This week in our Theology Explained series, we’re unpacking the doctrine of imputation—a truth at the very heart of the gospel. In a divine exchange, our sin was laid on Christ, and His perfect righteousness was credited to us. This isn’t about earning God’s favor; it’s about receiving what we could never achieve on our own: right standing with God through faith in Jesus.

In its theological sense, justification is a forensic, or purely legal, term. It describes what God declares about the believer, not what He does to change the believer. Justification is about your position as a believer. You will still sin, but you are justified.