For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
—2 Corinthians 5:21

Some of you have probably already heard that condemnation, and above all condemning ourselves, is one of the main causes of a Christian’s problems. Often we may not even notice how we condemn ourselves. Words like “oh, I forgot to do that” or “if I had done what was needed, this wouldn’t have happened.” Any regrets and disappointments are “symptoms of self-condemnation.” Many probably know the verse Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus“, but even knowing this verse, we can often fall into soul-searching and self-condemnation. I am not offering methods of fighting condemnation here, because every fight has already been finished on the cross; I am revealing the truth written in the Word.

In the same 8th chapter of Romans Paul writes that God “condemned sin in the flesh” [Rom.8:3] It is no secret that God condemns sin. It is knowing this that brings a person into condemnation. When Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he fell into condemnation, and as a result he became afraid and hid from God. Adam received sin-consciousness, and this brought him into condemnation. Let’s even put it this way: “Adam became sin”. For many this statement may be news, because everyone knows that Adam committed a transgression. But his action had a consequence: he, and all mankind after him, became sin and so came under condemnation. Here is what Paul writes: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;” [Rom.5:12] If you read this verse carefully, it becomes clear that people’s deeds have nothing to do with who they are.

Thank God that He sent His Son. On the cross Jesus became sin. Some translations of 2 Corinthians 5:21 (the Russian Synodal, for example) add the words “a sacrifice for”, but they are not in the original. The original says that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin“. That is, Jesus took on the very nature that every person had. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” [Jhn.3:14] The serpent is an image of sin. So why did Jesus become sin? The verse goes on: “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Notice that it does not say we become “righteous” (an adjective), but “the righteousness” (a noun), which is set against sin.

Jesus became sin, or the serpent, on the cross, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This is the super-wonderful exchange. On the cross our nature changed from “sin in the flesh” to “righteousness in Christ.” And now that we are the righteousness of God, what condemnation can there be for us? Does God condemn righteousness? Certainly not! God blesses and glorifies His righteousness! That is why, knowing that we are His righteousness forever, we can boldly say: “There is not and cannot be any condemnation for me, because I am no longer sin in the flesh, but righteousness in Christ!”