Imputation

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term for imputation, jeonga (轉嫁), is a Sino-Korean word meaning "to transfer and lay upon." In everyday usage it carries a negative sense, as in "shifting blame," but in theology it refers to God's regarding the sin or righteousness of one person as belonging to another. Protestant theology commonly speaks of three imputations:

• The imputation of Adam's sin: the understanding that the first man's sin is credited to all humanity. This is connected with the doctrine of the Fall.
• The imputation of human sin to Christ: used to explain the atonement accomplished on the cross.
• The imputation of Christ's righteousness to believers: the central concept of the doctrine of justification, according to which a person is declared righteous not on the basis of his or her own works but on account of the righteousness of Christ.

Biblical and Historical Background

The New Korean Revised Version (Gaeyeok Gaejeong) generally renders this concept with the verb yeogida ("to count" or "to regard"). The key passages are Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:3-8, which quotes it ("it was counted unto him for righteousness"). Romans 5:12-19, which contrasts Adam and Christ, and 2 Corinthians 5:21 ("that we might be made the righteousness of God in him") are also frequently cited in support.

During the Reformation, Martin Luther spoke of an "alien righteousness" that comes from outside the person, and John Calvin explained justification as the reception of Christ's imputed righteousness. This understanding was incorporated into Question 60 of the Heidelberg Catechism and Chapter 11 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Catholic Church, by contrast, has emphasized since the Council of Trent that righteousness is actually infused into the person and renews him or her. In recent years, some scholars who support the "New Perspective on Paul" have raised fresh questions about the biblical basis of the concept of imputation. This discussion is ongoing.

Practice in Korean Churches

Presbyterian churches, especially denominations that identify themselves as Reformed, follow the Westminster Standards in teaching the doctrine of imputation as central to justification. They often emphasize that even Christ's life of obedience to the law (his active obedience) is imputed to believers.

Methodist and Holiness churches, following the tradition of Wesleyan theology, accept that the righteousness of Christ is imputed. They emphasize, however, both justification, by which believers are counted righteous, and sanctification, by which they are actually made holy. John Wesley's concern that the doctrine of imputation could be used to make light of holy living is also frequently mentioned within this tradition.

Baptist and Pentecostal denominations also generally share the understanding that the righteousness of Christ is given through faith. The extent to which the term "imputation" appears in their denominational documents, however, varies.

In preaching and hymnody, the concept is often expressed through the metaphor of "putting on the robe of righteousness." Sermons that interpret the wedding garment of Matthew 22:11-12 as the righteousness of Christ also draw on this understanding.