Why We Can Be Saved (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)
Why We Can Be Saved
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
April 20, 2014
Well we are here once again on an Easter morning
Remembering the most amazing event in all of human history.
We come every Lord’s Day, but especially this one
To remember the sacrifice of the Lord and His resurrection from the dead.
And this morning as we remember this wonderful event
We are simply going to examine one verse of Scripture.
I don’t ordinarily like to study just one verse, but I think it is fitting today to do so.
This one verse clearly depicts WHY we can be saved.
This is obviously important for you and I to understand.
If I go out to the streets of Spur tomorrow and ask various people, “How can we be saved?”
• Some would say, “Believe in Jesus”
• Some would say, “Believe and be baptized”
• Some would say, “You need to do good works”
Now obviously there is a right and wrong answer to that question.
We believe that man is saved “by grace through faith”
But that is just the answer to HOW to be saved.
This morning I want you to understand WHY we can be saved.
Those debates may seek to answer the question as to how salvation occurs
But none of them answer the question as to why salvation can occur.
• For if the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter if you have faith or not.
• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter if you’ve been baptized or not.
• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter how many prayers you recite, how many dollars you give, how many miles you walk…
• If the crucifixion and the resurrection do not occur, then it doesn’t matter what you do, you cannot be saved.
People may argue the means by which we enter God’s salvation,
But one thing is for sure, none of those means even matter
If Christ did not die and rise again.
This morning I want to show you why salvation is even possible.
Now before we get into our text, it is important for you to understand
WHY SALVATION IS NECESSARY.
It really all started back in the Garden of Eden.
God created this world and said that it was good.
However Satan tempted Adam and Eve
And they chose to transgress the commandment of God.
Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and sin was upon us.
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”
That verse clearly depicts not only the sin of Adam,
But the contagious reality of Adam’s sin.
We are all literally chips right off the old block.
And when given the opportunity
We all follow right in the footsteps of our father Adam.
We all sin.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Now this may not seem like such a big deal to our world today, but it is.
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”
The reality is that sinners are under God’s wrath.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
And so the picture is hopefully forming in your mind.
Humanity was in the worst possible predicament.
We have sinned, and our sin has angered the Creator of this world.
Furthermore His need for holy justice
Requires that payment for that iniquity be made
And this payment is nothing less than eternity in hell.
Matthew 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”
By now the problem has become clear.
God requires perfect righteousness.
Anything short of perfect righteousness requires payment in hell.
So man has two problems.
• The Presence of Sin which God judges
• The Absence of Righteousness which God requires.
The only possible way for man to be saved
Is if somehow he could have his sin paid for without having to go to hell
And righteousness given to him so that he could go to heaven.
Apart from that, it doesn’t matter how much faith he has,
Or how many times he is baptized.
And that is the reason for the cross and resurrection.
This morning I just want to take you through
What has quickly become my favorite verse in the entire Bible.
• No verse gives me more hope…
• No verse give me more satisfaction…
• No verse produces more gratitude in me…
• No verse produces more wonder in me…
Than 2 Corinthians 5:21
And this morning I just want to take you through
5 important realities about this verse.
#1 THE PERSONALITIES
2 Corinthians 5:21
The verse starts out in rather vague fashion.
“He made Him”
Well obviously we are in need of a little context here
To determine who “He” is and who “Him” is.
All you really need is the preceding verse:
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
• The “He” then in the verse is obviously God.
• The “Him” in the verse is obviously Christ.
Paul is saying “God made Christ”
And even before we get into exactly why this was special
And what exactly it was that God did in Christ.
I first want you to fully understand who the CATALYST for all this was.
Whatever occurs here in verse 21,
It is important for you to understand that God was the reason it occurred.
• The idea was God’s…
• The motivation was God’s…
• The desire was God’s…
This did not originate in the mind or heart of man.
1 Corinthians 2:9 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
This plan of salvation was all God’s doing.
And His motivation is clear:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Is God grieved over sinners? Yes
Genesis 6:5-6 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”
Is God angry at sinners? Yes
Psalms 7:11 “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.”
Or as the KJV says, “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”
But in spite of His grief and anger, God still chooses to love sinners.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
It is nothing short of the magnificent love of God that instigated salvation.
Man didn’t do it, God did it.
“He made Him”
Incidentally, Christ was also a willing accomplice
He wasn’t forced to save against His will.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Christ willingly forsook His place in Heaven
That He might come and humble Himself and die upon a cross.
No man thought this up
No man made Him do it
Love was the motive
God designed it, and Christ volunteered
You have to understand the Personalities who are responsible.
#2 THE PURITY
2 Corinthians 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin”
And this is very important piece of the puzzle.
We mentioned earlier that the only possible way for mankind to avoid hell and enter heaven is if somehow his sin could be removed and he could obtain righteousness.
The question is then raised: Who has righteousness that we might try to obtain it from them?
• If you want diamonds you go to a jeweler…
• If you want to money you go to a bank…
• If you want an education you go to college…
• If you want medicine you go to a doctor…
But if you want righteousness where do you go to get it?
It is imperative that you and I find one
Who possesses no sin and perfect righteousness.
THAT IS PRECISELY WHO CHRIST IS.
According to Paul, Jesus Christ “knew no sin”
The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
And if you won’t take his word for it,
Then listen to the voice of God the Father.
Matthew 3:16-17 “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
And again:
Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”
What we are talking about when we talk about Jesus Christ
Is absolute perfection.
He never sinned, not even once.
• He never broke a single command.
• He never had an evil thought.
• He never sinned in His anger
• He never had a lustful thought
• He never held bitterness in His heart
• He never coveted someone else’s possession
• He never blamed God
• He never cursed God
• He never did anything that was even close to sinful in the eyes of God
When God looked at the man Jesus Christ, God saw nothing against Him.
He was in fact the perfect, spotless, completely innocent Son of God.
And for the first time the earth not only had an example of perfect righteousness, but also a place to find it.
He would be the righteousness broker for all of humanity.
It is exclusive to Him
He “knew no sin”
The Personalities, The Purity
#3 THE PROPITIATION
2 Corinthians 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin”
Propitiation is a word that means “APPEASEMENT”
And this is precisely what Christ did before God.
Jesus Christ appeased God’s wrath on sin.
1 John 2:2 “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
It is Jesus Christ who was in fact this “propitiation for our sins”
In some way He appeased the wrath of God
In some way He satisfied the holiness of God
The question is: “HOW DID HE DO IT?”
That is the answer Paul gives here.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin”
Now first let me tell you what that does not mean.
It does not mean that Christ became a sinner on the cross.
The previous phrase “who knew no sin”
Completely rules that possibility out.
Christ did not become a sinner.
He remained pure and sinless throughout His life and death.
We even have testimony of this from the one who died next to Him.
The thief on the cross boldly stating that this man has done nothing worthy of death.
Christ did not become a sinner.
Others have suggested in some weird way that Christ became the embodiment of sin.
That in some sort of strange occurrence
He actually became the persona of sin itself.
This is also is not what Paul was talking about.
WHAT DOES PAUL MEAN?
The answer was given centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 53:1-6 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 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.”
And this is precisely what Paul is referencing.
The One who was totally pure and sinless in every way
Actually took upon Himself the sin of God’s people.
He bore our sin.
He was sinless, He was pure,
And yet He was treated as though He was a sinner.
• When you look at the suffering of the cross…
• When you look at the torment…
• When you look at the grief…
That is what God’s justice demanded should happen to you and I.
It was the punishment for sin.
But God took the sinless pure Savior and imputed our sin to Him.
1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
This mystery is what occurred on the cross.
This phenomenon is how Christ became the propitiation for our sins.
He took the fall for sin He did not commit
And this wrath is clearly seen in the crucifixion account.
(Not just the wrath of Rome, but the wrath of God)
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
The sixth hour is 12 noon.
You will recall that Christ crucifixion began on the third hour which is 9am
From 9 to noon man dished out the worst possible torment
That humanity could devise.
The cross was a cruel and torturous death
But at noon the strangest thing happened.
“darkness fell” for three hours.
WHY?
Because this was God pouring out His wrath on sin.
Zephaniah 1:14-15 “Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness,”
It is this wrath of God which was being poured out on Christ.
And when the three hours was over Christ cried
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Christ was paying for sin He did not commit
He was the propitiation
The Personalities, The Purity, The Propitiation
#4 THE PARDONED
2 Corinthians 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,”
Now this is important.
We ask the question, “Whose sin did Christ pay for?”
The traditional answer is “everybody’s”
“He paid for every body’s sin on the cross”
But be careful.
You can’t make that argument from this text.
Let’s look at the two verses here again.
2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
When you read verse 20 you see two distinct groups emerge.
You have “we”
And you have “you”
• “We” are those who are “ambassadors for Christ”
• “We” are those whom God is making an appeal through
• “You” are those who are not reconciled to God, but need to be.
So we have “we” and we have “you”
And then in verse 21 Paul says “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on [“our” or “your”] behalf,”
Do you see it?
Paul says Christ was made sin on “our” behalf.
The same group that is now ambassadors and who are now making an appeal.
Christ paid for the sin of the redeemed.
Christ paid for the sin of those who would be His.
And here is why you need to see that.
• If you do not come to Christ…
• If you are not reconciled to God through Him…
Then your sin will also be paid for,
But guess who will pay for it – YOU
Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
If Christ had paid for everyone’s sin on the cross,
Then there would be no need for these people to then be paying for it again.
The reality is that Christ fully and totally and permanently
Atoned for those who are His on the cross.
It was the sin of the redeemed that He took.
It was the sin of those who are reconciled to God through Him
That He bore.
Christ did that on our behalf.
What Christ did was to actually and fully pardon His children.
He paid for my sin
He was treated as though He did what I did.
• All my times of rebellion…
• All my foolish choices…
• All my fleshly indulgences…
• All my worldly desires…
• All my carnal deeds…
Christ was punished as though He did them and not me.
He bore my sin on the cross so that I could be pardoned.
And this is obviously a wonderful truth.
But it is NOT ALL of the truth yet.
That is only half of the equation.
Humanity has two problems.
1) The Presence of Sin (just saw that one taken care of)
2) The Absence of Righteousness
Look at the final truth of this verse.
#5 THE PURPOSE
2 Corinthians 5:21
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
It was in fact the trade of the century.
He was treated as though He committed my sin
And I am now treated as though I fulfilled His righteousness.
He became sin
We become righteous
Now again, Christ did not become a sinner on the cross, He was merely treated as though He was.
And I am not now perfectly righteous, I am merely treated as though I am.
And now when I read verses like “You shall be holy as I am holy”
Or “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”
I no longer have to hang my head in shame.
Because of what Christ did in bearing my sin and sharing His righteousness, I am now viewed as holy. I am now treated as perfect.
AND FRIENDS, THAT IS WHY WE CAN BE SAVED.
• Yes I believe we come to Christ by faith alone,
• But my faith isn’t even the reason I can be saved.
The reason I can be saved is because Jesus Christ
Bore my sin and offered His righteousness to me in return.
Without that all the faith in the world would not save you.
It is all about what Christ did.
And incidentally, just so you will know His work was EFFECTIVE.
That is why we are here this morning.
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”
We understand that He was “delivered over because of our transgressions”
He certainly wasn’t delivered over because of His transgressions – He had none.
It was our sin that brought about His death on the cross.
So why was He raised?
“because of our justification”
His resurrection did not justify us – His death did that.
His resurrection proved that His death was successful.
His resurrection proved that we had been justified.
Had Christ claimed to take our sin and then died and stayed dead,
We would forever wonder if His sacrifice worked.
What if He had some secret sin?
What if He had some carnal thought?
What if He only paid for His own sin and not mine?
We know that wasn’t the case because He rose from the dead.
The resurrection validates the cross.
When we sing “He Arose! He Arose! Hallelujah Christ Arose!”
In effect we are singing “The Cross Worked! The Cross Worked! Hallelujah the Cross Worked!”
And that is the truth of the gospel message.
Christ died that we might live.
And to that I only give you Paul’s invitation.
2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
By reason of sin humanity is separated from God.
And there is but one way to be reconciled
And that is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He paid a debt He did not owe
So that we could receive a benefit we did not deserve.
“we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
• Come to Christ, place your faith in His atoning work.
• Trust in Him as your only means of salvation and submit your life to God.
For when you do, Christ’s righteousness is also credited to you
And you can enjoy fellowship with the Father.
I don’t know how to explain it any clearer than that,
It is the gospel message of God and it demands not only your faith,
But also your worship.
That is what today is all about.
“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
