Imputed righteousness means God places His own righteousness on the believer's account and then sees the believer covered in that righteousness.
Scripture pictures this when God made coats of skins and clothed Adam and Eve after an animal was killed (Genesis 3:21), and Isaiah rejoices that God has clothed him with the garments of salvation (Isaiah 61:10). Les Feldick teaches that Adam was the first to receive this imputed righteousness, and that at the moment a person believes, God clothes that person with His righteousness—none of the believer's own.
Genesis 3:21 — This is the first scriptural picture of God clothing a person with the imputed righteousness of God after blood had been shed.
Isaiah 61:10 — The prophet rejoices because God, not man, has clothed him with salvation and covered him with the robe of righteousness.
Romans 3:22 — Paul says the righteousness of God is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.
Romans 10:10 — Paul states that with the heart man believes unto righteousness, the same truth Les connects to being clothed with Christ's righteousness.
The Bible introduces the picture of imputed righteousness in Genesis 3:21: "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." The animal skin coats point to the fact that blood had been shed, and God Himself provided the covering. Isaiah 61:10 uses the same clothing imagery: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness." In Romans 3:22, Paul says the righteousness of God is "by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe," and Romans 3:23 adds that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Scripture, therefore, describes righteousness as a covering God gives, not something a person produces.
Les Feldick teaches that imputed righteousness is the spiritual clothing God gives the believer. He draws the picture from Genesis 3:21: after an animal was killed for its skins, God clothed Adam and Eve—not merely to cover physical nakedness but to picture God covering them with righteousness. Adam was the first person to experience imputed righteousness; his faith is seen when he called Eve the mother of all living after God had told him they would propagate the human race. Les explains that "imputed" was a bookkeeping term in Paul's day meaning to put something to an account. At the moment a person believes, God by an act of imputation covers the believer and gives His righteousness to the believer's account. None of the believer's own righteousness is involved; our righteousness is as filthy rags. When God looks at a believer, He does not see the sinner—He sees Christ and His righteousness. Les connects this same truth to Isaiah 61:10, Romans 3, and Romans 10:10, and adds that after imputed righteousness is given, the believer is also justified.
In Genesis 3:21, after an animal had been killed and garments made from its skin, Scripture says God clothed them. Les notes that Adam had already exercised faith by calling Eve the mother of all living, and the animal sacrifice fulfilled the need for blood. So the clothing God provided points beyond the physical garment to the spiritual covering of imputed righteousness. Adam, the one through whom the curse came, was also the first to experience the imputed righteousness that God alone could impute.
Les explains that the word "imputed" was a bookkeeping term in Paul's day. When something is imputed, it is put to the account. So when God imputes His righteousness to a believer, He puts His righteousness on that person's account. This means the righteousness is not earned or achieved; it is credited by God.
The coats of skins covered Adam and Eve's physical nakedness, but Les stresses that the last phrase of Genesis 3:21—"and He clothed them"—has a deeper meaning. He takes the reader to Isaiah 61:10, where God clothes the prophet with the garments of salvation, and then to Romans 3, where the same righteousness is placed on all who believe. The physical clothing was a picture of the spiritual clothing of God's righteousness.
Les says that once a believer is covered with God's imputed righteousness, God no longer sees the believer's sin or the believer himself. He sees Christ in His righteousness. Our own righteousness is like filthy rags, but God sees His own righteousness on us. This is why a believer does not dare stand in God's presence on personal merit.
Les teaches that after imputed righteousness is given as part of salvation, the believer is justified. The moment we believe God, by an act of imputation, He covers us and gives His righteousness to our account. Following that, justification is the next work God does.
Adam's Faith and the Blood Sacrifice
Les shows that Adam took God at His Word when he called Eve the mother of all living, and blood was shed when God killed animals—elements that lead into the imputed righteousness Adam and Eve received.
The Clothing in Genesis Points to Isaiah
Les connects the clothing of Adam and Eve to Isaiah 61:10, where God clothes the prophet with the garments of salvation, showing that this is an imputed, covering righteousness.
Coats of Skins and the Deeper Clothing
Les separates the physical covering of nakedness from the spiritual truth in "He clothed them," and explains that God can clothe a believer with the righteousness of Christ.
Imputed Righteousness Instead of 'Saved'
Les says that being saved can be described as having imputed righteousness, and he again ties Genesis 3:21, Isaiah 61:10, and Romans 3 together.
God Sees His Own Righteousness
Because God covers the believer with imputed righteousness, He sees His own righteousness rather than the believer's filthy rags, and then the believer is justified.
Imputed Means Put to the Account
Les explains "imputed" as a bookkeeping term that means placing something on a person's account, and notes that Adam was the first to experience it.
The Moment of Believing
At the moment of faith, God by an act of imputation covers the believer and gives His righteousness to their account; none of it is the believer's own.
God Sees Christ's Righteousness
God does not see the believer's own identity or sin when He looks at a believer; He sees Christ and His righteousness, so we do not stand on our own merit.
Genesis 3:21: Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
This verse records God clothing Adam and Eve after blood had been shed, giving the first biblical picture of God's righteousness as a covering.
Isaiah 61:10: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isaiah rejoices because God Himself has provided a robe of righteousness, the same clothing imagery associated with imputed righteousness.
Romans 3:22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Paul explains that the righteousness of God is placed upon all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This verse shows why all people need the righteousness that God imputes to believers.
Romans 10:10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Believing with the heart is described as unto righteousness, the point Les connects to being clothed with Christ's righteousness.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
After imputed righteousness comes justification, as Les teaches from this section of Romans.
Imputed is a bookkeeping term; it means to put something to a person's account. God puts His righteousness on the believer's account at the moment of faith. None of the believer's own righteousness is involved.
Les Feldick teaches that Adam, the man who plunged the human race under the curse, was also the first one to experience the imputed righteousness that God alone could impute. This happened when God clothed Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21.
No. Les says God's imputed righteousness is none of ours and all of His. When God looks at a believer He sees His own righteousness, not the believer's filthy rags.
The picture begins in Genesis 3:21 when God clothes Adam and Eve; it appears again in Isaiah 61:10 and in Romans 3:22, where the righteousness of God comes upon all who believe.
Watch the Teaching: What the Bible Really Says About God's Righteousness — Romans 3