He Hath Made Him To Be Sin For Us

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ being made sin for us?

The Bible teaches that Christ was made to be sin for us as our substitute, which is foundational to our hope and salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, 'He hath made him to be sin for us.' This encapsulates the gospel doctrine of substitution, where Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of His people, standing in their place as their substitute. This act is not merely a representation, but a divine transaction, where Christ who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, ensuring that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him. Therefore, this doctrine emphasizes that the basis of our hope before God rests solely in Christ's sacrificial work, rather than in our personal merits or experiences.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of substitution is true?

The truth of substitution is validated through Scripture, which consistently affirms Christ's role as our sin-bearer. Substitutionary atonement is integral to the biblical narrative and is supported by numerous passages that confirm Christ's sacrificial role. Notably, Isaiah 53:6 states, 'The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,' underscoring the divine appointment of Christ as the bearer of sin. This biblical presentation is further reinforced by the New Testament, where Christ's death is depicted as both a fulfillment of prophecy and a necessary act for the salvation of God’s elect (Romans 5:8). Thus, the scriptural consistency across both Testaments affirms the truth of substitutionary atonement.

Q: Why is the concept of Christ's substitution important for Christians?

Christ's substitution is vital as it assures believers of their righteousness and acceptance before God. The doctrine of substitution is essential for Christians because it lays the foundation for our standing before God. By being made sin for us, Jesus takes the penalty we deserved and transfers His perfect righteousness to us (Romans 4:25). This establishes that we are accepted in the beloved, which provides profound comfort and assurance. Without understanding this doctrine, believers might find themselves standing on their own works or feelings, which cannot secure our salvation. Instead, it is Christ's finished work that guarantees our peace with God and our identity as His beloved children.

Q: What is the result of Christ being made sin for us?

The result is that believers are cleansed of sin and clothed in Christ's righteousness. When Christ was made sin for us, it resulted in a complete transaction whereby our sins were atoned for, allowing us to be viewed as righteous before God. As stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21, He was made to be sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. This means that through faith in Christ, believers are justified and declared righteous—completely forgiven, with no charge of sin against them (Romans 8:1). The implications of this are significant, as it assures us of our eternal security and shapes our identity as children of God.

Q: Who did God make Christ to be sin for?

God made Christ to be sin for His elect, ensuring specific redemption for His chosen people. In God's sovereign plan, Christ was made sin for His elect, those He foreknew and predestined for salvation (Romans 8:29-30). This doctrine of particular redemption asserts that Jesus' sacrifice was intended for a specific group—His sheep (John 10:15)—and not for all indiscriminately. This truth emphasizes that His death is effective and guarantees the salvation of those He came to redeem, thereby providing a deep assurance that the salvation accomplished by Christ is certain and secure.

Turn with me to 2 Corinthians. And let me take one sentence from this blessed text of scripture and try once more to expound it to you. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21. He hath made him to be sin for us. Now this is all my hope. Jesus Christ once was made to be sin for me. That's all my hope. My hope before God has nothing to do with what I feel, what I experience, what I know, what I profess, what I learn. My hope before God is Christ, my substitute, was once made to be sin for me. Now, if you have any other hope, your hope is a vain delusion. If you have any other hope, your hope is a vain delusion.

Hope is not to be found in the church. It's not to be found in works. It's not to be found in experiences. It's not to be found in a profession of faith. It's not to be found in a prayer said. Hope is Christ the substitute. That's all. That's all. I urge you, I urge you as you care for your soul, flee from any other hope as you would flee from the plague. There is no hope for sinners, but Christ the substitute who for sinners was made to be sin.

This is all my comfort, all my peace, all my assurance. I struggle with sin just like you do. I struggle with inward passions. and outward deeds of corruption, and I hate them. I wish I didn't have any experiences of that kind, but I do because I know with honesty I am a sinner. Nothing else but a sinner. I claim nothing else. I profess nothing else. Sin is what I am.

Well, how do you have comfort and peace before God? Jesus Christ, God's son, was made to be sin for me, to put away my sin. And that's my comfort. That's it. When I have to face difficulties in life and trials and adversities, as well as the reality of my sin, I have blessed calm, assurance, and peace, looking to Christ, who was made to be sin for me. And in my heart, in my heart of hearts, I testify to you, and I say before God, nothing else really matters. Nothing else really matters.

And this is my inspiration. This is what keeps me going. This is what motivates me. This is what This is what has brought me here this morning to preach this message to you. This is what carries me back and forth and up and down across this country preaching the gospel. This is what stirs me to write and to carry the message of grace around the world. This is what inspires me to seek God's glory. This is what inspires me in my life and in my ministry as God's servant in this world.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was made to be sin for me. I've got something to tell you. I've got something to tell you. I've got a reason to tell you what I've got to tell you. This is my message and this is it. Somebody asked me, what do you believe? What do you preach? This is it. He was made to be sin for us. That's it.

I preach from this text of scripture many, many times. I deliberately quote it almost every time I preach, if not every time. But I haven't yet begun to enter into the heights and depths and wondrous mystery and glorious declaration that is here set before us in these nine words. He hath made him to be sin for us.

Oh, what a message. Now, this is the gospel doctrine of substitution. Mr. Spurgeon, that prince of preachers in London, England, over 100 years ago, said the heart of the gospel is redemption and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. He was exactly right. Now what I want to talk to you about this morning concerns the vital truth of the gospel.

Our text reveals the foundation truth of Christianity, the rock upon which we build our hopes. The only hope of a sinner and the only joy of a true believer is the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. I'm telling you about the great transaction that took place 2,000 years ago, the great substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty transfer of sin from the sinner to the sinner's substitute, and the transfer of Christ's perfect righteousness from our substitute unto us, who are made the righteousness of God in him. Our text talks about the punishment of Christ as our surety in the place of his people. The pouring out of the vials of divine wrath, which were due to us upon the head of our surety.

Now this great transaction is the greatest transaction that ever took place upon the earth. The most marvelous sight that man ever saw. The most stupendous work that heaven ever executed. And I never tire of telling you about it. I hope you never tire of hearing it.

Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now the doctrine of our text, this doctrine of substitutionary redemption, is the great truth of Holy Scripture. If you want to know what this book is all about, if you want to know what it's all about, now listen to me. Please, please listen to me.

This book is not a book about moral ethics. This is not a book about religious history. This is not a book about religious supernaturalism. That's not what it's about. This is a book about substitutionary redemption. That's what it's about. Christ crucified is the message of this holy book.

Now, there are no hidden meanings in what I'm saying. My words, I declare with boldness and with clarity, with terms that are so simple anybody can understand them if they just listen. Now, I've set my foot down on this solid pillar of gospel truth, and God helping me, I never intend to be moved.

Some of you may or may not remember, back in January 1980, the first time I came down here, To preach to you in consideration of the pulpit here, I preach to you from 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. And I said to you, if I come here as your pastor, this is what you'll hear all the time, all the time. And I'm saying to you now, 15 years later, if God gives me breath to draw for another 15 or another 50 years, this is what you'll hear all the time. all the time. But preacher, don't you know other folks are involved in this thing and that?

I know that. Don't you know that the churches in town have their sessions for singles, and their sessions for young folks, and their sessions for old folks, and their sessions for the young adults, and their sessions for babies, and their sessions for teenagers? I know that. I know that.

But I know that everybody in this world is an eternally bound immoral soul, and Nothing will do you good except Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin for you. Now, you can have everything else lined up in a row. You can have everything else worked out. You can have everything else fixed up just fine and fancy so that you live in comfort and peace and satisfaction. But I'm telling you, if you don't know Christ, nothing else is meaningful. Nothing else.

Well, don't you want to teach our young people to live right? Oh, if you ever know Him who was made to be sin for you, you'll live right. And if you don't know Him, all your right living will just take you to hell. Now, that's just right. That's just right.

Well, don't you want folks to have their lives different from folks in the world? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I want you to have something better than what I see going on out there. I sure do. But I'm telling you, I'm telling you, if you could get everything else all fixed up, and you don't know him, whom to know will ride his life eternal, all this stuff would just be added accumulation to drag your soul down to hell. Do you understand that? That's the reason I'm tenacious here.

That's the reason I don't get on the bandwagon of preaching the social gospel in the name of Christ. I don't get on the bandwagon of trying to be a counselor. I don't get on the bandwagon of trying to be a social reformer. That's not where the problem is.

The problem is your heart relationship with the Son of God. That's the problem. Oh, may God give you grace to hear and to know him. The gospel of Christ in this place, as long as I have breath in my body, will not be pushed aside as an old piece of furniture in this house of worship. Where we began together, we must and will remain. The glorious gospel of the substitutionary redemption of Jesus Christ is the strength, the glory, and the life of God's church and of all true gospel ministry. And so we stand right here.

But what do you do if folks don't respond to it? Everybody responds to it. Everybody responds to it. Some folks believe it and love it. and living, and some folks hating, and choose something else, and take other baggage with them on their road to hell. But the message is not going to change. It's not going to change.

Now, I want this morning to try to answer seven simple questions as I look at this sentence given by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says, he hath made him to be sin for us. I want to know first, who was made to be sin for us? And we'll stick with our text.

I could say many things about the person of our Lord Jesus. but our text describes our surety, our great substitute, upon one point only. Our text declares that he is that one who knew no sin. The Lord Jesus Christ, our substitute, was spotless, innocent, and pure.

The Son of God took upon himself human flesh and dwelt among men, and though he was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, he knew no sin. He had no original sin, like you and I do. We came forth from our mother's womb, being the sons and daughters of Adam, with an original sin, because we sinned and fell in our father Adam. The reason we call Adam's sin, and I sin in him, original sin, because that's the first one. That's where it all began.

Our Lord Jesus had no part in that. He had no original sin. Our Lord Jesus had no nature of sin. That is, he did not descend from Adam, but rather he was made of a woman, made without the ail of man, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law. More than that, our Savior never committed sin. Not any sin. He never left anything undone, which he ought to have done, and he never failed to do anything which should have been done at all. He never broke God's law, either by omission or by commission. I say he never had any inclination or any thought for sin.

Imagine that. We can't even imagine it. His mind never produced an evil thought. He's holy. He's holy. His heart never drew cold with malice and anger. His heart was never hot with revenge. His heart was never bitter with malice and hatred. But his heart was pure and holy. pure and holy.

Our Savior knew no sin, and it was absolutely necessary that as our substitute, he be without sin. For if he had any guilt of sin whatsoever, he could never have atoned for our sin. The Lord Jesus, you see, is such a substitute as we need, holy, heartless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He is the embodiment of purity and virtue.

As a man, he was made under the law, but he owed nothing to the law, for he made the law. Because he perfectly fulfilled the law, now his obedience to the law, as a holy man, is meritorious for other men. Our Savior was capable of standing in the room of others simply because he had no obligations of his own.

You understand that? He didn't have any debt to pay. He paid our debt. He didn't have any satisfaction to make. He made satisfaction for us. And yet, this Holy One voluntarily condescended to be made sin for us. He who knew no sin. was made to be sin. But the second question that arises seems simple enough to me. Who did it? Who made Jesus Christ to be sin? He, God the Father, who hates sin. God the Father against whom all sin is committed. God the Father, the object of man's enmity, the object of man's sin, made his son to be sin.

Oh, wonder of wonders. Who can explain that? God the Father appointed Christ in the covenant of grace to be a sin sacrifice for us. Psalm 89 in verse 19 says, Thou hast made help upon one that is mighty. Thou hast exalted one chosen out of the people. The Lord God laid help upon Christ, the mighty Son of God, and He exalted Christ as a man chosen out of the people, a man like ourselves, to be our helper and our savior from sin. The Lord God, our Father, laid our sin upon His well-beloved Son and charged Him with our guilt.

Turn to Isaiah 53. Hold your hands here in 2 Corinthians. Turn to Isaiah 53. Verse six, all we like sheep have gone astray. That's the nature of Laocris and his wife, Diane. We know how to stray. We're good at it. That's the nature of Don Fortner and his wife, Shelby, too. We're good at straying. That's our nature. All of us have gone astray. Well, how did we go astray? We have turned everyone to his own way.

Now, some have turned to the way of propagate, rebellion, and ungodliness, and wretchedness, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, dopeheads, and such as that. Some have gone that way. Some have turned to the way of morality and philosophical uprightness. And others have turned to the way of religion and religious uprightness. But each has gone astray from God, and each has gone to his own way, but would not ever come God's way. Would not ever turn God's way. He would not ever look toward God. And the Lord hath laid on him, the Lord Jesus Christ, the iniquity of us all. Verse 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. The Lord 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 hand.

God the Father, in the fullness of time, gave up his Son into the hands of divine justice to die in the place of sinners. such as we are. Healed in his love, not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. You understand what that word propitiation is, Bill? It's the word that's normally translated mercy saint. It means an appeasement to justice. He made his son to be a sacrifice for the appeasement, for the satisfaction of divine justice for our sins, because he loved us.

The father made his son to be sin for us. Well, when? It is obvious in our text that it's in the past tense. Paul writes, he hath made him to be sin for us. The Lord Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us, and I speak this now as a believer in three different ways, at three different times, if I can use that kind of language. Turn back to Isaiah 53 one more time. I want you to see this. Isaiah chapter 53 and verse six. The scripture says, the Lord hath laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. And well, this was written 800 years before Christ came. And yet it's spoken in the past tense. Now I know that a word of prophecy is often given in the past tense when it refers to something future.

But I know this as well, the Lord Jesus was the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, and in the covenant of grace he stood as our surety, and assumed total responsibility for our souls as our surety and representative. And when the Lord God accepted him as our surety, the Lord God in his decree made him to be seen, and he ceased to look to us for satisfaction. Understand that? He's the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And having been made to be sin for us, back yonder in eternity, when the Lord God laid on him our iniquity, he no longer looked to us for satisfaction. So the scripture says, from everlasting we were accepted in the beloved. But then in the fullness of time, the scripture tells us in 1 Peter 2 and verse 24, that the Lord Jesus, his own self, bare thy sin in his own body on the tree."

Now, folks get all bent out of shape when we talk about God's eternal decrees. And they say, well, if this was decreed from eternity, forget about the accomplishment of things in time. Oh no! God's eternal decree guaranteed it would be done in time. So that what God purposed in eternity will assuredly come to pass in time exactly as God purposed it in eternity.

So as God chose us to be his own, he makes us his own and brings us to heaven as his own in time. You understand that? And as God made his Son, our shelter in the covenant of grace, the Lamb's slave in the foundation of the world, it came to pass in the fullness of time that Jesus Christ was made to be seen when he actually died as our substitute on Mount Calvary and satisfied divine justice. So it was not just a theory, it was not just God's purpose, it was that which God himself actually accomplished in time.

But then there's another time. when Christ is manifestly made to be seen. When God the Holy Spirit came to my soul with a supernatural revelation of God's saving grace, with the word of salvation speaking to me, a sinner, for the first time in my life, in my own heart, I was made to see and know that Jesus Christ was made to be sin.

And Lindsay, that's the first time it meant anything to me. I'm preaching to some of you, whom my Savior might address and say, is it nothing to you? All ye that pass by, behold and see, if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. To some of you, it's nothing. Oh, God help you. It's nothing now.

But when God the Holy Spirit comes in regenerating power, he sprinkles the heart with the blood of Christ and purges your conscience from dead works. And what that means is just this. He convicts you of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. He makes you to understand, Rex, that you're a sinner, that God demands righteousness, that Christ has provided righteousness, and that judgment is over. Judgment's over, because God made his son to be sin. Fourthly, what was done with the Lord Jesus when he was made to be sin for us.

Now I've come to the heart of my message. I will not attempt to explain the text. It's beyond the reach of my mind or yours either. I simply remind you of this wondrous fact. He was made to be sin for us. Oh may God the Holy Spirit burn it into your heart. Our Lord Jesus voluntarily took upon himself an intimate, infinite acquaintance with human sin. He took our sins and made them his very own. Let's look again at those passages in the Psalms where our Savior speaks like that. Turn over to Psalm 40 for a second. Psalm 40. This passage clearly is talking about the Son of God, our substitute.

It says, for innumerable evils have compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me. so that I'm not able to look up there more than the hairs in mine head, therefore my heart faileth me." Well, how on this earth could he who knew no sin speak of sin and say, mine iniquities? Because our sin really, really, really became his sin. Can you get hold of that? Mine iniquities, he says.

Look in Psalm 69, verse 4. Our Lord Jesus speaks, they that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. Then restored I that which I took not away. Those are the words that only the Son of God could speak. Now he says, O God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my sins are not hid from thee. Now you, at your leisure, compare Revelation chapter 7.

You remember John saw the multitudes dressed in white? And he said to the one who spoke by him, he said, who are these? And which came they? And what are those robes? And he says, these are those which came out of great tribulation. These are the saints of God. And those white robes? Why, that's their righteousness. This is the righteousness of the saints.

Now, you know you haven't got any. You can't perform any. You can't produce any righteousness of your own. Well, how on this earth, then, does a saint get hold of righteousness that he can speak honestly before God and claim as his righteousness? The righteousness of Christ is made ours. It's really ours. Just exactly the same as our sin was made to be his, really his. Our Savior took our sins upon himself voluntarily.

He says, the Lord God hath opened mine ears and I turned not away back. Like the free born slave that he was, he stood before God in covenant mercy and he said, I love my master, I love my wife, I love my children. And he said, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. God Almighty delivered his son into the hands of his own divine justice. He was made to suffer the fullest possible extent of God's infinite wrath and violent justice so that he was made to pay the just penalty of the law for our sins.

I've been studying this text all week long that I read to you at the beginning of our service this morning. In Matthew 27 and verse 42, the chief priest with the scribes joined in the taunting jeers of the Son of God as he hung upon the tree. And God frequently uses reprobate infidels to speak the truth when other men won't. These chief priests and scribes declared what few men ever understood.

He saved others. Himself he cannot save. Now he could have called twelve legions of angels to come and take him off that tree. He's God Almighty. He said to Pilate, you don't have any power at all over me except what my father's given you. Now he could have saved himself, there's no question about that. He could have saved himself. He is the one, after all, who gave the soldiers the strength and the skill to drive the nails in his hands. He could have saved himself.

But the scripture says here, he saved others, himself he cannot save. And the reason he couldn't save himself, Rex, because he saved him. You understand that? He saved others from hell, but he couldn't save himself from hell. He saved others from the wrath of God, but he couldn't save himself from the wrath of God. He saved us from death, but he couldn't save himself from death.

He saved us from sin, but he couldn't save himself from sin, because only by suffering the just penalty of our sin could he put away our sin. There's no other way for God to be just and justify the ungodly, but for the God-man to suffer and die in the room instead of his people.

And God made his son to be sin. This was the soul of his sufferings. He who knew no sin was made to be sin. John Gill made this statement. He was made sin itself. by imputation. The sins of all his people were transferred unto him, and laid upon him, and placed to his account. He sustained their persons and bore their sins, and having them upon him, and bearing, and being chargeable with, and answerable for them, he was treated by the justice of God. as if he had been not only a sinner, but a mass sin. Martin Luther said the Lord Jesus Christ, when he was made to be sin, died under the wrath of God as the greatest sinner who ever lived. And he was exactly right. God Almighty gathered up all the sins of his elect. All our sins. Just the sins of one man, this man, are more than any man can number. But he gathered up all our sins. All our sins.

And with one tremendous act of justice, transferred our sins from us to our surety, and dealt with Christ the basis of our sin imputed to him. That's the most heartbreaking and the most soul-refreshing thing I know of in this world. He who knew no sin was made sin. Oh, horrid thought. But he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Oh, wondrous mystery. You see what I'm talking about?

Christ was made to be sin for us. When God the Father made him to be sin, when he was charged with all the sins of all his people, he suffered all the shame and reproach. All the shame and reproach that our sin deserves. There he is, standing before Pilate, judged as a common criminal.

There he is, before those soldiers, stripped naked, with a piece of purple put around his shoulders and a ring in his hand and a crown of thorns on his head. And those little peanut soldiers walk by and kneel down and say, hey, you're king of the Jews, and spit in his face. and take the reed and smack him on the chin, so who did that? And there he is, hanging upon the curse tree. Peter denied him.

All his disciples forsook him. He's covered with human spit, filth, blood, The stitch, the man's vile treatment is upon him. He suffers all the horrid wrath of God because that's what we deserve. And at last, his father forsakes him. The Savior cries, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Oh, hear that piercing cry. What can its meaning be? My God, my God, oh, why hast thou in wrath forsaken me? It was because our sins on him by God were laid. He who himself had never sinned, For sinners, sin was made. And Almighty God drew forth the sword of his justice and slew his son in our place.

Oh, who can grasp what I'm saying? Who can enter into the depths of this word from God? I can't understand it, I can hardly realize it, but I can, and I do believe it, and I rest my soul upon it. Dare you do so? Dare you cast your soul, your immortal soul, and your everlasting destiny on the merit of him who suffered in the place of sinners, who was made to be sin for us? Will you? Can you? If you can, if you will, if you do, I'm telling you, he was made to be sin for you, and only in him can you find peace with God. Fifthly, for whom was Christ made to be sin? He hath made him to be sin for us.

I preached to you just recently on the subject of particular redemptions. I won't spend a lot of time dealing with it here. But when the scripture talks about the death of Christ for sinners, it always talks about the death of Christ in a being designed for the redemption and salvation of a specific people. Never, never, never does the Word of God talk about Christ's death being something that was just sort of a roll of dice, just however it turns out, that's all right, he didn't have anything specific in mind when he died. Oh no, our Savior died for us.

Now let me see if I can show you who us are. Romans chapter 5 and verse 6. When we were yet without strength, is there anybody here who is without strength before God? Anybody? Anybody who has no ability whatsoever to lay hold of God Almighty, no ability to obey God's law, No ability to satisfy God's justice. No ability. I'm talking about in your soul, you know, you're only without strength before God. I take my place right here. When we were yet without strength. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Are you willing to take your place there?

Come on now, I'm talking about ungodly, that's what you are. That's what you are, but do you know it? Have you been made to realize that in the sight of God, you're ungodly, ungodly, ungodly. I'm gonna tell you something. Christ died for folks who without strength and ungodly. Ungodly. I was talking to a fellow this past week. He was telling me about trying to minister to a fellow and asked me if it was right to tell a man Christ died for sinners. I said, absolutely. Find me a sinner. I'll tell him God loves him. God chose him. Christ died for him. God saves him.

Just find me somebody who's a sinner. I said, well, everybody's sinners. Find one. Just find one. I challenge you. Wherever you go today, try to find a sinner. I'm talking about an ungodly, without strength, helpless, hell-bent, hell-deserving, doomed, dead, helpless sinner. Find one! If you can find one, I'll tell you Christ died for it. That's folks he died for. Anybody, anybody who's a sinner, Christ died for him. Verse eight.

God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Who are these sinners for whom Christ died? Who are these for whom Christ was made to be sinned? Well, they're his sheep, his church, God's elect people, the many sons whom he will bring to glory, the sinners without strength and ungodly. In other words, the Lord Jesus was made to be sinned for every sinner in this world who actually believes on him. Now, do not accept the satanic reverse of that.

Folks say, well, if you believe, then you make the blood of Christ effectual for your salvation, and it is his blood in your faith that puts away sin. Oh, no. Oh, no. A thousand times, no. Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for his elect. Christ died for his church. Christ died for his sheep, and his death guarantees and secures and purchased for you. Believe in him, and your faith in him is the proof that you're his, and he died for you. Your faith in him is the fruit, not the cause of redemption. You understand that? It's the fruit, not the cause of God's saving grace. Well, sixthly, what are the results of this mighty substitutionary sacrifice? There are some sure inevitable results arising from Christ's death as our substitute. Nothing was left to chance. Nothing was left to the free will of man. He who died at Calvary died with a specific purpose in mind, and he will see that his purpose is accomplished.

Turn again to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, verse 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise him, when he hath put him to grief, or he hath put him to grief. And when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he hopes to see his seed, and maybe he'll prolong his days, and possibly the pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand. He said, now Don, that's not the way my Bible reads. I know that, but that's the way you hear preached all the time. Well, not you. That's the way folks hear preached all the time. The scripture reads like this.

He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. And the pleasure, the purpose of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. And by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." Justice was satisfied when Jesus died. All the wrath, condemnation, pain, and agony required by the law and justice of God for was fully endured and completely satisfied by our Savior. Sin was removed. Our sin was put away.

So that God looks on us and perpetually smiles with approval Because He looks on us in His Son. The moral heart of God Almighty looks on you. He only sees you in His Son. That's right. That's right. And He can no more impute sin to you than He can impute sin to His Son if you're in His Son. He can't do it. He put away our sin. Do you understand that? Can you possibly get a hold of this just a little bit? In Him is no sin. So that God looking on us in Jesus Christ His Son is well pleased with us for Christ's sake always. For what happens when a believer sins. A lot of things happen. A lot of things happen. You've got a problem. And you, your heart is broken. And you're gonna be chastened. And God's gonna correct you. Aren't you glad he does? Aren't you glad he does? When I was a boy, I was constantly in need of firm discipline, and my mama was constantly ready to exercise it, and she did. And I'm thankful that she would not leave me to myself. I'm thankful. She wouldn't let me just run here and there and do what I wanted to do.

I was raised in those days when you walk into the house, Little kids walk into the house these days and they climb all over everything, swing from the lights, pull down the drapes, get candy and scattered everywhere. When I walked into your house when I was a kid, now I was mean as a snake. I was mean as a snake. But if my mama was there and she could see me, I sat down, sat on my hands, make sure I didn't get my hands in nothing.

I mean nothing. Because I knew if I did, she was going to beat the lord out of me when I got home. I just knew it. She was going to beat the lord out of me. And I'm thankful she treated me that way. I'm thankful she did. I wasn't thankful then. But I want to tell you something. I'm learning. I'm learning in God's grace right now to be thankful he corrects me for sin. Oh God, don't leave me to myself. Don't let me run my own way. Don't let me have my own will. Don't, God, don't leave me to myself.

But as far as he's concerned, Lindsey, nothing happens. Nothing happens. He's not angry. He's not vindictive. He's not, he's not preaching to possibly pull out that sword and cut you off. Nothing happens. God will not charge his own with sin. He won't do it.

More than that, the law of God has released its claim upon us. The law of God looks on your soul, redeemed by blood, and says, I can't help you. The law of God looks on God further, and the law of God says, it's right, and it's just, and it's good, that Don Fortner should enter into glory with God himself, because Don Fortner has no sin and is perfectly righteous. That's what the law says. The law of God declares me to be righteous, for God has made me to be righteous in Christ.

These things were accomplished immediately when Christ was made to be sin. Other things were guaranteed. The death of Christ guarantees that every believer will be made perfectly righteous. Righteousness imputed to him, righteousness imparted to him, and at last entering into the glorious state of perfect righteousness in heaven. The death of Christ guarantees the eternal salvation of God's elect. Those for whom Christ died can never die. And the death of Christ guarantees that every soul for whom he died shall at last enter into heaven with him. I love that hymn by Toplady, complete atonement thou hast made.

And to the utmost farthing paid, what e'er thy people owed, nor can God's wrath on me take place, if sheltered in thy righteousness and sprinkled with thy blood, if thou hast my discharge procured, and freely in my womb endured the whole of wrath divine, payment God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again at mine.

One more question I have to ask. I read this text. He hath made him to be sin for us, and I say why. Now you can search this book from cover to cover, and you can search the universe from the beginning to the end of time, and you will find no answer to that question but this, God commendeth his love toward us. And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Herein is love. He loved me. He loved me and gave himself for me. Oh, may God now give you eyes of faith to behold him and to believe him.

If you believe him, if you believe him, I don't care who you are. It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter what sin torments your conscience. Will you listen to me? If you believe Jesus Christ, He has put away your sin forever. And in Christ, the harlot and the whoremonger and the virtuous woman and the virtuous man meet together, sinners saved by grace, accepted him to be loved, made perfectly holy. Perfectly holy. I spent my life in rebellion to God, bringing shame and reproach on myself and everyone who had any contact with me. And I deserve, I deserve the horrible blackness of hell forever. But now washed in Christ's blood and robed in his righteousness, I stand before God as holy as his own son. And if you trust him, if you trust him, I don't care what you've been or what you are, you stand before God as holy as his son. That's because he hath made him to be sin for us. Amen.

He Hath Made Him To Be Sin For Us

What does the Bible say about Christ being made sin for us?

How do we know the doctrine of substitution is true?

Why is the concept of Christ's substitution important for Christians?

What is the result of Christ being made sin for us?

Who did God make Christ to be sin for?

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He Hath Made Him To Be Sin For Us

What does the Bible say about Christ being made sin for us?

How do we know the doctrine of substitution is true?

Why is the concept of Christ's substitution important for Christians?

What is the result of Christ being made sin for us?

Who did God make Christ to be sin for?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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