Today, on Day 11, we open another door of our Advent calendar to a fundamental truth of the Christian faith: imputation.
Imputation is a Latin accounting term meaning “to apply to one’s account.” Expenses are debited, and income is credited. (Source)
At birth, the sin of Adam, the federal head of mankind, is imputed or assigned to us because sin came into the world through one man and that death spread to all people because all sinned (see Romans 5:12-21).
When Christ Jesus died on the cross our sin was imputed to him, even though he never sinned. Even more incredible is that Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account when we believe in the salvation he accomplished on that cross, even though we don’t deserve it.
This is often referred to as The Great Exchange.
Christ receives the punishment we deserve and we get the reward he deserved. His account is debited with our debt.
But wait there’s more…
The perfect obedience of Christ is also imputed to us. God sees us as if we have never sinned. When he looks at you and me, God’s adopted children, he sees us the same way he sees Jesus Christ. We share the same rights that Jesus has – his inheritance, resurrection, joy, peace and even eternal life are all deposited in our soul’s bank account.
What a gift!
“The imputation of Christ’s righteousness is a beautiful reminder of just how exceedingly gracious our God is. He supplies to us what he demands from us.”
– Jared Wilson
This doctrine of imputation is closely related to the previous gifts of expiation and propitiation we opened earlier in our Advent calendar. Feel free to re-examine these gifts for a refresher.
Listen to this short episode where Bradley Cooper explains Imputed Righteousness on Simply Put below:
“Because of this, in a way, when God looks at us now, he sees his own Son. The gift of imputation is the gift of approval and acceptance. We are not treated according to our sin but according to the sinlessness of Jesus.” – Jared C. Wilson
One day when you stand in front of the most holy God, he won’t see your sin-stained rags but he’ll see the royal robe of Jesus. How does this truth make you feel?