Now As I Was Saying...

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Oops! It seems that I recall just a couple of weeks ago wrapping up my devotional thoughts with the words - "But that's another subject for another day! Maybe next week..." Then the following week we were off spoiling our grandchildren rotten, so I ended up writing about the joys of being a grandpa. Thus, "maybe next week" never became a reality. Finishing the thought that I began two weeks ago, then, is the focus of this week's devotional!

First of all, let me suggest that you scroll down and re-read the entry for March 31st entitled "Sin Imputed or Sin Imparted?" When you have done that, then you will recall that God in His wondrous mercy "imputed" or charged to the account of the Lord Jesus Christ our very sinfulness. Though He did not become a sinner Himself, He did bear our guilt and shame vicariously to the cross of Calvary and paid the full price of God's holy justness, forever satisfying the demand of the Father's holiness.

But that was only one-half of the transaction, beloved, and the second half is not only the focus of this week's thoughts but is a truth most glorious! By imputing our sinfulness to the sinless Christ, God made it possible for us to have "imputed" or charged to our account the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Very simply, He did not deserve our guilt and shame, but received it anyway and bore the awful wrath of holy God in our place. Likewise, we did not deserve His righteousness and the approval of holy God, but received it anyway and became members of God's divine family.

Charles Wesley, prompted by the wonder of this divine transaction of pure grace, felt compelled to write of that wonder as it unfolded to his own heart and mind. We should all be able to identify fully as believers today with Wesley's amazement and loving response to God's grace as found in the following lyrics to a beloved hymn written in 1738. Here are the words of the 3rd stanza which describe beautifully the sacrifice made by the Son of God and also the impact of that sacrifice on the life of every true believer:

He left His Father's throne above - so free, so infinite His grace -
Emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam's helpless race;
'Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!

As a result, beloved, you and I are forever free from the dread of sin and its eternal consequences. Wesley went on in the final stanza to describe for us the resulting "grace in which we stand" (Romans 5:2).

No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine;
Bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

As Wesley himself has put it, beloved - "'Tis mercy all!" To that we can only add "Amen and amen!"

Ron