We’ve just come out of a season of exchanges — gifts, decorations, food, and time off. We give and we get. But the greatest exchange we can ever make isn’t found under a tree or wrapped in paper.

It’s The Great Exchange.

The one where we give up our way of doing things — our sin patterns, our personal philosophies, our attempts to control our own lives — and in return, we receive the righteousness of Christ. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

But here’s the thing: The Great Exchange isn’t a one-time transaction. It’s not something we do once and then we’re “all set.” Martin Luther called it “simul justus et peccator” — at the same time justified and a sinner. We are clothed with God’s righteousness, but we are still flawed people who need to continually surrender to Him.

So as we step into a new year, the question isn’t just “Have I made The Great Exchange?” but “What am I still holding onto that I need to hand over?” It’s time to throw off everything that hinders, fix our eyes on Jesus, and run the race He’s marked out for us.

Digging Deeper

Digging Deeper: The Exchange

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Lean In

    • What’s one thing from the Christmas season that’s hard for you to let go of — the decorations, the food, the time off, or something else?

    • Have you ever treated your relationship with God like a seasonal thing rather than a daily rhythm? What did that look like?

Look Up

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Observation — What does the text say?

    • What has happened to someone who is “in Christ”?

    • What ministry has God given to us according to this passage?

    • In verse 21, what did God make Jesus become, and what do we become in return?

Interpretation — What does the text mean?

    • Martin Luther described believers as “simul justus et peccator” — at the same time justified and a sinner. How does this tension show up in your daily life?

    • Why is it significant that we are “clothed” with God’s righteousness rather than becoming righteous on our own?

    • What does it mean to be an “ambassador” for Christ? How does that change the way we see our everyday interactions?

    • Why is The Great Exchange more than a one-time transaction?

Application — How should we respond?

    • Hebrews 12 talks about “the sin that so easily entangles.” What tends to entangle you and keep you from running your race well?

    • Are there areas of your life where you’ve slipped back into “seasonal faith” — fully engaged during certain times but distant in others?

    • What does it look like for you to “fix your eyes on Jesus” in this current season of life?

    • As we begin 21 days of prayer, what do you need to hand over to God in The Great Exchange this year?

Prayer

    • Thank God for the gift of His righteousness — something we could never earn.

    • Confess the things that have entangled you or caused you to grow weary.

    • Ask for strength to run your race with perseverance, eyes fixed on Jesus.

    • Close with: “Lord, thank You that in The Great Exchange, we always get the better end. We give You our sin, our brokenness, our own way of doing things — and You give us Your righteousness, Your purpose, and Your presence. Help us not to treat this as a seasonal transaction but as a daily surrender. We fix our eyes on You. Amen.”

PRACTICE: STEP OUT

Daily Truth Check:

Ask: “What lie am I believing today?” Replace it with a truth from Scripture.

Choose One Exchange Move:

    • Identify one habit or pattern you need to “throw off” — and take a practical step to address it this week.

    • Write out 2 Corinthians 5:17 and place it somewhere you’ll see it daily.

    • Have a conversation with someone about what it means to be an ambassador for Christ in your workplace, school, or neighborhood.

    • Commit to one rhythm of intentionality with God this year — daily prayer, weekly rest, or consistent community.

Message Transcript

Welcome—I hope everyone had a great Christmas week and a Happy New Year! Before we jump in, I want to give a quick personal shoutout to a few people.

  • To the team at Buda: I am so proud of you. With a whole new staff and a new Campus Pastor in Ricky Echeona, you have rallied. We have seen that campus grow more in 2025 than in any other year.

  • To Eric Bryant and the team at South: The way you continue to reach your community, see the marginalized, and open your campus to dozens of people who work remotely has been inspiring. You’ve navigated change like champions, and I’m so proud that Gateway is holding it down on the South side!

  • To Justin McCarty and the team at North: I want to give it up for Justin as he led the team day in and day out in a season of change. You all have navigated change management and all of its intricacies with a pastor’s heart.

We are doing more by doing less. Thank you to our entire staff for working to love people well and empowering our leaders and volunteers more and more.

A Season of Exchanges

You know we’re coming out of a season of exchanges. We exchange gifts with one another; we exchange the way our homes are decorated for a more festive look; we exchange our dietary standards so we can eat as we please for the “five extra pounds”; we exchange PTO for memories with family or to rest.

We give and we get. That’s part of having a generous heart and living in community with others. But let’s be clear: the greatest and best exchange we can make is The Great Exchange.

This is the one where we give up our way of doing things, our sin patterns, and our personal philosophies in exchange for the work of Jesus on the cross and His way of living.

Paul writes about this in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21:

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Simul Justus et Peccator

That last verse, verse 21, is where Martin Luther, the German theologian, coined the phrase “the wondrous exchange” in the early 1500s. Over time, many have landed on “The Great Exchange” to summarize what happens to a life anchored in Christ.

However, The Great Exchange has even more nuance than simply “I give up something and receive something else.” Why is it nuanced? Because we are humans. We make daily choices in this process. Martin Luther used the Latin phrase:

Simul justus et peccator (“At the same time justified and a sinner”)

He used this to shed light on the intricate journey of walking with Jesus. Yes, we receive God’s righteousness, but we are clothed with it; we do not become it. It is God’s righteousness afforded to you and to me because we are still flawed, finite people who tend to sin.

It is not a one-time transaction. It is a continual checking of our hearts in light of who God is.

The problem with our human version of exchanges is that we sometimes forget to go back to what we know is right. We know Christmas is a season, but sometimes we want to live in a fantasy world and escape reality. Not seeing things clearly can lead us to drift:

  • We shop for others, but start buying ourselves things we do not need.

  • We abandon home organization and keep the Christmas decor up because it takes work to put it away.

  • We forget our disciplines and keep eating like it’s December until 5 pounds turns into 10.

  • We fall in love with rest and forget that we are called to work and provide.

Many times, we look at The Great Exchange in the same way—as a seasonal transaction. We think, “I believe in Jesus, he forgave me, and now I’m all set.”

  • “I went to church in December, so I’m good for a while.”

  • “I spent time with family and friends, so now I need ‘me time’.”

  • “I gave to charity in December, so now my money is my money.”

  • “I served to end the year with good deeds, but I’ve got to get back to a schedule that works for me.”

We might feel disconnected from those statements because no one actually says them out loud. But they are often a reflection of our actions.

The Race Marked Out For Us

The truth is, we are not just invited to a new spiritual life; we are invited to a whole new way of doing life.

The metaphor we see in scripture repeatedly is that this exchange sets us on a different course—a race. There are millions who have run it before us, millions running alongside us now, and millions more who will believe and join the race.

Hebrews 12:1-3 gives us the framework:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

There are two overarching umbrellas for this part of The Great Exchange:

1. The Way of Jesus causes us to run in the direction of Jesus. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders… And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”

2. The Way of Jesus causes us to run in the manner of Jesus. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame… Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Look at that last phrase: “Do not grow weary and lose heart.” In the Greek, it could be translated: “Do not grow sick and lose your soul.”

Your Exchange for 2026

We’ve talked much about the season of exchanging gifts, but today is a reminder that we get the better end of the deal in The Great Exchange. But just as our gift-giving is filled with intentionality, so must be our relationship with God.

As you walked in today, you were given a card. It’s blank because only you know what needs to be handed over to God as we begin 2026.

Tomorrow we begin our 21 Days of Prayer. How important could it be that, in this time, you are intentional about what you need to hand over to God this year?

What part are you giving to Him in this exchange? It might be sin. It might be things that keep your soul from knowing and following God. It might be things that have entangled you, like habits or toxic relationships.

Whatever it is, these things keep you from running the race of Jesus in the way He’s asked us to run it. Take some time, reflect, and write on this card what you are exchanging. Maybe this is the first time you are surrendering in this way. Acknowledge it. Write it down. The new is here.