"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." — 2 Corinthians 5:21
You know, there's a quote from Martin Luther that's been rattling around in my head lately. He said, "Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on you what was mine; yet set on me what was yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not."
Now, preachers never say anything short, but Luther managed to capture the entire Gospel in one beautiful sentence. This is what theologians call "The Great Exchange," and friend, if you can wrap your heart around this truth, it'll change everything.
Here's what happened at the cross. Jesus, who never sinned, not even once, took on all of my sin, all of your sin, every dark thought, every harsh word, every broken promise, every failure. He became what He was not so that we could become what we were not. Think about that for a minute. The sinless Son of God became sin itself so that sinful people like you and me could become righteous before a holy God.
It's like the ultimate trade, except it was completely one-sided. I brought nothing to the table but my mess, my brokenness, my rebellion. And Jesus said, "I'll take that. And here, take my righteousness, my holiness, my perfect record before the Father."
Paul puts it this way in Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
See, this isn't just theological talk. This is the exchanged life. When you come to Christ, you give Him your sin and He gives you His righteousness and His life. You died with Him on that cross, but you also rose with Him. Now Christ lives in you, and the life you're living isn't really yours anymore. It's His life, lived through you, by faith.
I'm too soon old and too late smart to have figured this out on my own. But here's what I know now: I don't have to work up righteousness. I don't have to earn God's approval. Jesus already did that. He took my place on the cross, and when God looks at me, He sees Jesus' righteousness, not my failures.
That's the cornerstone of the Gospel, friend. That's the foundation everything else is built on. Jesus became what He was not, that you and I might become what we were not. He became sin so we could become righteous. He died so we could live.
History is just HIS story, and this is the greatest exchange in all of history. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. That's the Gospel in a nutshell.
Let's pray: Father, thank You for the great exchange. Thank You that Jesus took our sin upon Himself so that we could receive His righteousness. Help us live in the freedom and joy of this truth every single day. In Jesus' name, Amen.
#Faith #Gospel #Salvation #TheGreatExchange #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #BiblicalTruth #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight
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