Imputation
QUESTION
What does it mean that our sins have been imputed to Jesus and his righteousness to us? Which one makes us "righteous", the death of Jesus or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit? How did we become righteous when Jesus died on the cross? We are evil. The very essence of who we are is evil. So if Jesus died on the cross by merely satisfying the judgment and wrath of God only, that the evil we have done will not be remembered, we are still evil in our heart, and none who is evil can enter heaven. So which is it that saves us? The death of Jesus or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER
My line-by-line response follows:
What does it mean that our sins have been imputed to Jesus and his righteousness to us?
Imputation is a legal function whereby the sins on a sinner’s account are placed upon a worthy substitute’s account for proper handling and punishment. Likewise, the righteousness of the worthy substitute is placed upon the account of the sinner. This gives the sinner the same legal standing before the throne of divine justice as the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This legal arrangement was established in covenant before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and as a result there are those unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity (Psalm 32:2).
Which one makes us "righteous", the death of Jesus or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit?
That depends entirely upon what one means when they refer to being “made righteous.” Imputation has the covenantal effect of making us legally righteous before the throne of divine justice. Since our sins were ever-imputed to Christ via covenant, God has always viewed us “in Christ” and thus without blame covenantally. That is the legal aspect of being “made righteous” but it is not the only sense in which men are “made righteous” in the broader scheme of salvation. Regeneration could be said to “make us righteous” in that it imparts God’s Spirit to us so that we can actually practice righteousness in this world through the obedience of faith (Romans 16:26). Prior to regeneration man’s actions are never anything more than sin, regardless of their external appearance, because “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23) and the unregenerate do not possess faith, being devoid of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
How did we become righteous when Jesus died on the cross?
We were declared righteous (justified) at Calvary because this where the covenantally promised transaction that put away our sins actually transpired. I refer to this as TRANSACTIONAL JUSTIFICATION (Romans 5:9). God committed to this transaction before the foundation of the world by covenant long before the even ever took place (Ephesians 1:4-6). I refer to that covenant commitment as COVENANTAL JUSTIFICATION – it is justification in the mind, purpose, and plan of God prior to all of the details of the plan coming to pass in time.
It is very important to make distinctions between covenantal, transactional, and experimental aspects of justification. Each of them are discussed in the scriptures but they do not all refer to our justification in the same sense.
COVENANTAL JUSTIFICATION (Ephesians 1:4-6) is the preexisting purpose and plan.
TRANSACTIONAL JUSTIFICATION (Romans 5:6) is the work of Christ whereby payment was made.
EXPERIMENTAL JUSTIFICATION is our experience of that justification in a couple of ways
by faith (Romans 5:1) wherein we cognitively embrace the truth of our justification
by works (James 2:18-24) whereby we show that we are covenant beneficiaries to the world.
Apart from these biblical distinctions, the topic of justification in the bible is a pile of irreconcilable contradictions. It is essential to right division that we use this level of precision when discussing the different facets of justification.
We are evil. The very essence of who we are is evil.
True of all men in their natural state (Romans 3:23). All are by nature children of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3). Nevertheless, while total depravity of the fallen nature is true of all men, it is likewise true that not all men are in their natural, inherited, fallen, Adamic state. Some are born again.
So if Jesus died on the cross by merely satisfying the judgment and wrath of God only, that the evil we have done will not be remembered, we are still evil in our heart, and none who is evil can enter heaven.
Christ’s death on the cross resolved the legal matter of our justification. It transactionally eliminated any legitimate basis for our condemnation by paying for all our transgressions: past, present, and future. It is NOT, however, the totality of the work established in the covenant, but rather the promised and required payment for our sins that were imputed to Christ.
So which is it that saves us? The death of Jesus or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit?
The bible speaks of both as “salvation” and both are involved in the totality of God’s saving work on our behalf. Consider the following: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) That verse establishes reconciliation by the death of Christ resulting in eternal “salvation” as an unalterable certainty. Yet elsewhere we find Paul saying, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3:5) This verse clearly speaks of regeneration as “salvation.” How do we reconcile this?
The matter is only properly reconciled when we see that the bible uses the term “salvation” both in a broad sense as well as in reference to individual component events involved in the broader work of eternal salvation. At a minimum we should recognize that there are many aspects of the broad work of salvation including but not limited to election, foreknowledge, predestination, covenant, sanctification, justification, redemption, regeneration, and glorification. As a result we should resist the common, short-sighted error of saying things like, “Titus 3:5 says regeneration is salvation and that’s all there is to it.” The bible requires that we handle it with greater precision of language than that affords and that is why I make the COVENANTAL, TRANSACTIONAL, EXPERIMENTAL, and VITAL distinctions where justification is in view.
Returning to the question, “Which is it that saves us? The death of Jesus or the regeneration of the Holy Spirit?” – the answer is “both.” Both regeneration and the death of Christ for our sins are components involved in the broader work of eternal salvation. The death of Christ saves us TRANSACTIONALLY as it was the actual payment and punishment of our sins that were imputed to him as our worthy substitute. But while the death of Christ was absolutely indispensable to the fulfillment of God covenant, it is not ALL of the work involved in our eternal salvation. To state that another way, it is fair to say that the death of Christ purchased our regeneration as a covenant blessing, but redemption is NOT regeneration. There is a distinction to be made between the two. The former is a condition of the covenant fulfilled by Christ, the latter a provision of the covenant that is the result thereof. Likewise, Christ’s death purchased our ultimate glorification, but redemption is not glorification. The former purchased the latter and BOTH are involved in the full work of eternal salvation.
All that said, people often speak of parts of our eternal salvation as “salvation” and the bible even uses the term in this way. Whatever else might be said of that fact, it is nevertheless true that anyone who is regenerated is also saved, both in the sense that they are in personal possession of eternal life and in the broader sense that all who are regenerated will also be subsequently “saved” through glorification and eventual receipt of the remainder of God’s covenant blessings in the fullness of time.
- Elder Daniel Samons