Introduction
I asked a friend to explain his use of the word "imputed," and he sent me this detailed analysis (source unknown.) So the purpose of today's blog post is to examine the concepts presented in this analysis. It's somewhat long post, so we hope the reader will persevere to the end.
My initial, perhaps visceral response was a wholesale rejection of the doctrine of imputation, because it is rooted in Calvinism/Reformed theology. This blog has analyzed various Calvinistic/Reformed doctrines quite frequently, and we have found the biblical basis for them to be astonishingly weak.
Let's first provide the dictionary definition of imputation:
impute - verb
1. To ascribe (a misdeed or an error, for example) to:2. To regard as belonging to or resulting from another:
This means imputation is a quality or attribute affixed or assigned to something that doesn't actually belong to it. So from God's viewpoint, He supposedly affixes or assigns Christ's righteousness to the believer, because the believer is not actually righteous. This is often expressed something like, "when the Father looks at you He sees Jesus."
Thus the Christian is only regarded as righteous. God essentially pretends we are righteous. It seems we barely even saved, because we're still evil and are still in our sins. We have only been "imputed" with righteousness.
The biblical basis of imputation originates here:
Ge. 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (ASV)
The Hebrew word for "counted" is chashab, to think, account. That is, something was added to Abraham that God took into account. God thought of Abraham differently. This suggests righteousness was something Abraham actually possessed, that is, God considered him righteous because of his faith. His faith gained him something, righteousness.
The same word, chashab, is used in these verses:
Ps. 44:22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
Ps. 88:4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.
Ps. 144:3 LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?
Is. 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
None of these verse make sense if the word "imputed" is substituted. Our preliminary conclusion is that imputation rests on a shaky foundation.
Paul quoted Genesis 15:6 in his letter to the Roman church, and chapter four of this letter is where he explains how righteousness is obtained. As it happens, Romans 4 is also the focus of the below explanation of imputation my friend sent me. Therefore, because my friend is a careful and analytical thinker, I resolved to provide him a systematic, detailed (and I hope biblical) analysis.
I will insert my rejoinders in bold within the text of my friends response.
----------------
