The apostle Paul and the
psalmist David speak of a "blessed man." A man blessed of God. The individual
who is blessed of God is the one to whom "God imputeth righteousness without
works." It is the one to whom the "Lord will not impute sin." (Rom.4:6,8) What a
great work of God's grace it is when we are made to know the reality of
imputation. It is the only means by which our sin is ever really removed from us
and the only means by which we are ever righteous. Those who do not know the
truth of it or do not desire to understand it are those who seek to establish a
righteousness of their own before God. Without imputation there is only
condemnation! Imputation involves a real transfer of sin (the full penalty of
it) to another upon which the one to whom it is transferred assumes the full
responsibility of it. All the sins of God's elect were imputed or transferred to
Christ. He in His death assumed the full responsibility and therefore suffered
the full penalty of it. That is what He is doing in His substitutionary death on
the cross. The sinless One is "made sin for us" and dies in our place. His
righteousness is imputed to us and we are "made the righteousness of God in
Him." (II Cor. 5:21) Paul tells us that God justified Abraham and he was counted
a righteous man by God. How did this sinner Abraham become such before God? He
believed God's promise to provide a perfect righteousness for him from One
outside of himself. That One is Christ! But then Paul records the good news.
"Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for
us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again
for our justification." (Rom.4:22-25) So great and real was the transfer of my
sin to Christ and the transfer of His righteousness to me that I can rest,
rejoice and look forward to meeting Him as the Righteous Judge. My sin is gone
(He put it away) and my righteousness is perfect (It is His righteousness). I
know this because God has declared it in His word and revealed it by His Spirit
through the gospel. It is His promise and by God-given faith I believe it!