I invite your attention to 2
Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. My text will be found in verse
21. The message is titled, Made to be
Sin and Made to be Righteousness. Paul deals with both these truths
in this text, and as you locate the text, let me express my appreciation
for the kind invitation to be here, and Sandy and I are delighted
to be here again with you folks, and we pray the Lord will bless
us tonight as we've gathered here to worship his son, and
to study his word and hopefully to hear the gospel of his grace
in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I'll begin reading in verse number
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation. Old things have passed away,
Behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and has
given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses
to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God were beseeching through us. We implore
you, on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For God made him, this
is my text, for God made him who knew no sin, to be sin for
us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Two glorious subjects are here
before us tonight, made to be sin and made to be righteousness. Peter the apostle tells us in
his second epistle that Our brother and beloved brother Paul, according
to the wisdom given unto him, has written some things that
are hard to be understood. Peter said that. Peter attended the greatest seminary
this world has ever known, the seminary of Jesus. For three
years he walked with Jesus and sat at the feet of Jesus, was
taught of Jesus, and here is Peter saying, our beloved brother
Paul, he's written some things that are hard to be understood.
Of course, it was by the wisdom God gave to him, but God did
choose Paul. He was preeminently a gospel
preacher. On the other hand, he was the
theologian of the New Testament. It was Paul that God used to
explain many of the mysteries and the deeper truths of his
word. Some things hard to be understood. Some say our text is hard to
be understood. I believe it is quite easily
understood if you just take it at face value, but we'll try
to do that tonight. Just take this text at face value. I am convinced that Paul wrote
what he meant and meant what he wrote. Nothing more and nothing
less. He has made two tremendous statements. First, God made the sinless Christ
to be sin for us. And second, God did so so that
we might become or that we might be made God's righteousness in
Jesus Christ. Now take those words at face
value. The scripture does not say God
made Christ to be a sinner. And this scripture does not say
God made us to be righteous. Does not say that. This text
does not say God infused sin into Christ. This text does not
say God infuses righteousness into us. Some may say so. The text does not. This text
does not say God imparted sin to Christ. This text does not
say God imparts righteousness to us. Some may say so. This text does not. This text
does not say God imputed sin to Christ. This text does not
say God imputes righteousness to us. Some may say so, this
text does not. This text very clearly and very
plainly says that God made him who knew no sin to be sin for
us and then consequently that we might become God's righteousness
in Christ. Okay, that's beyond my pay scale. That is hard to understand, isn't
it? God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin. And God made me, who knew no
righteousness, to be God's own righteousness in Jesus Christ. Well, maybe Paul did write some
things hard to be understood. But I think we can understand
at least something about it. Christ was made to be sin. We
are we believers are made to be righteousness not righteous
righteousness God's righteousness That cannot be done by infusion
impartation or Imputation cannot be done When you infuse something
into something That one does not become what was infused into
him. When a physician infuses medicine
into a patient, the patient does not become the medicine. With regard to impartation, Paul
the apostle told the church, I imparted the gospel to you. When Paul imparted the gospel
to them, they were not changed into the gospel. They did not
become the gospel. With regard to imputation, it
only charges something to someone's account. If I charge $1,000 to
your account, impute it to you, you are not changed into $1,000. You only have $1,000 charged
to your account. So you may ask, what is Paul
here teaching? Paul is saying God made Christ
to be sin. God makes believers to be righteousness. Made. It's an interesting word. Appears with regard to the doctrine
of Jesus Christ will be read Jesus made water in the wine
same word Jesus made water in the wine One minute it's water
The next minute it is wine He made it how did he do it?
It's a miracle and How did he do it? I have no idea. It's a
miracle. How do you explain miracles?
Miracles are to be believed. They may not be understood, but
they are to be believed. He made the water wine, and by
the same token, God made Christ to be sin, and God makes believers
to become his own righteousness in Jesus Christ. cannot tell
you how it's done. I just know it is. God's word
says so. Paul wrote it. We're not told
how it is done. It's a miracle, and that is beyond
my pay scale. But I can tell you this. I can
tell you some results that came as a consequence God making Christ
to be seen and I can tell you the results of God making his
people to be his own righteousness in Jesus Christ Let's consider
What resulted from God making the sinless Christ to be sin
for us? three things first Jesus Christ
became What he was not before Paul here emphasizes, he made
him to be sin, but he knew no sin. And this is not the only
place where that sinlessness of Christ is shown. Elsewhere
we read, he committed no sin, and in him there is no sin. For
he is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, and
without sin. Jesus can speak to his enemies
and says, which of you convicts me of sin? None of you can. He says on another occasion,
even the devil has no cause in me. And the devil, who knew Jesus
Christ as well as anyone, could find no fault in Jesus Christ. God made him to be sin. But he
had none. But he had none. God made him
to be sinned. Who knew no sin? Judas Iscariot
probably knew him as well as any mortal, having wept with
Jesus for three years. And he said, I have sinned because
I betrayed innocent blood. Therefore, he was made to be
sinned. But he had no sin. I'm not sure I understand that,
but that is what the text says, is it not? Consider another consequence. First was, Jesus Christ became
what he was not before. But the second is, he was nevertheless
without sin. Sin never touched his divine
nature. He was made to be sin, but sin
never touched his divine nature. He had two natures. He had, of course, the divine
nature from all eternity. From all eternity being in the
form of God, he has the divine nature. In his humanity, he assumed
our human nature. When the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, when God was manifested in the flesh, he had
the two natures. He walks on this earth as the
God-man, having the divine nature and having the human nature,
and sin never touched his divine nature. Jehovah says I Will make his
soul an offering for sin He is saying I have made him to be
saying But I never asked will make his soul to be an offering
for sin For he is as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and
none can do that But a lamb that is without blemish and without
spot, and yet has the sin of God's people. When that lamb
was to be slain on that altar, he was brought before the priest.
The priest put his hand on the head of the lamb, a lamb spotless,
without blemish, a perfect specimen of a lamb. And by the putting
on of the hands, of the priest upon the head of that lamb. The
sins of the people were put into the lamb, placed upon its head,
transferred. And so it is with Jesus Christ,
a lamb without blemish and without spot. But even more than what
God did to that lamb in olden days, he made his son to be sin. And yet He is a Lamb without
blemish and without spot, the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world, for sin never touched His divine nature. Third, consequence. God treated
Christ as He treats sin. This is dreadful. God treated
Christ as he treats sin. There he is on his tree, on Calvary. God has made him to be sin. It is high noon. God has made his son to be sin. And the son cries out, my God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? My God, my God, were there ever
more dreadful words ever spoken? A wicked man had betrayed him.
Disciples had deserted him. His own countrymen did not warn
him. But the worst blow was when God
himself rejected him. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? He quoted from the 22nd Psalm. Why are you so far from hearing
the word of my groaning? My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? There's a good reason for it. God is a purer eyes than to behold
sin. And there it is on the tree.
This one who was holy, sinless, undefiled, and separate from
sinners, God made him to be sin, and then God turned his back.
Because God cannot look on sin. God cannot look on sin. And there
is sin. Sin has been put now before God's
eyes, and God turns his back. And the son cries out, my God,
my God. Why have you forsaken me? Because
God cannot look on sin, and Christ was sin. Not only did God forsake Christ,
God treated Christ as he treats sin for three hours. From high noon
until 3 p.m., God has clothed the world in darkness when the
sun refused to shine. There is a transaction now to
be done, and no eye is to see it. And for three hours, sin
is treated by God, and it is not pleasant. for three hours. The sins of all gods are left
upon Christ, and he has been made to be sin, and God punished
it for three hours. You want to know how God treats
sin? Look at him who is sin. Behold him who has been made
to be sin. That's how God deals with sin.
Forsakes those who are in it and punishes those who are it,
even if it is his own son. Were it not for the fact of that
sinless divine nature in him, God's wrath would have consumed
even Jesus Christ. But for three hours, he's punished
as God punishes sin. Until at last, he shouts in glorious
victory, it is finished. And I am no longer sin. Sin is finished. He has made an end of sin by
the sacrifice of himself. Sin is gone. The sin of God's
elect is no more, because him who was made to be sin has paid
it all. Every farthing of it and every
red cent, he has paid it all. God made him to be sin. He was
treated as sin was treated until he had finished all the treatment.
And now with those glorious words, it is finished. Sin is gone. He made an end of it. He made
an end of sin. Put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Consequently, God makes us to be his own righteousness
in Jesus Christ. Well, now there's something else
that's hard to understand. Preacher, don't you mean he makes
us to be righteous? No, no, no. The Scriptures do
not speak of God making us righteous. He declares us righteous in justification. But here, God says, they are
my righteousness. God's righteousness in Jesus
Christ. What resulted from that? Five
things. We become what we were not before. He knew no sin. God made him
to be sin. I knew no righteousness. God makes me to be his own righteousness
in Jesus Christ. We become what we were not before. We have sinned. We have been
unrighteous in every deed we ever performed, in every word
we ever uttered, in every thought we ever imagined. We have never
done a righteousness, anything that was righteous, none of us
ever has in our native condition, none of us. And yet God makes
us what we were not before. We who were on righteousness
have now become God's righteousness in Jesus Christ. Therefore, If
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed
away, and behold, all things have become new, and God has
done this to the glory of himself. We are new creations in Christ. We are God's righteousness in
Christ. That's glorious. Oh my soul,
that is so glorious. Consider, I am not what I was
before. I am God's own righteousness
in Jesus Christ. Second, we became righteousness,
but nevertheless have unrighteousness. Now you see, Christ had two natures,
has two natures. We have two natures. We believers
do. Christ had the divine nature. In his incarnation, he assumed
the human nature. We were born with the human nature,
but in our regeneration, we were given the divine nature. Peter says we have become partakers
of the divine nature. There are two natures in this
man. Two natures in every believer
in Jesus Christ. Both the human and the divine
and they are at war with each other. Read Romans chapter 7.
Paul speaks of that old nature in Romans 7, and he is a believer
when he writes that. And he's writing of the state
of any believer, speaking of the internal warfare that goes
on between the two natures, the divine and the human. The human
nature Paul calls the sin that dwells in me. The sin that dwells
in me. He says, it in me that is in
my flesh dwells no good thing, not a single solitary good thing
in my flesh, in my flesh, in my old nature. We have become
God's righteousness in Christ, but we still have the old nature
and still will have it till the day we die and it finally dies. Third. consequence of God making
us to be his own righteousness in Christ. We practice righteousness. It's our practice. You ask a physician, what's your
practice? Medicine. Ask a lawyer, what's
your practice? Law. Ask a Christian, what's
your practice? Righteousness. It is our practice. John says, he who practices righteousness
is righteous. It's our practice. We practice
righteousness. We did not before. We practice
righteousness. He who practices righteousness
is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. We are in Christ. We are therefore God's righteousness
in Christ. We therefore practice what we
are. God's righteousness in Christ
practices righteousness. It's our lifestyle. It's what
we do. It's how you spot believers from
unbelievers. Believers practice righteousness. Unrighteousness grieves them. They dread it. They wish they
could be done with it. Unbelievers love it, but we dread
it. We want to be not only righteous,
But we want to do what righteousness does. We are said to be slaves
of righteousness. We are filled with the fruits
of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ. We live for righteousness. These are the terms that are
used in scripture. We who are God's righteousness
in Jesus Christ, that's our practice. That's what we do. Fourth consequence. As Christ is, so are we in this
world, 1 John 4, 17. As Christ is, so are we in this
world. He who is our righteousness is
in heaven. We are his righteousness on this
earth. As Christ is, so are we in this
world. You should be able to spot a
child of God by the way he or she acts, by the way that he
or she talks. And if you could read his or
her mind, you would see righteousness in there as well. As he is, so
are we in this world. One more consequence of God making
us to be righteousness. No, his own righteousness in
Christ. One more consequence. Our name is now Jehovah, our
righteousness. That's our name. That is the
name of the church of Jesus Christ. Her name is Jehovah our righteousness
If you locate sometime Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 6 you'll find
these words, and this is Jehovah prophesying of the coming of
Christ He says this is the name By which he shall be called Jehovah
Tzitkanu, meaning the Lord our righteousness. Now consider Jeremiah
23 verse 6. This is the name by which he
shall be called, Jehovah Tzitkanu, the Lord our righteousness. But, but, When you go to Jeremiah
chapter 33, 10 chapters later, in Jeremiah 33, verse 16, you
find Jehovah speaking of his people, the church of Jesus Christ. And he makes this prophecy. And
this is the name by which she will be called Jehovah our righteousness Lord You can imagine Ezekiel
We read that the prophets search their own writings as do you
know did I write that I? Lord, are you sure you meant
for me to write that? Yes, just write it down exactly
like I said. Now can you imagine Jeremiah
here writes, Jehovah says, this is the name
by which she shall be called. Jehovah said, Cano, the Lord,
our righteousness. Lord, are you sure this is her
name? Yes, it is her name. But Lord,
just a little bit while ago, you said that is the name of
Messiah. Yeah, that's true. That's true.
But now you're saying that this is the name of his people. Yes,
that's true. Just write it down. How can this
be? Oh, I'll tell you why. Our union with Christ is so real
and so vital that we are what he is. We're his body. His body. So vital is our union with him. We're one body with him. Survival is our union with him. His name is our name. God has made us to be his own
righteousness in Christ, and therefore this is the name by
which she will be called Jehovah, our righteousness. Okay, Paul. You've written some
things that are hard to be understood, and I'm not sure that I understand
all these things, particularly the miraculous part. But I will
tell you this much. Those parts that I have been
blessed to understand, and I hope that tonight all of us can say,
God said this. God said this. We're going to
take these words at face value and we're going to rejoice in
it. That dreadful doctrine that God made him who knew no sin
to be sin for us. And this glorious doctrine that
we might become God's own righteousness in Jesus Christ. I rejoice in that. I rejoice in that. I rejoice in the God who has done such
a thing as this. I glory in it, and I pray that
we all can do so as well, rejoicing in the fact that for our salvation, God made Jesus Christ to be sin
for us, though he knew no sin, and that God makes us to be his
own righteousness in Jesus Christ. O God, our Father, what what awesome truths are
here before us. Help us to understand and give
us faith even when we do not understand. We pray that you
receive our thanksgiving for all that you've done for your
people through Jesus Christ. To whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen.