For He made Him who knew no sin...Part 3

2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

You awake in a courtroom. The last thing you remember was going to sleep in your bed the night before. At least that what you think you remember. Waking up in this courtroom makes no sense. Especially since your sitting behind the table on the left of the courtroom. The D.A. is behind the table to your right. What the heck is going on? Why am I here? What did I do? Is this just a very bad dream? You pinch yourself. You slap yourself. All that happens is the pinch and slap hurts. But it's not hurting nowhere near as much as that leaden sense of dread laying in your gut like last nights meatloaf dinner. You are clearly awake. And this bizarre reality of being in this courtroom seated at the table of the accused is just beginning to sink in. It feels like those first moments after being told someone who is as dear as life itself just died. You know that something major, something as disturbing and as life changing as can possibly be just happened. Your brain tries to reject this information but your gut knows. And as this horrible reality begins to sink in you look around for your attorney and there's no one else at your table but you. In fact the courtroom is empty except for you and the D.A. You try to get his attention but he just ignores you. You ask him what is going on, why are you here and you get silence. Nothing in here but silence. Dead silence.
Suddenly there is something going on up at the judge's bench. Something unseen but clearly felt has occupied the judges bench. You feel like the purest, most perfect presence has entered the courtroom. And within your gut it elicits the most severe and piercing sense of terror you have ever felt. If you could figure out a way to dig through the floorboards and straight through to China you'd be long gone. But you can't move. You are paralyzed and can hardly even breath let alone move.Whatever it is that is up at that judges bench has filled the room with what is all at once the most wonderful and terrible sense of "presence" you have ever known. You know that you dare not utter a word let alone raise any questions about why you are here. You just sit there spellbound and awestruck.
Suddenly a Voice speaks. Or rather explodes. It fills the room, it fills your head, it fills your soul.
"I AM WHO I AM".
That's all it says. That's all it needs to say. And as the Voice says this, you know who you are. For in this Presence you see yourself for the first time. You had thought you knew who you were the night before but in this Presence all is exposed. And you know that your are unclean. You know that you are undone. You know that you are doomed.
The Presence doesn't need to say a word. You just know that in this Presence that you are guilty. You know that you are a criminal. That you have ignored many of the warnings and guidance from this Presence throughout your life. You thought you were a good person and compared to most you might have been a saint. But in this place you are exactly who you really are. A person who knew something of right and wrong, of there being something called the 10 Commandments but you paid it no mind. You thought that was just for those religious fanatics. You thought that you were a good enough person to get past what you are facing now.You have a distant memory of attending youth groups and asking Jesus to forgive you and all but you never really thought much more about it. But in this Presence you feel you are as clean as a woman's menstrual rags. You know you have no good thing to say on your behalf. You now know the truth that you offended a holy God simply by rejecting Him and being your own God. More times than you can remember. And you know that you literally have no leg to stand on.
You know the verdict; guilty. Guilty as sin.
The D.A suddenly speaks. He begins to read from what appears to be an endless list that he is holding. " Stole money from his mother's pocketbook as a child; lied more times that I can count as a child; told his grandmother that he hated her guts as a child; mercilessly teased and bullied a kid in the neighborhood as a child; took money that his parents meant for him to put in the collection plate and bought doughnuts instead as a child..." "Holy crap" you think to yourself. This is just the stuff from when I was a kid! Wait until he gets to when I was a teenager and an adult! The D.A. is far from done, "took your name in vain countless times, as a child".
And just as you are about to pass out from the intensity and the reality of what is taking place you hear a soft noise behind you...
"Father, this one is in My hand"
You dare to look behind you and the first thing you see are those hands. There are two large and pronounced scars through the wrists as He holds out those hands. And then those eyes. Those eyes that are all at once pierce through to your very soul and know all there is to know about you and looks at you with the greatest tenderness and love you could have ever imagined.
"Father this one was guilty of all he is accused of. Until I took his place and took the punishment meant for him. He is one that You told me I would never lose"
You think to yourself, "when did this happen? I was never a religious person. I do remember asking for Jesus to forgive me of my sins more than a few times in my life and I do remember trying to apply some of the stuff they taught me in that youth group I was in but I still never really felt like I was good enough as a Christian. So I kind of got away from it for awhile there but deep down I always really believed. I knew there was no other way and I trusted in that but it had never felt like it was enough."
Suddenly it all becomes crystal clear. In the place of the judges bench there now stands before you a cross. And the One who stood behind you is now receiving in your place the punishment meant for you. You know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it should be you nailed to that cross instead of Him. But those eyes of tenderness and infinite love look down upon you and you hear His voice to the depths of your soul.

"Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Jesus never sinned. He never literally became sin. Too much of the rest of Scripture bears this out:
 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (NASB) Isaiah 53:6
And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. (NASB) 1 John 3:5
2 Cor 5:21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. Amplified version.
Yes He was cursed. Yes He took our place. Yes He took upon Himself the punishment for our sin but He Himself never literally became sin.
This distinction is very important for reasons listed before. In these times when the truth of truth has been thrown up for grabs it is imperative that we are established and rooted in the truth of God's word and not swayed by the opinions, the traditions or on anything else other than what God's word tells us.
Many have tried to add to this and have tried to make it seem more dramatic by using the words "to be sin" to mean that Jesus literally became a sinner. God by His nature could no more become a sinner than you or I could become God. And yet many of these (and many more) heresies have corrupted the church for centuries.
Isn't it enough that He took our place? Why would He have to become a sinner in order to fulfill all righteousness? He was made to be like a sinner; in the likeness of a sinner but it was not necessary that He ever became a sinner in order to accomplish the completed work of the cross.

Some years ago I was riding around with my brother-in-law Keith Peters and he was telling me about when he was involved in prison ministry that he counseled and ministered to someone he called, "David".
A few weeks before I had watched Spike Lee's "Summer Of Sam" about the terror wrought on New York City from 1976 to 1997 by a man named David Berkowitz who was also known as Son Of Sam.
The man Keith was talking about was none other than David Berkowitz himself. Keith told me about how David became a Christian while in prison and had been leading a Bible study and all..
In my mind my thoughts were, "WHAT? This guy killed at least six people! Think of the families he affected forever! This guy is saved? He's leading Bible studies? That's just not fair!"
And then His Spirit began to speak to me, "I took His place. I was treated as if I was David. Same as I did for you."
Think about it. Jesus was treated as if He was David, Jeffrey Dahlmer, Charles Manson, Adolf Hitler, Jerry Sandusky...
Me. You.

We know that He did this because of His love for us. Incredible isn't it.
But there's a bit more to it than that. He also did it so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ.
The world needs to know of His love but they also need to see it through the righteousness of God in Christ. Who does He use to accomplish this tall order?
David Berkowitz, me, you, whoever He chooses. Whosoever will believe. Whoever is willing to give their lives for Him in order to live. Whoever is willing to repent as often as it takes. Whoever is willing to obey as much as necessary. Whoever is willing to trust Him completely in a way that can be seen by others. God's righteousness is something that can be seen in our lives. It should separate us from the pack. It can move us closer and closer to that original likeness and image we were all created in.

They need to see Him somewhere in this world. If not in you then where?

For He made Him who knew no sin...Part 2

2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
It's taking awhile to get back to working on this particular blog. Issues in the personal and work life as well as needing to really dig a bit deeper than usual in writing about this particular verse and what is contained within it. I want to start off first by stating that for eons many have attempted to tackle this verse who I am sure are way more insightful and intelligent than I will ever be. My purpose is not to define this verse but to just open it up for exploration in hopes that it touches the heart and soul and helps us to come to an even better understanding of the God who is beyond words. I always feel like attempting these blog posts is a little bit ridiculous in the sense of who am I (or who is any of us) to be arrogant or vain enough to think that we have a clue about these matters and then present ourselves and our words as somehow being meaningful and significant enough to matter to anyone, especially to God.
All I know is that something inside me is touched by these verses and feels compelled to espouse something about them. So please keep in mind that I am by no means an expert or a theological scholar on any of these matters but that I'm just as regular a guy as they come. My hope is to somehow convey to the reader what touches my heart and soul and also be (and this is very important!) correct in the doctrine espoused. The last thing I want to do is walk anyone down the wrong path of Biblical doctrine. I have more than enough to answer for and I really don't want to add guiding people into darkness as part of my having to make an account to God. I've done more than enough of that in my lifetime and I want no part of that any more.
I've read some other writings on this verse in order to see what other's have to say on the issue and the best stuff I found used the rest of Scripture to support the writings. That's always the best method of Bible study because God cannot contradict Himself. If doctrine isn't supported by the rest of Scripture then it needs to be thrown out. A lot of church tradition has twisted many a core doctrinal issue and I see many church goers who just digest what they've been fed from the pulpits and from years of church tradition that frankly is plain wrong. This is why spending the time to really study the Bible in it's context and it's self sufficient support is so important. Especially in this very strange and troubling time we live in. I see before me the church itself becoming splintered and divisive on so many topical and worldly issues. I also see the ramping up of calling into question the sanity, intelligence and overall morality of those of us who stand upon the word of God for our stance on these worldly issues and it's disturbingly apparent that it's going to get much worse. We are definitely in the days of our faith coming under attack like we have never seen before. It's so important that we are secure and established in the truth of God's word, not to be arrogant (I've been seeing so much of that as well) to the world that we are called to show the love of Christ to but to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; to understand that our fight is not against the flesh and blood of those who oppose our faith and our God but that we are now more than I can ever remember, in a raging battle against the enemy. I see it happening in my personal life, my work life, in my family and I can't turn the TV on or read the news or go on Facebook or Twitter without the attacks just being thrown in my face. It is everywhere I look. And sad to say it is in the church as well. Read the reports about the church being divided in America over the same-sex marriage issue and we are seeing before our very eyes those who are in the church making a stand on one side or another.
The Bible prophesied these days and these events. So my hope in my own life and in those I am writing to is to be sure that our stand is on the right side, which in my opinion is on the side of the truth of God's word.
It is in this spirit that I want to attempt to enter into what feels like the holy of holies.
This verse is in a sense, taking us to the heart of God; the Holy of Holies.
We already looked at the Biblical basis of Jesus being fully God and fully man and being without sin.
So let's take a look at what it means that Jesus was made to be sin.
Once again, it is of the greatest importance that any stance be made on Scripture itself. Not on church traditions or on sentimental "profound" wisdom from the pulpit.Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
In Pauls magnum opus; the book of Romans; Paul writes about the issue of how man cannot be saved from sin or from the punishment for sin based on man's compliance with God's law. In this verse Paul writes that the perfect law of God was actually weakened by our flesh. That when law meets flesh it falls apart and can do nothing to save the flesh from it's sin. That when law meets flesh, flesh ends up desiring to do exactly what the law tells the flesh not to do. And flesh also tries to do the work of meeting the righteous requirement of the law but in doing so ends up violating the law with it's own arrogance and pride. It's a Catch 22. Since the beginning man has tried to appease God based on man's works and man just doesn't seem to get it that this is the greatest exercise in futility of all time. We are so accustomed to everything about our lives being performance based that the idea of not being able to bring anything that is good about us to the table is just about as offensive to us as, let's say the cross of Calvary. And even for many of us as Christians we learn about the gift of grace that comes by faith and that there is no good thing that is in our flesh and that all of us have sinned against a holy God and yet something within our flesh still clings to the lie that we have something of value to offer to God on our behalf that is somehow apart from God. The sooner we get to the place of truth; that in us there is nothing good apart from God ;that our flesh is desperately wicked and is completely depraved, then the sooner we will be dwelling in that glorious truth of what it was He really did for us. In order for us to understand His work on the cross we must see it in the light (or darkness) of the total depravity of our sinful flesh. What Jesus accomplished was not just a nice thing to do or an interesting footnote in history. It was the complete fulfillment of the righteous requirement of God's law on the penalty of sin. The cross shows us many things but unless we see the truth of the total unholiness of our flesh then we just won't ever really get what took place there. And it is ONLY in that place where we can even begin to get an understanding of the truth of this God we speak of.
So the law cannot save us. Our works, our best efforts cannot save us. So what the law was incapable of ever doing and what we are incapable of ever being able to do, God did it for us. And how did He do this?
We all seem to know that Jesus died for our sins. But what are these verses telling us about how that happened? What does Jesus dying for our sins really mean?
It tells us that God did this by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the eternal God to this earth in the likeness of sinful flesh.
Does this idea of likeness sound at all familiar to you?
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;...
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Every single one of us bears the image; the likeness of God. Now don't get this confused as the new agers get it; none of us are God. Whenever someone tells you that "we're all God man" just ask them to create anything, an apple, a dog, a thread of yarn. Ask them to make it out of nothing. Ask them to speak it into existence. Consider the man being God test a failure and for those who still believe it, go and buy them a straitjacket.
Look at it this way. When you are watching a Tom Hanks movie in your living room, say, Castaway, you are seeing an image of Tom Hanks in your living room. Obviously it isn't the real life in the moment Tom Hanks in your living room, but it is an exact image of the real Tom Hanks. It is in a sense, a likeness of Tom Hanks.
And with that image we really only get to see but a glimpse of the real Tom Hanks. Even if we saw Tom in home movie footage it would still only be but a portion of the real Tom. In order for us to get to know the real Tom Hanks we would all have to live with him and see him day in and day out. And even then, we still never get to know the complete person because as the Bible says, we only see the outward appearance.
But this is the point; inasmuch as all of us bear the image and likeness of God we are all immeasurably so far from the holiness and righteousness of God that if a glimpse of that image and likeness ever gets through then all we are ever seeing from one another is exactly that; a quick, momentary glimpse of the divine.
And the reason for that is that the original image and likeness has become corrupted by sin.
1 Cor: 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
Our flesh has been corrupted by sin. In order for us to enter into the Kingdom of God, to go to heaven, a pretty drastic change must take place. This corrupt flesh must be transformed into flesh that is no longer corrupt. Now try to incorrupt yourself. Which is what many religions teach that we can accomplish by living lives of holiness. The Bible tells us something completely different. No matter what your church or religious tradition has taught you, if they have taught you anything other than atonement comes only through the cross of Christ, they have taught you a lie. Any teaching that places any aspect of salvation based on man's works is a lie.
This is the very claim about our beliefs that has the world as stirred up as it is. We are hated and reviled because we agree with the claims of God's word that the ONLY way to heaven, the only way to be right with God is through the way, the truth and the life that IS Jesus Christ and that way through is ONLY through that cross. This is supposed to offend the majority and it does. The way is too narrow to allow for all these other beliefs. The way is as narrow as the width of a savior taking the punishment on a cross. What is amazing is that it's enough space for everyone but not everyone will go that way. Most will insist on doing it on their own terms. And here is where it really ticks people off; those who go any other than way than through Jesus will end up not in heaven but instead in hell.
Sue and I watched a 2 hour program on ABC last night that had Barbara Walters going around the world asking all kinds of folks about where heaven is and how do you get there. It was as I expected it to be. Barbara spoke with the Dalai Lama (who by the way is a pretty funny guy), Richard Gere, Maria Shiver, people who had near death experiences, mainstream Muslims and Muslim terrorists, Rabbi's and the primary Christian representative of the show, Joel Osteen. And take a wild guess how this mish mash of a mess went? Exactly where you thought it would go. Not one person on the show made a stand for the claims of God's word. In fact the only other "Christian" representative basically used the false doctrine of universalism to state the "Christian" perspective. To Osteens credit, he did say that he believes that the only way to heaven is via Christ but when asked about those who believe otherwise he went into his all too familiar aw shucks, who am I to judge anyone, non-commital, beating around the bush routine taking the easy and inoffensive way out. Osteen doesn't want to offend his cash cow which are the thousands who flock to his church and the tens of thousands who watch him on TV and buy his books. I would hate to be in his shoes when it comes time to make an account before God. Like I said before, the image of the true God coming through any of us is fleeting at best.
I'm not sure how the mechanics of these things work but somehow in a similar way that we are created in the image and likeness of God, Jesus Christ becomes the likeness of sinful man. Don't ask me to explain it any other way than Jesus was fully God and fully man but was without sin. That as a man He took on the likeness of the rest of us sinners but He himself was not, ever a sinner. Our flesh is corrupt. His flesh was not.
So since the law cannot save us God sends His Son in the likeness of us sinners to condemn sin in His flesh.
Ya'all still with me? Good.
So God takes His Son who was never a sinner and made Him to be sin for us.
Here is where things can get a little weird.
Many have taught that this verse teaches us that Jesus became a sinner in this moment. That when the wrath of God for our sin was poured out on His Son on the cross, when Jesus cries out, "Father, why have You forsaken Me", that God the Father who can have no fellowship with sin turns His back on His Son and basically, disowns Him, at least during this time.
Now this idea makes for, as they say, good television. The idea of Jesus becoming sin makes this all seem a little more dramatic, a bit more sentimental, a bit more taboo. Ever seen a movie based on true events where "artistic license" is used to embellish the story to make it more entertaining? Of course you have. It's then that the movie becomes even more of a distant image and likeness than the actual truth.
Which is very much like what has happened to the Gospel message in the church today.
Jesus became a sinner? Sounds enticing. Sounds scandalous. Sounds like something that an expert director would drum up. Sounds like something that someone who had an agenda against people hearing the actual truth of God's word and being saved by hearing the truth of the word of God would drum up.
They don't call him the prince of the power of the air for nothing.

Stay tuned for part 3...