Imputation is
the act of God by which
He credits or reckons something
to a person’s account.
In the doctrine of salvation,
it refers especially to the
crediting of the believer’s sin to Christ
and the crediting of Christ’s perfect righteousness
to the believer.
It is a legal (forensic) transfer
that lies at the heart of
justification by faith.
The concept of imputation is rooted in several key passages:
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
“David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’” (Romans 4:6-8, quoting Psalm 32)
“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3; see also Genesis 15:6)
The Greek word often translated “counted,” “credited,” or “reckoned” is logizomai, a term used in financial and legal contexts for placing something on someone’s account.
Historic Protestant theology speaks of a double imputation in the gospel:
This double exchange is the foundation of the believer’s full acceptance with God.
Imputation is essential to justification. Justification is God’s legal declaration that a person is righteous. That declaration is not based on any righteousness inherent in the sinner, but on the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to him or her. Faith is the instrument that receives this imputed righteousness; it is not itself the ground of justification.
Imputation protects the freeness and certainty of the gospel. Because the believer’s standing before God rests on what has been credited to him from Christ, it is secure and complete from the moment of faith. The Christian does not work to achieve a righteousness of his own but receives by faith the perfect righteousness of Jesus. This truth produces deep humility, strong assurance, and lasting gratitude.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.