TWO DIRTY WORDS . .
There are two dirty words to Rome and her lovers. They are a little long for four-letter words, but for Rome and her school men (who are still around) they are the dirtiest words in the world. They are so dirty that if you hear and believe these two words you will die! Ready? (Kids close your ears) Here we go: Chashab and: Logizomia
Below are Strong's definition for these words:
2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
G3049
λογίζομαι
logizomai
log-id'-zom-ahee
Middle voice from G3056; to take an inventory, that is, estimate (literally or figuratively): - conclude, (ac-) count (of), + despise, esteem, impute, lay, number, reason, reckon, suppose, think (on).
H2803
חשׁב
châshab
khaw-shab'
A primitive root; properly to plait or interpenetrate, that is, (literally) to weave or (generally) to fabricate; figuratively to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think, regard, value, compute: - (make) account (of), conceive, consider, count, cunning (man, work, workman), devise, esteem, find out, forecast, hold, imagine, impute, invent, be like, mean, purpose, reckon (-ing be made), regard, think.
Chasab is a word used in Leviticus 17:4 where God says that if anyone offers sacrifice anywhere than at the door of the LORD's tabernacle, blood (murder) "shall be imputed" (reckoned) to him. Chasab means to "reckon" or "count as". In Genesis 31:15 Rachel and Leah are discussing their father's attitude toward them: "Are we not CONSIDERED (Chasab) strangers by him?". Obviously they weren't strangers to their own father, but were being considered or reckoned, treated as strangers. Likewise when Phineas impales the fornicating Israelite and his partner and stays the plague in Numbers 25, Psalm 106:30 and 31 record that it was ACCOUNTED (Chasab) to him for righteousness "to all generations forevermore". We see clearly the idea that something that is not that is not LITERALLY true can nevertheless be RECKONED as true - in this
case by God. The other dirty word, Logizomia is the Greek equivalent of Chasab. In Acts 19:27 Demetrius is concerned that Paul's preaching of Christ's Gospel might cause the goddess Artemis to "be counted (logizomia) as nothing". In 2 Timothy
4:16 Paul recounts being abandoned by his friends when he appeared in Roman court, and graciously adds "May it not be CHARGED (logizomia) against them". See a pattern? Artemis was considered a "great goddess" but Demetrius was afraid she would be counted as nothing. We would consider the abandoning of Paul by his friends as wicked betrayal, but Paul prays that God will reckon them "not guilty". When Paul quotes David in Psalm 32 saying
blessed is the man to whom The Lord will not IMPUTE iniquity" we are not under any delusion that the man is sinless. He means that God has chosen to overlook, to not take account of his sin. Now that is a blessing indeed! A blessing that is ours in Christ, only because of imputed righteousness.
Now why do I call these two wonderful words dirty? Because they are dirty words to the self-righteous. They cannot know these words. They are blind to their meaning and when they hear them they erupt in fury. The Elect can hear them and gloriously spring to life in Christ when they hear. The World and Religion worship law. At least the world labors and is condemned under God's law. The law that religion thinks will save them kills them, because they continually break it (cursed is he who continueth not in ALL things written in the book of the Law) and are held captive beneath its curse. They cannot understand grace. They cannot understand undeserved favor. Martin Luther rightly calls them "merit mongers". Any grace received by a religious person must be merited, or deserved. To a merit-monger the filthiest word in the world is "imputed", that is, "freely reckoned to the account of". In other words, GRACE undeserved. But what is grace if not undeserved?
When the light of the glorious Gospel resurfaced at the Reformation Rome was furious. They pried Wycliffe's bones from the grave and burned them. They fumed and roared for the good news of true IMPUTED righteousness had been set free. People fled dead superstition and contrived ritual to find true righteousness by faith in Christ! At the 30 year long Council of Trent they doubled down and damned anyone preaching imputed (biblical) righteousness. Those Canons are still Roman Catholic Law today. You can read them here. So when the late Anglican Bishop Tony Palmer showed up at a Ken Copeland
Ministerial Convention and said "the protest (of Protestantism) is over" to a roar of applause, people who understand the gospel and the value of the Reformation were aghast. When Charles Finney said that Christ's righteousness cannot lawfully be laid to the account of another, he had better hope that it is . . Namely to his! Likewise, when John Wesley indignantly insisted that God cannot lie and call a man righteous when he is not literally righteous, he'd better pray that he is wrong. God called King David the adulterer and murderer righteous. He called Abraham who pawned his wife off as his sister and laughed when God said he would have a son righteous. Why? Because of faith! God purifies hearts by faith! He called Paul the Christian killer righteous. And he calls you and I, and all who call on the name
of The Lord righteous and reckons Christ's perfect performance to our account because of our faith in Christ! And he even gives the faith! "For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:15). A perfect righteousness is a gift! "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). And it is the overflowing, contagious joy of knowing our place in Christ that bears fruit in our lives!
Every Sunday from a thousand pulpits pastors try to "guilt trip" saints to action, when if they knew and preached the glorious liberty of the saints rightly the work would easily be done. No sweat! For Finney, Wesley, Luther, Billy Graham, the Pope - all have sinned, and there is "none righteous, no not one". Luther was right. All of Christian relevance - all that makes it unique in religious history - all that makes Christ the friend of sinners hinges on the issue of imputed righteousness, the only way to stand perfect before a perfect God. Let us resist the temptation - particularly in light of what is taking place in America - to join the moralists who insist that Man is good and has free will to be so. To do so is to lose the Gospel in an hour when it is needed the most. Stay at your post brothers!
Thanks to Tom Ascol and his article here for the insight -
See my related article here
