The Calvinistic doctrine of imputed righteousness says that Christ’s perfect obedience is reckoned to us as if it were our own. “To declare that by him alone we are accounted righteous, what else is this but to lodge our righteousness in Christ’s obedience, because the obedience of Christ is reckoned to us as if it were our own?” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion XX, p.350).
The Bible word “impute” means to reckon, to take into account, or metaphorically to put down to a person’s account (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, 1985, p.322).
The Bible speaks of something being imputed for righteousness, but is it the Calvinistic doctrine of imputed righteousness?
In the outset, let us see that the Bible teaches that neither one man’s wickedness nor his righteousness is accounted to or transferred to another: “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Romans 4:3). The word “accounted” is the word for impute. What was accounted or reckoned to Abraham for righteousness? Abraham’s faith. And his faith was an obedient one. When this was said of Abraham in Genesis 15:6, consider his record of obedient faith in Genesis 12:1-3, 6, 7, 8; 13:3-4; 14:14-24).
God’s plan for imputing righteousness to us – for accounting us righteous – centers around the remission of our sins through the blood of Christ: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26). God does not overlook our sins, but He gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins and upon our obedient faith He forgives our sins and declares us righteous. “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). Your faith – an obedient faith – is put to your account for righteousness, and mine is put to my account. Nowhere is the Bible teaching that Christ’s perfect obedience is put to our account.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:7-8). Here we learn about God not imputing – charging – sin against a person, but how can that be? This context speaks of a man who is forgiven by God of his sin; it is that man to whom the Lord does not impute or charge that sin. For that man, the sin is no longer accounted to him because that sin has been forgiven, and it has been forgiven because the man has complied with God’s conditions to obtain forgiveness.
God provided the way for man to be reckoned righteous, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ, a faith that responds in obedience to God’s conditions in order to be forgiven.
-Larry Jones