The
doctrine of imputation is at the heart of the gospel; no imputation, no
salvation.
A
few brief notes on the subject:
-
The word “impute” is a legal and accounting term; it means “to credit to one’s
account.”
-
Imputation is a legal act of God the Judge alone.
1.
There was a single imputation in the Garden of Eden
-
Adam’s sin was imputed to every single human of the whole human race
represented by him; he was appointed as the representative head by the LORD God
the Creator.
-
The imputation of Adam’s sin brought condemnation and death and alienation upon
the whole human race, EVEN THOUGH none represented by Adam has personal
existence yet, except the woman of whom Adam said, “bones of my bones and flesh
of my flesh.”
Rom
5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
-
how did the sin of one man (Adam) relate to “all have sinned”? He was appointed
the representative head.
-
how did the sin of one man (Adam) relate to “so death passed upon all men”? His
sin was IMPUTED to all represented by him.
1Co
15:22 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
-
How in Adam all represented by him die? His sin was imputed to all represented
by him, i.e. the whole human race.
2.
There was a double imputation on the Cross of Calvary
-
Please note well, the double imputation took place at the cross; the misguided
reformed people believe it takes place when a sinner believes in Jesus Christ.
-
“There WAS” – a simple past complete legal action executed by the LORD God
alone; you did nothing; you did not have personal existence yet even though
your name has been in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the
world.
-
Christ’s righteousness was imputed by the LORD God the Judge to all represented
by Christ, and all the sins of all those represented by Him were imputed to
Him. Christ’s life of perfect obedience to all the laws of God secured the
righteousness needed for the justification of His people, to reverse the
condemnation brought about by the imputation of Adam’s sin (this is called
“original sin”) and their own actual sins.
-
Christ bore the curse of and suffered fully all the sins of all His people that
were perfectly and completely imputed to Him by the LORD God. No, no, no, it
was not you who give your sins to Christ; you did nothing, absolutely nothing
in this GREAT EXCHANGE; you were not even around yet! It was all the free and
sovereign act of the LORD God for all those whom He had given to His Son to
redeem.
-
This Great Exchange has secured and accomplished the LEGAL justification of
God’s elect; the legal justification of all God’s elect took place at the cross
by the one legal act of God in imputing the righteousness of Christ to them,
and imputing all their sins to Christ.
-
This is the LEGAL justification.
2Cor
5:21
"For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him."
-
The LORD God has made Christ Jesus to be sin for us: "has made" -
present perfect, a past action with the effect of that action remaining true to
the present moment.
3.
An elect that is LEGALLY justified is not yet PERSONALLY justified; they are
NOT, NOT, NOT the same.
-
The legal imputation of righteousness to you does not need your personal
existence; the application of righteousness to you personally requires your
personal existence; without it, the righteousness of Christ cannot be applied
to you personally. What was legally imputed has to be applied to an elect
personally.
-
The righteousness that was LEGALLY IMPUTED to all the elect (a class action) at
the cross event is PERSONALLY APPLIED to each elect at his effectual calling
out of his native state of sin, death, and alienation to that state of
righteousness (justification), eternal life (regeneration), and sonship
(adoption). This is the VITAL
justification.
-
The effectual call is the free and sovereign act of God alone in bestowing the
eternal salvation Jesus Christ the Redeemer has secured and accomplished for
His people.
-
The effectually called elect is bestowed with the Spirit of adoption; this
Spirit of adoption works in him all the saving graces, including faith; this
saving grace of faith enables a child of God to believe the gospel of his
salvation. Believing in the gospel of his salvation by the righteousness and
blood of Jesus Christ, his faith justifies/demonstrates/vindicates that he has
been freely justified by God. This is PRACTICAL justification.
B.
The above truths have been beautifully summarized by the Old School Baptists in
the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.
1689.11.4
"God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect, and Christ did
in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rise again for their
justification; nevertheless, they are not justified PERSONALLY, until the Holy
Spirit in time does actually apply Christ to them."
i. God decreed the justification of all the elect before the foundation of the world. This is the ETERNAL justification - a term often misunderstood as though it says that the elect was already justified personally in eternity. So, to avoid that, I use Decretal justification, i.e. justification decreed in eternity.
ii.
Christ Jesus secured the legal justification of all the elect at his death and
resurrection. They are LEGALLY justified; this is the LEGAL justification.
iii.
Though LEGALLY justified, they are not justified PERSONALLY until the Holy
Spirit in time does actually apply Christ to each of them personally; this
happens at the effectual calling. This is the VITAL justification.
iv.
Effectual calling makes believing in Jesus Christ possible, leading to
PRACTICAL salvation.
It's the genius of the Baptist Framers to add that most significant word "personally" in the 1689 COF; it's not in the WCF.
I hope this helps.
I pray that you want to learn and know these things and cherish them.
Ignorance
of these vital gospel truths is bad, but representing them wrongly is even
worse.
May the LORD save us from this evil. Amen.
Job
42
7 ¶
And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD
said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy
two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my
servant Job hath.
8
Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant
Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall
pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in
that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right,
like my servant Job.
================
Reggie
Lee
Although
It was Adam’s sin which caused the fall and the death of Eve, Eve was guilty of
sin of her own accord.
Sing
F Lau
1Tim
2:14
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression.
In
the transgression, the woman was deceived but Adam transgressed with full
knowledge of the command directed to him.
Being deceived in the transgression was no excuse; she still bore the consequences.
Reggie
Lee
Correct!
Adam’s sin is the only reason all things now die… If
Jesus never sinned, then how did He die?
Sing
F Lau
Hebrews
4:15 KJV — For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the
feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet
without sin.
2
Corinthians 5:21 KJV — For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
He
died for the sins of those given to Him by the Father; He died a substitutionary
death.
Reggie
Lee
Double
imputation?
Sing
F Lau
The
righteousness of Christ was imputed to His people, and the sins of His people
were imputed to Him. Double
not as in "double jeopardy"!
Reggie
Lee
You
knew this was coming… ok.. “could we get an explanation of the gift of God”?8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8 KJV)
Sing
F Lau
Eph
2 - KJT
1 ¶And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
5 Even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye
are saved;)
8 For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God:
In
the post above, I said,
"Faith
is a saving grace worked within the child of God by the indwelling Spirit;
faith is NOT a gift; a gift comes from without; faith is a saving grace worked
from within."
By
grace are we saved WHEN we were dead in trespasses and sins.
What
gift did God give to an elect dead in trespasses and sins: the gift of faith or
the gift of salvation?
Supposing
it's the former, what can such a recipient do with the gift?
Very
many assuredly believe that faith is the gift, and the unsaved dead in
trespasses and sins make use of that gift in order to be saved by grace! They
believe that the all-wise God would do such a silly thing.
Common
sense is dead among many theologians and their followers.
Reggie
Lee
Yeah,
I got that… I just wanted to question it for the sake of clearing it up… I
shared this and also cleared up what I thought was meant by faith not being a
gift.
