The Universal Conundrum

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

Holman Christian Standard Bible

²¹ He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

I was talking with someone recently about sin in the world and our individual sin. The conversation came around to the fact that God made a plan for sinners. That plan was that Christ would assume our sin. Since He had no sin of His own, He was not alienated from God. Since we have sinned, we have earned exactly one thing—death. There was no way around this. Sin is simply rebellion against God. Since God has given us life, our rebellion means we automatically reject the life God equipped us with. We must automatically die.

Christ—Who is God—decided before there was any sin and before man was created, that man was His responsibility and that He would actually bear our sin and take our just reward—death—if man were to sin. Since He took our death, we don’t have to die.

Because of this gift, Christ—God—considers us to be righteous in His eyes. Therefore, this gift has actually made us righteous. We have only to accept the decision God made in our case before we existed.

My friend responded that there was no way he could accept this. It defied logic. He had sinned; therefore, he must reap the result, namely death. The Apostle Paul faced this same logical conundrum. He exclaimed in Romans 11:33:

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches

both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!

How unsearchable His judgments

and untraceable His ways!

God, the cosmological supreme court, has made this decision. We cannot do anything else but accept it with gratitude and not die or suffer the consequences of refusing to accept His gift.

Thank You, Lord, for the infinite grace You extend to us!