Romans – Chapter Four XII - The Doctor's Office

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:7-8).

This quotation from Psalm 32 brings one of the great (and perhaps underappreciated) Biblical doctrines to the forefront of our discussion. That doctrine is imputation. A thorough understanding of this key Biblical concept will help bring comfort to anyone who seeks (and sometimes fails) to honor God in thought, word, or deed.

As alluded to earlier in our look at Romans 4:3, “imputation” conveys the idea of something that is counted, reckoned, or credited towards one’s account. When considering those whose sins are no longer counted against them through faith in Christ, we can begin with the actions taken by the very first human couple. The Apostle Paul will elaborate on this subject at greater length in Romans chapter five…

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

That portion of Scripture tells us that Adam’s sin is imputed, or credited to us, his descendants. Theologians sometimes refer to this concept as “inherited sin” or “original sin.” However, that sin was imputed to Jesus (or credited to His account) when He “became sin for us” through His sacrificial death (2 Corinthians 5:21). In the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “…the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (see Isaiah 53:4-6).

Paul explained it this way in the Biblical epistle of Colossians…

“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14 NLT, see also Galatians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Another source analyzes the original language of the passage and offers the following insight…

“Verse 8 contains a strong DOUBLE NEGATIVE, ‘will not under any circumstances’ be imputed, reckoned, taken into account. Notice the three VERBS in this quote; all denote the acquittal of sin… This is a quote from Ps. 32:2. It is the term ‘reckon,’ ‘impute,’ or ‘deposit to another’s account,’ used in a negative sense. God does not impute sin (DOUBLE NEGATIVE) into a believer’s spiritual bank account; He imputes righteousness.” ₍₁₎

The doctrine of imputation does not assert the belief that human beings will completely disengage from sinful behaviors on this side of eternity. It means that God no longer credits or holds those sins against us because Jesus settled them through His atoning death on the cross.