Could Jesus Have Sinned?

Details

Category: Theology

Published on Tuesday, 07 April 2009 09:23

Written by Ryan Hicks

COULD JESUS HAVE SINNED?

By Ryan Hicks

Before a proper discussion of whether Jesus could have sinned or not (i.e. was He peccable or impeccable), I need to establish Who Jesus is. Jesus was, is, and forever has been God Almighty. As the man we know as Jesus, He was God manifested in the flesh, fully God and fully man. The Scriptures say:

1 Timothy 3:16

16  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. 

1 John 5:7

7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

John 1:1-3, 14

1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2  The same was in the beginning with God.
3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
 

Hebrews 1:1-13

1  God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5  For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6  And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
7  And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9  Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10  And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
11  They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12  And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
13  But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 

THE SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON THIS ISSUE

There tend to be two schools of thought on the issue of Jesus' ability to sin. I have summed those two thoughts up below:

1. Peccable = Jesus was a real man and could have sinned, otherwise the temptations He faced were not real.
2. Impeccable = Jesus was man and fully God, and as God He could not have sinned, because God cannot sin.
   

Both of these are right, so I am proposing that neither one or the other is correct by itself. Jesus could have sinned because He was a man and that is why He was tempted (God cannot be tempted with evil).

James 1:13-16

13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16  Do not err, my beloved brethren.
 

Remember: Temptation is not sin, it only becomes sin when one desires to commit the sin and that lust conceives and brings forth sin.

Hebrews 4:14-15

14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 2:17-18

17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. 

Jesus faced real temptation IN ALL POINTS LIKE AS WE ARE, yet He did not sin. He is our example on how to live in this life. It was not merely God not sinning, for God cannot sin, but God manifest in the flesh and overcoming temptation and sinning not!

Matthew 4:1-11

1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10  Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

This is not a series of plays or fake temptation. This is the man, Jesus Christ, being tempted in a real way. His temptations are every bit as real as the temptations that you and I go through, except He never gave into them. Do you notice how He continually defeated the temptation by quoting the word of God? Have you filled yourself so full of the word of God that you can quote it when temptation starts showing up? The devil should expect temptation to fail when it comes at you because you are a child of God!

Habbakuk 1:12-13

12  Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Psalms 11:7

7  For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

As God, Jesus could not sin. It is against His character. He was one person, fully man and fully God. While His humanity was capable  of committing sin, as God His will was set against it. He had no desire for sin. He never would have committed sin in an infinity of years of temptation because it is contrary to His very Being. So while Jesus was fully human like we are and experienced real temptation, sin is contrary to His Personhood and is something Jesus would never partake in.

Hebrews 4:14-15

14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 2:17-18

17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. 

Next time you are faced with temptation attack it like Jesus did with the Holy Word of the Living God! Jesus knows what you are going through and will help and succour you when you are tempted! He understands what you are going through and God has made a way to escape it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
 

• < Prev
• Next >