 So our text this morning is 2 Corinthians chapter 5 versus 20 and 21. The title of our sermon, So Great a Salvation. So Great a Salvation. We're in part two looking at this brief text, but what a glorious text of Scripture. So Great a Salvation. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 versus 20 and 21. We have been, as we've talked about last Lord's Day, we've been placed in a glorious and astonishing and unimaginable position of grace, chosen before the foundation of the world, undeserving sinners saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God has secured that salvation, has secured those blessings for us, for his people in the most glorious, the most astonishing and the most unimaginable of ways. He has made himself of no reputation. He took the form of a slave, God the Son came in the likeness of men being found in appearance as a man. He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So Great a Salvation. And then Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, has led us to consider this Great Salvation in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 20 and 21. And he leads us there to consider this Great Salvation in terms of point one on your notes, our Great Commission in verse 20, and secondly, in terms of the Great Exchange in verse 21. So in verse 20, last Lord's Day, we considered point one our Great Commission where Paul says in verse 20, now then, now then, having been reconciled by God, having been reconciled to himself, we are ambassadors for Christ, Paul says, as though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. We are then ambassadors for Christ, the gospel of the blessed God committed to our trust, a matchless and incalculable treasure deposited in earthen vessels. If you say that you're in Christ, then you've been delivered, you've been saved to a ministry. You've been saved, you've been reconciled to the ministry of reconciliation. You've been given, you've been entrusted with the word of reconciliation. You have a responsibility before God with the gospel. Paul says in Romans 1, that I've been made a debtor. I'm a debtor to both Jews and Greeks with the gospel. Considering our Great Commission as ambassadors for Christ, we look last week through verse 20 at the reason for our commission, our role in that commission, and our responsibility to it. One, the reason that we are ambassadors comes from verses 18 and 19. God has reconciled us to himself, and God in reconciling us to himself is committed to us the word of reconciliation. Secondly, our role as ambassadors involves us speaking His words. We don't get to invent the message. We don't get to corrupt the message, pervert the message, change the message. We don't get to alter the message. Our role as His ambassadors involves us speaking His words, proclaiming His gospel, bringing Him in what is here a foreign land, the kingdom of darkness, and our responsibility to Him, our Lord and Savior. Thirdly, we are ambassadors for Christ. We implore people on His behalf. Our responsibility is to Him. Now as His ambassadors, to remind us from verse 20, we have to be faithful to concern ourselves with His words, the content of His message, and we have to concern ourselves to be faithful with how that message is to be proclaimed. And so then, considered from verse 20, we looked at both the manner of an ambassador and the message of an ambassador. For the sake of Christ, as though God were pleading, urging, earnestly striving through us, we implore, we beg sinners to turn in repentance and faith and be reconciled to God. God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry, the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. That is a great commission, a great commission. Next, being the recipients of such glorious grace themselves, and then blessed to such lofty heights as to be called an ambassador for Christ, you would expect God's people to have a glorious message proclaimed, right? As would be expected, they have a glorious message to preach. Secondly, the great exchange, the great exchange. This is the glorious means through which God reconciled us to Himself and then commits to us the ministry of reconciliation. We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. Verse 21, for He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Verse 21, Paul explains what is the great exchange, a great exchange. In salvation, there is a gracious exchange, a merciful exchange that takes place between the sinless Son of God and sinful, wretched man through Adam's fall into sin, in the garden. Sin enter the world, Paul says, and death through sin. Paul says in Romans chapter 6 verse 12, that then death spreads to all men, because all men sin. Do you see that? David says, the wicked, and that includes everyone outside of Christ. If you have not turned from your sin to put faith and trust in Christ, the Bible calls you wicked. Outside of Christ, the wicked, the Bible says, are estranged from the womb. At your birth, you are estranged from God, tainted by original sin, sinful by nature in Adam. David says, the wicked are estranged from the womb. Those who speak lies go astray from their birth. The Bible would characterize you as a liar. Do we accept that diagnosis of our condition? If you're sitting here this morning and already in your mind, you're arguing over the fact that you are a sinner in need of grace, you don't understand what the Bible says about our condition. You don't understand your sin. The Bible says that we are wicked estranged from the womb. The thoughts and intents of bent hearts only evil continually apart from Christ. There's no one the Bible says who does not sin. We have all turned everyone to his own way. You and I, we together, have become unprofitable. That is the damning diagnosis of men apart from the salvation of God in Christ. The tragic and inevitable end of man is death. The tragic, inevitable, inexorable destiny of man is hell, torment, forever apart from Christ, apart from God. The Bible says cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. In other words, when you break God's law, to break one point in God's law is to break it all. It's to be a law breaker. And you are cursed by the law, condemned to die by the law of God. We as sinners, by nature, children of wrath, we face the effects of the curse in this life which then ends in death. We face the torments of the curse in hell in the next life, torments which never end. It is the perfect justice that the holy law of God demands for those who sin against our holy God. It's the question of the ages, right? What must sinful man do to be right with a holy God? How can we who have sinned and rebelled against him be made right with him? How can we go to heaven when we die? How can we be there with him when we're sinful? The law says that the one who does not abide by all things written in it to do it will die. The soul that sinned, it will surely die. Yet there are those today that think it's just somehow going to work out okay in the end. Right? At some point I'm just going to ask God for forgiveness. God forgives us what God does. God loves. That's what God does. God is love. The Bible says yes. But the God is also just and God is holy. God has made one provision for sin and sweeping your sin under the rug is not it. God has made one provision for sin. Turning a blind eye to it is not it. If you imagine it somehow you'll stand before God one day and it's just going to all work out in the end. Is somehow your good works or going to outweigh your bad works? Listen, that's not how it works. God has made provision for sin and it's that one provision that he offers to you today in verse 21 through the preaching of the gospel. But God, Paul says, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses he made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and he has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus not apart from Christ Jesus in no way no form no fashion in no means whatsoever by your works not by works of righteousness which you have done but in Christ Jesus though we are sinners deserving of death and when you think to pray acknowledge before God that that's the case Lord because of my sin I know I deserve to die but praise be to God that because of your grace because of your mercy because of the great love with which you showed us in Christ we can be reconciled to you to fight our sin and our sin can be placed upon him that he will bear it in our place and if we turn from our sin and entrust ourselves to him we can be saved though we are sinners deserving of death this is the grace and mercy shown to sinners in the gospel let the wicked forsake his way let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts let him turn to the Lord but the Lord will have mercy on him but in turn to our God for him abundantly pardon second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 in an amazing economy of words describes how God accomplishes this great salvation and this is critical to understand it is critical to know how does God remain himself just and yet justify the wicked many believe that when they stand before God in judgment that he will simply forgive them all their sin on the basis of his love they don't think they don't remember that God is holy and that God is just and that according to his inviolable word he will he must punish all sin in the cause of his perfect justice God's wrath is a function of his holiness because he is holy he hates sin and will pour out wrath upon the sinner they don't think that God is holy and just they don't think that God's perfect wrath and anger against all sin is the function of that holiness and that wrath God's wrath God's perfect wrath is an appropriate response to offenses against his holiness the soul that sins it shall surely die mercy the mercy of God will not be given at the expense of God's judgment at the expense of God's justice grace will not be given at the expense of God's holiness God's righteousness love is not shown or given or demonstrated to the expense of his righteousness so how is it then that God can be both just and the justifier of wicked hell-deserving sinners how is it that his righteous demand for justice is fulfilled for those he those he saves how is it that he forgives sin without sweeping it under the rug without turning a blind eye to it and violating his own law how can a sinful man be right with a holy God verse 21 answers those questions for us right in the gracious and merciful provision the loving provision that God has made for our sin and that provision comes only through the person and work of his only begotten son the Lord Jesus Christ there is only this one provision the Lord Jesus Christ is your only hope apart from Christ it will not work in the end apart from Christ you will not be saved apart from Christ you will not escape the wrath of God apart from this one provision you can have no hope nor is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved our text verse 21 explains this one way of salvation in terms of the great exchange the great exchange first in our text it explains what God made him for us what God made him for us to it explains what God made us in him you see the exchange point one what God made him for us point to what God made us in him let's consider that first point in verse 21 what God made him for us here Paul says verse 21 for he God made him Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us all believers God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so initially verse 21 I want you to see that God is the one who initiates or decrees this plan of salvation God is the one who decrees it he is the one who sends Christ into the world he is the one who secures salvation for his people through the sacrifice of his own son in other words it's all of grace it's all of grace it's not initiated by you it's not initiated by your work it's not initiated by you seeking after God this was initiated by God when does the Bible say that that took place before the foundation of the world from eternity past in other words all of grace it is impossible for sinners to reconcile themselves to God by their own effort it is impossible if you think that somehow I'm gonna go to church I'm gonna clean my life up I'm gonna go to church so that God will see me in a positive light outside of Christ there is no hope of God seeing you in a positive light you are filthy the Bible says your righteousness is are as filthy rags if your so-called good works are as filthy rags then what does that mean that your sin is to God apart from his one provision you cannot cleanse yourself you cannot clean up your acts God has to do it for you the only solvent that will cleanse your sin is the blood of Christ sinners cannot reconcile themselves to God by their own effort the Catholic is never reconciled to God through the sacraments if someone can be reconciled to God through sacraments then why do Christ die the Muslim is never reconciled to God through the pillars of Islam the Jew is never reconciled to God through the law Paul says they stumbled at the rock of offense they stumbled at the stumbling stone believing that they could attain a righteousness which is from the law they are blinded those in the Church of Christ are not reconciled to God through their baptism it's not by works of righteousness which we have done Mormons are not reconciled to God through their works men are not reconciled to God through a decision of their will the one who is living an unrepentant sin will not be reconciled in spite of it salvation is not of him who will salvation is not of him who runs but of God who shows mercy and we are justified by God freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus but God does this because of love because of love God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us sent his son he sent his son into the world God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us working as Christ does that voluntarily right he lays down his life for his sheep in verse 21 Paul defines this loving saving redeeming reconciling work of God in Christ in terms of two terms that I want you to understand this morning substitution and imputation substitution and imputation imagine if you will with me a divine ledger in the courtroom of heaven you seen the ledger before right debts and assets maybe you're familiar with that imagine a divine ledger in the courtroom of heaven on one side of the ledger is all your sin right your name written to the top and a list of all your sin a list of all your debts do your sin that list is vast if you think about it from the time of your birth every sinful thought every sinful word every blasphemous word every blasphemous thought every sinful action every argument with your wife every bit of anger toward your husband every disobedience young man young woman young girl young boy vast innumerable stretching into the heavens a stench in God's nostrils this almost says unpayable because the debt is so vast it is unpayable you're standing before the judgment bar of God's justice and you're there to settle accounts with him and you have that ledger to contend with you can't pay you have no means for which to pay you are a sinner you have unimaginable debt a vast innumerable debt but then you look at the ledger the divine ledger in the courtroom of heaven and on the other side of the ledger on the other side of the ledger you see all the righteousness of Christ all the merits of Christ his perfect sinless obedience his infinite merit his perfect life his obedience to the point of death even the death of the cross and his ledger is infinitely greater than yours far above yours stretching into the heavens into the very throne room of God through imputation through imputation he who knew no sin takes responsibility for the debt that is yours for the debt that is on your side of the ledger he's made accountable for your sin your sin is credited to him your side of the ledger is given to him he takes responsibility for it through imputation he then credits to your account your side of the ledger what is rightfully and only his his merit his righteousness his perfect obedience it's as if at the top of that ledger your name on the one column is erased and his is written there it's as if on the other side of the column your name is written there through substitution Lord Jesus Christ then stands in our place with our ledger as guilty Lord Jesus Christ condemned to die cursed our verdict is rendered against him he is sentenced in our place and he bears the punishment do our sin in order to save us God does to him what God must do to deal effectively and fully and finally with sin verse 21 for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us this is where mercy and justice meet do you see mercy and justice in this great exchange so we consider what God made him for us note first with me the person in substitution the person in substitution verse 21 for he made him Lord Jesus Christ him who knew no sin he made him to be sin for us so God knowing us to be hopelessly lost by reason of our sin he has taken our sin and he laid upon it laid it upon his only begotten son making him who knew no sin to be sin for us but the only way that this would be possible is if the one in substitution doesn't have his own debt to pay right if the one standing in your place the one taking responsibility for your ledger doesn't have his own sinful ledger to contend with right the only way that this would be possible is if the one in substitution was himself sinless what could any sinner do except bear the wrath of his own sin if that were the case suffer the penalty do his own transgression of God's law christ perfectly fulfill the law of God in every way and he could stand as the substitute for his people because he had no sin of his own you imagine christ right from a child growing up no sinful thought no sinful word no sinful deed no sinful actions but not only were there no sins of commission there were no sins of omission when the bible commands us to love the lord our god with all our heart all our soul all our mind all our strength we continuously fail to obey that command the greatest of commandments and we're commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves we continuously fail to obey that command not the lord jesus christ in every way imaginable loved the lord his god with all his heart soul mind and strength and his neighbor as himself no sin christ is described here in verse 21 is literally the one not knowing sin having no acquaintance at all with it not even a shadow not a hit or a trace of sin this virgin said this of us if we do what is right in itself still we usually mar our work upon the wheel either in the motive or in the manner of doing it or by the self-satisfaction with which we view it when it's done we come short of the glory of god in some respect or other we forget to do what we ought to do or doing it we are guilty of luke warmness guilty of self-reliance unbelief or some other grievous error it was not so with our divine redeemer you cannot say there was any feature deficient in his perfect beauty lord jesus christ perfect the sacrificial lamb of god without spot or bluntness who takes away the sin of the world he was the only one who could the only one who could additionally now the only way that this substitution would be possible is if the one in substitution was himself flesh and blood like you and i call said in glacial shepherd 4 verse 4 when the fullness of the time had come god sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law for what purpose to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons kibri shepherd 2 verse 14 in as much then as the children have for taking a flesh and blood he himself likewise shared in the same so that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage again in verse 17 he says in all things jesus christ had to be made like his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to god in order to make propitiation for the sins of his people tempted in all ways as we are and yet without sin so by incarnation then by the taking on a flesh god himself would be manifested the eternal word as john says became flesh and tabernacled among us he became a partaker of our humanity fully god fully man bone of our bone flesh of our flesh however born of a virgin without the stain of original sin for many who challenge the virgin birth apart from the virgin birth birth there isn't a sinless savior born of a virgin without the stain of original sin and living an entirely sinless life lord jesus christ sent into the world to save sinners he had to be born into the law in order to fulfill the law in my place in your place if you're in christ from cradle to cross not one stumble into sin not one violation of god's holy law he secured the very righteousness that you and i must have to be right reconciled to god and no other righteousness will do he alone could ask of the Pharisees which of you convicts me of sin they were watching him right meticulously watching him which of you convicts me of sin they lined up false witnesses at his trial bribed him and could not establish a viable charge against him pilot grappled at his trial a kangaroo court and he said i find no fault in the man the centurion at his crucifixion surely this man was innocent and went by the grace of god that you and i come to our senses in the far country when we become sickened with where we are when we become disgusted with a pig's slop of this wicked world that we're eating and sucking down when you become sickened with your own rebellion you consider the blessings at home with the father and you turn to him it will be the white robe of christ's own righteousness woven thread upon thread with his perfect obedience that the lord will drape around your shoulders when you come all praise honoring lory to the person in substitution amen the lord jesus christ our perfect substitute note next with me then verse 21 the plan of substitution the plan of substitution for he made him christ the person in substitution he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us the plan the decree from eternity past would be that jesus christ god the son would be made sin for us that statement doesn't mean that christ was made a sinner christ didn't become a sinner his sinlessness is well established unquestionably established in the bible so what does it mean then that god the father in order to save a people to himself would make him sin for us what it means is that for all those who would believe in him he was made as if he had committed that sin the sins of god's people were imputed there's that word again right credited to him and he was legally declared to be guilty in our place not only declared to be guilty he was then treated as guilty so identified with our sin the words literally convey that he was made sin for us paracious bonar said as if no words could fully express the closeness of his connection with our transgressions you can sense the reality of this identification this plan of substitution from isaia 53 turn to isaia 53 with me isaia 53 he became identified with our sin our sins imputed to him he was legally forensically declared to be guilty on our behalf that's for those that put their faith and trust in the lord jesus christ in turn from their sin isaia chapter 53 look beginning at verse four verse four surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by god and afflicted he was wounded for our transgressions you hear the language of substitution don't you he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all his imputation the lord credits our transgression to him we talked about that last week is that the the imputation of everyone's sin to christ no if everyone's iniquity was not credited to them if everyone's iniquity was imputed to christ then there would be no one who goes to hell that's not what the bible teaches right it's the iniquity the sin of his people the sin of those that would put their faith and trust in jesus christ alone it's their sin imputed to credited to laid upon him verse seven he was oppressed he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he was led as a lamb to the slaughter to sacrificial lamb as the priest in the temple would take his hand and set his hand upon the head of the lamb and then slit the lamb's throat spilling his blood the lord jesus christ being led as a lamb to the sacrificial slaughter as a sheep before it shears his silence so he opened not his mouth verse eight he was taken from prison and from judgment who will declare his generation for he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people god says he was stricken for the transgressions of the world no for the transgressions of my people they made his grave with the wicked verse nine but with the rich at his death because he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth yet it pleased the lord to bruise him he the lord has put him to grief when you make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his see he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his hand he shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied by his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many for he shall bear their iniquities it's a language of invitation a language of substitution therefore verse 12 i will divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors transgressors he was made noah's drunkenness he was made moses's murder he was made rahab's harlotry he was made david's adultery he was made peters denial he was made paul's persecution he was made your denial he was made your neglect he was made all your sinful words all your sinful thoughts he was made all your sinful actions he was made your polluted emotions he was made your spoiled corrupt affections he was made your wicked desires your fallen feelings he was made your corrupt will he was made your defiled conscience he was made your defiled depraved intellect he was made your selfish dreams he was made your corrupted worldview the sinful energy that you consume on your own lust he was made your wasted time he was made your prideful ambition your worldly goals your neglect of him the sins of your tongue the sins of your mind the sins of your members all this he bears upon himself surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows wounded for our transgressions bruised for our iniquity he takes it upon himself such that david would praise god in Psalm 32 saying blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven you see your sin my sin is not swept under the rug behold the one in substitution behold him who stood in the place of sinners if you claim the name of christ then behold him who stood in your place to bear your sin blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit isa would worship god saying you have cast all my sins behind your back the prophet mica would say who is the god like you who is the god like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage you cast all our sins into the depths of the sea the bible says that our sins are as if hidden behind a thick cloud that god remembers them no more well how is it that god says he doesn't remember them how is it that they're cast into the sea how is it that our sins are cast behind god's back they're cast behind god's back because they were first cast upon his son and his son in your place his son in my place our sins cast upon him apart from this plan of substitution god would be found to be unjust to simply forget our sin would violate his holy character violate his holy law it's the same thing as the unjust judge that we all know and understand by the unjust judge that like the criminal go free proverbs chapter 17 verse 15 he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just both of them alike are an abomination to the lord listen to that again he who justifies the wicked he who condemns the just in other words an unjust judge he who justifies the wicked he who condemns the just both of them alike are an abomination to the lord how is it that god upholds his justice how is it that god upholds his righteousness in justifying wicked sinners like you and me how is it he does it through representation the lord jesus christ my substitute the lord jesus christ my righteousness he does it through imputation he does it through a deliverance a salvation that comes from outside of myself christ my substitute christ my righteousness the benefits and blessings of his work apply to me through faith his work applied to those who savingly believe consider that with me for a moment right applied through faith applied to those who savingly believe is that merely intellectual scent you know i believe in jesus christ so therefore i claim for myself forgiveness of sins the lord's righteousness imputed to me now i'm right in god's sight i've been reconciled to him forever and ever amen i can go out live however i want to live no if you simply intellectually is sent to the fact about jesus i believe in jesus what makes your faith any different than that of demons even the demons believe and tremble james says what makes your faith your believe your ascent so to speak what makes it any different than that of the demons they believe they know god's word better than you do they've seen him they observed his miracles they heard him preach saving faith is an entrustment of all that you are to all that he is saving faith is a repentant faith a turning from sin saving faith is a gift of god and it bears the fruit of the spirit of god saving faith is life transformation saving faith eventuates produces obedient from the life of the christian it produces fruit and you can be certain that without fruit your faith james also says is dead your faith is dead no better than that so-called faith of a demon now god proves all of this he proves that the lord's sacrifice the lord's suffering his substitution are on our behalf and it was all effective he proved this by raising him from the dead raising him from the dead there is no hope there is no salvation there is no future there is no refuge there is no escape there is no comfort there is no acquittal in any but in this truth alone that god made his sinless son to be sin for us that he bore our sin into the tempest of the judgment of almighty god where upon him sin was fully and finally dealt with so that his own could be delivered we look at the person in substitution who is the plan of substitution know with me next the place of substitution place of substitution having become sin for us the lord jesus christ bears our sin on the cross peter says in first peter chapter 2 verse 24 he himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed his humiliation began at the incarnation one said he was treated as a center from his cradle to his cross a vicarious life and a vicarious death a man of sorrows acquainted with grief being led all his life as a lamb to the slaughter however that humiliation that began at the incarnation ends at the place where he atones for sin through his own death the place where he bears the wrath of god it was reserved for us and makes propitiation satisfies the wrath of god for his own people all that takes place at calvary it's the place where god spared not his only begotten son but delivered him up for us all on calvary christ died the death that sinners deserve to die by the hand of the father if you want to know how god views sin look at what god the father did to his own son on the cross look at what it took to secure our redemption and you'll not think lightly of sin you'll not think lightly of your sin you'll not think lightly of any sin act chapter 4 verse 21 or 27 says that harrid conscious pilot those wicked men with the gentiles and the people of israel were all gathered together to do whatever god's hand and and whatever god's purpose determined before to be done the place of substitution is where christ as hebrew 2 puts it for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of god might taste death for everyone you want to meditate on just how badly we need second corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 meditate on the cross of christ but we need this the cross displays an awful wonder god's hatred for sin and the cross displays an awesome wonder god's mercy on sinners a cup of wrath reserved for sinners poured out on christ our substitute at the place of substitution at the cross psalm 75 verse 7 the psalmist says this god is the judge he puts down one and he exalts another for in the hand of the lord there is a cup and the wine is red it is fully mixed and he pours it out surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth drain and drink down this is the same cup that the lord agonizes over in the garden of gestemini before his crucifixion mark chapter 14 verse 36 the lord cries out abba father all things are possible for you take this cup away from me nevertheless not what i will but what you will think about the suffering of lord jesus christ in his agony in the garden there have been many martyrs in history who have gone to the stake rejoicing that they would die be counted worthy to die for the cause of christ singing hymns courageous and here the son in the garden agonizing prior to his crucifixion his suffering was not due to the rejection of his own people his suffering wasn't an anguish over the betrayal of judas his suffering or his agony wasn't concerned foremost with the physical pain that he was about to endure he had foreknowledge of all of these things and faced it as others have faced it many of the martyrs faced this kind of death lord jesus christ in the garden of gestemini agonizes over the cup over the cup of god's wrath poured out upon him in the place of substitution it was the cup for wicked sinners that he would drink to the dregs that which christ agonized over our sin your sin my sin god's wrath poured out upon him for it lastly consider with me the purpose then consider the person in substitution the plan of substitution the place of substitution lastly consider the purpose of substitution verse 21 again 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of god in him that we might become the righteousness of god in him in point one this morning we consider the first half of the great exchange what god made him for us he made him who knew no sin to be sinned for us point two on your notes let's consider together what god made us in him the greek word or so that there in the very middle of verse 21 communicates a purpose or he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of god in him the purpose of god imputing or crediting the sins of his people to christ is so that they become righteous in him with the very righteousness of god as paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 9 they are found in him not having their own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is credited to them through faith in christ the righteousness which is from god by faith consider first with me the righteousness of substitution from verse 21 the righteousness of substitution it is the righteousness of god there in verse 21 we are unrighteous that fact clearly established throughout scripture and throughout your own experience my own experience right we are unrighteous however in christ we don't merely become righteous we become the righteousness of god in him it's again it goes back to that great exchange on the divine ledger in the heavens it's not simply that our sin is wiped away simply cast behind his back and into the sea it's that all that is on his side of the ledger is then given credited imputed to us everything on his side of the ledger is moved to our side of the ledger such that when a sinner turns from their sin and entrust themselves to christ the righteous one christ the righteous when they do that in faith they become the righteousness of god in him we are found in him as paul said recognized as one with him in righteousness in the sight of god co-heirs now with christ as he is john says so are we in this world this standing right that astonishing position is one for us through his substitution through his perfect life through his atoning death when we place our faith in christ we are legally declared to be right with god and he treated us as right with him even when we sin declared to be right with god it's not if you sin but when you sin right when you sin you have an advocate with the father jesus christ the righteous and if you confess your sins he is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and to cleanse you from your iniquity even when we sin in christ we are justified before god we are seen in the robes of christ's righteousness treated as right because god has declared that it is so in him and it is god's own righteousness his own righteousness his own perfect righteousness you can see god's commitment to his own righteousness right when you see the death of his son on the cross when you look at the cross you can see god's commitment to his own righteousness his own holiness and it's that holiness that righteousness that is credited to his people in christ when god is holy but wrath and mercy meet in christ our righteousness because of substitution because of imputation we are treated as seen as righteous in a forensic sense in a legal sense as if we had lived the perfect life that christ lived we are complete in him accepted in the beloved and all that is possible because he took our sin upon himself as if he had lived our sin as if he had committed our life of sin and in him we are justified as they are 61 10 i will greatly rejoice in the lord my soul shall be joyful in my god for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation he has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bride groom decks himself with ornaments as a bride adorns herself with her jewels you can see can't you how God's righteousness the righteousness that is one for his people in christ condemns repudiates rebukes reproves every attempt to be justified by our works if you think to yourself right i'm going to do this thing over here and i'm going to earn favor with god that is an abomination in the sight of god it's something you would do we're earned favor with god when the blood of his own sin when the blood of his own son is what purchased the righteousness that we needed it condemns every attempt to be justified by works we cannot be justified by our works Ezekiel in Ezekiel 16 compares the helpless sinner to an abandoned newborn baby in a field on the ground kicking writhing about in his blood naked crying starving unwashed the umbilical cord not even cut the sinner outside of christ is described that way doesn't john say you think you're rich you think you have need of nothing but you don't know that you are poor miserable blind and naked that helplessness right the baby in a field kicking about in his blood naked pictures the state that we are in outside of christ apart from christ our righteousness we have nothing everything in his life is fleeting it's going away it's going away apart from christ we have nothing unable to do anything in our helplessness that baby unable to do anything for himself and then the lord comes right in the Ezekiel 16 the lord comes and i passed by and i said to you in your blood i said to you live live i spread the corner of my garment over you covered your nakedness i entered into a covenant with you you became mine the lord says i bathed you with water i dressed you in fine linen covered you with costly garments i adorned you with jewelry put a beautiful crown on your head you were adorned with gold and silver your clothes were a fine linen costly fabric and embroidered cloth you became very beautiful your fame spread abroad among the nations on account of your beauty because of the splendor that i have given you to make your beauty perfect that's an illustration a picture of what the lord god does in christ to save his own he clothes us in righteousness he adorns us in christ the righteousness of substitution lastly the refuge of substitution our refuge verse 21 none of this happens apart from christ he made him who knew no sin to be sinned for us so that we might become the righteousness of god in him in him all right there is no refuge there is no escape there is no salvation apart from him how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation there's no grace in health no refuge no goodness no compassion no common grace at all there's nothing in hell that restrains sin sinners are utterly given over to the ravages of sin until they themselves become like the demons nothing hinders nothing restrains continual sin the blast furnace of god's wrath is continuously poured out upon them apart from christ we have nothing there is nothing except a fearful expectation of judgment now our god is a consuming fire you might think to yourself right um well i believe in christ i love the word jesus christ maybe you're here today and you're visiting with us this is something that you haven't heard maybe in the churches that you've gone to before maybe you've never heard don't deceive yourself jesus tells nicodemus unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of god you may say you love christ what is the fruit of that profession some people say i love christ i love his word they never read his word one old preacher said you could write the word damnation in the dust of their bible you say you love christ you have faith in christ but you bear no fruit you don't obey him you don't live as an ambassador of christ you don't preach the gospel you don't obey his commandments you lie you cheat you steal you commit adultery lord says to look at someone with lust in your heart is committed adultery with him in your heart to be angry about a just cause is murder the seed of murder in the heart you've broken god's laws and you continue to break what god's laws and the fact that considering today what the lord jesus christ has done you can break those laws with impunity without burying your head in your hands and weeping over the offense that that is to god bears testimony of the depravity of your own heart there is no refuge apart from him apart from christ all we do is neglect and reject and rebel against the salvation that he's provided in christ but god stands imploring you i implore you on his behalf be reconciled to god why will you live this vain life of futility and then die and perish eternally in hell turn to christ and live turn from your sin put your faith and trust in him follow him as lord submit to him as the lord the lord jesus christ says the one who loves me that's the one who keeps my commandments why do you call me lord and don't do the things that i say the one who says i know him but does not keep his commandments bible says is a liar the truth is not in him but we have glorious refuge in christ flee to him flee the wrath to come what a treasure right what a treasure for he made him who knew no sin to be sinned for us so that we sinners might become the righteousness of god in him paul says back in second printings chapter five that the fear of god compels him we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ therefore knowing the terror of the lord we persuade them paul says that it's christ's love for him displayed in this substitution that compels him and now then we are ambassadors because of these things the response of the christian is to say i no longer live for myself but for him who died for me and rose again the one who died in my place i'll praise honor and glory to the one who stands in the place of sinners amen i'll praise honor and glory to the one who stands as our righteousness