God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Imagine the scene: Christ, sinless and pure, willingly steps into our place. He is born of a woman—sharing in our humanity, yet untouched by sin itself (Galatians 4:4). Though He walked among us with all our frailties, He never committed or even desired sin. On the contrary, He detested it completely (Hebrews 4:15). Still, He allowed Himself to be misunderstood, maligned, even accused as if He were a sinner. More than that, on the cross, Jesus bore the crushing weight of our guilt—not by earning it, but because God, in His wisdom and mercy, assigned our wrongs to Him (2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:6).

Yet, notice the beauty and balance here: Christ “was made to be sin” for us, not because He ever sinned, but by God’s decree and by Christ’s own loving agreement. He stood as our substitute, carrying sins He never committed, so that we—a people helpless to justify ourselves—could stand blameless before God. It’s an exchange more wonderful than we could invent: the Righteous One treated as guilty, so the guilty may be counted as righteous (Romans 8:3). This imputation, this great transfer, means that when God looks at those who trust in Jesus, He sees not our failures, but Christ’s perfection.

For you and me, this means our hope never rests on our efforts, but on His completed work. Our righteousness is not something we build inside ourselves, but something given “in Him,” clothed upon us like a spotless robe (Isaiah 61:10; Philippians 3:9). The One who knew no sin, the spotless Lamb, gladly stood in our place so that we might forever know peace with God. Take heart! No burden of shame lies too heavy; you have a Redeemer who bears it all, and in Him, you are made right with God—now and always.

Verses Referenced:

• Philippians 3:9
• Galatians 4:4
• Hebrews 4:15
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Isaiah 53:6
• Romans 8:3
• Isaiah 61:10

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