For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Rom. 8:1-2)
Consider two members of the body of Christ.
She is well-respected in her community, in charge of two annual events each year. Her children have learned to listen well and can even be seen taking notes or drawing on the bulletin quietly during church. They stand to sing together, and she appreciates the harmonies echoing through the sanctuary. During the time of confession, she notes that the pastor has incorporated the lyrics to her mother’s favorite hymn; and in the silence that follows the corporate confession, she thinks back over her week. “There must be something I did, Lord,” she confesses. “Nothing comes to mind right now, but forgive my sins.”
He is incarcerated and has fifteen years left in his sentence. When he entered the state prison, he was lost, full of rage and bitterness, consumed by anger toward the foster care system that had let him down his entire life. He was angry with the judge who had sentenced him to eighteen years, and at his lawyer who had been unable to keep him out of prison. But in those first months, faced with the reality of life in prison, he had met a chaplain who served as librarian, who had been incarcerated himself at one time. The chaplain had begun to outline the history of redemption and had given him some key books to read, one at a time. When the light of the gospel shined its light into his life, he was transformed. Where there had been bitterness, there was hope. Anger was replaced by peace, and wandering by newfound purpose. The orphan had come home, and his worship was deep and full of gratitude. When confessing sin with fellow inmates who constituted his local church, he poured out his heart to God, profoundly moved by the grace he had been given.
***
When I first met Mark, he was incarcerated. I was in college, and my church choir was touring the prisons of California ”Tracy, San Quentin, Corcoran ”bringing the gospel through testimony and song. Our purpose was to share the gospel, but the deep truth we discovered was that our brothers in prison always encouraged us. They had a profound understanding of their sin and a joy in their salvation that both refreshed and challenged us. They would thank us for coming to them, bringing another part of the body of Christ into their own local congregation, and we would rejoice in the faith, joy, and unity of the Spirit among our brothers in prison.
The next time I saw Mark, I was a pastor’s wife living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We had gone to the home of one of our parishioners who had organized an informational meeting for Metanoia Ministries, the prison ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).<sup>1</sup> And there was Mark, not simply giving a testimony about this ministry but serving as its director. Mark recognized me from the concert many years before, and we rejoiced in God’s providence at our meeting again. Mark explained that our brothers and sisters in prison need the encouragement of the church outside the prison walls. He set forth opportunities to serve, and many of us were challenged to become involved with Metanoia.
Mark’s life had been transformed by the gospel.
“My own story is very radical,” he explained to me in a recent interview. “This guy led me to Christ on a Thursday night, and I read the New Testament and Psalms and Proverbs six times, cover to cover, that weekend.” Mark had been scheduled to face the judge that week, and his attorney insisted that he plead “not guilty.” But Mark was now deeply aware of his sin and his guilt. “I knew I needed to go plead guilty. I believe when a person is converted, it alters the course of your life. That conversion experience altered the course of my entire life. Christ paid for my sins, so whatever they did to me didn’t matter.”
It was the doctrine of justification that changed Mark’s life. “Many people don’t have to face those things,” he noted. Living comfortable lives with church on Sunday, many people who follow Christ are in reality unaware of the depths of their own sinfulness. But when faced with the incomprehensible truth that “he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of Christ,” Mark was slain and raised to new life.
“Those lyrics,” he said, “they don’t have anything else to stand on.”
I pondered this for a moment. “Some,” Mark continued, “put their hope in attorneys or the parole board.” But with his hope planted firmly on the rock of Christ, Mark began a radical transformation. “People ask, ‘How did you survive fifteen years in prison?’ I didn’t survive; I thrived in prison.” The reason for his flourishing was simple: Christ had set him free.
***
When did you last let the wonder and joy of this declaration wash over your soul? “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). In the words of Calvin,
The Great Exchange of our mortality for his immortality. Our weakness for his strength. Our poverty for his wealth. Our iniquity for his righteousness. We should pause and consider this for a moment.
In this exchange, the spotless Son took on all of my sin. He absorbed it, and then he was broken under the wrath of God. He drank the dregs of the cup of wrath so that I might drink deeply of the cup of living water. He took all of my need, all of my shame, all of my sin, and it was crucified with him on the cross. He was raised to life for my justification: with his new life came a new life of righteousness for me, made available by a likewise grace-filled gift of faith.
***
“One of the striking things I find between the Christian in the church and the Christian in the prison,” Mark observed, “is that the Christian in the prison does not need any reminder of his sin.” In our opening illustration, the woman in the pew might not have a deep understanding of her own sin, or a desire to ponder the greatness of the forgiveness she has received. She is not faced with that reality unless she gives it a long, hard look, listening to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
It is a challenge Mark has found commonplace since being released from prison. “If you talk to Christians about sin, many don’t even understand the depths of their own sin. I find it to be a truth that confronting Christians with their sins is often a difficult thing.”
Whether we are lulled by the rhythm of our busy lives or actively involved in justifying our sin, an unwillingness to face sin is perilous to our souls. We cannot overlook the basic truth that “if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Ps. 66:18). We cherish sin when we love it more than we love Christ. Indeed, we who trust in Christ for our salvation should be the most transparent when it comes to our own struggles with sin. We can relate to Paul in Romans 7: “So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” But who among us would admit it?
When we embrace the fullness of the Great Exchange, we are freed to do just that. We can be honest about our sin, with ourselves and others. We are set free from justifying ourselves, with all of the defensiveness that such justification entails. Grounded in the abundant forgiveness of Christ, we are freed to forgive others.
***
Some of us have less difficulty embracing the first half of the Great Exchange. Some of us see our sin on a daily basis, and we trust in Christ’s forgiveness. No, we cannot comprehend the depth of love that would take all of our sin and bear it on our behalf. I can’t wrap my mind around a completely Holy Love who would die for me, taking on the wrath that would destroy me so that I might live, but I believe it nonetheless.
Indeed, that part of the Great Exchange is more familiar. When asked why Jesus had to be crucified, even a room full of Sunday school kindergarteners is likely to provide an orthodox answer: “Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins.” His death was foretold. The spotless Lamb ”the blood over the door. A sacrifice on my behalf, trudging to the temple, offering a lamb, a dove. A scapegoat, an atonement.
But that is only the beginning of the Great Exchange. Yes, my sin is washed away, but I am not left with a blank slate. Christ did not forgive my debt to leave me with an empty account; he has instead deposited the riches of all that he has to my credit. When the Father looks on me, he does not simply see one who has been forgiven ”I am clothed in Christ’s righteousness; I have the record of the perfectly obedient Son. I am clothed in the sinless perfection, the always-choosing-the-right-path reality of Christ’s completely obedient life.
***
When we grasp the fullness of this doctrine ”that we have been justified, both forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ and imputed the full measure of his righteousness ”it has the power to transform us from the inside out. Rooted in our new identity as completely forgiven, completely accepted children who stand with the righteousness of Christ credited to our account, how are we then to live? This doctrine has implications that permeate every part of our lives, but I’m going to offer observations on just three specific areas: our view of ourselves, our relationships with others, and our worship.
Our View of Ourselves
Each of us tends to fall into unique traps when it comes to our view of ourselves. Some are prone to self-righteousness, setting the curve of their own judgment just beneath their own behavior, and fail to see their sin, because they view it as less destructive than the sins of others. The log in their own eye is vast, but they are attuned only to the specks in the eyes of others. For this soul, a proper view of justification brings him low, revealing his sinfulness and God’s immense grace. The Holy Spirit softens this heart, and newfound compassion and gratitude develops. This person is freed from justifying himself, resting instead in the perfect and complete work of Christ.
Some might think that the person who naturally tends toward despair has a better understanding of justification ”after all, she does not have a high view of herself. But in truth, this person seeks to justify herself to the same degree as the self-righteous person ”she knows she falls short, but she is still expecting it of herself. Both fail to rely on Christ alone for justification. For this individual, a correct view of justification brings hope and security. Her view of herself changes: she is no longer an orphan fending for herself, but a beloved, adopted child of God. Her soul begins to resonate with the truth:
Imagine this scenario: a young thief is brought before a judge. She is guilty; she cannot afford her fine. The judge acknowledges her guilt, but instead of sentencing her, steps down from the bench and pays her fine. Then he stoops down to look her in the face and says, “I have a wife and four daughters. I think you are meant to be my fifth daughter. I would like to adopt you and bring you home to be my child.” He pays the penalty, he forgives, and he adopts us. One of our great challenges is to begin to see who we already are in Christ and begin to live as the beloved child rather than the orphan fending for herself. We have been given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of this inheritance, and indeed we are able to draw on the riches of the Spirit even now as we live our lives in Christ.<sup>3</sup> The fruit of his life in us becomes more evident as we rest in the deep and transforming truth of justification and allow it to transform how we see ourselves.
We need not live in fear, trying to justify our existence. We are forgiven and loved by the Creator of the universe. We need not scramble after identity in work, causes, spouses, children, ministry ”our identity is rooted in Christ. We can rest in the fact that the work the Holy Spirit has begun in us will one day be complete; for indeed, our accurate view of sanctification is dependent on our right view of justification. We are not straining to earn salvation; we are enjoying the fruit of it.
Our View of Our Relationships
Anything as transformative to our souls as the doctrine of justification will overflow into our relationships with others. Again, we are not orphans struggling to watch our own backs ”we have been given the deep and abundant resources of our Father, and in that abundance we can minister to others. We do not look to others for our identity, or for our ultimate fulfilment ”that comes in Christ alone. We are freed to give to others, even when they are unable to give back to us. We can give up the need to justify ourselves to others, knowing that we are justified before the only Judge. We can listen. We can be generous with our energy, time, and resources. Because we rest in the complete work of Christ, we do not have to please everyone and meet all of their demands ”we can love them without standing in desperate need of approval. Because we can be honest with ourselves about our own sinfulness, we can be a safe place for others to confess and work through their weakness. We can pray for one another, knowing that we no longer need to hide. We are set free to be the body of Christ to one another, and to be real and transparent friends to the watching world.
Our View of Worship
The correct view of ourselves and of our brothers and sisters culminates in a glorious transformation of our view of God. I want to emphasize that at its core, our relationship with God is about worship. When the Lord is seated at the top of our affections, we begin to ascribe to him all of the glory that he deserves; we see that:
He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:4-6)
That is the purpose of the universe: “The praise of his glorious grace,” poured out, lavished upon us. We are blessed “in the Beloved” ”as children who are “in Christ” ”with this abundant grace.
When we see our Justifier, we are overcome with gratitude. When we see him descending on our behalf, coming across time and space to rescue his beloved Bride ”overcoming death and hell and all of our enemies, cleansing us of our filth and clothing us in the piercingly clean garments of his own righteousness ”then we will indeed stand “lost in wonder, love, and praise.”<sup>4</sup>
Kate Treick (MA, church history, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and medieval studies, Fordham University) is a writer, artist, musician, and pastor’s wife. She lives with her husband Joel and their children Lily and Jack in Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Justification – Justification is God’s gracious and free act where he forgives sins and judges a person to have kept the law perfectly.
Lutheran and Reformed theologians teach that God justifies anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, regardless of their works. The Greek word translated “justification” is part of a family of words communicating righteous character, judgment, or acceptance. The Apostle Paul uses justification in Romans 4:25, 5:16, and 5:18. In these cases, justification means to be in right standing with God: forgiven of all sin and counted as perfectly obedient to the law. Justification should give the sense of a judge in a court of law declaring a verdict.
Righteousness – Righteousness can be a character trait or a legal status. God’s righteousness usually refers to his character.
In some cases, a person is righteous because of having a good character and having a right legal status. Christ was both legally righteous and actually righteous in character; he always did the right thing. Christ’s righteousness, then, refers to his character and his perfect law-keeping. When speaking about humans, it becomes more complicated. Romans 4:3 says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Here righteousness does not refer to his character, which is more or less mixed. Abraham’s righteousness was his legal status before God that he received when he trusted in God. When Scripture uses righteousness to talk about people who trust in Christ, it speaks about a legal status, not a character trait or attribute.
” “” “1 [ Back ] For more information or to become involved with the one-on-one correspondence work of Metanoia Ministries, visit <link>http://pcamna.org/metanoia-ministries</link> or contact Mark Casson directly at mcasson@pcanet.org or 559-681-7858.
2 [ Back ] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, Library of Christian Classics (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960 [1559]), IV.xvii.2.
3 [ Back ] Ephesians 1:13-14: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Also, Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
4 [ Back ] Charles Wesley, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”
