The Double Imputation
Comments on Galatians with an ear to Luther’s commentary
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:2
Series: Comments on Galatians
As long as we are in this flesh, we will sin. This is the curse of Adam: we have inherited the guilt and the trait (Romans 5:12). I cannot rid myself of this transmitted trait any more than I can get rid of my grandfather’s hairline. By birth, his sin is imputed to me; it is added to my account, and so, I will sin. No one escapes this curse.
Yet by rebirth through faith in Christ, the curse is removed. Though we will still sin, our sins are no longer imputed to us. Instead, the righteousness of God is assigned to us, for Christ’s sake. Because God reconciled us to himself through Christ Jesus, our sins are no longer counted against us. This transaction occurs when we have faith in what he did for us.
In our fact, there has been a double imputation: our sins are removed by being imputed to Christ. He carried the sins of the whole world in himself and nailed them to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Through this sacrifice, Jesus took away our sin and its guilt, and gives us his own righteousness.
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Rev. Dr. Mark E. Ryman has served as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC, since 2021. Previously, Pastor Ryman served congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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