As we enter Easter, we want to centre our attention on the significance of Christ’s work of redemption for all of humanity. The Apostle Paul did the same thing for the church at Corinth in the first century. He reminded them of these three words, “Jesus became sin.”
These three words changed the course of history and not only history but eternity for all who choose to believe in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross that culminated in his resurrection power from the grave.
Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul said this to the Corinthian church about Jesus in 2 Corinthians 5:21:
“For our sake he made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God the Father made Jesus to be sin. The One who knew no sin, became sin. I can’t imagine living thirty-three years on this earth sinless. Can you imagine it? I can’t imagine living thirty-three minutes sinless much less thirty-three years. You and I do not possess this capacity for sinless living. But the One who did, Jesus, chose to give that up for you and me. That thought overwhelms me with hope, peace, joy, and floods me with the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus. There is no greater news than that Jesus did for us that which we could not do for ourselves.
Let me ask you this, “Do you owe a debt to Jesus you can’t pay?” The answer is, “Yes!”
You have a sin debt you can’t pay.
The Apostle Paul told the Romans in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” The penalty for your sin is eternal death. That’s the bad news! The Good News is Jesus paid it for you and offers you that free gift of eternal life.
Jesus who knew no sin became sin. You won’t find a better friend than Jesus. He laid down His life for you and me so we might live, again, forever. The most important decision every human being makes is what they will do with the free gift of salvation Jesus offers them through His finished work at Calvary.
Jesus paid a debt he didn’t owe, so we might live forever with Him. You and I have been bought with a price, the price of Jesus' blood on the cross, but the question is, “Will we glorify God with our lives?”
Jesus who knew no sin became sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God. Through Jesus, you get to become what you could have never become a part of Him. He became sin so you could become righteous.
What does it mean to be righteous? It means to be made right with God. It means to be seen as holy in God’s presence because of Christ’s sacrifice for you and your acceptance of that sacrifice of Him for your sin.
Jesus became sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
There is no better news!
The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10:9-10:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
The Apostle Paul then admonishes the Corinthians: once you have believed, don’t waste it. As a Pastor, I have watched so many people who claim the name of Jesus waste the grace of Jesus by returning to a life of disbelief and unconfessed sin. This great gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ becomes vain to their lives.
The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 6:1:
“Working together with Him (Jesus), then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
Are you wasting the miraculous, righteous work of Christ in your life because you have returned to your sin and refuse to talk to Jesus about it?
Maybe you are like me. You get tired of talking to Jesus about the same ole sins in your life.
But Jesus became sin so you could talk to Him confidently, continually, and consistently about how He can transform you from death to life not just eternal life but daily life in Him. Jesus never tires of you talking to Him about your sin. He wants to help you practically become the righteousness of God in your daily life.
Jesus became sin.
Jesus knows your sin already.
The distance between your sin and God’s righteousness is his presence manifested in your life through the confession of your sins to him.
John the Beloved said in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness.”
He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God through the confession of our sins to him.
All of us have sin in our lives we tire of confessing. But Jesus never tires of our confessions because he became sin so we could become righteous. Our lack of confession is an affront to Christ’s sacrifice for us. We have the chance to be free, but our pride combined with fatigue over our sinful selves hinders our greatest freedom in Christ. We are promised His righteousness if we confess.
Let’s get practical for a moment.
What specific sin in your life trips you up the most often?
The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 12:1 calls it, “the sin which clings so closely.” The King James version refers to it as the “sin that does so easily beset.” Do you know which sin clings the closest to you? I know what it is in my life. How many times have I talked to God about it? I tire of talking to Jesus about the sin that clings closely to me, but He never tires of my confession to Him about it. Matter a fact, He promises forgiveness and righteousness if we confess.
Are you wasting God’s grace in your life because you refuse to confess to Jesus the sin that clings closely to you? Are you fatigued by your own sinful self? Have you stopped believing God’s promise that He gives grace to the humble who confess?
Can I remind you of the three words that changed history and eternity?
Jesus became sin.
Now, can I remind you of the four words that will change your life?
Jesus became your sin.
Now can I remind you of the five words that will change every day of your life?
Confess your sins to Jesus.
Now can I remind you of the six words that will change your life now and the eternal life to come?
He is faithful to forgive you.
Jesus became sin. Will you continue to become His righteousness? Confession is the key to embrace the three words that changed history.
Here are the three words that will change your history, your present, and your future.
“Father, forgive me!”
And Jesus has. And Jesus does. And Jesus will! Because He became sin so you could become the righteousness of God. Forever.
Amen!
