God Does Deal in Credit

God Does Deal in Credit

I heard a man who was preaching on the subject of imputed righteousness say that when it comes to our justification before God, “God does not deal in credit.” The Gospel truth is that when it comes to a sinner’s justification before God, God most certainly does deal in credit. In our justification, God credited our sin-debt to Christ Whom God made to be our Surety. Christ our Surety stood in our place having our sin-debt charged, accounted, credited, imputed to Him. And, having made Christ to be our Surety, God sent His Son into the world, as our Substitute, to redeem us (pay our sin-debt in full) with the price of His blood. Also, having made Christ to be our Surety, Substitute, and Redeemer, God charged, accounted, credited, imputed His righteousness to us. Our sins cannot be credited to our account (Romans 8:33-34) because they were credited to Christ’s account, and He paid the debt in full for us.

The fact that God credited our sin to Christ does not deny, negate, nor diminish the fact that He had to come in time and pay our sin-debt with His blood (His death on the cross). And having paid that debt, He was raised again because of our justification (Romans 4:25). The fact that God has credited Christ’s righteousness to us does not deny, negate, nor diminish the fact that we, in our experience, must be born again by the Spirit and brought to faith in Christ and repentance of dead works. For a man to preach a message on the subject of imputed righteousness, and to claim that “God does not deal in credit” is the ultimate contradiction. It is a denial of the true Gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace based upon Christ being made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).

— written by Bill Parker, Pastor of Eager Avenue Grace Church, Albany, Georgia, via the church's bulletin for October 6, 2024.