My father taught me fractions. He drew a few circles, divided them into halves, quarters, eighths, thirds, and so on. Then he explained the division and addition of ratios. It was a key moment in my education.
But my father is obviously not the author of modern mathematics. Neither am I. Still, his appreciation for numbers impacted me and still does to this day. How exciting, right? Ok, maybe not. But hang with me here. I'm going somewhere.
Numbers and the computing of them has become one of the most fundamental of necessities in modern existence. And we rely on computers to get things right. Often we quite literally put our very lives into the hands of computing machines. We depend on them to make accurate calculations and to come to correct conclusions.
And that's where the Bible comes in.
Earlier today I was meditating on the Bible word "impute." You should notice its similarity to the word "compute." And the connection is more than phonetic. Of course, we think of computations as highly impersonal and objective. Whereas imputations are not so impersonal.
So what is this all about?
Well, in Psalm 32:2 we can see that God does not impute iniquity to some men. In other words, in God's calculations He has chosen not to weave the crimes of some men into their fate. He has counted, reckoned, computed, tabulated, and settled the accounts of some men and has concluded that they are innocent.
How?
In Romans 4:3-8 we read this marvelous conclusion: "What do the Scriptures say? They say that Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that does not work, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also described the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, saying, 'Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.'"
Because of Christ!
The choice is very simple, actually. You can either go shopping with Jesus' bank account, or you can try shopping with your own. But the results will be very, very different. We are morally bankrupt. All of us. Donald Trump, Nanci Pelosi, Don Lemon, & John MacArthur. All have sinned. All fall short of God's glory. All of our best deeds combined are repulsive in the sight of God.
But Jesus! He is perfect. His account has an infinite balance. Not only is He the divine offspring of Jehovah, and not only is He the only person who has EVER kept God's law, but despite His absolute goodness, He was punished as if He possessed all guilt. That was infinitely unjust. Infinitely unfair. It quite literally gives Him the moral right to make any demand He chooses. And His sole request is that His moral credit be transferred to His children; to all who come to Him by faith. To me. To you too, if you believe.
So, I'm guilty. I deserve hell. In the words of the ancient psalmist, "If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope." - Psalm 130:3-5.
Is God keeping score? Well, yes actually. But on His scorecard He has already marked me down as a winner. The victory is mine. He imputes the righteousness of His impeccable Son to my account. He imputed my sin to Himself when He poured out all of His indignation and judgment on His own Son on the cross. The math is consistent. The equation is solved. The sum has been recorded.
I'm not pushing for victory. I am enjoying victory. The account is already settled. The computations are complete. Our redemption is sure. God has already printed the results and thrown His computer away. There is no need to recalculate. His way is perfect, and my soul is secure.
What great good news!
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