Double Imputation

 However well I live, I can't make up for yesterday. However well I live as an old man, I can't make up for all the sins when I was a young man. However well I live as a young manor woman, I can't make up for the sins I did as a child. However, when I live as a child, I can't make up for the fact that I was born a sinner and even on my mother's breast I was selfish. If there's any hope for me, it's got to be that that perfect life of Jesus Christ somehow or other is put to my account. And yet my sins deserve punishment. But you can't carry my sins because you've got sins of your own to be punished for. The only one who could be punished for my sins would be somebody who never sins. Somebody who took the sinner's place but wasn't a sinner.

 

And so we're now right back in the root of the gospel. The greatest word of the gospel is imputation. Have you ever heard that word before? The greatest word of the gospel is imputation. What do we mean by that? Imputation means this: Jesus Christ's perfect life is put to my account. Isn't that wonderful? And it's because that's true, says Paul in Romans chapter 1, that I'm not ashamed of the gospel because that's what the gospel is about. His perfect life is put to my account. It's considered to be mine.

 

And what about my sin? Well, he's taken the sinner's place. My sins are put to his account. So when he dies on the cross, he didn't need to die. Only sinners die. But he chose to die. And because he's the infinite God, he can die for an infinite number of crimes from an infinite number of people. Because he's God the Son. So his righteousness put to my account, my sins put to his account. That's the gospel. It's double imputation.