‘Not Imputing Their Trespasses To Them’

‘Not Imputing Their Trespasses To Them’

‘…that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.’

II Corinthians 5:19

It is of critical importance that we understand the concept of imputation. It is only by an understanding of that concept that we can grasp justification, because imputation is critical to it. If God would reconcile the world unto Himself, He must employ Christ to do it. Christ must establish His Righteousness by His Active and Passive Obedience. By His Perfect Life, Christ satisfied the Law of God in precept. By His Atoning Death, Christ satisfied the Law of God in penalty. By these acts, Christ has thoroughly established His Righteousness. It is this Righteousness that God the Father imputes to the sinner. It is the sin of the sinner that God imputes to Christ. He ‘bears their iniquities.’ Hence, our text declares that God is ‘not imputing their trespasses to them.’ Instead He imputes ‘their trespasses’ to Christ. This is the most glorious transaction which could possibly be for our benefit. Because Christ’s Righteousness is a perfect righteousness, God views all who receive it as perfectly righteous.  Because God imputed to Christ all of the sin of all of His ransomed, ‘He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.’ Here is the wonderful news of the Gospel. The more we understand it, the more we will value Christ. The more we value Christ, the more we will make of Him in every way. Christ is all.

O, Judge of all the earth.
We rejoice that You have,
because of Christ, declared us not guilty.
We praise You that Christ, has borne the burden of our sins,
and that because He has, we bear them no more.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning