"As If I was Christ"

What if the way you think God sees you is completely different from the truth?

In this episode, we explore the powerful truth behind the statement, “You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were you.” Through Scripture, we’ll unpack the Great Exchange—how Jesus took our sin so we could receive His righteousness—and discover why our identity and confidence before God are rooted in Christ’s finished work, not our performance.

Key Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:16

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

What's up, you guys? Welcome back to the Bless Me on Chaos Podcast. It's actually been a while since I've made a podcast episode, but I thought I would pick it back up. I've been traveling the country, hosting youth camps all across the country. And, you know, we're on week 10 now. And on my off day, I thought, why not just post another episode? And so today's episode is actually going to be called As If I Were Christ. This is going into a very deep quote that I've heard from Charles Spurgeon that says, You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if he were you. And there are moments when I read a sentence that completely changes the way I see the gospel. And one of those moments is when I heard this. You know, at first it almost sounds too good to be true. Like, how could a holy God look at someone like me with the same acceptance he has for his perfect son? It's simple. The answer is really simple, as found in the cross. Jesus did not just die for my sins, he took my place. On the cross, Christ stood before the Father as though he lived my sinful life. That means every sin, every failure, every selfish thought, every hidden struggle, and every act of rebellion was placed upon himself. He bore the punishment that I deserved. 2 Corinthians 5 21 says this, for our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. I want you to notice what Paul's saying here. He says, Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin, not because he became sinful, but because he was willing to take my guilt upon himself. Then, in the greatest exchange the world has ever known, his righteousness was credited to me. And that's what theologian theologians call this the great exchange. It's my guilt for his grace, my shame for his righteousness, my condemnation for his acceptance, and my death for his life. Because why? Jesus stood before God as though he were me. I can now stand before God as though I were Christ. Not because I've earned it, but because he has given it to me. This should change everything. That means when I fail, I don't have to wonder if God loves me less. When I struggle, I don't have to fear that I've lost his acceptance. And when I pray, I do not have to approach God hoping he will tolerate me. I can approach him as his beloved child who's welcomed by grace. Now, this does not give me permission to keep sinning. Hear me when I say that. This does not give you permission to keep sinning. It gives you every reason to pursue holiness. You should not obey God so that he will love you. You obey God because he already does. You know, for years I thought God looked at me through the lens of my mistakes. And every time I failed, I imagined him shaking his head in disappointment. Why? Because I was waiting for him, I was waiting for myself to earn my way back into his favor. But that's not what the gospel's telling us. The gospel's actually telling us a different story. And it's this when God looks at those who are in Christ, he sees the righteousness of his son. Now that does not mean he ignores your sin. It just means that your sin has already been judged at the cross. The wrath that should have fallen on me fell on Jesus. The acceptance that belonged to Jesus has been given to me. And the truth, this truth here gives me confidence. Why? It's not not confidence in myself, it's confidence in Christ. Hebrews 4:16 tells us this to draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. Why? Because Jesus has already made the way. Like we do not have to enter God's presence based on our performance that day. We enter because Christ has finished work. So this truth is changing how we see other people. You know, if God has shown me that kind of grace, how can I withhold grace from others? If Christ has willingly taken my place, how can I refuse to serve those around me? And if I've been forgiven so completely, how can I continue to live as though I'm still condemned? The gospel isn't just the message that saves us, it's the truth that sustains us every single day. Every morning I now can wake up knowing I don't have to earn God's approval because I already have it in Christ. And every night I can lay my head down knowing my standing before God doesn't rise and fall with my emotions, my accomplishments, or my failures. It rests on Jesus alone, and that is the beauty of the cross. Jesus stood where I deserved to stand, so I could stand where only He deserved to stand. What an incredible savior that is for us. My reflection question I have for you as I leave it out on the short episode is this How would your life change if you truly believe that your identity before God was based on Christ's righteousness instead of your own performance? How would your life change if you truly believe that your identity before God was based on Christ's righteousness instead of your own performance? I want you to answer that question. And I hope you feel encouraged and that you learned something. I love you guys, and we'll see you on the next one. Catch you later.