The Great Bible Doctrine Of Imputation

Romans 4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”

Ask most church members today what “imputation” means and they have no idea what you're talking about. That is because the word “impute” has been completely removed from the modern Bible versions. Look through Evangelist Ray Comfort's “THE EVIDENCE BIBLE” from cover-to-cover and you'll never find where he comments on the vital doctrine of “imputation.” Look at the listing of words in the index at the back of Ray Comfort's best-selling book, “THE EVIDENCE BIBLE.” There are over 1,000 words listed, but no mention of “impute” or “imputation.” The is because Mr. Comfort uses the Amplified Version (AMP) that removes the word “impute” completely. Out of sight, out of mind! 

Modern theology is virtually devoid of the great Bible doctrine of imputation. In the following passage of Scripture, the Satanic Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) butchers Romans 4:5-6, completely removing the word “impute” from the ERV. The KJB is correct below, but the second quote is from the ERV, which is awful, heretical and wicked . . .

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) — Romans 4:5-6, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.” [emphasis added]

EASY-TO-READ VERSION (ERV) — Romans 4:5-6, “But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. He is the one who makes even evil people right. David said the same thing when he was talking about the blessing people have when God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done.” [emphasis added]

They've horribly corrupted this Scripture passage! Do you see what they've sinfully done? Whereas the King James Bible teaches that God imputes the righteousness of Christ to the believer, the ERV foolishly says God accepts a person as good by faith, which means something different entirely. God doesn't accept someone as “good” by faith; but rather, God attributes His righteousness to us by faith. That is what imputation means! Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

God told us to “study” the Bible in 2nd Timothy 2:15. What is so hard about looking up the meaning of “imputeth?” By removing this important theological word from the KJB and replacing it with some religious nonsense, the doctrine of imputation has effectively been stricken from the ERV (which is a typical corruption in all modern Bible versions). Satan is changing the Bible into a spiritual book instead of a theological book.

The basis of obtaining justification is through God's righteousness being IMPUTED to the sinner through faith in Christ, Who paid our sin debt on the cross. Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross, paying a debt that He did not owe. Jesus is our sin payment! When we BELIEVE the Gospel, God takes Jesus' righteousness, and places it upon us. God imputes our sins to Jesus, and then He imputes Jesus' righteousness to us. Isn't that beautiful!!! This is why we don't need any works to be saved, because Christ paid it all by His sacrifice on the cross, and the sprinkling of His shed blood upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven (Hebrews 9:12, 24; 12:24).

The corrupt ERV says in Romans 4:5, “So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him.” This is wrong! It is not our faith that makes us right with God. It is Christ's sacrifice on the cross and His applied blood sprinkled in Heaven that makes us right with God, in response to our faith in the Gospel. The ERV obliterates the entire doctrine of imputation. Christ died on the cross as our LAMB (John 1:29), and He raised up bodily three days later and ascended into Heaven as our HIGH PRIEST (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14-16).

The Neglected Doctrine of Imputation

The words “counted” and “imputeth” are the same Greek word, so they mean the same thing in these two verses (Romans 4:5-6). The KJB says that a man's faith is counted for righteousness. We are told that God imputeth righteousness to a man without works (labor to earn Heaven). Since we all have NO self-righteousness of our own to offer or impress God (Isaiah 64:6), the only way we can be saved is by obtaining Christ's righteousness. This is possible only through faith in the Gospel.

The Bible-butchers should have left the word IMPUTETH alone. It is a beautiful word. How lazy can people get? Entire books have been written about this one important theological term. In Romans 4:6, the ERV has rendered the word “IMPUTETH” as “God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done,” which utterly fails to inform the reader why God accepts them as good. It is only because of Christ's suffering on the cross that we are able by faith to be declared righteous. It is not that God accepts us as good; but rather, He accepts us on the basis of Christ's righteousness which has been credited (imputed) to us by faith. 

“We believe in the inspiration of the Bible.” —Dr. Bob Jones Sr., “Comments On Here And Hereafter,” page 103; Bob Jones University Press Inc., 1942