The Gospel of Jesus - Part 2

Last August I started a new position as Assistant Pastor at a church in Suburban Chicago. Listening to the Senior Pastor preach and teach, I heard a new way of articulating the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The GOSPEL of Jesus Christ:

… He was BORN – to be our SUBSTITUTE;

… He lived the PERFECT life – to be our RIGHTEOUSNESS by faith;

… He DIED – to earn the FORGIVENESS of all sin;

… He ROSE from the dead – that we too might RISE from the grave one day; and

… He ASCENDED with the promise to return and give all believers in Christ eternal life in HEAVEN.



2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


St. Paul makes an absolutely incredible statement. In saying God made Jesus sin in order that we could become the righteousness of God is a tremendously awesome event. Look at what God has done for us! We have been reconciled to God by Jesus actually become sin!

While it is true that Jesus, during His earthly ministry, was tempted to sin, He actually never sinned. Yet He was punished by God for sin. In fact, all the sin of the world – starting with Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden and including my sin.

That is absolutely incredible!

That is absolutely incredible love!


Matthew 3:14-15

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Then he consented.

The key to Jesus becoming sin for us and we becoming the righteousness of God is found in the baptism of Jesus. Matthew records Jesus saying, “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

What is happening is that Jesus is making the Sacrament of Baptism connected to His perfect life, His sacrificial death, and His glorious resurrection from the dead.

Rather than Jesus needing  baptism to wash away sins – because He didn’t have any sin to wash away – He put His righteousness in Holy Baptism.

When we are now baptised, we are buried with him into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

This newness of life is the righteousness of Christ that we have been given when Christ became sin for us.

Here is your heartwork for this week:

Ezekiel 18:32               God Wants Us to Live

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.

2 Corinthians 5:21         Jesus Lived Perfectly

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Matthew 3:14-15           Jesus’ Baptism

John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Romans 1:16                 The Gospel is the Power of God for Salvation

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:17                 The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”