Sovereign Grace Church

If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account.

(Philemon 1:18)

Justification by faith is, that when I come to stand before God, though conscience says I am guilty of a thousand sins, yet I may go boldly and plead my pardon, which will acquit me as if I had never sinned at any time. “God was [thus] in Christ, reconciling [the world of His elect] unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Now sin is a thing past, which, being done, cannot be made undone, the sin remains still: murder is murder still, and adultery is adultery still; it cannot be undone again. Now how shall this man that is guilty of murder and adultery be made just? it cannot possibly be but by not imputing his sin unto him, so that God should account it to him as if it had not been done at all by him; [rather] He puts it upon Christ’s account. Account: the word is used in the epistle to Philemon, where St. Paul saith, “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account.” A man’s sins being thus put upon Christ’s account, he is accepted of God as freely as if he had never owed Him any thing, or as if he had never offended Him. Now this is done by transferring the debt from one person to another; so that we see this imputation of sin to Christ, and of Christ’s righteousness to us is most necessary. It must be so: and if there were no testimony for it in scripture, yet reason showeth that there can be no righteousness but by God’s acceptation of us in Christ as if we had never sinned; there is the difference then. “…to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). [AMEN!]