OUR WONDERFUL ACCOUNTANT
“…It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom.4:24). In the above text we have the word “imputed.” This is an old accountant term that translates a Greek word meaning, “to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over.” By using this word Paul is telling his readers that there is something that God will “reckon” or “count over” “to us.” What is it? It is the same thing that God reckoned to Abraham. But again, what is it? The answer is found two verses back – “‘and therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Rom.4:22). Here Paul refers back to the days of Abraham when God promised him that he and Sarah would have a son. Regarding this promise to Abraham the Bible says the following, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen.15:6). Because Abraham believed God’s promise, God calculated his faith “for righteousness.” In other words, God was willing to let Abraham’s faith stand in the place of the “righteousness” he failed to achieve when he failed to live without sin. In the text beginning this article Paul tells his readers that the Genesis 15:6 passage was recorded for the benefit of all who will believe in God. The Genesis 15:6 passage tells us that God will allow our faith to be a substitute for the “righteousness” we failed to achieve because of our sins. So if we, like Abraham, believe, then God credits our faith “for righteousness.” This is wonderful and the reason why it is called “the gospel.” The word “gospel” means “good news.” Some may not consider this to be good news until they realize that there are only two ways a person can be righteous before God. First, a person can be righteous by keeping law perfectly. But no one but Jesus ever did. And second, a person can be counted righteous because of faith. Everyone is capable of believing, though many do not. The case of Abraham was recorded by the Holy Spirit to let us know that “righteousness” can be credited to our account if we will only express our faith – “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.” Dear reader, let us be thankful that God is such a kind and generous accountant.