The Cost of Our Righteousness

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

Paul is certainly making it plain to the church at Corinth. Here is what we are, here is what we are to do about it and here is why we are. God the Father took his only son who is perfect and without sin and made him the embodiment of sin, the expression of sin, the representative of sin in man, so that man could carry the righteousness of God. Christ had no sin, but now he is thrust into this role, to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. How deep is the mystery on why God chose to make sin of such stature that his own son would be the sin sacrifice. God took disobedience that seriously.

And yet, how little import we put on sin. Instead of seeing it as death defining, we put degrees on it. Little sin, big sin, white lies, he fudged, they were sliding the truth. Sin is equated with crime in our society. Crime has degrees, also. Misdemeanors, minor crime, white collar crime, victimless crime, felony – all are expressions of the degrees of criminality.

There are no days in the lives of humans in which there is no sin.