Can you tell what’s wrong with the following statement?

“Jesus became sin with your sinfulness.”

Now look closely at 2 Corinthians 5:21 (referenced below) and see if you can see the difference.

“For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Notice that the text does not say “made sin WITH your sinfulness.”

The belief that Christ was made sin with our sinfulness is common within the teachings that Christ was rejected and condemned by God as a sinner dying under the wrath of God.

If Christ was made sin with our sinfulness, if he became the object of God’s wrath and was rejected by God in our place as some have taught, how then was he a holy offering accepted as a sweet savor well pleasing to God? How was God in Christ reconciling the world (2 Corinthians 5:19) if God indeed separated himself from Christ because he was made sin with our sinfulness?

Throughout the Old Testament, the offerings which made atonement for sins were offered to God as a sweet fragrance and were accepted by God. They were never rejected  by God to make atonement.

These atonement sacrifices foreshadowed God’s acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus as a sweet aroma on our behalf when he gave himself for our sins.

These atonement sacrifices were holy offerings and they were accepted on behalf of the people (Lev 22:20, 21, 25, 27). By virtue of these offerings, the people were sanctified and made holy in the sight of the Lord.

Ephesians 1:6 tells us, we have been accepted in the beloved, and Colossians 1:20-22 teaches us that Jesus reconciled us through the blood of his cross to present us holy and unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight.

Jesus Christ died as an unblemished lamb whose blood is pure and holy (1 peter 1:18-19); and because he is holy and accepted by God, we are sanctified and accepted by God in him.

Had God condemned Jesus by treating him as a sinner under his wrath, Jesus would not have been a sweet fragrant sacrifice and offering to God. Instead he would have been rejected as a defiled sinner, and this concept is foreign to the teachings of scripture regarding sacrifices which made atonement for sins.

Whenever God’s wrath was revealed under the law, he would not accept the sacrifices and offerings as a sweet aroma. (Leviticus 26:31, Jeremiah 14:11-12). Yet, when God’s people returned to him in repentance, God accepted both them and their atonement sacrifices as a sweet fragrance (Ezekiel 20:40-41).

Christ gave himself for our sins as a sweet fragrant offering and sacrifice to God, and for his sake, God has redeemed us with his blood.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (Ephesians 4;32-52)

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot…(1 Peter 1:18-19)

For more teachings about the sacrifice of Jesus, follow the links below:

JESUS OUR SIN OFFERING
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/jesus-our-sin-offering/

JESUS BORE OUR SINS
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/jesus-bore-our-sins/

DID JESUS DIE SPIRITUALLY?
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/the-cross/

JESUS WAS GIVEN THE AUTHORITY TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE AND TO TAKE IT UP AGAIN
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/jesus-was-given-the-authority-to-lay-down-his-life-and-take-it-up-again/

THE NATURE OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/03/29/the-nature-of-the-sufferings-of-christ/

WAS JESUS CONDEMNED BY GOD OR MAN?
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/was-jesus-condemned-by-god-or-men/

THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/the-stone-the-builders-rejected/

RECONCILIATION RATHER THAN APPEASMENT
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/reconciliation-rather-than-appeasement/

A SACRIFICE AND AN OFFERING
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/16/a-sacrifice-and-and-offeing/

FORGIVENESS AND THE WRATH OF GOD
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/forgiveness-and-the-wrath-of-god/

THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAH
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/the-sign-of-the-prophet-jonah/

THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/01/05/three-days-and-three-nights-in-the-heart-of-the-earth/

MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/my-god-my-god-why-hast-thou-forsaken-me/

DID JESUS SUFFER IN HELL?
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2016/04/13/thou-wilt-not-leave-my-soul-in-hell/

CHRIST ENTHRONED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/christ-enthroned-at-the-right-hand-of-god/

ATONEMENT
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/18/atonement/

CHRIST FORESHADOWED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SACRIFICES
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/christ-foreshadowed-in-the-old-testament-sacrifices/

JESUS GLORIFIED THE FATHER IN HIS DEATH
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/06/20/jesus-glorified-the-father-in-his-death-on-the-cross/

AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHISEDEK
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/after-the-order-of-melchisedek/

ONCE FOR ALL
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/once-and-for-all/

CLEANSED FROM DEAD WORKS
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/cleansed-from-dead-works/

WHAT ABOUT EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE?
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/what-about-ezekiels-temple/

WHAT ABOUT EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE? (PART 2)
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/ezekiels-temple-vision-part-two/

THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS
https://michaelbattle65.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/the-offence-of-the-cross/