Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Let me read our verse to you from the English Standard Version: "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
This might be one of the most important sentences ever written, and it describes for us what theologians call the great exchange. Here is the great exchange. There are two sides of it. First, we're told God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin. That doesn't mean that Jesus Christ became a sinner, but it does mean that on the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had committed every sin that you have committed.
Our Sin Put on Christ
Jesus took the wrath that your sin deserves. Our sin was imputed to Him, meaning it didn't belong to Him, but it was like credited to His account. That's one side of this great exchange. The other is so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. That means that God treats you now as if you have lived a perfect life, because the righteousness of Jesus has been imputed to you, though you didn't earn it, and it doesn't belong to you.
It has been credited to your account. Imagine—sort of scary to imagine—that you have this bank account, and this bank account somehow is billions of dollars in debt. You're in a ton of trouble. You're bankrupt and you're actually headed for prison. At that point, a king comes along, and that king takes all of your debt to his account, and he pays it in full.
His Righteousness Put on You
That's not all. Then he transfers his royal fortune to you. Friends, that is exactly what has happened on the cross. Your sin was put on Christ and His righteousness was put on you. It is the greatest exchange. R.C. Sproul said, "This is the heart of the Gospel. It is not that God just ignores our sin. It is that Christ took our sin and we received His righteousness. We are made right not by our works, but by the work of the One who knew no sin."
When Satan accuses you today—and he will—don't argue with him. Don't point to your own goodness. Rather, point to Christ. Point to the righteousness and goodness of Him that belongs to you by the cross.
