Impute
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary [1]
This word, and the sense of it, according to the gospel, forming so important an article in the faith of a believer, I have thought it highly proper that it should have a distinct place of attention in a work of this kind. To impute is to charge a thing upon a person whether guilty or not, as the circumstances hereafter are proved, or not. Thus Shimei intreated David, that he would not "impute iniquity to him" for some former transaction. ( 2 Samuel 19:19) And the apostle Paul ( Romans 4:8) declares them blessed to whom the Lord "will not impute sin." This is the general sense of imputation. But in the case of the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to his people, and their sins imputed to him; the sense of imputation goes farther, and ascribes to Christ, and to the sinner, that which each hath not, but by the very act of imputing it to them. Hence the apostle Paul explains it in the clearest manner in two Scriptures: the first, in 2 Corinthians 5:21, where speaking of this imputation of our sins to Christ, and his righteousness to us, he refers it into the sovereignty and good pleasure of God the Father. For speaking of Christ, it is used, "God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Here the doctrine of imputation is most plainly and fully stated. Christ is the imputed sinner, or rather sin itself in the total abstract, and in the very moment when he knew no sin. And the sinner is said to be righteous; yea, the righteousness of God in Christ; when in the same time he hath not a single portion of righteousness in himself, or in any of his doings. This is, therefore, to impute Christ's righteousness to his people, and their sins to him. The other Scripture that explains the doctrine is but in part, namely, respecting the imputation of sin."Christ ( Galatians 3:13) hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Here Christ stands with all the curse of a broken law charged upon him, as the sinner's Surety; yea, as the curse itself. And consequently, as in the doing of this, he takes it from his people; they are redeemed from it. The original debtor, and the Surety, who pays for that debtor, cannot both have the debt at the same time charged, upon them. This, therefore, is the blessed doctrine of imputation. Our sins are imputed to Christ. His righteousness is imputed to us. And this by the authority and appointment of JEHOVAH; for without this authority and appointment of Jehovah the transfer could not have taken place. For it would have been totally beyond our power to have made it. But surely not beyond the right and prerogative of God. And if God accepts such a ransom; yea, he himself appoints it: and if the sinner by Christ's righteousness be made holy: and if the sins of the sinner be all done away by Christ's voluntary sufferings and death: if the law of God be thus honoured; the justice of God thus satisfied; all the divine perfections glorified by an equivalent; yea, more than an equivalent, inasmuch as Christ's obedience and death infinitely transcend in dignity and value the everlasting obedience of men and angels; surely, here is the fullest assurance of the truth of the doctrine of Christ's imputed righteousness, and the perfect approbation of JEHOVAH to the blessed plan of redemption. Well, therefore, might the apostle, when speaking of the faith of Abraham on this point, declare the cause of it: "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. Now (saith the apostle) it was not written for his sake that it was imputed to him: but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." ( Romans 4:1-25 throughout.)
If I have succeeded in thus stating the gospel sense of imputation, in the transfer of our sins unto the Lord Jesus, and the imputation of his righteousness to us: nothing can be more blessed than the doctrine itself, and nothing more important than the cordial belief of it, to bring consolation and joy to the heart of every believer.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary [2]
Hebrew Chashab , Greek Logizomai ; "to count, reckon" ( Romans 4:2-8), namely, unrighteousness (whether one's own or another's) to one's discredit; or righteousness (whether one's own or another's) to one's credit whether in man's account or in the judgment book of God ( Revelation 20:12; Numbers 18:27). Philemon 1:1:18; "if Onesimus hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account" In Romans 4:6 righteousness imputed without works must mean a righteousness not our own, yet reckoned as ours, namely, "the righteousness of (Him who is both) God. and Saviour Jesus Christ" (the Greek, 2 Peter 1:1). The gospel sets forth God's righteousness which is Christ's.
Christ's is imputed to us; so that God is at once "just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus" ( Romans 3:25-26). God in accepting the believer is therefore not only merciful but just. Our advocate is not merely the gracious but "Jesus Christ the righteous" ( 1 John 2:1). "God is well pleased," not merely for mercy's sake, but "for His righteousness sake" ( Isaiah 42:21; Isaiah 45:21 end; Jeremiah 23:6). "The righteousness of God, by faith of Jesus Christ, is unto all and upon all them that believe" ( Romans 3:22; Romans 4:5-6), "faith (not for its own worthiness, but for that of Him on whom it rests) is counted for righteousness" ( Romans 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30). There is a threefold imputation:
I. That of Adam's sin to all his posterity; that it is so, Paul proves by the fact of all, even infants who have never actually sinned, suffering its penalty death ( Romans 5:12-14; Romans 5:19), even as all inherit his corrupt nature. God, in fact, deals with us all as guilty race; for we are all liable to suffering and death; the doctrine of imputation of Adam's sin accounts for it. Yet imputation is not infusion; Adam's sin is not ours in the same sense as our own personal sin; nor is imputation the transfer of his character to us.
II. That of our sins to Christ ( Isaiah 53:6).
III. That of Christ's righteousness to us ( Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Instead of "imputing their trespasses to men," God "hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made (Greek that we may become) the righteousness of God in Him," i.e. in union with Him by faith. "Such are we in the sight of God the Father as is the very Son of God Himself" (Hooker). In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us; in sanctification Christ's righteousness is imparted to us, in vital union with Him the Head from whom the life flows into the members. (See Justification .)
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [3]
"to reckon, take into account," or, metaphorically, "to put down to a person's account," is never rendered in the RV by the verb "to impute." In the following, where the AV has that rendering, the RV uses the verb "to reckon," which is far more suitable; Romans 4:6,8,11,22,23,24; 2—Corinthians 5:19; James 2:23 . See Account , and especially, in the above respect, Reckon.
(the -ao termination is the one found in the Koine, the language covering the NT period), denotes "to charge to one's account, to lay to one's charge," and is translated "imputed" in Romans 5:13 , of sin as not being "imputed when there is no law." This principle is there applied to the fact that between Adam's trangression and the giving of the Law at Sinai, sin, though it was in the world, did not partake of the character of transgression; for there was no law. The law of conscience existed, but that is not in view in the passage, which deals with the fact of external commandments given by God. In Philemon 1:18 the verb is rendered "put (that) to (mine) account." See Account.
King James Dictionary [4]
Impu'Te, L imputo in and puto, to think, to reckon properly, to set, to put, to throw to or on.
1. To charge to attribute to set to the account of generally sometimes good. We impute crimes,sins, trespasses, faults, blame, &c., to the guilty persons. We impute wrong actions to bad motives, or to ignorance, or to folly and rashness. We impute misfortunes and miscarriages to imprudence.
And therefore it was imputed to him for
righteousness. Romans 4
2. To attribute to ascribe.
I have read a book imputed to lord Bathurst.
3. To reckon to one what does not belong to him.
It has been held that Adam's sin is imputed to all his
posterity.
Thy merit
Imputed shall absolve them who renounce
Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds.
Webster's Dictionary [5]
(1): ( v. t.) To charge; to ascribe; to attribute; to set to the account of; to charge to one as the author, responsible originator, or possessor; - generally in a bad sense.
(2): ( v. t.) To take account of; to consider; to regard.
(3): ( v. t.) To adjudge as one's own (the sin or righteousness) of another; as, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us.
