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Imputation: The Heart of Justification
At the heart of the Protestant view of justification by faith alone is the doctrine of an imputed righteousness. But does the Bible actually teach that we are declared righteous on the basis of Christ’s work on our behalf? Also, some argue that this view of justification essentially amounts to “legal fiction,” but is this really the case? These are some of the questions the hosts will address on this edition of White Horse Inn as they conclude their series on the doctrine of justification.
Guest Quote:
“Some of the more familial or covenantal kinds of illustrations really also have as their background imputation. If you think about something like marriage, for example, you can’t get much more familial than that. But the idea there is that how do you enter into marriage? Well, you’re declared husband and wife. Your relationship with one another changes. It’s not based upon some kind of infusion of something new inside of the bride or the groom, but it’s based on a legal declaration. And that’s the entire idea whether we’re talking about marriage or any of the other metaphors that you just mentioned.”– Steve Parks
Term to Learn:
“Imputation”
Simply, to credit or reckon. Through Adam, the guilt of sin is imputed to all men; through Christ, righteousness is imputed to believers.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12-21)
On the cross, Christ exchanged his righteousness for man’s sinfulness by means of imputation.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The sins of believers were imputed (credited) to Christ on the cross, and the righteousness that belonged to Jesus Christ was imputed (credited) to believers. Thus, believers possess an “alien” righteousness and can stand before a righteous God.
(This podcast is by White Horse Inn. Discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)