Thank You

Thank You

1 Corinthians 1:4, says “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ”. We clearly see gratitude for the grace believers received through Jesus Christ capsulated in this first thought. God is appreciated for his generosity.

Philippians 1:3, says, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”. There are expressions of joy and thankfulness to God for believers whenever they are regarded or thought about; their actions provoke others to give God thanks and appreciation.

Like yourself, I have multiplied reasons and motivations to thank God for the wonderful gifts of precious individuals he has enriched my life with. In a summary kind of way, I want to not only thank God for them but also appreciate them and their obedience to Christ Jesus.

So, I simply wish to say, “Thank you.”

Thank you for your hard work, keenness, devotion, enthusiasm, and perseverance! The grit and discipline you exemplified, motivated and encouraged the rest of us on more than a few occasions. I know it is a bit clichéd, but your exertions have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Others deeply appreciate you as well. It is remarkable that you could ever be taken for granted at times, but it does happen…even when you are operating in your ‘extraordinary zone.’ Not to our credit, but your extraordinary has become what we simply expect of you. It is just you and how you roll. But I intentionally want to be careful to say, thank you for doing more…for going the extra mile.  

Most people don’t see you working early…staying late or during the weekends…when you are legitimately worn out for extended periods. In many cases your sacrifices, adjustments, changes, redirections, irritations, and frustrations goes completely unnoticed…. Many folks do not witness the work you do internally before the Lord…the hard steps you take alone to realize substantial growth…the humility of admitting before God weaknesses, needs, failures, and at times desperation. We unfortunately assume our circumstances are normal and pervasive. But you are not average…. However, I wish to fully recognize that you make a real difference every single day, at times I experience it and inwardly celebrate you…your thoughtfulness, kindness…and selflessness. You can repeatedly be counted on…you always come through in the clutch…you consistently show up. It’s the unspoken expectation…never realizing there is a real cost to you for what we so richly benefit from. God sees YOU! Remember, He knows. Thank you for being so faithful to our Lord.

Your commitment levels are an inspiration to us all. You make us want to be even more faithful to the Lord also. I must honestly say, I am grateful for your exceptional work…the incredible person you are. Real character still matters in a day of sound bites, calculated photos, and disingenuous false press. You literally are inspiration in ‘shoe leather.’ Thank you for influencing our “lives” to shine so brightly...so often. Yes, it is partly your fault our existence is astonishing to some. Thank you for that and have another typical day!

You Wouldn't Believe My Income Statement!

Romans 4:1-12

SUBJECT: SALVATION/ IMPUTATION

THEME: When we trust Jesus Christ as Savior, God gives Jesus credit for our sins, and He gives us credit for Christ’s righteousness. Yes, our sins are imputed to the Son of God who paid for them all at Calvary. 

Basically, Imputation means charging, ascribing or reckoning something to a person’s account. This study affords us a peek into God’s ledgers! You will not believe what God credited to my account!

In our text, there are a number of fascinating instances where the word impute or equivalent terms appears. Some of these occurrences are, “COUNTED” (Rom. 4:3, 5); “RECKONED” (Rom. 4:4, 9, 10); and of course, “IMPUTED” (Rom. 4:11, 22, 23, 24, 5:13). The idea is assigning, calculating or accounting a responsibility…a credit…a guilt…a debt...or a value to another person. Do you know what God’s ledger records on your account? What’s on your income statement?

LESSON:

I.               How Does Imputation Specifically Relate to Salvation?

There are three distinct theological truths in the Bible directly related to the concept of imputation.

     A. IMPUTATION RELATES TO HUMANITY’S GUILT BEFORE GOD

The Imputation of Adam’s sin to his descendants. Romans 5:12-19, tells us God imputes the guilt of Adam’s sin to all humanity: “by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,” (Rom. 5:19). “By the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation” (Rom. 5:18). “By one man’s offense death reigned by one” (Rom. 5:17). This idea is sometimes referred to as “original sin,” and Paul makes reference to it in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22.

Rom 5:12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13, (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

           1.  Adam’s Relationship to the Human Race as the Federal Head (The Representative of All Mankind When He Sinned)

When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, we all sinned with Him. We all received credit for his sin and are guilty of that sin; therefore, we all will suffer physical death. Death is the evidence that we all are guilty of the sin of Adam. When our Federal head sinned God condemned him and every one he represented; we all receive credit on our spiritual accounts for Adam’s sin.

ILLUSTRATION: Whenever the Federal Head of the U.S. Make a statement, a claim, or a commitment to the UN, he automatically obligated each of us Americans regardless to our individual opinions or views.  The entire country will be charged with that commitment or responsibility in the eyes of the UN.

           2.  Adam’s Relationship to the Human Race as the Seminal Head (We Were Organically a Part of Adam When He Sinned)

Seminal means seed, and the entire Human Race was actually a part of Adam when he sinned therefore we are literally and individually guilty of committing this sin with Adam or IN ADAM.

Rom 5:18, Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

1 Cor 15:22, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS: GEN. 9:20-29, HAM’S SEED IS CURSED BY NOAH. Noah’s grandson Canaan is cursed for the sin of his father Ham. All the seed or off spring of Ham through Canaan were credited with the sin of Ham and will suffer condemnation because of Ham’s sin. WHY?  Because Ham is the Seminal Head of Canaan.

JOSHUA 7:16-26, ACHAN BRINGS JUDGMENT ON HIS FAMILY AND ISRAEL BECAUSE OF HIS SECRET SINS of theft, lust, greed, avarice, and deception. In the administration of punishment for Aachan’s sin everything and everyone connected with him was blotted out of Israel! Likewise God condemned the whole human race because we all are guilty of actually being IN ADAM when he sinned.

ILLUSTRATION: When my sisters, brother, and I were children, we would misbehave from time to time doing things that Mom and Dad had zero appreciation for. There were occasions when only one of us kids did something wrong, but all of us would receive a spanking! Why? Well, because we allowed the other to get into mischief. The failure of one was imputed to all of us. Somehow this never seemed fair to me….

     B. IMPUTATION RELATES TO PLACING BELIEVERS’ GUILT ON CHRIST

The Imputation of the Believer’s Sin to Christ. In addition to guilt imputed from Adam’s sin, each individual is also charged with guilt for his or her personal sins. This is what Paul, the apostle, describes as “not imputing their trespasses to them,” 2 Cor. 5:19.

           1.   All Mankind Is Guilty of Sin IN ADAM and for Personal Sins

Eccl 7:20, For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Rom 3:19, Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

           2.  The Sin of Adam Was Not Imputed to Christ Because of His Virgin Birth

The Lord Jesus’ supernatural conception and birth freed Him from the guilt of Adam’s sin.

Isa 7:14, Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matt 1:20-25, But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22, Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24, Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25, And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Jesus did not receive the guilt of Adam’s sin because he is not the seed of man (Adam) but the very Son of God.  Man receives his sin nature from his father and not his mother!  A Baby in its mother’s womb does not receive its blood type from its mother but from its father!

           3.   The Sinless Life of Christ Gave Him a Spiritual Account of Complete Righteousness. His sinless life qualified him to be our Savior. The fact that He committed no personal sin means He had zero sins counted against Him.

Rom 5:17, For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Rom 5:18-21, Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 21   , That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

           4.  In Christ’s Substitutionary Death, He Willingly Accepted Credit for All Sin onto His Spiritual Account and Paid for Them All, but only Believers are Saved. This was entirely a voluntary act of love by Christ.

1 John 2:2, And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (Also see John 3:16 and Romans 1:14-17)

2 Cor 5:18-19, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19, To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2 Cor 5:21, For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

1 Pet 2:24, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Isa 53:5, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isa 53:11, He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

     C. IMPUTATION RELATES TO CREDITING CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BELIEVERS

The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness to the Believer (Rom. 4:6). “Blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works” is the theme of Romans chapter 4.

                1. Righteousness Was Imputed to Abraham

Rom 4:3, For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Rom 4:5, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

                2.  Righteousness Was Imputed to David

Rom 4:6-8, Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8, Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

                3.  Righteousness Was Imputed to Paul                     

Phil 3:8-9, Yea doubtless, and I [Paul] count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Through a perfectly holy and righteous lifestyle, Jesus became the “Holy One and the Just” (Acts 3:14). He clearly lived up to the high ideals conveyed in God’s perfect Law—Jesus obeyed them comprehensively and entirely (Rom. 5:19). Because of faith in God credit for these qualities is imputed to us “who believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom. 4:24).

                  4.  Every Believer Is Counted Righteous When He Believes God.

Rom 10:9-10, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10, For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This is how we received the credit of Christ’s Righteousness on to our Spiritual Account!

II.            What Are The Benefits of Imputation?

Salvation is assured, we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we are fully accepted by God on that basis, and we can never be condemned for our sin. Shame and disgrace may be our history, but it is not our future. No, we are not perfectly righteous in our behavior, but God gives us credit for righteousness because we believe Him…because we believe the Gospel. Imputed righteousness is static and does not change based on our behavior. It is our constant status before a holy God. Sanctification, which is quite different, is still practical righteousness a matter of growing in grace. This is righteousness imparted and not a right standing before God imputed.

      A.  I AM ASSURED I AM NOT CONDEMNED IN CHRIST

Rom 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (See also Rom. 8:32-34)

      B.   I AM CONFIDENT I HAVE CREDIT FOR CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS  

Rom 1:16-17, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  (See also Romans 5:1-2).

      C.   I AM ACCEPTED AS I STAND IN THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD

Jude 1:24, Now unto him [Jesus Christ] that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

We can stand in God’s presence because Jesus has imputed His righteousness and holiness to us through His sacrificial death on the Cross. Confidence, peace, assurance, satisfaction, and acceptance are the blessed results of imputed righteousness!  

           

CONCLUSION:

IMPUTATION: Charging or reckoning something to a person’s account. Imputing is the act of adding something good or bad to the account of another person.

1.  The Sin of Adam Was Imputed to the Human Race

2.  The Sin of Believers Was Imputed to Christ

3.  The Righteousness of Christ is Imputed to the Believer

In 1990, God placed my sins…every one of them without a single exception…past present and future sins…on Jesus Christ! All I did was placed my faith in Him after hearing the Gospel. From a heart of godly sorrow, I cried out to God for forgiveness for my wickedness and sins. God imputed my sins to Jesus. The same Lord Jesus who went to Calvary and there paid for all sin and offers forgiveness to anyone who will accept His perfect payment. He is literally alive again having completely defeated death, sin, hell, and the grave. In his sacrifice for our sins and resurrection, He soundly defeated Satan and broke the power of sin for those who trust Him. Beloved, because we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel, God ascribes to each believer perfect “righteousness,” the very righteousness of God. We become fully acceptable to God when we accept what He did for our salvation. This is our new standing before a holy God. Jesus takes credit for our awful sins, and we receive credit for His perfect “right-ness” before a holy God. Is there anyone else willing to say to the Lord Jesus, I believe you…I accept your payment for my sins…please put my sins on your account?

Because of Imputed Righteousness, God accepts me and loves me, as His very own Son, Jesus Christ!

IF YOU NEED TO BE SAVED THEN TRUST THE ONE WHO DIED FOR YOUR SIN, AND IN TURN RECEIVE CREDIT FOR HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Put Your Sins on God's Account

Philemon 1:15-19

SUBJECT: SALVATION/ IMPUTATION

THEME: When we trust Jesus Christ as Savior, God gives Jesus credit for our sins. Yes, our sins are imputed to the Son of God who paid for them all at Calvary. 

Imputation or impute is probably a term you did not use this past week. In antiquity it referred to keeping commercial accounts involving both debits and credits.... Basically, it means charging, ascribing or reckoning something to a person’s account. The thought is assigning, calculating or accounting a responsibility…a credit…a guilt…a debt...or a value to another person. According to the Holman’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, it is defined as, “Setting to someone’s account or reckoning something to another person” (Dockery, D. S., 2003). So, imputing is the act of adding something good or bad to the account of another person.

Because the term is not as familiar today, let’s consider another definition and application of the term in a legal context. Vocabulary.com says,

Imputation is the attributing of actions to a source: often, imputation involves actions that are criminal. Imputation takes words or actions and ties them to a person or a cause. An imputation is when you say, “He did it!” Imputations are therefore similar to accusations. Often, this word relates to imputations of dirty deeds, especially illegal deeds. “My brother stole the car” is an imputation. “The butler killed the maid” is an imputation. Imputations place blame, usually for something very wrong indeed. This word is often used in legal situations, when imputations are part of testimony. (https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/imputation)

As a legal action imputation generally involves the placing of blame or responsibility to someone. This does not eliminate the fact that good can also be ascribed or credited, but the legal usage tends to be negative in its connotations. Let me share a positive example of imputation from my own life to illustrate a favorable usage of the term. As a kid I loved penny candy…far too much, and I have the cavities to prove it! My granddad, affectionately referred to as “Buss” because his middle name was Buster, would take us kids to the local convenience store. Though he would chide me, my siblings and cousins for eating too many sweets, he could not resist making his grands happy. So, we would pile into his car, and off we would go to the old country general store in Borden, South Carolina near where I grew up. Now Grand Daddy Buss would not take us to the store purely for our candy cravings, but we knew that he would buy it along with his stuff. So, penny candy and bubble gum were on my list. It was one of the many joys of the long summer days during summer vacation to go to the "Store" with Buss. Now here is the kicker in this story…if we kids didn’t have the money to buy our own penny candy, then Granddad would buy it for us! If Granddad didn’t have the cash at the moment, he would simply put all the items on his credit account at the little general store. Then a short time later he would pay off the entirety of his account. For us grand kids there was no cost to us, but we still received the penny candy we craved. Granddad paid the price for us and the store’s manager would simply add the cost of our candy to Granddad’s credit account. Since Granddad had a credit account, we were able to secure the items we wanted from the general store.

In light of the definitions of imputation we have discussed, we can say the general store manager imputed or charged the cost of the grocery items to Granddad’s personal credit account. Or we could say the manager added the cost of the groceries to Granddad’s account. The cost was accounted to Granddad. This is imputation in a positive light.

There are a number of wonderful instances where the term or synonyms for impute are used in the Bible. Some words in the Scriptures that mean impute are, “COUNTED” (Rom. 4:3, 5); “RECKONED” (Rom. 4:4, 9,10); and obviously “IMPUTED” (Rom. 4:11, 22, 23, 24, 5:13). Again, these are accounting and legal terms with negative and positive connotations. These references point to charging, ascribing or reckoning something to a person’s spiritual account. God accounted righteousness to Abraham because of his faith (Gen. 15:6). The idea is God ascribed to Abraham what he had no means of securing for himself (Rom. 4:3–5). Furthermore, this is not the notion that God accepted Abraham’s faith instead of righteousness as an achievement deserving God’s full judicial justification. No, the idea is that God declared Abraham as righteous purely because he trusted in God as opposed to believing in himself or trusting in acts of service or a religious ritual to earn God’s acceptance. (Dockery, D. S., 2003).

Another brilliant example of the imputation concept occurs in the little letter of Philemon in verse 18. In this passage, Paul accepts responsibility for any wrong or debt caused by the runaway slave, Onesimus. Notice what the great apostle says,

Philemon 1:15-19, For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; 16, Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? 17, If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. 18, If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; 19, I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

Notice Paul’s words, “put that on mine account.” This is the same concept! In fact, when we grand kids would place our penny candy on the counter during check out for Granddad to purchase it, he would use the same terms. “Put those on my account,” he would say to the store manager! Again, this is one of the most excellent illustrations of imputation in the entire Bible. Paul says to Philemon that if his slave Onesimus owes anything…whatever the amount…to charge it to Paul’s account. Don’t miss what the great apostle is saying; any debt Onesimus might have incurred would now be Paul’s responsibility and Paul promised to pay it in full. Similarly, our sins were attributed, ascribed, reckoned to Christ, and He paid our debt fully!

In 1990, God placed my sins…every one of them without a single exception…past present and future sins…on Jesus Christ! All I did was placed my faith in Him after hearing the Gospel. From a heart of godly sorrow, I cried out to God for forgiveness for my wickedness and sins. God imputed my sins to Jesus. The same Lord Jesus who went to Calvary and there paid for all sin and offers forgiveness to anyone who will accept His perfect payment. He is literally alive again having completely defeated death, sin, hell, and the grave. In his sacrifice for our sins and resurrection, He soundly defeated Satan and broke the power of sin for those who trust Him. Beloved, because we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel, God ascribes to each believer perfect “righteousness,” the very righteousness of God. We become fully acceptable to God when we accept what He did for our salvation. This is our new standing before a holy God. Jesus takes credit for our awful sins, and we receive credit for His perfect "right-ness" before a holy God. Is there anyone else willing to say to the Lord Jesus, I believe you…I accept your payment for my sins…please put my sins on your account?