“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 4:7-8 ESV).
As we have already noted, our sins are imputed to Jesus (or placed on His ledger) when we accept Him and His sacrificial offering through faith. However, there is another dimension to this idea, for the doctrine of imputation also involves a reciprocal (or corresponding) exchange. By this, we mean that a parallel transfer takes place: our sins are imputed to Christ while His righteousness is credited to us.
This brings forth several implications that are truly astounding when we pause to consider them. Since Jesus’ righteousness has been imputed to us, we are endowed with all the privileges and blessings that accompany it. One Biblical dictionary summarizes the sequence of events that characterize this double transfer…
“Thus in doctrinal language (1) the sin of Adam is imputed to all his descendants, i.e., it is reckoned as theirs, and they are dealt with therefore as guilty; (2) the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them that believe in him, or so attributed to them as to be considered their own; and (3) our sins are imputed to Christ, i.e., he assumed our ‘law-place,’ undertook to answer the demands of justice for our sins. In all these cases the nature of imputation is the same (Romans 5:12-19; comp. Philemon 1:18, 19).” (1)
Therefore, we can say that our sins were crucified along with Christ, and we receive the righteousness He possessed through His perfect and complete obedience to God the Father and the Law. In short, Jesus bore the penalty for our transgressions, and His righteousness has been bestowed upon us.
Finally, it’s important to consider the events that led to the quotation from Psalm 32 that appears here in Romans 4:7-8. Those events involved Israel’s king David, a man who entered into a series of highly inappropriate decisions at one point in his monarchy (see 2 Samuel 11-12:23). Those decisions (and their aftermath) brought forth this declaration from Psalm 32.
God forgave David, and he rightfully expressed the blessedness of those (like himself), “… whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Nevertheless, those choices brought many negative consequences, and David’s life was marked by recurring episodes of deep personal sorrow thereafter. Thus, we are reminded of an important personal truth: since Christ has borne our sins and we have received His righteousness, we should seek God daily for the will and wisdom to make choices that reflect those realities.
(1) “Imputation” M. G. Easton: Easton’s Bible Dictionary – Christian Classics Ethereal Library. (n.d.). https://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=imputation