Chapter 38. Not Imputing Their Trespasses: Explained with Three Notes on the Text
disposition in your own heart as to be at peace with God. And if you are ever to have any peace at all, know that it must be done here in this world; the work of reconciliation must be done here.
Thus much for that point, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.
Chapter 38 Not Imputing Their Trespasses: Explained with Three Notes on the Text Now follows the two other expressions: "Not imputing their trespasses to them" and "hath committed to us the word of reconciliation." I may finish the first in a few words: "not imputing their trespasses," meaning, not reckoning or charging their sins to their own account—that is the sense of the word.
As a man who is in debt, we say there is so much "standing against him," or so much "on his account." Now, when God is said not to impute your trespasses, the meaning is that your debt is cancelled and reckoned as the debt of another. He no longer sets your sins on your account but on Christ's account. This is the happiness of believers: those sins that once stood against them are now taken off and placed on Christ's account.
This is a blessed doctrine, and we cannot speak of it without trembling of heart, for we know how prone people are to abuse it. Yet
the children must have the bread given to them, even if it may tend to the ruin and destruction of others.
You who are sinners and continue in sin, though you see it not, you run up a debt every day. Like some gallants who enter an inn or tavern, calling for wine and good cheer, never thinking that there is someone, all the while they are eating and drinking and being merry, behind the door with a piece of chalk, recording all their expenses, who will at last call in for the payment. Every sin we commit is recorded, and there will come a time when God will call for payment.
You might ask, "How is it then that God says their sins shall not be imputed?" It is because Christ comes and all that is on our account is taken off and placed on His, but the debt must still be paid. So this phrase denotes that the salvation of man is not simply from a free pardon, as if a man in debt had his creditor come and say, "I will clear the debt; I will wipe it off and pardon it all." No, the way of man's salvation is like this: there is a debt, and it must be paid.
Christ, the surety, comes and pays it for some, while others are cast into the prison of hell, where they must lie until they have paid the uttermost farthing; for the debt must be paid.
Herein lies the difference between believers and others. Those who are damned run up their debts all their lives, and at last, God comes to reckon with them. But they have nothing to pay, and God says to the devil, "Take him, jailer." Death is God's sergeant to arrest him, and the devil is the jailer who takes him to prison, where he must remain until he has paid the uttermost farthing.
But believers who have run up their debts—in the days of their youth, when they were apprentices, and even since they were married—find that when divine justice is ready to seize upon them, Christ intervenes and says, "Let the person be freed; I will pay the debt."
Just as if a spendthrift runs up a debt and, when he is arrested and ready to be taken to jail, a friend steps in and says, "Release him, and I will pay the debt." So Christ does this for believers.
Thus, when our sins are forgiven, they are forgiven at great cost; our deliverance costs much. I note this from the original phrase in the text: it says, "not reckoning or accounting it to the score." I have, in many sermons, explained the doctrine of the pardon of sin; therefore, I do not intend to elaborate on that here. I will only provide a few notes that are most relevant to this text.
Note 1: The first is this: There may be sin in the soul, yet it is not imputed. Therefore, there may be a righteousness imputed that is not our own. There is the same basis for both. Many of our adversaries cry out against the imputation of righteousness, saying,
"How can that which is not our righteousness be made ours?" For, if we believe, the righteousness of Christ, which is not ours, is made ours. How can that be, they ask? Yes, it can be, just as that which is our sin shall not be counted as our sin. If that which is our own shall not be imputed, then that which is not our own may likewise be imputed.
Note 2: Secondly (which is a note of marvellous comfort): There may be reconciliation with God, even while much sin remains in the soul. It is not said, "Reconciling the world to himself, taking away their sins, purging out all their sins," as if there could be no reconciliation until all their sins were removed. Rather, "he was reconciling the world to himself, not imputing"—that is the phrase.
As if he had said, "O you sinners, as long as you live in this world, you will have sin. Therefore, do not think that God is not reconciled to you, or that you are not reconciled to God. No, even though sin
remains in your hearts, God may still be reconciled to you, not imputing your sins."
This should encourage you to labour to purge out sin as much as you can, seeing that the grace of God is such that, even with sin remaining in you, God is still reconciling you to himself. It is not such a great thing for God to be reconciled to the angels in heaven who have no sin in them. But for God to be reconciled to his saints on earth who have so much sin in them—that is something extraordinary!
Many of God's people cannot distinguish between the nonimputation of sin and the presence of sin within them. They think that because they have much sin in them, the Lord will not be reconciled to them. But know this: even though sin is in you, it may not be imputed to you. Therefore, learn to distinguish between sin being in you and sin not being imputed to you.
This should also teach us to be willing to be reconciled to others, even though there are many weaknesses in them and they may continue to offend us. Be reconciled to your servants, children, and neighbours. Do not say, "I could be reconciled to them if I saw them truly changed." What do you mean by that? Do you mean that you wish to see no more weaknesses in them or that they will never offend you again? Will you wait that long? God does not wait that long for you. He doesn't withhold his reconciliation until you reach heaven and are perfected. No, he is reconciled to you even now, while you have a nature that constantly bubbles up with sin against him.
Despite the presence of sin in you, God can distinguish between the presence of sin and the imputation of it.
Note 3: We see here the foundation of all our reconciliation: the non-imputation of our sins. It is no evidence that God is reconciled
to a man simply because he allows him to prosper in the world or because he has been at sea and has gained great wealth on his voyage. Perhaps the man blesses himself, thinking, "Oh! Now all is well between God and me, for he has given me so much wealth and blessed me in such a voyage." Alas, you are mistaken if you think this is evidence of reconciliation. No, the foundation of reconciliation is non-imputation.
Do you have evidence that God has revealed Christ to you and that in his Son, he has not imputed your sin to you? And do you build your peace upon that? This will hold firm.
Many build their peace on the fact that their sins are not as great as others. But what of that? Even if it is only one sin you are guilty of, though it be of the least nature, if it is imputed to you, it is enough to make your soul and God eternal enemies. Others have committed sins a long time ago, and they have worn out the trouble of them, and now they feel at peace. But let them know that the debt still remains; it has not been taken off.
Just as a man may wait a long time before calling in his debt but will eventually do so, sooner or later, so too with you. You may have settled into a kind of peace and worn out the trouble of your conscience, but as long as your sins remain on the account and are not wiped off, God will call for payment sooner or later. Therefore, do not place your peace in anything else in the world but in being reconciled to God in Christ, with him not imputing your sins to you.