Christ Took Our Sin
11 November 2018 AM – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – Salvation – Scott Childs
Introduction: Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Christ became sin for us. A small boy had been consistently late for dinner. One particular day his parents had warned him to be on time, but he arrived later than ever. He found his parents already seated at the table, about to start eating. Quickly he sat at his place, then noticed what was set before him; a slice of bread and a glass of water. There was silence as he sat staring at his plate, crushed. Suddenly he saw his father’s hand reach over, pick up his plate and set it before himself. Then his dad put his own full plate in front of his son, smiling warmly as he made the exchange. When the boy became a man, he said, “All my life I’ve known what God was like [when] my father substituted his plate for mine that night.” (Taken from Homemade, May, 1989)
Transition: Our text this morning reveals three awesome facts about God’s plan of salvation which we need to understand.
The first fact in this verse about God’s plan of salvation is that …
1. Christ Never Experienced Sin
a. Christ knew no sin.
1) The word “know” is a word that means to come to know by experience.
2) Though Christ lived in a human body, He was God. Because He is God, He cannot sin because of His divine nature.
3) While on earth, Jesus Christ was tempted in all the ways we are tempted. He was tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, yet He never sinned. He never experienced sin.
a) (Hebrews 4:15) “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
b) (1 Peter 2:22) “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”
c) (1 John 3:5) “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
b. Christ’s sinlessness qualified Him to be our substitute.
1) God is holy and cannot allow sin in His presence. If I only sinned ONE sin in my entire life, I would still not be able to enter God’s presence in heaven.
2) The human struggle with sin all started in the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned. We acquired his sin nature and we all sin. (Romans 5:12) “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:”
3) God clearly tells us that our sin condemns us. (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death [eternal death]; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
4) If Christ had sinned even once, He would be a sinner in need of paying for His own sin.
5) Because Christ was sinless, He was able to die for the sins of others. Because He is eternal, somehow He was able to die an eternal death for all mankind. That was His very mission on earth.
a) (Luke 19:10) “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
b) (1 Timothy 1:15) “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
The second fact in this verse about God’s plan of salvation is that …
2. Christ Acquired Sin on Our Behalf
a. Look again at our text (2Co 5:21)
1) We read, “For he hath made him to be sin for us.”
2) The word “made” here simply means to acquire. Note carefully that it does not say that he sinned for us. The word “sin” is a noun not a verb. Christ acquired our sin.
a) (1 Peter 2:24) “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
b) The chorus of the hymn “Why?” (p. 122) describes this well. “All my iniquities on Him were laid – He nailed them all to the tree. Jesus the debt of my sin fully paid – He paid the ransom for me.”
b. Christ became our substitute
1) Because He was the eternal, holy God, He was able to die in our place to pay for our sins.
a) (1 Corinthians 15:3) “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
b) (Romans 4:25) “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
2) Christ did not say, “I will die for humans when they stop sinning”. He died for us while we were yet sinners.
a) (Romans 5:6-8) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
b) (1 Peter 3:18) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
3) Christ died for every sinner who ever lived, though He knew that many would reject what He did for them.
a) (2 Corinthians 5:15) “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
b) (1 Timothy 2:6) “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
c) (1 John 2:2) “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
The third fact in this verse about God’s plan of salvation is that …
3. Christ’s Act Enables Believers to Become Righteous
a. Christ’s death had a twofold purpose
1) His death enables us escape eternal death in hell as we have just noted.
2) His death also offers us God’s righteousness. He offers you and me His righteousness. To do so, He paid for our sins, He forgives our sins, and He gives us His righteousness.
a) (2 Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
b) (Romans 3:22-24) “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”
c) (Romans 10:4) “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
b. Now, note the phrase, “we might be made”
1) The word “might” tells us that the verb is subjunctive. In other words, the action is available if certain requirements are met.
2) Christ’s death for the human race did not automatically cleanse the entire human race as some falsely teach.
3) Instead, His substitutionary death for the human race offers payment for sin and God’s righteousness to all who receive it. It is a genuine possibility but not an automatic reality.
4) Last week in Acts 16:31, we learned that to be saved we must believe on Christ. We must place our trust in Christ’s substitutionary payment for our sins. Christ took all of your sin upon Him in order to rescue you from hell and give you God’s righteousness, but you must place your trust in Him.
Conclusion: Christ, the sinless Son of God acquired your sin, paid its full debt for you, and now offers you His righteousness. Have you repented and placed your faith in Christ’s payment to receive that priceless gift? If not, God’s invitation is open to you. I urge you to receive it.
If you have already received Christ, are you living to honour Him for all He has done for you? If you have sinned, confess that sin.
Song: Why? 122