Basic Theology: Imputation - God Imputes Righteousness of Christ to believers
- The Imputation of Sin
- Sin is imputed to Christ
- God Imputes Righteousness of Christ to believers
- Conclusion
- Basic Theology: Imputation Video
God Imputes Righteousness of Christ to believers
God imputes the righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believing sinner while
he is still in his sinning state.
Because of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice, Christ's righteousness is
credited into the believer's account. The imputation of the righteousness of
Christ to the sinner lies at the heart of the Biblical teaching on
salvation.
“The righteousness of God” is credited to the person who puts his trust in
the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is what makes a person saved.
For Abraham, it was credited to him.
Genesis 15:6,
And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for
righteousness.
For every believer in Christ its credited to them.
Psalms 32:2,
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in
whose spirit there is no deceit.
Romans 3:22, Romans 4:3; 8; & 21-25,
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it
was accounted to him for righteousness.”
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was
also able to perform.
22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for
righteousness.”
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed
to him,
24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him
who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised
because of our justification.
2 Corinthians 5:21,
All of our sins were charged (imputed) to the account of Christ, and His
righteous standing with the Father has been imputed (charged) to our
account. There is a judicial transfer of the righteousness of God to the
believer because there could be no other grounds of acceptance with a
righteous God. God is the author of this righteousness.
Apostle Paul writes about this righteousness in Philippians 3:8-9,
Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the
law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
is from God by faith;
Because of this righteousness which God imputes to the believer in Christ,
we "become the righteousness of God"! The same way in which Christ was
"made to be sin"
When the apostle Paul says "faith is reckoned for righteousness" in
Romans 4:5, the meaning is not that God accepted Abraham's faith
instead of perfect righteousness as the meritorious grounds for his
justification.
God accepted Abraham because he trusted in God rather than in anything
that he could do. Saving faith is not a good work (Romans 3:24). It
is a free gift.
The true Christian is saved by free, unmerited grace. Faith is simple
trust in the grace of God manifest in Jesus Christ with no claims to
merit. It is salvation by pure grace. The believer's sin is covered, and
he is counted righteous.
Romans 4:6,
just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God
imputes righteousness apart from works:
The righteousness of God is imputed to all who believe on Christ so that
they may stand before Him in all the perfection of Christ. It is true that
the Christian is not yet perfectly holy or morally righteous.
Nevertheless, we are justified before the Law of God and are "clothed"
with the imputed righteousness of Christ.
Every saved sinner has been “made” the righteousness of God.
1 Corinthians 1:30,
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
2 Corinthians 5:21,
Romans 4:21-23,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was
also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him
for righteousness.” 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone
that it was imputed to him,
This imputed righteousness is not something man does or earns. It is not
"infused" righteousness. Justification and imputation are both legal. This
is a major theme of the apostle Paul in the book of
Romans 3:21-5:21.
When a person accepts by faith the work of Christ in satisfying the
righteous demands of God's Law, God imputes or reckons to the believer
this righteousness. Based on the merits of Christ, the sinner is granted a
new legal standing; he is counted righteous even while a sinner.
It is all about God’s grace!
God imputes righteousness by faith.
This imputed righteousness is the same as justification without works or
personal merit.
Grace triumphs when God imputes righteousness that leads to eternal life.
God sees the believer as abiding in His own Son. We have a new
identification with Him by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are members
of His body (1 Corinthians 12:13; John 15:1, 5).
God sees us “in Christ” and justifies us forever. He sees us clothed in
the righteous garments of Christ
(Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 21:2).
Therefore, the disastrous effects of the fall of Adam are effectively
reversed for those who believe on Christ. The imputation of human sin to
Christ makes possible the imputation of His righteousness to every
believer.
➢ God loves you and me as much as He loves
His own Son (John 17:23).
➢ God accepts us as He accepts Jesus
Christ (Ephesians 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5).
➢ God sees us the same way He sees His own
Son (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:22; 1 Corinthians 1:30).
➢ We are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10);
➢ God the Father sees us perfected forever
(Hebrews 10:10 & 14).
The imputation of Christ's righteousness results in justification before
God's court of law.
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