The Bible verse I’m about to share is not one people tend to memorize, but it stands at the heart of what we call the gospel, a word that simply means “good news.”

It’s found in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” That’s a mouthful, so let me explain.

Jesus had no sin. This verse says it explicitly. Hebrews 4:15 also states he was “without sin.” And then just look at the example of his life: He was the only one to perfectly keep the 10 commandments!

And yet, on the cross he was treated as sin and paid the price for sin. But why? After all, he didn’t have any sin that needed to be paid for. Ah, there’s the rub. He wasn’t paying for his sin—he was paying for ours! What he accomplished on the cross was “for us,” it says.

The verse goes on to tell us why: “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Pardon?

Theologically this is called “imputed righteousness.” That’s probably not a phrase you’re going to use at the grocery story. However, it is very very very very very very very good news.

To “impute” something is to attribute or give over something to someone else. In this verse, the idea is this: If we belong to Jesus, his righteousness gets credited to us. If you trust in who Jesus is and what he has done for you, his faithfulness, love, obedience and righteousness actually gets credited to you. So one day when you stand before God he will see not all of your sin (because Jesus has already paid for it), but the righteousness of Christ!

Tim Keller writes: “Do you realize that it is only in the gospel of Jesus Christ that you get the verdict before the performance?”* That’s a game changer. Our natural assumption is that we have to perform well in life in order to get a good verdict when we stand before God. But no. With Christ, the verdict is guaranteed. Your standing with God is based on Jesus’ performance, not yours.

Does this mean we can avoid Jesus’ instructions about how to live? No. (More on that in the next devotional.) 

But for today, think of the word “Saviour.” Jesus has saved you. He has rescued you—from the consequence of sin, from separation from God, from fear, from despair, from darkness, and yes, even from yourself.

Be at peace. Be thankful. And be free of the lie that it’s all up to you.

Notes:

-“The King married the prostitute — This is the gospel” Click here. Sermon.
-*Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path To True Christian Joy (Leyland: 10Publishing, 2012), 39.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.