God the Father, who did this to the Son. It says, for He, and what did He do, God the Father do? Made Him sin. For He hath made Him sin for us.

I first want to say that if someone says Christ was not made sin, they are a liar. Those are not my words. They are directly from Scripture and it's exactly what it says. The word for sin means sin. Or you could say offense. That's what Christ was made. Christ was made an offense by God the Father. How did he do this? I don't know. Is that a mystery? Not to God. He knows what he's doing. It was no mystery to him or to Christ. There's one example, if you will, of him being made sin and that was given by Jesus Christ himself. And if you all remember Walter's message, the Cain of Galilee miracles, he did a good job going over this passage, but I want to look at it just a little bit today. So if you would turn with me to John 2 for a minute, John 2. John 2, and I'm going to read 3-11. John 2, starting in verse 3.

And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water, and they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and knew not whence it was, but the servants which drew the water knew, the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth His glory and His disciples believed on Him.

I know folks do not want to hear what God is telling us here. It is told us very plainly what has happened here. There were pots of water And these pots of water were made for washing hands and feet, I imagine. That's what they were, for cleansing. They were stone pots. And that word means stone, the word that's used there for it. But it's derived from a word that means this, a stone of stumbling. I just like that. So this water was inside these pots, these stones of stumbling. These pots were going to have something done in them that was a miracle. Something impossible with men. And that stone would be the cleansing of the people.

Jesus Christ, just like that, he made water. He made the water wine. That water made for cleansing, he made it wine. We're talking about good aged wine. Something that takes time. That's my point. Takes time to get that kind of wine. He made it just like that. from water. One moment it was water, and the next moment it was wine. So much so, you see what the governor of the feast said, that this kind of wine was usually set out at the beginning of the feast. And then once everybody had enough to drink, they got a little bit tipsy or whatever, then they would bring out the wine that was not as good, not aged as long to finish out the feast. They do this so they won't drink up all the good stuff. That's why they would do that. But that's what this is saying. The point is, this is not grape juice. It's not something that, as it goes with men to make this kind of wine, it took time. Men could not do this. It took time. No one could do this instantly. But with Christ, it was made in a moment.

Now it goes on to say the moment for which Christ intended this to be a picture of. He first said there when we first started reading, he said, mine hour hath not yet come. And then we read in verse 11, it says, this beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory. And his disciples believed on him. Where is his glory manifested? This was a foremanifestation, if you will, of his glory and what this was referring to. For he hath made him sin for us. The hour for which he was appointed. I know people say things like that, that they have their proof text. That's what they'll say when you use text like this. All I can say to that is, who did this? Who wrote this down? It is God's proof text, if you will. They just say that because they do not want to bow down to God's word. If I want to tell someone what God said, what do I do? I go to the scripture and show people what God says about the matter. I'm a sinner who needs this Christ and what he has done to be reconciled to God. What am I going to come up with that's greater than what God has said and what God has done? Nothing is the answer. Yes, we have proof text, because our proof is that God has said it.

So I want to show you another proof text. The wine was in these stone pots. The wine was not around the stone pots. There was a vessel they were in, and they were in these stones of stumbling. Did he carry our sins on his back like a backpack? Or wear them like clothing on the outside of his body? All I can give you is what God has said, 1 Peter 2 24, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree. That we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness by whose stripes you're healed.

And I've went through this before, but I'm gonna go through it again. There are those who say where it says the word in, it does not mean in, but on. Some might go back to the scapegoat and try to explain away what God has said in the New Testament. A lot of them do this. Where the priest laid hands on the scapegoat for the sins of the people, but that's not what that's talking about. And we'll get to that in another message. But this word for in here, this word is used elsewhere, and I'll give a few verses that use this same word in, the exact same word.

Matthew 1.20, but while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Did Mary conceive a baby in her womb? Yes, sir. Yeah, in. She didn't conceive it outside of her body. It was actually in her. It was not on the outside. I think we all know that that's the right answer.

One more verse to give a little different view of how this word is used. John 19.31, the Jews therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day. For that Sabbath day was an high day, basalt pallet that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. But it says remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day. Now were they talking about if they were left there hanging just outside of the Sabbath day, the next day or the day before? I mean, the Sabbath day had a specific time, right? From here to here. So did they mean just before the Sabbath began, or did they mean once that period of time began, they would not want them hanging there? No, they meant during or in the Sabbath day timeframe. But in the English, that's how we say it, on the Sabbath day. And you can look it up yourself, but that's what scripture says.

That passage there in 1 Peter 2.24 uses the word in, and it means exactly what it says. Jesus Christ made sin, and that sin was in his own body. I cannot explain that. First of all, because I'm not God, nor am I Christ. I just know that by the Spirit of God that that's what God says right there in black and white, if you will. Yet someone wants to tell me that Christ was not made sin and that Christ did not bear our sins in his own body. Does that mean it was infused in his body? I have no idea. But it specifically says in his own body. We also have the word in our text. I just seen this this morning and wanted to add it in here.

2 Corinthians 5 in verse 19, it says, to wit that God was in Christ. Is God in Christ or outside of Christ? What do you believe, man or God? We believe God the Father made him sin, however he was pleased to make him sin. The truth of Scripture is He bore our sins in His own body. Whatever that means, we believe it. If He did this by imputation, that's how He did it. I cannot say that specifically, though, because He does not say that.

But what most do not think about when they do say He was imputed our sin is what the word impute means in Scripture, and you all know this. The word means to take an inventory. And what do you do when you take an inventory? You look at what's there and count what's there. And then it's imputed. We have a good example of that word impute as it concerns faith in Romans 4. You don't have to turn to it if you don't want, but Romans 4, I'll just read the first three verses there in Romans 4.

Romans 4, 1 through 3, I was there. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof the glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. God Almighty, when Abraham believed Him, God counted. That's the exact same word used in 2 Corinthians there, verse 19, where it speaks of God not imputing our sins to us. As it concerns Abraham, God counted the faith given us as righteousness because if you believe God, if you've actually literally really believe God, you have been given the faith of Christ by Christ. It's there and it's real. That faith enables us to believe.

What else? There are some who say others say Christ was infused our sin. And that English word is not used in scripture. What's the meaning of the word infused? It means to introduce one thing into another so as to affect it throughout. So that means inside and out. Now I don't know anybody who says that he was infused our sin. I've never heard anybody say that. And nor am I saying he was infused our sin. But whatever is introduced by infusion, if you use that word, whatever is there is there for real. God never tells us how he made him sin other than that what we have written down in scripture. The closest thing we have is when God Almighty tells us He bore our sins in His own body on that tree. We have to just believe what God says. God is not pretending to do this, nor were they. The sin put on Him like a backpack. I can say that because God said that He bore our sins in His own body. The scripture clearly declares he made him sin. He bore our sins in his own body and that's the total sum of it right there.

So what is our conclusion on the matter or what should be our conclusion on the matter? He made him sin for us and he bore our sins in his own body. This just one who was absolutely holy, perfection personified, who was made something totally contrary to himself. This was all done to reconcile his people to himself, because it could not be accomplished any other way.

But back to Leviticus just for a minute, verses five through nine again. Five through nine. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. and Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering."

We read in our text, 2 Corinthians 5, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

I'm not gonna argue with anyone who says he was imputed our sin. I know if he was imputed our sin, it was because he was made sin. He bore our sins in his own body. If that means he was infused our sin, then so be it. But because of all this, because God the Father made him sin for us, even though he knew no sin, he reconciled us to himself, making us the righteousness of God in Christ.

The sacrifice he made was to God himself. Back in Leviticus, it was to the Lord. He made this sacrifice to God himself, which he was slain for. He was slain as an offering for sin, and it was to the Lord. Christ did not offer himself to us. He offered himself to God for us, that we can Then give all praise, honor, and glory to God. Amen.

Dear old God, thank you for allowing us to be here, dear Lord. Calls us to know you, just to bow down to your word, dear Lord. We know very little of your word, dear Lord, but put it in us, dear Lord, just to want to learn of you and who you are, dear Lord. Not be high-minded, dear Lord. We know nothing as we ought to know it. All these things we ask in Christ's name, amen.