The Great Exchange

Show Notes

On Reformation Sunday, the podcast explores the pivotal moment when Martin Luther discovered the doctrine of justification. Luther learned that justification is instantaneous and permanent, providing full forgiveness and peace with God. He realized that justification offers complete assurance of God's acceptance and favor, enabling a clean conscience and guilt-free living. Luther emphasized that justification provides the basis for his call and ours to be reconciled to God. The podcast delves into the theological underpinnings of justification, including the five solas and the doctrine of imputation, explaining how God justifies sinners through faith in Christ alone.

★ Support this podcast ★

Creators and Guests

Host

David Forsyth

Teacher, Kootenai Community Church

What is Kootenai Church Special Sermons?

The expository preaching ministry of Kootenai Community Church by Pastors/Elders Jim Osman, Jess Whetsel, Dave Rich, and Cornel Rasor. This podcast feed contains the weekly sermons preached from the pulpit on Sunday mornings at Kootenai Church.

The Elders/Teachers of Kootenai Church exposit verse-by-verse through whole books of the Bible. These sermons can be found within their own podcast series by visiting the KCC Audio Archive.

Open your Bibles up to 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. And let's pray. Our great God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to you in his name that the worship that we present before you would be acceptable, offered in spirit and truth. We pray as we open the word together now this morning that the great doctrine of justification would be made known to us to refreshed to us, or perhaps even for the first time in a way that we understand it more deeply. For therein lies the means by which we have been made right with you. We thank you for it. We thank you for Christ and all that he has done. Amen. Well, it is Reformation Sunday. That's a time that's set aside once a year on and about the Sunday that comes on and about, October the 31st. And its purpose is to just remember what great event happened on the 31st of October in 1517 when an obscure German monk nailed a list of grievances to an assembly board in the city of Wittenberg. And his purpose was to try to raise the awareness and start a dialogue about what he saw were some serious deficiencies in the Catholic Church. Well, it didn't come, it didn't turn out as he had expected, that's to be sure. And in fact, failing to receive the response that Luther thought would happen based on him just kind of putting forth these things, he actually became more bold and more caustic in his writings and continued to press the point to the place where in 1520 a papal edict was issued by Pope Leo X giving Luther 60 days to turn from his quote heretical course close quote or face excommunication the document began as follows Arise O Lord and judge thy cause a wild boar has invaded thy vineyard that's the way those things that's the way they talked in those days well not to be outdone Luther publicly burned the document and then he called Pope Leo X antichrist and a flea in the overcoat of God I love that one a flea in the overcoat of God well the next year 1521 Luther was summoned to appear before Emperor Charles V at an assembly of the reigning civil and religious authorities of the day and it was held in a city called Burmes not worms although that's how it's spelled and its purpose was for Luther to give an account of his writings he was given safe passage to attend this council and upon arriving he was called upon to renounce his writings Luther asked for time to consider what was involved what was being called upon of him and and he spent an agonizing night actually the fears he writes later were all over him as it were the devil himself but at the end of the long night of the soul luther realized that he could not and so there he made his famous statement unless I am convinced by sacred scripture and plain reason I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other my conscience is captive to the word of God I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe God help me here I stand I can do no other amen Charles V declared Luther an outlaw subject to arrest and execution

For in those days, heresy was a capital offense. Before the sentence could be carried out, Luther was secretly whisked away by Duke Frederick the Wise to his castle in Warburg, Germany. And there, Luther remained in hiding for a year under a false identity before he eventually returned to Wittenberg to assume leadership in the German, the budding German Reformation. While in exile, Luther translated the scriptures into German and is widely credited with establishing the modern language of Germany some years later. Luther wrote the lyrics to A Mighty Fortress is our God, drawing upon the words of the Psalm that was read to us earlier, Psalm 46. The song became a rallying cry for the German Reformation. If you are interested in the life of Martin Luther, by the way, there is a magnificent biography called Here I Stand, written by Roland Bainton, B-A-I-T-B-A-I-N-T-O-N, Roland Bington. I would highly recommend it to you. What transformed this obscure monk, who originally only wanted to clarify certain theological questions, into such a relentless reformer? It was his discovery to the answer to life's most important question. How is a sinful man made right with God? That is the question in fact the only question that matters. How is a sinful man made right with God? The answer is on his own he cannot. On his own, he cannot. Since all sin is first and foremost an offense against God, by its very nature, a sinner is placed in opposition to God and God in opposition to him. And since all people are sinners by nature and by choice, they we all abide under the wrath of God. That's reality. In Romans chapter 3, Paul writes, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all have sinned. In chapter 1, he writes, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Or Ezekiel, and in Ezekiel 18:4, the soul who sins will die. Therefore, any hope, any hope of escaping this dire predicament must lie with the one who has been offended. It lies with him. I mean, even if we were to somehow be able to cease sinning today, immediately, we would still have a massive backlog of sin stacked against us, which will condemn us eternally. We must have a complete and permanent change in our relationship with God and his law, which encompasses our status as lawbreakers, past, present, future. That's what we need. This change in status is called justification. It is called justification. And only God, the offended party, can accomplish this. Again, Paul in Romans 8, verse 33: God is the one who justifies. God is the one who justifies. Now, justification is a legal term. It is, in fact, legal in nature. John Murray, in a very, very fine book, rather small but dense, called Redemption Accomplished and Applied, he writes the following: and I quote: Justification is simply a declaration or pronouncement respecting the relation of the person to the law which he

The judge is required to administer. Justification is a declaration or a pronouncement. It is a legal declaration. It is a legal pronouncement, and it respects the person with regard to that law. And only the judge can pronounce it. It is a declaration of not guilty. It is a declaration of not guilty. And because it is legal in nature, it is external to us, not internal. And that is an important point to understand. In fact, it lies at kind of the controversy of the Reformation itself. It is external, not internal. In other words, it is a legal declaration which places us into a new relationship with God, not an action of God whereby we are made righteous, good, holy, or upright. Again, Murray. Let me repeat it. It is a legal declaration which places us into a new relationship with God, not an action whereby we are made righteous or good or holy or upright. And that is what lies at the heart of the contention between the Catholic Church and the Reformers. Regener, that is being born again, is an act of God in us. Justification is a judgment of God with respect to us. Critical that we understand that. Critical. Luther discovered the truth about justification. And with it, what became known as the five solas of the Reformation. The justification is by grace alone. That is, it is the free, unmerited gift of God, not something earned or deserved through good behavior. Justification is through faith alone. It is apart from human works or merit. Justification is in Christ alone. He is the only mediator and savior between God and humanity. Justification is to the glory of God alone, not humanity. And justification is based upon the scriptures alone, which are the highest and final authority for faith and practice above popes, traditions, or church councils. There's your five solas: grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, the glory of God alone, based on the scripture alone. The five solas. Luther got this right. And so when he said, quote, the doctrine of justification is the article by which the church stands or falls, for it concerns the only way sinful man can be declared righteous in God's sight. Bingo. That's right. That's right. The church stands or falls on this, our justification. How is it received? By faith alone. By faith alone. Romans chapter 5, verses 1 and 2: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we exalt in the hope of the glory of God. There's three of the solas right there. But to a thinking person, there is a question. And the question is this. How can God be just while at the same time justifying sinners? How can God remain just and justify sinners? Remember, it's external to us, not internal. There is no change. Proverbs 17:15 says, He who justifies the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The answer to the question is in the text before us this morning. 2 Corinthians 5, 21. He made him who knew no sin to be sinned on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness.

Of God in him. In this simple, singular verse, 15 Greek words, we find the heart of the gospel by which God changes our status from condemned to not guilty without compromising his holiness. This verse speaks of what is commonly called the great exchange, the great exchange, whereby Christ received our sin and we received his righteousness. This verse plunges us right into the heart of the doctrine of imputation. The doctrine of imputation. That is such a great word. You know, R.C. Sproll years ago, he was so tired of being called an evangelical. He said the word has been vacated of its meaning. And he wanted to call himself an imputationalist. I'm an imputationalist. I really like that, by the way. I adopted it for my own Facebook handle years ago. You know, you put your religion? Imputationalist. That's my religion. This doctrine, the doctrine of imputation in its simplest terms, is the declarative act of God, the Father, whereby he reckons, counts, or credits the actions of one person to the account of another, as if they had personally performed them. Another book recommendation along the way, but it's called Biblical Doctrine by MacArthur and Mayhew, also affectionately known as the Great White Whale. It's a really good and accessible systematic theology. It ought to be on everybody's shelf. Every home ought to have one on their shelf. So I'll be assured by a book. Imputation explains. It explains. It's a term of explaining. It explains how humanity was ruined in the fall and what God has done to remedy it. Romans chapter 5, verse 19, Paul writes, For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous. That's imputation. As the head of the race, when Adam sinned, all of humanity was reckoned by God to be implicated in that sin and thus subject to its attendant guilt and consequences. We were in Adam, born in Adam. The only solution was for a new head of humanity to act in our place, both atoning for our sin and achieving on our behalf the righteousness that God demands. But how does it work? Back to our text. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. The he, who's an antecedent, by the way, of the pronoun he, it is God, the end of verse 20, you'll see it. So it's God the Father made the sinless Christ to be sin on our behalf. That's what Paul says. God the Father made the Son, the sinless Son of God, to be sin on our behalf. That's what Paul says. But what does it mean? Is he saying that Jesus became a sinner? To borrow Paul's words, megina Ta, may it never be. No, no, no, no, no. Jesus remains who he is, the sinless one. Now, some commentators believe, in trying to answer the question, what Paul is saying is that God made Christ a sin offering. That's what he means. He made him who know no sin to be sin on our behalf. He made him who knew no sin to be a sin offering on our behalf. That's what they understand Paul to be saying. And then they typically would reference Isaiah 53, 10, where Isaiah says, but Yahweh was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief, if he would render himself a guilt offering. But I don't think that's the right understanding. I don't think it's the right understanding. And I think it breaks down in the verse.

Itself with the word sin, Harmathea. In other words, it would require the same word to have two different meanings in the same context, and I think that is highly unlikely. Beyond which, sin is nowhere else translated in the New Testament as sin offering. Harmonia is not translated anywhere else that way. So it would definitely be unique. So don't think it's the best answer. So back to the question: in what sense did God the Father make his Son sin? I think the answer, I think the answer lies in understanding Paul to be saying that God counted or reckoned Jesus to have committed all the sins of everyone who would ever repent and receive him by faith. In other words, they were imputed to him. They were reckoned in the mind of God the Father to have been committed by him. We see the parallel idea, by the way, in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 13, where we read there that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. In other words, he acted as our substitute on our behalf. He acts as our substitute. And it's by acting as our substitute that the Father lays on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6. Or 1 Peter 2:24. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. Commentator writes, and I quoted, Christ experienced the consequences of human sin. The one who lived a sinless life died a sinner's death, estranged from God and the object of his wrath. He was treated as a sinner, treated as a sinner. Now, question. Was our forgiveness all that Christ accomplished for us on the cross? Is that the extent of our justification? We have a massive problem. We are condemned before God. God punishes his son for our transgressions. Is that it? Is that it? Well, it is not. Back to the verse. He made him who knew no sin to be sinned on our behalf, second half of the verse, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. If the death of Christ and the resultant forgiveness of sin was the extent of our justification, then you and I would still fall short of the righteousness necessary to live in God's presence. God is holy. And without holiness, according to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 14, no one will see him. His standard is perfection. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 48, you shall be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. That's the standard, perfection. And that perfection is measured in the most condensed way by our inability to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. For in this lies the law and the prophets. We don't love. We are not perfect, right? Everybody knows that. One thing you know about humans, they're not perfect. I mean, it goes without saying, right? You and I not only have an unpayable sin debt, but we have an incomprehensible righteousness deficit. An unpayable debt of sin and an incomparable deficit of righteousness. And yet, that's the requirements. Again, look at a verse. Paul makes a purpose statement here. So that.

The purpose for which he laid on Christ the iniquity of us all was so that he might grant us legal access to the righteousness of God. That's what the verse says. The righteousness of God, what is that? It's the righteousness that belongs to God. I'm not going to take the time to demonstrate it. You'll have to trust me. It is the righteousness that belongs to God. That's what's required to live in his presence. And it's a righteousness that Jesus possesses and willingly shares with all who believe and are in union with him. Look at the end of the verse. That we might become the righteousness of God. See it in him. In him. Two words. Two little teeny words. In him. And it is in these two words, again, Murray writes, that we find the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation. Yeah, that's right. It is justification in him. That's the only way it can be. In him. What does it mean? It means as Christians, we are so intimately identified with Christ that the Father remains perfectly righteous in imputing our sin to Jesus and his righteousness to us. He alone is our representative, our substitute, and our mediator. Now, this union with Christ is in the mind of God the Father. And it is the source of his electing love in eternity past. And it ensures our participation in the Son's redemptive life, death, burial, resurrection, and eventual glorification with him. It's all in him. Ephesians 1, verses 3 and 4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before him. We're chosen in him before the foundation of the world. So this union with Christ is first legal. It is a legal union. And it is the basis of our justification. A legal union provides the basis for a legal justification, a legal declaration of not guilty. And to be credited, reckoned with the righteousness of Christ us. That is all a legal reality. But listen, the union becomes experiential when we exercise saving faith. And we are at that moment baptized into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12, 11. 2 Corinthians 12, 11. But that's a sermon for another day. You have to ask Jim to preach that one. We're dealing with justification. All of the benefits of the Father's imputation of the Son's righteousness come to us as a result of our legal union with Christ. And to quote the great white whale, page 604, quote, his life is our life. His punishment, our punishment. His death, our death. His resurrection, our resurrection. His righteousness, our righteousness. His ascension and glorification, our ascension and glorification. In summary, though he had not yet been born, God nevertheless counted his people to be in union with their Savior throughout the accomplishment of his redemptive work. Christ did not live, die, or rise again for a faceless, nameless group. Redemption was remarkably personal. Close quote. That's right. It is a personal justification. If you are in Christ this morning, you have been justified. You have been justified. Let's talk about Luther.

Again, I kind of wrap this up. Talk about back to Luther. I mean, what did he learn about justification that enabled him to stand firm against the combined weight of devils and kings? What was it that he learned that enabled him in the moment, and it was agony, but enabled him to stand firm against both devils and kings he learned this first that our justification is instantaneous and permanent and it grants full forgiveness and peace with God Romans chapter 5 and verse 1 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ it is instantaneous and it is permanent peace with God second he learned that justification provides complete assurance of God's acceptance and his favor Romans 8 verses 33 and 34 who will bring a charge against God's elect God is the one who justifies who is the one who condemns in other words if God has justified us who in the world could possibly condemn us answer no one no one it is a complete assurance of God's acceptance and favor if you are justified you are fully accepted in the beloved in the presence of Luther learned that justification enables a clean conscience and guilt free living the cleansing of the conscience the removal of guilt is a benefit of understanding the doctrine of justification Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 therefore there is now no condemnation for those who what are in Christ Jesus Luther famously said that when the devil would accuse him and and and seek to make him feel guilty for sin he would say yeah you're right I am a sinner but I'm justified I'm justified it's not to deny the reality it's to understand it through the greater reality of justification similar Pakator right at the same time just and sinner clean conscience guilt free living Christians should never live under a burden of guilt further Luther learned that justification throws wide open the door of salvation to anyone who will come in faith come alone to Christ alone to Christ in faith alone there we go the door is wide open to anyone who will come come to me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest Jesus said Matthew 11 28 anyone anyone here anyone here this morning the door of justification is wide open if you will come by faith and fifth and finally Luther learned that it is justification that provides the basis for his call and mine to you to be reconciled to God be reconciled to God for as he says in chapter 6 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 2 behold now is the acceptable behold now is the day of salvation today is your day today is your day repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved