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. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

Sometimes people interpret this text as,“Jesus became sin with our sinfulness.”This is common among those who interpret the cross solely as the place of substitution rather than sacrifice, and there is a difference.

Part and parcel to the belief that Christ was made sin with our sinfulness is the belief that Christ was rejected and condemned by God as a sinner when he died on the cross.

Because this view is so prevalent, it isn’t uncommon to hear someone describe the atoning work of Christ as substitutionary atonement rather than sacrificial atonement – there is a difference, a huge difference. Consider the meaning of the two words, substitution and sacrifice.

A substitute takes the…