It's a steal!
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5.21
It would be outrageous were it not exactly what we need: a way back to God and a realistic antidote to evil. The statistics confirm that Britain is no longer a "Christian" country; fewer people own the name of Jesus than prefer other "religions", the fastest growing of which is "secularism". Secularism finds its justification in the fallacy that if we just try hard enough and acquire enough knowledge we can solve all of our problems, create a utopian environment and live in harmony - "happily ever after" as other fairytales have it.
All the evidence over several thousand years of human history points in the other direction: that the more we know and the more we can do, the worse our problems get, environmental degradation accelerates, while relationships at all levels deteriorate. So why do we persist in our self-help fantasy? Why do we ignore the "better way" that has been on offer for at least two thousand years and which we risk jettisoning along with our Christian identity? Is it pride, stupidity, the Devil?
That better alternative comes through embracing Jesus as Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world. Jesus realised Israel's messianic vocation by fulfilling the law, thereby breaking the power of sin. He then took upon his own shoulders the sins of the entire world, offering his perfect life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. His resurrection three days later confirmed the efficacy of that sacrifice and endorsed that greatest and most outrageous of exchanges: our sinfulness for his righteousness.
The technical term is imputation; the practical effect is that all our aspirations for life, the world and the future become a realistic prospect - but only if we follow Jesus, rather than humanity's misguided vanity project.
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