Romans 5:12-13 NASB
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— [13] for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
The word “imputed” used in verse 13 is used one other time in the New Testament, and it gives us a better understanding of what the word actually means. Philemon 18, “But if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.” The phrase “charge that to my account” is what the word that is translated “imputed” actually means. It carries the idea of something that is written down in a book against someone, and represents some debt that person owes. Those Roman 5 verses tell us that it is the law that condemns us, because it keeps a record of the wrongs that we’ve done, but if there is no law, there is no record. The good news is this; at the cross according to Colossians 2, the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, that was hostile to us, was taken out of the way when Jesus was nailed to the cross. Jesus became us at Calvary, and therefore he took in his person all that was written down against us, and it was nailed to the cross, as He was, in his person. Being crucified with Christ, we were also buried with him, and of course risen with Him. The person that I am now according to Romans 7 died to the law, and its record against me 2000 years ago at Calvary. Because I died to the law, the law has no right or ability to keep records of my sin anymore. There is no longer a certificate of debt listing my sins, even my most recent ones. When I sin now, I bring that sin to the Lord and appropriate His gracious forgiveness, and from that point forward there is no record of that sin. If I try to bring it up to God again, He will simply say He has no record of that, so He don’t know what I’m talking about. Where there is no law, sin is not imputed, and even though the law still exists, I am dead to it, and my old record no longer exists, and there is no new record being kept of my failures. This is not the way religion works, but God who created us, knows this is how to transform us. It is grace, according to Titus 2, that teaches us to deny ungodliness. Keeping record of our sin under the law was simply to drive us to Jesus and His grace according to Galatians, and therefore now being in Christ, there is no more record-keeping of my failures; only grace that keeps calling me forward, to advance in Christ likeness.