The Neglected 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. 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.” It is quite interesting, considering that Mr. Comfort teaches the heresy of Lordship Salvation.

Modern theology is virtually devoid of the doctrine of imputation. In the following passage of Scripture, the Satanic Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) butchers Romans 4:5-6. Notice carefully that the important theological term “IMPUTETH” in Romans 4:6 of the faithful KJB, has been completely removed 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 Bibles 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. 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 of 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 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 Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) butchers the Bible in Romans 4:5-6. Instead of saying that “God imputeth righteousness without works,” the ERV says, “God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done.” Imputation DOESN'T mean that AT ALL!!! The ERV totally removes the doctrine of imputation from their corrupt Bible version. The Holy Bible never teaches that God accepts us as good. We are sinful, all of us are rotten (Romans 3:23). There is NONE GOOD (Romans 3:10). God doesn't look the other way, accepting us as good while overlooking our bad. This is nonsensical religious garbage. You can check other perverted Alexandrian Bible revisions, which are all basically the same. The New International Version (NIV) removes the word “imputes” too. The Voice (VOICE) is of the Devil. Beware of the Alexandrian, Egypt, Bible versions.

Imputation is not God accepting a person as good and not looking at their bad, because this completely fails to mention the righteousness of Christ which makes it all possible. The very word “imputation” means that God transfers Christ's righteousness to us, and transfers our sins to Christ. In John 3:15 we are told that as Moses lifted up the serpent, even so must Jesus Christ be lifted up. That serpent pictured Christ, who became as sin for us (2nd Corinthians 5:21). Jesus, Who knew no sin, became as sin; so that we who knew no righteousness, could be made the righteousness of God in Him. Amen. This is imputation.

It is a major theological blunder to remove the word “impute” from the Bible. The translators of the ERV got it VERY WRONG. If you understanding the occult roots of the modern versions, then you know why. It is difficult to translate the word “impute” because it is a concept, not able to be replaced with a word or two. This is why I would never remove this critically important word from the Bible. Let the people study as God commanded!!! It is time for arrogant pastors to stop playing God. The word “IMPUTETH” in Romans 4:6 means something very different than what the ERV reads. 

The truth is that by faith God credits a man with Christ's righteousness. That is what is missing from the ERV... CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS (or HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, Matthew 6:33). The ERV merely says that God accepts a man as good. That is not imputation. In the divine act of imputation, Christ's righteousness is passed (transferred) by God the Father to our account, by which God declares us good. This only happens by faith. Imputation happens at the moment of salvation, and never has to be repeated. Once we are declared righteous in God's eyes through faith in Christ Jesus, we are eternally secure and forever saved.

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.

The ERV caters to false religions which require doing good works to be saved. Whereas the KJB says that God substitutes a man's faith in place of righteousness, so that works are not necessary; the ERV changes this passage to mean that by faith we are right with God. That says something totally different. The ERV has eliminated the truth that WORKS ARE NOT NEEDED for salvation! Thus, the ERV also caters to the heretics who teach the Lordship Salvation, who require forsaking bad works to be saved, and stay saved. Whether we are required to do good works, or avoid doing bad works, either way it constitutes human effort for salvation. Jesus taught in John 6:28-29 that the only “work” accepted by God for salvation is to BELIEVE ON JESUS CHRIST.

Most false religions and all Lordship Salvationists avoid the Biblical doctrine of imputation. In their “Way Of The Master Evidence Bible,” Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron comment on thousands of Scripture passages, but have nothing to say about Romans 4:5-6 on imputation. In the nearly 1,000 word index in the back section of the book, the word “impute” is not mentioned at all. Any Bible teacher worth a dime is very familiar with the vital doctrine of imputation. But since this doctrine doesn't fit Mr. Comfort's satanic plan of Lordship Salvation to be saved. The awesome doctrine of imputation that God put in the Holy Bible exposes all false prophets. You see, we are saved by HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Notice that we are to seek HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and not OUR own self-righteousness.

Romans 4:5-6 in the KJB teaches that God imputes (credits) Christ's righteousness to us, without works of self-righteousness, because we don't have any to offer (Isaiah 64:6). However, the ERV says God accepts us as good without looking at what we have done wrong. This is not imputation. The KJB doesn't say that God doesn't look at our wrong; but rather, it says that our salvation is WITHOUT WORKS!!! When the KJB mentions that God imputes righteousness to a man WITHOUT WORKS, it refers to the DEAD WORKS of trying to merit and earn Heaven. 

Since eternal life is a totally free gift from God, we don't need any works of our own to be saved, neither doing good or forsaking bad. You cannot do GOOD WORKS to be saved. Nor are you required to stop doing BAD WORKS to be saved. This is false religion. These are all DEAD WORKS. Since Jesus Christ has provided all that is necessary for our salvation, all we need to do to be saved is BELIEVE ON HIM (John 6:28-29).

We are saved by God's imputed righteousness, not our own efforts. 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.” If you understand this, then you fully realize that salvation cannot be lost for any reason. Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). We need a revival of the fundamental Biblical doctrine of IMPUTATION in our churches.

The Greatest Book In The World! (video, Pastor Danny Castle; The King James Bible is God's Word!)