God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Devotion based on 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Christian religion seems to be so complicated. What’s an easy way to explain it?

God in heaven is holy. He wants people to join him in heaven, so they must be holy, too. God explains what it means to be holy by giving us his commandments, and he tells us to keep each of them with everything we do, think, or say. He says, “Be holy as I the Lord your God am holy.”

God looks down from heaven and sees that no one is holy, not even one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He warns us that the consequences of sin include death, and that is not just the separation of body and soul. That is also eternal separation from God in hell. That’s a problem.

Human beings have tried various solutions to the problem. They speculate that they don’t have to be holy; they must simply be holier than the next person. But that’s not what God says. They speculate that they must simply improve as they live their lives. But that’s not what God requires. They think they can do good things to make up for the bad things they have done. But God says that all the ways we try to make up for our sins are worthless.

God has a solution to the problem. He sent his only Son, Jesus, into the world, and Jesus lived a holy life. He always did and thought and said what was right. He never did anything wrong. He had no sin. But at the end of his life, he did not take heaven as the reward for his good life. Instead, he suffered hell when he died on the cross. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. He rose from the dead to prove it.

In a great exchange, God took our sin, and then declared that all people who believe in Jesus get the righteousness of Jesus credited to their spiritual accounts. Through faith, we become the righteousness of God. That’s our ticket to heaven. It’s that simple.

Prayer:

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