The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

The only enquiry is, how God did make him to be sin. He hath made him to be sin; so that an act of God is intended. And this is elsewhere expressed, by his laying all our Iniquities upon him, or causing them to meet on him, Isa. 53.6. And this was by the Imputation of our sins unto him, as the sins of the people were put on the Head of the Goat that they should be no more theirs but his, so as that he was to carry them away from them. Take sin in either sense before mentioned, either of a Sacrifice for sin, or a Sinner, and the Imputation ⟨p. 506⟩of the guilt of sin, antecedently unto the punishment of it, and in order thereunto, must be understood. For in every Sacrifice for sin there was an imposition of sin on the Beast to be offered antecedent unto the Sacrificing of it, and therein its suffering by death. Therefore in every offering for sin, he that brought it was to put his hand on the head of it, Lev. 1.4. And that the transferring of the guilt of sin unto the offering, was thereby signified, is expressly declared, Lev. 16.21. Wherefore if God made the Lord Christ a Sin Offering for us, it was by the Imputation of the guilt of sin unto him antecedently unto his suffering. Nor could any Offering be made for sin, without a Typical translation of the guilt of sin unto it. And therefore when an Offering was made for the expiation of the guilt of an uncertain Murder, those who were to make it by the Law, namely, the Elders of the City that were next unto the place where the man was slain, were not to offer a Sacrifice, because there was none to confess guilt over it, or to lay guilt upon it; But whereas the neck of an Heifer was to be stricken off, to declare the punishment due unto Blood, they were to wash their hands over it to testify their own Innocency, Deut. 21.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. But a Sacrifice for sin without the Imputation of guilt there could not be. And if the word be taken in the second sense, namely, for a sinner, that is, by imputation, and in Gods esteem, it must be by the imputation of guilt. For none can in any sense be denominated a sinner from mere suffering. None indeed do say, that Christ was made sin, by the imputation of punishment unto him, which hath no proper sense; But they say, sin was imputed unto him as unto punishment, which is indeed to say, that the guilt of sin was imputed unto him.