Imputation – almost sounds like a vulgar word in a way.  However it is a very important word in the process of understanding our salvation.  Imputation is actually an accounting word in the Greek.  It literally means “to take inventory or put on an account.”  Since we are talking about our relationship with God it is a good thing to be reminded that our salvation experience does not depend on our good behavior or good works in order to be ready for Heaven.  If that were so I can tell you that there is no way I would be able to get in.  If accounting for the things that have happened in my life the bad would out-weigh the good and I am afraid that the balances would tip very far the wrong way.

            But folks, I am certain that I am not the only one in those balancing cups.  I know that many of you would be totally honest and agree with me about your own lives.  When we see our good works stacked up against our bad works it just becomes very obvious which one weighs the most.  So once again we see that our salvation cannot be dependent on our actions.

            In looking at this word from the Biblical standpoint there are only a handful of verses where it is used and they are all in the New Testament, namely six of those in Romans 4 and 5, one in 2 Corinthians 5:19 and the word is interpreted as “accounted” in James 2:23.  In these verses we find one thing that is not imputed to us in our salvation experience and also one thing that is imputed to us in our salvation experience. 

            The thing that is not imputed is sin.  THANK GOD FOR THAT!  After we have come to the Lord in salvation from then on our sin is not racked up on the great score board of Heaven as being against us.  Now we have to be careful here.  We are not given a license to willfully commit sin.  We aren’t to just say that we accept Christ as our personal Savior then go out and continue getting drunk, running women, and shooting up drugs.  We aren’t to go on lying, envying, hating, cheating on our spouse and using God’s name in vain.  In fact if we come to the Lord and continue doing these things willingly then I seriously question if that individual has actually been saved. 

Now don’t rip your clothes and scream blasphemy because I wrote this.  Think about it.  When we get saved we are saved from the curse of sin.  The sin nature has been reversed in us.  We should now have an attitude that we don’t want to sin.  Does that mean that we are now perfect and don’t sin anymore?  Certainly not because we do sin sometimes.  We slip and a word we wouldn’t normally use comes spitting from our lips.  We are instantly sorry that we said this and we ask God to forgive us and go on.  Or we may get angry and say something we ordinarily wouldn’t say.  It’s the same principle.  This is completely different from willing continue to let filth spill from our lips.  I know a brother who before he was saved was hooked on drugs.  He got saved, continued growing in Christ, completely kicked the habit, began ministering to others and even became a pastor.  He had victory for several years.  Then one day something happened and the temptation came upon him and in his moment of weakness he yielded to the old habit.  He was sorry for what he had done.  Unfortunately when it comes to some addictions one slip is all that is needed to be right back on the habit and he was.  However he knew what he had done was wrong.  He could no longer be a pastor but he did go back to rehab and as far as I know regained the victory over the habit.  So did he run over the blood of Christ?  No.  If he actually got the victory and continued in salvation then he sinned but when he repented God forgave him of it and it was not imputed to his account as sin.  For the true born-again believer in Christ our repentance results in that sin not being accounted against us.

What is put on our account is righteousness.  Read the verses in Romans 4 and 5, and that in 2 Corinthians 5:19 and James 2:23 and you will see that the righteousness (or right standing) of Christ is transferred to our account.  As we repent of sin the only thing showing up on the balance sheet is Christ’s righteousness!  Oh happy day!  What a blessing, to know that we can repent and be free, finally free of sin.  We will without fail slip up at times.  We will get angry and say or do things we wish we hadn’t.  But thank God that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, as 1 John 2:1 tells us, and when we repent of that sin we are forgiven.  What a great thing imputation is.  The sum of what Christ did for us in providing our salvation is the most valuable thing in the world!

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.?  Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.