Imputation

Hello CCH Family and welcome...

Today I am going to talk about debt.

One of the most extreme examples of debt

is our National Debt

When you look at these #'s/update /realtime

they are staggering

They're difficult to wrap our minds around...

and if you are feeling overwhelmed like I am while trying to make sense of these #'s..Narrow

your focus on this number/ the overall debt

And this number is in the trillions

This is a debt that will never be paid off

And there's no filing for bankrupt. /getting redo

From the moment we're born

we begin to rack up a debt of our own

It's a sin debt...Thankfully there isn't a website

tracks our sin debt in realtime but rest assured there is One who is able to do that very thing.

He is an all-knowing and infinite God

who is infinitely holy

and every sin we commit is 1st and foremost

against Him.

When David sinned w/ Bathsheba it had a

ripple effect on many people, however...

when he was confronted with it in 2 Samuel,

his response was, I have sinned against the Lord

And the Lord demands payment for our sins.

However since we are sinning against an

infinite God...we rack up an infinite debt

A debt we could never pay.

And there's no filing for bank. or getting a redo

I know this seems to just keep going downhill

but the good news becomes so much sweeter

when we understand the bad news first

So let's get to the good news...

And that's / title of this devotional, Imputation.

Here we have another fancy word you may have heard several times... but

have you taken ownership of what it means?

How does the concept of imputation help me?

Especially on those days I can relate to the

Apostle Paul in...Rom 7:15 NASB

He continues in verses 18-19

Where does imputation come into play?

The moment we placed our faith in Jesus and..

15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

the great work He accomplished on the cross,

the moment we passed from death to life,

our sin debt was wiped out and

completely paid off.

Think of it as if our account balance went from a huge negative to zero.

Now that in and of itself would be tremendous

and should cause a feeling of relief and a burden lifted off of our shoulders... But

24b It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

our Lord and Savior didn't stop there.

The righteousness... that is...

The perfectly obedient life of Jesus who was

without sin... was credited to our account.

Rom 4:3 NASB

Later in chapter 4 the end of verse 24 explains that same righteousness will be credited to us as well through believe

Rom 4:24b-25

25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

The righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account.(from a huge neg. to zero and now

Imagine logging into your online banking and

next to your balance there's now an infinity sign

Imagine that freedom!

You will never have to deposit another penny

and it's impossible through your efforts to

make your account any fuller than it already is.

The balance will never go down requiring you...

to work to fill it back up...It's infinite!

You can't improve upon an infinite balance

just like you can't improve upon the work that

Jesus has already done.

So you are free from the burden of trying to keep that account full.

Now make no mistake about it, we still work, but unlike every other religion in the world...

it's from a position of gratitude/not earn favor

So on the days you're not feeling so victorious

over sin... and the enemy creeps in and causes

you to go in a downward spiral of condemnation and guilt...

Maybe even causing you to doubt God's love for you...or His mercy towards you...

It's at that point we should remember the great

truth of imputation... Our account is infinite!

When The Father looks at you He sees the...

infinite balance, not a staggering debt.

So we repent, give our Lord all the honor and glory for our priviledged position in Him...

and move forward in freedom and joy.

Rom 8:1a

If you are a believer, imputation happened

whether you understand it or not.

For me personally, when I was able to grasp this

it kept me from dwelling in defeat when I...

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,

would stumble

It helped me to see myself as God sees me.

Not through a lens of what I have or haven't DONE...

But through a lens of what Jesus DID

I thank you for your time...

And I'll see you down the road