Imputation & Atonement

Our wicked sins were imputed to Christ on the Cross, and when we are regenerated by God we receive Christ’s perfect righteousness imputed to us. This righteousness is utterly alien to ourselves! It is external. We can do NOTHING to merit this perfect righteousness. This is known as double imputation which is part of the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. This is the only biblical model of atonement. Anyone who preaches against this double imputation, or who preaches a different model of atonement must be marked out as a false teacher, they should be publicly rebuked, and all Christians should avoid them and their followers!

It should be noted that this process of imputation, which makes us righteous in our standing before God, that it is not merely nominalistic. God in a real ontological sense makes us righteous as we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. When God declares something with His Word it is absolutely true and real.

Question 60 of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) asks, “How are you righteous before God?” It then responds: “Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, of never having kept any of them and of still being inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without any merit of my own, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, and as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is accept this gift with a believing heart.”