“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.”
Someone has said that Jesus is written on every page of the Bible. The name is not there but the reality of His coming is evident throughout the Old Testament and is positive in the New Testament. In Genesis 3:15, after Adam and Eve sinned, the Lord told Satan: “And I will put enmity between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” This is generally considered the first prophetic statement about the coming of a Savior into the world. Isaiah 9:6 declares: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of peace.” In Revelation 13:8, Jesus is referred to as “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” It was always in the heart of God to provide salvation for sinful humanity through the sacrifice of His Son. Now, I cannot tell you that I fully understand why that had to be. Figuring it out is not my responsibility, but accepting it as true is my responsibility. When the Bible is as plain on something as it is on this, our only choice is to accept it. John 3:16 plainly states: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Notice that John 3:16 did not say“whosoever believes about Him.” There are people who think that it is enough to just believe in the existence of Jesus. That is not believing “in Him.” When we really believe in Him, we give our lives to Him. If we just believe about Him, we can hold Him at arm’s length and call on Him when we need Him. What He wants is to be part of our lives every minute of every day. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote: “that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” He comes into our lives and changes them for the better. The only hope that we have for righteousness is through Jesus. The central fact of the Bible is that if we want to be right with God, we have to be right with Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us this: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” I know that it is not popular today to say that Jesus is the only way to salvation. People will take offense because they think you are demeaning whatever their religious persuasion is. Well, for myself, I have to believe the Bible instead of the world. What is difficult to understand about what Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me"? If I do not believe that, then I am calling Jesus a liar. I want to be real careful not to call Jesus a liar. Only Jesus became sin for us. “For He hath made Him to be sin for us…” When Jesus died on the cross, He took all of the sins of the world upon Himself. That’s quite a load. I know that just my sins would be a load. This fact is illustrated for us in Jesus’ cry from the cross: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” That was the profound moment that Jesus took your sins and mine upon Himself and died so that we could be saved. That was real sacrifice! For myself, I cannot look at that moment and laugh in the face of God by refusing to accept that sacrifice for myself. I hope that is true of you as well. Jesus is the central fact of the Bible and the reality that,“He was made to be sin for us. Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” should be the central fact of our lives. If it is not, then make it so now. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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