IMPUTATION – ROMANS 4:5-8 NKJV

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Romans 4:6-8

⁶ just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Impute:  To charge; to attribute; to set to the account of .  American dictionary of The English Language, Noah Webster 1828

The Bible teaches a threefold imputation.  Adam’s sin is imputed to his lineal posterity, or all those who fall under him as the covenant head of the covenant made with him in the Garden.  The sin of all who are in the Covenant with Christ (the Messianic Covenant) are imputed to Jesus.  The righteousness of Christ (both active and passive) is imputed to all who are in covenant with Him as their Head and Savior.

Once this is said and accepted, the importance of imputation in the Scripture can hardly be overemphasized.  Many theologians and most philosophers find this way of God dealing with man unacceptable.  But a brief investigation will reveal the virtue of God’s way.

1.  The imputation of Adam’s sin.
1. For God to have chosen this method of covenantal association requires us to think of it in the light of His perfections.  As His wisdom is infinite this must be the wisest way for Him to treat us as our God and Creator. 

As He is infinitely just there can be no accusation of injustice against Him.  His justice is so certain that no other way can be considered as plausible for Him.

2. The only way any sane thinking person would want to represent himself is to be ignorant of Adam’s superiority and the favor he had with God as he stood in covenant with God.

His intellect was as perfect as man’s mind can be.  His spiritual perfection was that, without flaw.  He had no taint of evil, and was created holy.  And to encourage him in spiritual perfection he had constant fellowship with God.  There was nothing wanting in Adam to cause him to fail in his covenant responsibility.

How foolish anyone is to want to represent himself before God.  Having only the merest of reflections of Adam’s greatness none can stand for a moment.

O, the mercy and grace of God to give us such a great father and head.  But then that is only a drop in all the oceans compared to Grace given in our Covenant Savior.

Adam was greater but Jesus is infinitely greater.