…because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! (Romans 1:25, ESV)
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (1 Corinthians 5: 21, ESV)
I once had a good friend ask if he could borrow my new driver. “Certainly”, I said. Then I turned to speak with another player in our foursome. When I turned back, my friend had the shaft in one hand and the clubhead in the other. The look on his face was priceless. I broke out laughing and then spent significant time playfully smack-talking him for the rest of the day.
I eventually swapped an old driver for one I had seen in yet another friend’s bag. Surprisingly, I played well with that one for a long time.
One of the more remarkable stories about swapping out clubs is the one Fred Couples told at his Hall of Fame induction. As the story goes, he visited Tom Watson at his home in Kansas looking for advice. As Freddie tells it, he expected to “hit balls for five hours every day.”
As it turned out, they went fishing, shot skeet, and engaged in everything but golf. As Freddie was rummaging through Tom’s garage, he discovered a driver belonging to Tom’s wife. Freddie was not only given that driver, but would end up using it as a three wood in multiple Ryder and President’s Cups. I don’t recall if Tom got anything in the exchange. Perhaps knowing he had helped a friend was considered a good swap.
Scripture has some significant things to say about swapping things too. One is tragic. The other is infinitely glorious. Tragically, Paul tells us that mankind has exchanged the worship of the true and living God for something in the created order.
Rather than worshipping God, we exchange him for some aspect of creation. It could be our careers, our sexual drives or our love of golf. Strange though it may seem, when we take a good thing and turn it into the best thing, we make it a bad thing.
Let’s be clear, God wants us to love our wives, our careers, and the game of golf. But he insists we love him first and foremost. When we reverse the order, Scripture defines that as idolatry. This is the tragic exchange. What about the infinitely glorious exchange?
Technically, biblical scholars call the one found in today’s verse, “The Great Exchange.” Here, we discover the greatest exchange in the history of the world.
As you would expect, an exchange involves at least two people swapping one thing for another. Here the two parties are Christ Jesus and repentant sinners. In a stunning act of utter selflessness and love, at the cross, Jesus took our sin and in exchange gave us his righteousness. He took the worst from us and gave us the best of himself. Could there be any better swap?
What is so striking about this singular act is that, customarily, two parties only exchange something that is valuable to each of them. In “The Great Exchange,” however, we discover Jesus swapping his perfect righteousness, which is of infinite worth, for our sinfulness, which is only worthy of punishment & death.
Now, to be clear, Paul is not suggesting that Jesus became a sinner; rather, he is telling us that Jesus took upon himself all the consequences and judgment of our sin.
When I think about this Great Exchange in comparison with the other exchanges I’ve mentioned, two things now stand out. First, while my buddy may have broken my club, what Jesus gives us never breaks, deteriorates or diminishes. Second, while Fred Couples may have played some incredible golf with a three wood, it didn’t make him the perfect golfer, but when Jesus includes us in his righteousness, God sees us as perfect – totally forgiven of all sin.
Truly, salvation is found in Christ alone, through grace alone, by faith alone, and to the glory of God alone!!!!
Prayer- Father, take us deeper and deeper into our understanding of and appreciation for amazing grace.