Imputed (1677) (ellogeo from en = in + logos = something said in the sense of account) was a technical Greek commercial term meaning to charge something to one's account. In the only other NT use of ellogeo Paul writes that if Onesimus has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account (Philemon 18) In other words, any loss suffered through the runaway Onesimus was to be charged to the apostle Paul's "charge account". In the present context, Paul is saying that sin does not have the character of being a transgression apart from Law and therefore is not reckoned as such which is similar to what Paul wrote in Romans 4 explaining... the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation ("transgression" in the KJV). (see note Romans 4:15) Comment: Transgression (or "violation") means the violation of a known law. Paul does not say that where there is no law, there is no sin. An act can be inherently wrong even if there is no law against it. But it becomes transgression (Ed note: a crossing over the line so to speak) when a sign goes up saying “Speed Limit 20 MPH.” The Jews thought they inherited blessing through having the law, but all they inherited was transgression. God gave the law so that sin might be seen as transgression, or to put it another way, so that sin might be seen in all its sinfulness. He never intended it to be the way of salvation for sinful transgressors! (MacDonald) (See related topic Purpose of the Law = to reveal sin, to shut up all men under sin, to keep men in custody, to lead them to Christ. So sin was in the world until the Law came. Paul has built this argument that no Jew can escape. If there is no Law, you are right: You can't charge it against someone's account. And yet there was sin in the world, and not only was there sin in the world, but there was death in the world and it reigned from Adam to Moses. What is Paul saying? Paul is trying to drill home the point that SIN is not what you DO SIN is what you ARE The Law comes and shows the evidence of it. The Law says in essence: ''Do you want to see if you are a sinner? Then here is the Law. Go ahead and try to obey it." Why can't we obey? Because we have the Sin nature of Adam. Sin is not so much the activity. That's just the evidence of the Sin nature. Sin is the nature of every man born of Adam and you don't need Law to convict someone of that. There are many unsaved people who are living good, moral lives (maybe better than many born again believers) but they are still in Adam and bound for the Lake of fire. Remember that all mankind is either in Adam or in Christ, those in the latter group having been delivered out of Adam and the penalty (eternal death) and transferred into the body of Christ and His kingdom. Morris sums up Romans 5:13 noting that it... has been interpreted in two ways. It is possible to take it (as Hendriksen does) in the sense that it shows that there is a more comprehensive law than that of Moses. There is a law written on people’s hearts (see Romans 2:15-note). On biblical premises it can scarcely be denied that sin was reckoned to people and punished in the period between Adam and Moses, as the flood narrative, to name no other, plainly shows (Ge 6:5, 6, 7, 12, 13). The other is to point out that Paul is emphasizing what Adam did; he may thus mean that it was that one sin that brought death to all. It is objected that this requires the insertion of the words “in Adam”; to leave them out is to leave out what is crucial. Neither view can be said to be proved or to be impossible given our present state of knowledge, but perhaps the context points to the second. (Ibid) ><>><>><> Diplomatic Immunity - No charges were filed against an international diplomat who broke into a Bel-Air Estates home. The man drove through a security fence, kicked down a door, took some jewelry, and hit the homeowner with a glass. The intoxicated Consul General was handcuffed but later released because the victim declined to press charges. He could have been charged with a misdemeanor, but the international law of diplomatic immunity protected him. All who have received Christ as Savior have a different kind of immunity. This exemption does not protect us from the courts of this world, but it does protect us from condemnation in the age to come (Ro 8:1-note, Ro 8:33-note). Our sin has consequences, but it does not disqualify us for entrance into heaven. How should we respond to this legal reprieve? Should we think of Christ's forgiveness as a license to live a self-centered life? (Ro 6:12-note). Not if we believe what He says about the enslaving effects of sin (Ro 6:6-note). Not if we care about our own body and mind. Not if we care about those affected by our choices. Not if we care about the One who suffered for us. The immunity Christ provides is for one purpose: to show how much God loves us, and to give us reason to live for Him and love Him forever. — Mart De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Rejoice, O soul, the debt is paid, For all our sins on Christ were laid; We've been redeemed, we're justified-- And all because the Savior died. --DJD