stead of those for whom he paid a price of redemption; and, having also considered the meaning of those scriptures that speak of his bearing our sins, we shall proceed to consider[36], 3. What Christ did, pursuant to this character, namely, as our surety, as he paid all that debt which the justice of God demanded from us, which consisted in active and passive obedience. There was a debt of active obedience demanded from man as a creature; and upon his failure of paying it, when he sinned, it became an out-standing debt, due from us; but such as could never be paid by us. God determines not to justify any, unless this out-standing debt be paid; Christ, as our surety, engages to take the payment of it on himself: and, whereas this defect of obedience, together with all actual transgressions, which proceeded from the corruption of our nature, render us guilty or liable to the stroke of vindictive justice, Christ, as our surety, undertakes to bear that also: this we generally call the imputation of our sin to Christ, the placing our debt to his account, and the transferring the debt of punishment, which was due from us to him, upon which account he is said to yield obedience, and suffer in our room and stead, or to perform active and passive obedience for us; which two ideas the apostle joins in one expression, when he says, that he _became obedient unto death_, Phil. ii. 8. But this having been been insisted on elsewhere, under the head of Christ’s satisfaction[37], where we shewed, not only that Christ performed active as well as passive obedience for us, but endeavoured to answer the objections that are generally brought against Christ’s active obedience, being part of that debt which he engaged to pay for us; we shall pass it by at present. But that which may farther be added, to prove that our sin and guilt were imputed to him, may be argued from his being said to be _made a curse for us_, in order to his redeeming us from the curse of the law, Gal. iii. 13. and also from his _being made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him_, 2 Cor. v. 21. And also from other scriptures, that speak of him as suffering, though innocent; punished for sin, though he was at the same time the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish; dealt with as guilty, though he had never contracted any guilt, and being made a sacrifice for sin, though sinless, which could not have been done consistently with the justice of God, had not our sins been placed to his account, or imputed to him.