Text:  “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord IMPUTETH not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”  Psalm 32:1-2

“…Behold the Lamb of God (Christ Jesus) which taketh away the sin of the world.”  (John 1:29)

Definition of the term:  Imputation is a forensic (legal) term that denotes the reckoning, or placing to a person’s account, the merit or guilt that belongs to him/her on account of his personal performance or of that of his federal Head (Adam for all mankind; Christ Jesus for the Christian).

Thus it was that ‘…Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’  (Galatians 3:6) (Genesis 15:6)

Imputation of Sin:  When our forefather, Adam, sinned in disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden, he did so as mankind’s’ federal head, mankind’s representative in the Covenant made by our Creator Lord God between Himself and His creation, mankind.

Therefore, when Adam sinned, the guilt of sin was imputed unto all mankind who would be born in Adam’s ‘fallen’ image.  Original sin is thus put to our account, imputed unto us, by a Holy Lord God of wrath against all sin.  We are naturally born in sin and guilty of sin.

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his image (fallen, guilty of sin!); and called his name Seth.”  (Genesis 3:5)

“Behold (look) I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  (Psalm 51:5)

“As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one…none that understandeth…none that seeketh after God…none that doeth good, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10-12)

In our natural state, we are all guilty sinners.  We are guilty, by imputation, of the sin of our original representative Adam; and we are guilty of our own continual sins.  We are thus twice worthy of Hell as sinners against our Holy Lord God of fierce wrath against all sin.       (Habakkuk 1:13)

Imputation of Righteousness:  God imputes vital righteousness unto all those whom He grants faith to believe and receive Christ Jesus as their own  personal Saviour and Lord.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) (John 3:16)

In this manner, God placed all the guilt and the sin of ‘His people’ on the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus on the Cross , and punished Christ as our Substitute  in order to pay the full penalty for all our sins.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Imputation:  “Imputation is an act of God as Sovereign judge, at once judicial and Sovereign, whereby He:

(1)  Makes the guilt, the legal responsibilities of our sins, really Christ’s, and punishes them in Him.  (John 1:29) (2 Corinthians 5:21)

(2)  Makes the merit, legal rights of Christ’s righteousness, ours, and then treats us as persons legally invested with all those rights.  (Romans 4:6; 10:4) (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) (Philippians 3:9)

As Christ is not made a sinner by the imputation to Him of our sins, so we are not made holy by the imputation to us of His righteousness.  The transfer is only of guilt from us to Him, and of merit from Him to us.  He justly suffered the punishment due our sins, and we justly receive the rewards due to His righteousness.  (1 John 1:8-9)”  (A.A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, Chapter 30, Question 15.)

Imputation:  “The doctrine of Imputation is clearly indispensable to the Biblical doctrine of Justification.  It has been attacked by modernists and so misrepresented as to be absurd.”  Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms, page 187)

Imputation:  Looked at in the simplest of terms, the doctrine of imputation is like the bankrupt person (the sinner) going to a bank manager desiring to make a withdrawal to start a new business.  The bank manager immediately refuses to receive him/her because the person has no resources at all in the bank.

However, a multi-millionaire (Christ Jesus) then escorts the bankrupt person to the bank, speaks to the bank manager and instructs him to put all his millions at the bankrupt person’s disposal.  The bank manager immediately welcomes the otherwise bankrupt person into his office with open arms and full acknowledgement.  All the millionaire’s resources had been put to the bankrupt person’s account.  That is what Christ Jesus has done, by grace, for ‘His people’.

“…And thou shall call His Name Jesus; for He shall save HIS PEOPLE from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:21)  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour!

Rejoice therefore, born again Christian, because of Christ’s Sacrifice of Atonement at Calvary’s Cross, you and I have Christ’s own personal righteousness IMPUTED unto us (put to our account) in the eyes of our Father in Heaven.  We are made righteous in our God-given Standing in the Holy Place, and all our sins are covered by Christ’s precious Blood forever.

Imputation means Christ is saying to our Father in Heaven what the apostle Paul is saying to Philemon reference young Onesimus:

“…Thou shouldest receive him forever; not now as a servant, but above a servant,  a brother beloved, specially to Me, but how much more unto Thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?  If Thou (Father) count Me (Christ Jesus, the Son) therefore a partner, receive him as Myself.  If he (the sinner) hath wronged Thee, or oweth Thee ought, put that on My account.”   (Philemon 15-18)  

Thanks be to God for the doctrine of Imputation. What a Saviour! Amen.