The Sinlessness of Christ
When we speak of Christ’s sinlessness we generally refer to His humanity. It is unnecessary to plead the sinlessness of Christ’s deity, as deity by our definition cannot and does not sin. The doctrine of Christ’s sinlessness has been free of any fundamental controversy. Even the most crass heretics in history have not denied this of Christ.
The sinlessness of Christ does not merely serve as an example to us. It is fundamental and necessary for our salvation. Had Christ not been the “lamb without blemish” He not only could not have secured anyone’s salvation, but would have needed a savior Himself. The multiple sins Christ bore on the cross required a perfect sacrifice. That sacrifice had to be made by one who was sinless.
Christ’s sinlessness had negative and positive aspects to it. Negatively, Christ was completely free of any transgression. He broke none of God’s holy law. He scrupulously obeyed whatsoever God commanded. Despite His sinlessness, Christ even obeyed Jewish law, submitting to circumcision, baptism, and perhaps even the system of animal sacrifice. Positively, Christ was eager to obey the law; He was committed to doing the will of His Father. It was said of Him that zeal for His Father’s house consumed Him (John 2:17) and that His meat was to do the will of His Father (John 4:34).
One difficulty concerning the sinlessness of Christ is related to Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” If Christ was tempted as we are, how could He have been sinless? The problem becomes even greater when we read James 1:14-15: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
James describes a kind of temptation that arises from sinful desires within us. These desires are already sinful in nature. If Jesus was tempted as we are tempted it would seem to suggest that He had sinful desires. Yet this is precisely the point of the qualifier “yet without sin” in the book of Hebrews. Jesus had desires. But he had no sinful desires. When He was tempted by Satan the assault came from the outside. It was an external temptation. Satan tried to entice Jesus to eat during His period of fasting. Jesus surely had physical hunger; He had a desire for food. Yet there was no sin in being hungry. All things being equal, Jesus wanted to eat. But all things were not equal. Jesus was committed to obeying the will of the Father. He had no desire to sin.
It was by His sinlessness that Jesus qualified Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. However, our salvation requires two aspects of redemption. It was not only necessary for Jesus to be our substitute and receive the punishment due for our sins; He also had to fulfill the law of God perfectly to secure the merit necessary for us to receive the blessings of God’s covenant. Jesus not only died as the perfect for the imperfect, the sinless for the sinful, but He lived the life of perfect obedience required for our salvation.
- The sinlessness of Christ is necessary for our salvation.
- Jesus made atonement as the Lamb without blemish.
- Christ was not tempted by sinful desires.
- By His perfect obedience Jesus supplied the righteousness (merit) we require to be saved.
The Essential Truths of the Christian Faith devotional is excerpted from Essential Truths of the Christian Faith Copyright © 1992 by R. C. Sproul. All rights reserved.
In the Shadow of Death
I can not imagine the horror and fear of those who were in Boston yesterday. Both those who were participants and those who had turned out to watch friends and family. Nor can I imagine the mindset of people who have no regard for the value of life. I do know two things, one that there will be acts of heroism and cowardly acts being learned of today.
The true mettle of a person can often come to the front when a person faces a crisis. When we are tested is when we find out who we are. As so many have said before, “it brings the best and the worst in people.”
Many will cry out and ask God “how can you let things like this happen?” They do so many times because it is the easy way, to think of God as a benevolent protector that should stand as a shield to prevent all from harm. Truly it is not that they are wrong in their desire, it is that do not understand that we lost that when Adam and Eve made the choice that they made.
Evil entered the world when they accepted the word of the great deceiver. Until the day that Jesus returns, evil will continue. Knowing that the time is getting nearer, those who serve evil are and will continue to be, more desperate. They do not realize that the war is already lost and so they are determined to do as much harm as possible.
God does protect those who serve him! Not from death because death entered in when evil did. What He does promise is to never allow more than we can bear to fall upon us.
Trials and tribulations are what we can expect until death takes us from this stage of existence or Jesus returns for the final judgment. Our promise is that we will have no more suffering and no more pain at that time. That death along with evil will no longer exist. That there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
As long as we walk the earth, we walk in the “shadow of death” and our only true comfort rests in our Lord.
Psalm 23:3-5
King James Version (KJV)
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Related articles
Justified by Faith
Romans chapter 5
Peace with God
Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Joy in Tribulation
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, know that tribulation produces perseverance;
and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Salvation from God’s Wrath
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be save from wrath through Him.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Contrast of Righteousness and Condemnation
Therefore, just as through on man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—-
(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
And the gift is not like that which come through the one who sinned. For the judgement which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses rusulted in justification.
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.)
Therefore, as through one man’s offence judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through on Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life thorough Jesus Christ our Lord.
How amazing it is to know that no matter how great our sins, if we accept Jesus into our lives and proclaim him our Savior, that our sins will be washed away and we will appear before God washed clean. By His giving of His blood we have a future, where otherwise we would have been condemned. Not by anything we do other than having faith and be willing to ask for forgiveness and accept God’s grace.
And yet how sad that there are so many who still refuse to see, and are not willing to give up that control. And how sad it is that there are so many that, like Satan himself, wish to control those around them. Whether they do so in ignorance or willful disobedience, it does not matter. The end results are the same, and the loss in forever.
I pray for those that are in leadership positions, whether from the very top to the parent of a child. Please understand that one day you will stand in judgement before God. What you do will be judged by Him, but if you do not accept Him into your life and ask Him for forgiveness, He will not see you. No matter how good you think that you are, no matter how worthy your goals, if they do not include Him, they will be forever forgotten and you will face eternity damned for your lack of action.
When Nebuchadnezzar was restored he said
“And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand or say to Him “What have You done?”
The Righteous Judged
J. G. Steffan: Young herdsman with goats and sheep, 1858 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, an all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
“And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink?
‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?
“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Update on My Prayer Request
Thank all of you so much for your prayers. I wanted to let you know that prayer works and God is still in control. My back has eased up quite a bit. It is not totally healed but it is not locking up and I can move without extreme pain. Thank you all again and God bless you everyone!
Stephen Preaches to the Council
Moses Pleading with Israel, as in Deuteronomy 6:1-15, illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Stephen Preaches to the Council
Acts 7
Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
And he said, “Men and brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,
“and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’
“Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.
“And God game him no inheritance in it, not even enought to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.
“But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would sojourn in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.
‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’
“Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eight day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.
“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him
“and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt and all his house.
“Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.
“But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
“And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh.
“Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.
“So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.
“And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
“But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt
“till another king arose who did not know Joseph.
“This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.
“At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months.
“But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.
“And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.
“But when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
“And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
“For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.
“And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile with them, say, ‘Men, your are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’
“But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
‘Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’
“Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.
“And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
“When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him,
“saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers— the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.
‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
“I have certainly seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ‘
“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
“He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
“This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’
“This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give us,
“whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,
“saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
“And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifces to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
“Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets;
‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals
and sacrifices during forty years in
the wilderness,
O house of Israel?
Yes, you took up the tabernacle of
Moloch,
And the star of your god Remphan,
Images which you made to worship;
And I will carry you away beyond
Babylon.’
“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,
“which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,
“who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
“But Solomon built Him a house.
“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says
the LORD,
Or what is the place of My rest?
Has My hand not made all these things?’
“You stiff-nescked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
“who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”
When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right had of God!”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The Beatitudes
Stained glass panel in the nave of St. John’s Anglican Church, Ashfield, New South Wales (NSW). This window depicts Jesus Christ welcoming children and teaching “of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). The inscription on this memorial window reads “To the Glory of God and in Commemoration of all the Baptisms in this Church † Erected John the Baptist Day 1932″. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Matthew 5:1-12
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Then He opened His mouth and taught them saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For their is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“I Am the Bread of Life”
Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“I Am the Bread of Life“
John 6:22-59
On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone–
however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks–
when the people therefore saw that Jesus was ot there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.
And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
“Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God“
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?
“Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My father gives you the true bread from heaven.
“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
And Jesus sait to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
“But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
The Jews then murmured against Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”
And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves.
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
“Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
“I am the bread of life.
“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
“This is the bread which came down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of this world.”
The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
The Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
“Thsi is the bread which came down from heaven– not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Moral Implications of Christ’s Resurrection
Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Moral Implications of Christ‘s Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:29-34
Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?
And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God, I speak this to your shame.
Order of the Resurrection
Detail - Glory of the New Born Christ in presence of God Father and the Holy Spirit (Annakirche, Vienna) Adam and Eva are represented bellow Jesus-Christ Ceiling painting made by Daniel Gran (1694-1757). Post-processing: perspective and fade correction. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Order of the Resurrection
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive.
But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christs’s at His coming.
Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
( ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Fact of Christ‘s Resurrection
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by james, then by all the apostles.
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you beiieved.
Importance of Christ’s Resurrection
see filename (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Importance of Christ‘s Resurrection
Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain.
Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up— if in fact the dead do not rise,.
For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If in this life one we have hope in Christ, we of all me are the most pitiable.
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- If the Resurrection didn’t happen, the Message of Christianity is kind of a moot point… (andrewejenkins.wordpress.com)
