THREE GREAT IMPUTATIONS
Psalm 32:1-2
INTRODUCTION:
1. Words are vitally important. Often as one reads the Scriptures, a word comes to light that needs further clarification.
2. Two main reasons for this clarification exist.
3. First, a word’s meaning may have changed over the years.
4. I Peter 1:15 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”
5. The word “conversation” has changed. It used to mean “your lifestyle, conduct, behavior, or manner of living.” Today it simply means to have a talk with someone.
6. The word “dog” has changed meanings. When I was a boy if you called someone a dog that meant that they were ugly. Now, if you call someone dog, it means that they are your good friend.
7. The word “gay” has changed meanings significantly. It used to mean nothing more than being happy. Today it means being a homosexual or a lesbian.
8. ILL: Security password My parents have a security system at their home. The password is my mother’s middle name – Gay! Every time I came home from college they would leave the system armed. Since you only have thirty seconds to enter the code, and since I could never remember the code, the alarm would go off. Within seconds the alarm-company would call demanding the password and I would be forced to reply – Gay! I don’t think the person at the call center thought, “Wow, he is a really happy guy!”
9. Second, a word may be archaic.
10. This is the case with the word “impute” in verse two. It is a bookkeeping or banking term that occurs fourteen times in the Bible and literally means “to reckon something positive or negative to one’s account.” Except for theological discussions, no one uses this word any longer today.
11. The word “impute” is synonymous with the words ascribe, attribute, account, credit, and reckon.
12. The Bible teaches three great imputations, and each of them pertains to the doctrine of salvation. As a result, the importance of understanding the word “impute” can not be underestimated if we are to comprehend fully the doctrine of salvation.
13. THEREFORE, WE MUST UNDERSTAND IMPUTATION
WHY?
I. BECAUSE ADAM’S SIN WAS IMPUTED TO ALL MEN (ROM. 5:12)
1. Romans 5:12
2. Much of the Bible deals with specific sins, i.e. – lying, stealing, covetousness, etc…. However, this verse deals not with specific sins but rather with the principle of sin which has corrupted the entire human race. We call this original sin or the depravity of man.
3. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
4. ILL: How far did man fall? Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse tells the story of how he was teaching a Bible class on the book of Genesis, and what happened when he came to the third chapter and the account of the fall of man. He stated to the class that one of the greatest and most heated of all theological arguments is over how far man fell in the sin of Adam. To his surprise, the crowd broke into riotous laughter.
5. The very fact that men would argue over how far man has fallen proves that they have fallen completely and are absolutely entrenched in trespasses and sin.
6. Spurgeon wrote, “I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that there dwelleth in my flesh no good thing.”
7. When Adam sinned, the entire human race was plunged into sin, and after the fall he and his descendants could only beget sinners. As a result, all men must suffer the ultimate consequence of sin – death.
8. First, the fall caused physical death – Rom. 5:12
9. God promised that man would die if he were to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10. Genesis 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
11. The earth is pock-marked with graves, and the most incontestable testimony of history is that all men everywhere, regardless of race, religion, creed, social status, or wealth will one-day die.
12. I Corinthians 15:22 “For in Adam all die…”
13. Second, the fall caused spiritual death – Is. 59:2
14. Man is a triune being made up of body, soul, and spirit.
15. I Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
16. The body (or flesh) is the sinful, material part of man, which causes him to struggle between good and evil. The soul is the personal life of the individual and is made up of the mind, the emotions, and the will – it is the real you. The spirit is that part of man, which God communicates with and makes alive through the new birth.
17. When Adam fell, he died spiritually. Ephesians 2:1 says that man is “dead in trespasses and sins” and his spirit must be “quickened” or made alive by God’s grace.
18. Third, the fall caused eternal death – John 8:24
19. God did not create hell to be inhabited by men. Rather, it was created for Satan and his fallen angels (Matt. 25:41). Yet, the truth remains that Adam’s sin caused all men to inherit everlasting punishment for their sins.
20. Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written ion the book of life was cast in the lake of fire.”
21. Adam’s fall literally caused the ruination of the entire human race when his sin was imputed to all man-kind.
II. BECAUSE ALL MEN’S SIN WAS IMPUTED TO CHRIST (II COR. 5:21)
1. II Corinthians 5:21
2. When Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross of Calvary, he literally took every person’s sin upon His own body. He actually physically became sin for us when God imputed all men’s sin to Christ.
3. I Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
4. This truth exemplifies the heart of the gospel. The sinless Savior took all men’s sin upon Himself and freely offers forgiveness to all.
5. John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
6. Two Old Testament animals prefigured Jesus as the Lamb of God.
7. First, Jesus was the lamb for the sin offering “the Lamb of God…”– Lev. 4:3-4.
8. The sin offering was a lamb, laden with the sins of the people. The lamb was sacrificed in place of the sinful person. This is what Jesus did on the cross.
9. Isaiah 53:2-6 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
10. You ands I have sinned, and we must of necessity have an offering for sin to appease God’s righteous and holy standards. Thank God Jesus became our sin offering!
11. Second, Jesus was the scapegoat “taketh away the sin…” – Lev. 16:7-10, 20-22.
12. The high priest would present two goats before the Lord. One was to be slain as the sin offering, and the other was sent into the wilderness alive.
13. The word “scapegoat” is the Hebrew word “Azazel”, and is a combination of two words meaning “goat” and “depart.” It was literally the goat of removing and symbolized the removal of Israel’s sin.
14. Psalm103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
15. Hebrews 9:26 “For then must he have often suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
16. The Levitical sacrifices were nothing more than a foreshadowing of what was to come! They could never truly take away sin and therefore had to be repeated over and over again for 1,500 years. Seas of blood were shed.
17. But Christ came and shed his blood only once, and His sacrifice completely and forever removed our sins from us! Thank God our sin was imputed to Him on the cross!
III. BECAUSE CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS IS IMPUTED TO EVERY BELIEVER (ROM. 4:21-25)
1. Romans 4:21-25
2. Abraham was a man just like any other man. He had shortcomings and even occasionally engaged in sinful behavior. However, Abraham had righteousness imputed to him!
3. How did Abraham get this righteousness?
4. James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
5. Abraham believed God. He put his faith in the promises that God made to him. Therefore, God imputed His righteousness to him.
6. The only condition for having the righteousness of Christ applied to your account is faith in His atoning work at Calvary. Nearly 200 times in the New Testament alone faith, or believing is mentioned as being the only condition for salvation.
7. John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
8. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
9. Acts 16:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
10. The truth is, because of Adam’s imputed sin, all men must have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them in order to stand before God.
11. Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind’ have taken us away.”
12. When we stand before God, the only thing that will matter is whether or not the righteousness of Jesus Christ has been credited to our account.
13. ILL: Dr. Acosta-Rua Once I had to sit out a semester of college because I still owed some money. A doctor friend of mine decided that he wanted to help me so I gave him the number to the college. I figured that he might send over $100. When I got to the registration line I found out that he had paid over $4,300. It paid my debt, the entire present semester and books, and half of the next semester. His money was imputed to my account.
CONCLUSION:
1. Obviously, Christians must understand this word “impute” in order to comprehend fully God’s simple plan of salvation. Without understanding this critically important word, the believer may never know the depths of his own depravity and in turn the depths of Christ’s magnificent love.
2. Christians should thank and praise God for imputing Christ’s righteousness to their account, for this imputation assures believers of a home in heaven for all eternity.
3. Conversely, without the imputed righteousness of Christ, no man or woman can ever stand righteous before the righteous God of the universe.
