Salvation Through the Dispensations

Dr. Randy White

When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, many Christians and—and even theologians—are guilty of pre-judging the case. “Everyone knows” that people who lived before the cross were saved the same way we are: with faith that is forward-looking rather than in the rear view mirror provided by Scripture. Furthermore, “everyone knows” that God judges sinners who fail to repent.“Everyone knows” all this, right?I believe that the Bible is our only source of authority, even for the things that “everyone knows.” A good student of the Word will question the assumptions of his “knowledge,” and will allow Scripture alone to establish his thinking.The Imputation of SinConsider, for instance, the important Biblical doctrine of imputation.Imputation is a Biblical word that is rooted in the field of accounting. Very simply, it means to “charge to an account.” Imputed sin is sin that is charged to my account. Imputed righteousness is righteousness that is credited to my account.“Everyone knows” that each one’s sin is charged to his or her account. Unless a person repents of those sins, confesses those sins and receives the forgiveness offered by Jesus Christ, he or she will pay the penalty for those sins. This is what “everyone knows.” But what if this is not true?I have come to believe that this view of the imputation of sin is the result of the pervasive theology of the modern church that views Scripture through a lens that removes the lines and distinctions of dispensations. In my own searching of Scripture, it appears to me that the common pervasive view of imputed sin is requires applying the truths of the dispensation of the law to every dispensation.Is sin charged to my account? Has it always been charged to the accounts of sinners?The Central Text on ImputationRomans 5:12-18 is a phenomenal passage upon which we can base a dispensational understanding of the doctrine of salvation–and it shows us how the imputation of sin fits into this process. Let’s follow this journey to see whether sin has always been charged to the account of the sinner. We will do so by tracing the changes of dispensations that are noted in this passage.From innocence to conscience: Adam lived in innocence until he ate from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9; cf. 3:1-6). Following that, he had conscience, a working knowledge of both good and evil (Gen. 3:7; Rom. 2:15). When Adam rebelled, “Sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Rom. 5:12). Now the world had fundamentally changed from a world of life and innocence to a world of sin and death.From Adam to the Law: Nothing could be clearer in Romans 5:12-18 than the fact that a fundamental change took place when the Law was given. The word “until” in v. 13 is a key word (one of my favorite in Scripture!), in that it alerts the reader to a dispensational change. The Greek word achri implies “reaching the farthest limit.” In v.14 we see that the span is “from Adam to Moses,” who is the “farthest limit” of this dispensation. During this time, “sin was in the world” (v. 13), which is no surprise (and is clear from a simple reading of the book of Genesis). What is a surprise, however, is that Paul explains that, “Sin is not imputed when there is no law” (v. 13). While this is clearly stated in the text, it goes against what “everyone knows.” Since what Paul said must of necessity be true, we may need to adjust our doctrine of salvation as it pertains to those who lived before Christ—at least in the period before the Law.During this period “from Adam to Moses” (Rom. 5:14), people sinned. That is clear and stated in the text. The fact that those people died is also clear in the text. But it is wrong to say that they died because of their specific sins. How could this be, if sin was not being imputed during this time?Again, sin was not imputed because no code of law had yet been instituted. While it is true that Scripture includes some statements that were given during this time to govern mankind’s behavior (cf. Gen. 9:6-7), the presentation of a completed system of laws would await Moses’ ascendance of Mount Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:20).The law that Paul has in view in this great passage on the doctrine of salvation goes back to the Garden of Eden, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it” (Gen. 2:17). Of course, eating from this tree was impossible after Adam and Eve were banished from the garden (cf. Gen. 3:22-24), so whatever sin these people committed, it was not “after the similitude of Adam’s transgression” (Rom. 5:14).Think with me about this. Whatever the sins of this dispensation were (murder, vice, lying, homosexuality…it is all there and more), those sins were “not imputed” because “sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13). This does not imply that these activities were not wrong. The activities are clearly sinful. All this text says is that these sins were “not imputed.” But if they were not imputed, why did men die?The answer is found in v. 12. “All…sinned” in Adam, and thus all died with Adam. Like Adam, they were without access to the Tree of Life.Following Adam’s fate, they went to the world of the dead (Sheol in the Old Testament). They were judged based on conscience, since, having the knowledge of good and evil, they were expected to live according to good (cf. Rom. 2:14-15). Other than a Promised Redeemer (Gen. 3:15), there was no hope of life. They were taken captive by death, and would be without hope until the Promised Redeemer would take “captivity captive” (Eph. 4:8)–something which was only revealed later.What Happened After Mount Sinai?From the Law to the cross: With the giving of the Law, sin was now illegal and there was just cause to charge sin to a person’s account. During this time, the standard of righteousness was enumerated, as well as the criteria for atonement when that standard was not met. In this dispensation, a person was judged based on his personal account, which will be audited at the resurrection (cf. Rev. 20:11-15).Following the cross:The Value of the CrossThere is a simple and just reason why the sins of the world, in this age, are not being charged against them: the cross of Christ. On the cross, Jesus paid the full penalty for our sins, “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).This truth has been sorely missed in our presentations of the Gospel! We present the Gospel by saying, “Because you have sinned, you are separated from God.” What we ought to be sharing is, “Because of sin, (namely, Adam’s), we are separated from God and spiritually dead, bearing in our bodies all the horrible effects of Adam’s fall..”This huge problem needs a remedy. Once we are dead physically, there is no ability to overcome the problem. But the Bible teaches that God has remedied the situation by reconciling the world to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Having paid all the debts, God now offers eternal life through His Son, not through the tree in the Garden. Having paid the price for sin, Jesus conquered death and is now alive to offer life to any who would receive it.That, my friend, is good news!Script