In his life obedience Christ established
righteousness for us. But that righteousness is not sufficient, in and of
itself, to make us acceptable to God. Sin must be punished. Justice must be
satisfied. Every guilty sinner must be put to death. The only way this could be
accomplished was by the infinitely meritorious, voluntary, and efficacious
death, burial, and resurrection of our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. For
our salvation he was "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
GOD MADE HIS SON TO BE SIN FOR US. Christ had
no sin of his own. He had no original sin and no actual sin. He was "holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sin." Yet, he was made sin. By
Divine imputation, all the sin of all God's elect was laid upon Christ our
Substitute. Christ "his own self bare our sins in his own body on the
tree." This transfer of sin from us to our Substitute was so real and
complete that the Son of God became sin for us! He even claimed our sin as his
own, willingly assuming all responsibility for the sins of his people.
GOD THE SON, BEING MADE SIN, DIED AS OUR
SUBSTITUTE. When God found sin in his Son, he cried out to his own holy law
and inflexible justice, "Awake, O, against my Shepherd, and against the
Man that Fellow: smite the Shepherd'" Then and there al1 the sin of all
God's elect was slain, annihilated forever, and taken away. Justice, being
fully satisfied, forever sheathed its dreadful sword. Wrath, being completely
spent upon Christ, is altogether absorbed in Christ for all his people. Insofar
as God's law and justice is concerned, all of God's
elect are dead. We died in Christ our Substitute.
IN CHRIST ALL WHO BELIEVE ARE COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED.
His precious blood has forever washed away our sins, so that we are justly
pardoned and forgiven. His life of righteousness has been imputed to us, so
that we are perfectly holy in God's sight. In Christ we have all
that God in his law demands for our acceptance, complete satisfaction
for sin and perfect
righteousness.