credited – Ministry of Grace Church

Romans 5:13

(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Truth to Learn

We don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners.

Behind the Words

“World” is from the Greek word kosmos, which is probably derived from komeō, meaning “to take care of.” Kosmos specifically refers to “an orderly arrangement.” This word is used in the New Testament to refer to the world system, not the physical world.

The word “imputed” is similar to a word we saw in the previous chapter. It was the word logidzomai, meaning “to credit to someone’s account. This word is ellogeō, which is sometimes used synonymously but it has a subtly different meaning. It means “to take into account” or “to take into consideration.”

Meaning Explained

Remember that this letter was originally written to Christians in Rome who were predominantly Jewish and who were still tied to keeping the Law, even after their conversion to Christianity. Throughout this letter Paul has been showing them (and us) that righteousness before God is not attained by keeping the Law but by the free, gracious gift of God, which comes only after we believe His promises.

In the previous verse Paul told us that sin (and death as a result) entered the world through Adam, and death passed on to all of us because all of us have sinned. Since the recipients of this letter were convinced that sin was a result of not keeping the Law, Paul now points out to them that sin existed in this world even before the Law was delivered to Moses. In other words, sin did not commence with the Law, sin commenced with Adam.

Now look at this carefully! Paul then says that sin is not imputed (taken into consideration) when there is no law. If we read this too quickly we might want to respond, “If sin is not imputed where there is no law then it wasn’t imputed to those who lived before the Law was delivered!” This is precisely the argument that Paul is refuting. You see, since death is the penalty of sin and death passed on all men after Adam, then all have sinned. Therefore there must have been a “law” (not “the Law”) that was transgressed even before the Law of Moses was delivered.

For those of you who think we Christians have to keep the Law (the Ten Commandments) in order to be “right” with God, you will find that Paul is arguing against you. Keeping the Law (or even keeping God’s higher moral law) is not what makes us acceptable (righteous) in God’s sight (for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23]). Only the righteousness that God gives to us when we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for our sins can make us acceptable in His sight.

Application

We don’t have to keep the Law of Moses to be righteous, but we don’t have to break the Law of Moses to be sinners either. However, if you know that you are a sinner and believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty of your sin, then you are reckoned as righteous in God’s record book.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 4:22

And therefore “It was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Truth to Learn

Salvation is a gift which is credited to our account when we believe God’s message in the Bible.

Behind the Words

The word translated “therefore” is dio. This is made up of dia, meaning “through, either positionally or instrumentally” and the personal pronoun hos, meaning “who, which, or what.” Hence, dio literally means “through which.” It can be translated as “therefore, wherefore, or consequently.”

“Accounted” is a word that we looked at back in verse three of this chapter. It is the word logidzomai, which means “to count out as one would count out money when payment is being made” or “the crediting to someone’s account based on the payment made.” The Hebrew word used in Genesis 15:6, which this verse quotes, is khashab, meaning “to think, to reckon, to regard, to consider, or to be accounted.” Therefore, based on the Hebrew word it is translating, logidzomai means “to put to one’s account” or “to credit to someone.” One way to think of this is that it is something which God marks in His record book.

Meaning Explained

Remember the therefore rule? Whenever you see a “therefore” or a “wherefore,” you need to see what it’s there for. In this case “therefore” is in reference to the fact that Abraham was fully persuaded. That is, his faith was strong and unwavering. He completely believed God. And, because Abraham had a firm conviction that God would do what He promised He would do (make Abraham’s descendents as numerous as the stars of the heavens and make Abraham the father of many nations), God credited that faith to him as righteousness. That is, it was marked in God’s record book next to Abraham’s name giving him credit for being righteous. He didn’t earn it; it was simply credited to him as a gift.

This is the crux of what we call salvation. God tells us that we are sinners condemned to suffer eternally in Hell. He tells us that we need salvation and that the only way for us to obtain salvation is to accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross in payment for our sins. So, first a person has to believe that he or she is a sinner. Next, we have to believe that we are going to be judged for our sins and that the punishment for our sins is eternity in hell. But how do we know these things? We know them because that’s what God tells us in the Bible. If we don’t believe the Bible is God’s word, then we don’t believe what God tells us in the Bible and there’s no reason to believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

However, if we believe that we are sinners who are going to hell, then we must believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. How do we know that He is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for our sins? We know this because God tells us in His message to mankind, the Bible. When we believe that we are sinners and that Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross as payment for our sins, as a result of our faith, God credits righteousness to our account.

Application

We don’t earn salvation by believing; God simply gives us credit for it when we believe His message. That is, He credits us with righteousness. He doesn’t owe it to us. It’s His gift to us. That’s grace!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: credited

Romans 5:13 – Sinless Without Law?

Romans 4:22 – Unearned Credit