The Great Exchange

As I was reading in Acts and Romans today, I suffered from what happens to me occasionally - lack of inspiration.  I don't read through devotions looking for sermon or blog material.  I read through it for me, and despite that, I'm still uninspired at times.  Certainly, that's not anyone's fault but my own.



So I re-read through Acts 2, and was suddenly struck by something Peter said at the end of what is probably the greatest sermon ever preached.  "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."  A few things struck me here:


1.) God has made Jesus Lord.  The word for Lord in Greek is "kurios", which is indicative of supreme authority.  Did you know that the primary message of the New Testament is not Jesus as Savior, though that's absolutely there.  The primary message of the New Testament is Jesus as Lord.  I'm challenged to ask myself this question: Is Jesus truly the Lord of my life?  Do I submit to Him as the Supreme Authority in my life? We all submit to something as a supreme authority - what's yours?  What's mine?


2.) God has made Jesus Messiah.  Interestingly enough, the Jewish concept of the Messiah (or the savior) was a political concept.  They saw Jesus as someone who would come and overthrow the Roman rule of the Jews, and re-establish the Jews as a sovereign people.  I did a quick (and I mean quick) word study on Messiah in Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament), and I came up with "Yhovah tsidqenu" as a Hebrew word form for Messiah.  From this, we derive the anglicized word, "Jeshovah-tisdqenu" which means "The Lord is my righteousness".  I was humbled and challenged to acknowledge and lay claim to the fact that my righteousness is not my own.  It's not from me, it's not through me - it's from and through Jesus Christ, and Him crucified!


3.) Jesus, as our Lord (or Supreme Authority) does not sit in judgment over us.  Instead, He serves as our redemption, exchanging our sin for His righteousness!  How easy it would be for God to sit in judgment over us - we who's sin actually hung His son on the cross in the first place.  But no, He loves us so much that He just exchanges our sin for His righteousness!


In a time in my life, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, where I'm sensing the need to change and improve, it would be easy for me to begin to believe that what I do or don't do is the source of my righteousness.  It would also be very easy for me, as I'm repenting and seeking the Lord for forgiveness in areas of my life, to hold my own sin against me.  To do either of these is to ignore the truth of The Great Exchange - the fact that, through nothing I can do on my own, and through nothing I abstain from on my own, Christ Himself makes me righteous.  The Lord is my righteousness - no one and nothing else!


So where are you today?  Are you striving for righteousness that comes through effort and work? Or are you accepting The Great Exchange that Christ is offering to you - His righteousness for your sin?