Unveiling Christ's Sinlessness: The Pillar of Our Faith and Salvation

Could the very foundation of our faith hinge upon the sinlessness of Jesus? We're tackling this pivotal question head-on, unraveling the threads of Christian theology to reveal the untarnished nature of Christ and its implications for our salvation. Journey with us as we dissect the temptations Christ faced and the flawless life He led, a cornerstone belief that's absolutely vital for every believer to grasp. Explore with us the scriptural affirmations from 2 Corinthians 5:21 to Hebrews 4:15 that establish the sin-free existence of the Savior, and understand why this conviction is non-negotiable for the integrity of the Gospel.

This episode peels back the layers of what it means to live a sinless life—Jesus' life. We break down the nuanced differences between sins of commission and omission, and how Jesus' life was untouched by either. His perfect obedience to God's law wasn't just about what He didn't do; it was about everything He did do, culminating in the ultimate "great exchange" that defines our faith. We also step into the arena of theological debate, confronting the question of whether Jesus could have sinned, and the profound consequences such a possibility would have on our understanding of His divine and human nature.

As we wrap up, our hearts are stirred to share the profound truth of the Gospel and the hope it brings to our everyday lives. We reflect on the gravity of Jesus' sacrifice and His role as the sinless Son of God, inviting you to join in the conversation and engage with the transformative power of His love for us. Whether you're a longtime believer or seeking answers, our dialogue extends to you, promising a deeper appreciation of the Savior's unique and impeccable nature. Stay tuned for our continued explorations into the Word of God and its glorious application to our lives.

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, follow, share the episode, like, or check us out in YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvAv52Ldvfjf4CgYhYTZig

As always, thank you for watching Gospel Grit, where we seek to apply the Word of God, to the people of God, to the glory of God.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

All right, welcome everybody to episode 22 of Gospel Grit where, as always, we seek to apply the Word of God to the people of God for the glory of God. So, as always, I am Taylor Windham In this episode. It's very special, it's a one-off. Lately we've been doing a lot of series and we just finished up Roman Catholicism, our five-part series on the five solos of the Reformation. Now we are turning to a listener-slash-friend-requested episode. So in this one, what we're going to be tackling is quite a doozy, let's say it that way. So I invite you to put your thinking caps on, to think biblically, to think theologically, to think logically and in a sound manner. Don't worry about emotions, don't worry about how things may be perceived by other people, don't worry about what the popular opinion is other people, don't worry about what the popular opinion is. We're interested on this channel, as I hope you are in your real life at coming to find out what the Word of God says about certain topics. So we want to apply the Word of God, not our preferences and not our opinions.

Speaker 1: 1:20

So, with that being said, the question that's been submitted to me is one that has caused quite the stir of late, and I think you'll understand why as soon as I say it. It goes something like this Could Jesus have slash? Did Jesus sin? Okay to say this a different way? Okay to say this a different way did Jesus ever sin? Or, if the answer is no, could he have sinned, right. So now we're tackling the topic of is it possible for him to sin? And if it's possible, did he right? Depends on how you want to look at that. So it's, truthfully, a question that is of the utmost importance. This topic, maybe more than any other topic you've ever experienced or discussed, at least of late, is one that applies and affects all of your Christian life. Everything we believe, every part of our theology, the gospel itself, the person and work of Christ, his identity, the truthfulness of the scriptures and the fact that God has indeed come down to save us all are called into question by this question being posed.

Speaker 1: 2:42

I will not share with you the details of the background. It's not necessary. Just understand that these questions are alive and they are well. I just want you to understand carefully that this is not a matter of triviality, it's not a matter of preference, it's certainly not a matter of opinion, and I'm going to do the best I can to show from the Word of God that this is not the case. So the disclaimer I have for you before we jump into our Matthew 4 text, which is the one we'll start with first, is that there are so many questions that I have answered over the years that I am answering on this channel just like this one. There are so many questions that are great and questions that are needful, and while this question is certainly needful, it is not a great question. In fact, it saddens me to do this topic, but it is absolutely necessary. I'm only doing this topic because it's necessary, and so I hope that you pay the necessary attention to this subject to edify and benefit your life, so that if this question is posed to you, you know how to respond in kind in a Christ-honoring and biblically accurate answer with fidelity. So this question is quite foul when you think about its ramifications. This question is quite foul when you think about its ramifications.

Speaker 1: 4:05

Matthew 4 is the text we'll look at, and then I've got a few others that I want to read to you, so we'll start here. You're familiar with this Matthew 4, verses 1 through 10. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and after he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he then became hungry and the tempter came and said to him if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered and said it is written man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him along into the holy city that's Jerusalem and had him stand on the Verse 7,. Jesus said to him. On the other hand, it is written you shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test Again. The devil took him along to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him all these things I will give to you if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him go away, satan, for it is written you shall worship the Lord, your God, and serve him. Only Verse 11,. Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and began to serve or minister to him.

Speaker 1: 5:44

Now a few other verses to read in your hearing, because we're talking specifically about the fact that Jesus. Was he able to sin? And if so, did he sin Right. So here are some, and I'll try to read these slow 2 Corinthians 5.21,. For our sake, he, god, the Father, made him, christ, to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him, christ, we might become the righteousness of God. That is the great exchange, that's the gospel in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen. 2 Corinthians 5.21. All right, the next verse is you know that he appeared, christ, in order to take away sins, our sins, and in him there is no sin. 1 John 3.5. The next verse 1 Peter 2.22,. He Christ committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in His mouth. And the last one, before we jump into breaking this down, would be Hebrews 4.15. For we do not have a high priest, christ, who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who, him in every respect, has been tempted as we are yet without sin.

Speaker 1: 7:15

So, as always, ladies and gentlemen, before we jump into this outline, let me remind you that all questions of theology and all questions of what the Word of God says ultimately boil down to just that. What does the Word of God say about the identity of Christ? What does the Word of God say about His relationship to sin? What did the Word of God just say the four or five verses I just read to you and the passage about His temptation by Satan in the wilderness. It makes very clear that Jesus did not sin. So the question we have to flesh out is if we think about this, we have to understand his relationship to sin for our relationship to sin to be good news, right. So point one temptation does not equal sin. Okay.

Speaker 1: 8:08

So sin, as defined by the Westminster confession, is any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God. Okay, say that again Sin is any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God. So if we are to sin, it means that we do not live up. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We do not live up to the standard of God's holy, perfect and righteous law. Christ was tempted in every way we are we just read that in Hebrews 4.15, but did not sin. So the Bible is explicitly saying, at least in this verse and many others, that Jesus did not ever sin, either by a want of conformity to the law of God or transgression of the law. In other words, he didn't break the law and he didn't desire to not fulfill the law. Okay, so if Christ was never tempted he could not be our high priest. I think that's very important. So for you guys who struggle with an ongoing and besetting sin, you guys who struggle with an ongoing and besetting sin, you guys who struggle with crucifying the flesh and you're sort of stuck in that Galatians sort of Romans 7 understanding of yourself and you're dying to the sinfulness of your flesh, some of you guys struggle with this and have for a very long time. There is hope and this is a reminder that just because you are tempted does not mean you are sinning.

Speaker 1: 9:43

It is possible to pass a temptation test. It is also possible to fail a temptation test. A failed temptation test results in sin. A strengthening is the product of passing a temptation test, of passing a temptation test right. So passing a temptation test through fasting, prayer, meditation on the Word of God, reading the Word of God, fellowship with Christians, whatever it may be, passing of that test makes you stronger for the next time you face that test. Failing it results in a weakening of your resolve against that sin and a further, unfortunately, bondage to that, even though Romans 8 says we have no condemnation. But Galatians 5 makes very clear that we have been set free and we are to live free. We don't go back into a yoke of bondage.

Speaker 1: 10:39

So the idea is that if he sinned which I'm arguing throughout this entire video that he didn't but if he did sin and if Christ was able to sin and we'll get to that a little later then he could not have been our high priest, tempted and tried in every way that we are but did not sin. If he was tempted and tried in every way we are, yet with one sin we're all doomed and in trouble. Christ can't be our high priest and he can't be our God in human flesh. So it is a great verse, it is great news that Christ was tempted in every way we are, but did not sin. We had to overcome what we disobey and fail at right. In other words, whatever was not assumed by Christ during His incarnation cannot be redeemed in us. That's what Saint Athanasius said in the middle 300s AD. In other words, whatever he didn't take on when he became man, if he didn't take on a human mind, if he didn't take on a human body, then those things can't be redeemed if he didn't take them on and redeem them by His death, burial and resurrection.

Speaker 1: 11:51

So temptation does not equal sin. Just because Jesus was tempted in the wilderness does not mean that he sinned. In fact, it's further proof that he did not sin. It doesn't matter, for example, when he makes statements sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane in John 18, right, when he talks about Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done, right and on the cross, saying things like my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Right, saying things like my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? The fact that God had made him a propitiation, that God had made him a sin offering for the sins of all those who would believe, is the reason why Christ is making the argument or exclaiming in anguish not in unbelief, not in sin, not anxiety, but in anguish that he was made as the Passover lamb, that he was made as the scapegoat, sent out into the wilderness, so to say, of eternity, with the sins of all those who would believe on his back, that he was made the sin offering. So when he makes that argument there on the cross and many other statements about the cross leading up to it and on it, he's making a statement of emotional anguish, not unbelief. Okay, so that's number one.

Speaker 1: 13:09

Number two Christ had perfect obedience, both passive and active. So theologians talk about the active obedience of Christ and the passive obedience of Christ. So let's dig into this. The active obedience of Christ is that he was, during his lifetime, from beginning to end, excuse me, totally obedient to God's entire law. This includes both mentally, physically and spiritually. So christ literally lived the life that we absolutely could not. Now, this doesn't just mean that christ was keeping the ten commandments. It doesn't just mean that christ was fastidious and obeying jewish religious customs. That is not. That is not all this entails.

Speaker 1: 14:03

So the active obedience of Christ when theologians refer to that, what they mean is that Christ behaved, intonated, had attitudes, intentions, motives, thoughts, words, actions that are all, in total, active obedience to the law of God. So if the law of God is the standard and if you don't understand that, when you turn this video off or pause it now, if you need to go read Matthew 5, and it will explain that the issue is not so much your hands, the issue is your heart. So the issue of Matthew 5 and the way that Jesus reminds the Pharisees to lift the law of God back to its intended spot, that they actually hadn't lifted it up. They had lowered it down to make it accessible. That when Jesus says in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second is, like it, to love your neighbor as yourself, what he's saying is you can't obey the law, right? If James 1 says that whoever is guilty of breaking one part of the law is guilty of breaking all of it. It's like a mirror If you crack one part, the whole mirror is broken and it's fragmented and your view of yourself in that mirror now is totally distorted. That's the way we understand what righteousness is, because the law of God demonstrates God's holy moral character. Okay, so that's the active obedience of Christ that he lived in every way possible, both internally and externally our life for us that we could not. So Christ was actively obedient by never committing those sins.

Speaker 1: 15:40

Now we talk about sins of commission and we talk about sins of omission, right? So sins of commission are sins that are committed by breaking the law or committing law breaking in some way, shape or form. There are so many examples. Of course, killing your neighbor, right, violating, thou shall not murder. That would be a sin of you committed murder, right. But another example would be being anxious.

Speaker 1: 16:09

Jesus made that clear in Matthew 6 when he said do not be anxious, stop being anxious or stop yourself from being anxious. So when Jesus is saying that, he's saying very clearly if you do not obey this command, you are sinning. Whatever Romans 14, is not done from faith is therefore sin. So if you are behaving in a disobedient, anxious way, according to Matthew 6 and many other passages Philippians 4, we are not obeying right. So we must do these things first from our heart, then in line with our actions, to be totally synthesized, to be totally integrated in our character right. So Christ never committed sins of commission, he never broke the law of God whatsoever. But he also didn't commit sins of omission right.

Speaker 1: 17:08

So a sin of omission are sins that are basically when we are not conforming to or obeying the law right. So an example of this would be when you forget, you omit something, you forget to thank God in all things, as Philippians 4 says that we are to give thanks in all things and that we are to continually, perpetually, at all times, be giving thanks. So if I'm not giving thanks at all times and in all ways, that's a sin of omission. If the Bible commands me to do it and I don't do it, even if I forgot and it whoopsie-daisied out of my mind now, I'm sinning, but it's not a sin of commission. I'm not committing an act of treason against God's perfect law. Instead, I would be, in this case, not obeying or living up to the standard and I'm omitting exactly what he commanded me to do, or not I already said this a little bit earlier not obeying the greatest commandment or the second, that's like it, that I would love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Well, that doesn't mean that I have to be actively sinning, but if any moment I am not loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength which, by the way, is most moments then I'm committing a sin of omission. I can murder someone, and that's a sin of commission, and I can not love the Lord, my God, with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. That's a sin of omission. And maybe I killed that person and committed sin because previously I had been omitting the greatest commandment and my priorities are out of whack and I begin to worship myself and distort my view of other people and ultimately God.

Speaker 1: 18:57

So this idea that Jesus was actively obedient doesn't just mean that he was a good person. It means that Jesus did not commit any violence or law breaking to the word of God. Not just being a good person. I think we all think Jesus was a moral person. Every unbeliever, every atheist I know would agree that Jesus is a good, moral person. The Bible makes much more clear that he wasn't just a good person. He actually embodied the law. Jesus said I didn't come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill the law there in Matthew 5.

Speaker 1: 19:35

So when he's speaking about the fact that we have the righteousness of Christ that's actively won for us, because Christ obeyed and did all that he ought to do and he also never failed to do that which he ought to do, it's important for you guys to hear that, according to 2 Corinthians 5.21, we read earlier that God, the Father, made him, christ, who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. That technically means that the righteousness earned by never committing sin and never omitting and sinning. Jesus applied that God the Father applied, that it is imbued to us, to our account by the Holy Spirit that we now are seen not only as the positive righteousness but also the omitted righteousness that we never are guilty by not measuring up Not that Romans 6.23, not Romans 3.23. We see those verses. Jesus not only didn't sin, he didn't sin on the cross with what he said my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? He didn't sin at any other point, but he also didn't fail to conform to God's righteous standard, the true righteous standard laid out by God. Christ was also perfectly passively obedient, so that means that he took all of our sin on himself at the cross, as well as our punishment. So we talk about the active righteousness of Christ and that is His total obedience, non-commission, non-omission. But he also is passively obedient in the sense that he took our sin on Him on the cross and he died the death we should have died, so we can live the life he should have lived. I Said that wrong, so that he died the death we should have died, and now we live the life that's rightfully his. I apologize about that. So both of those are applied to the center at salvation, meaning that he takes our place, we take his place. That's called the great exchange, and it comes from 2 Corinthians 5.21. Point number three Now this is where we get into the theology of this, and some of you guys may already want to tune out.

Speaker 1: 21:58

We're 21 minutes in and here's where we start getting into the nerdy theology. But we've kind of answered whether Jesus did sin. Now, really, I want to turn the page and ask the question all in this one video could he have sinned? Obviously Jesus didn't sin, but could he have sinned? Okay, so I want to address the theology and then we'll wrap it up by saying if he did sin, what's at stake, what's on the table?

Speaker 1: 22:24

So one of God's traits, if you learn theology proper. He's got many, many traits, of course, but one of them is what we call impeccability. So when something's impeccable, it's perfect Theologically. This doctrine states that God is totally perfect and impeccable, not just in His character but in His ability to be anything other than that. So it means that God can't be tempted. It's very important, but he also cannot actually commit sin. It's called the doctrine of impeccability, one of God's traits if you learn theology proper. He's got many, many traits, of course, but one of them is what we call impeccability. Jesus was human, so he could be tempted in his humanity but he was also God so he could not have sinned.

Speaker 1: 23:10

Now there are people plenty of wonderful, godly Christian people who I trust and love who disagree with me strongly about that last part and I want to be clear to the listeners this is not an issue I don't think to get bent out of shape on Whether Jesus could have actually sinned or he was not able to actually sin, I don't think constitutes a line we draw for heresy and I want to be clear about that, because the big issue is did Jesus sin? If we assert that Jesus sinned, then you're a heretic and you're not a Christian and you're not saved. If you truly believe that Jesus did sin, that is a fundamental disbelief of the gospel itself and the person and work of Christ and brother sister, you need to repent and come to the real Lord Jesus for salvation. But if we believe that Jesus could have and never did, as many people do, that's okay. I just want to put forth the idea that if we believe God is impeccable and if we believe Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the God-man incarnate, according to John 1, if we believe that he is impeccable in His Godhood, then that means that he could not have sinned. You may say, well, his humanity was tempted, and I fully grant that His humanity was tempted. But we have already said at the beginning of this video, there's a difference between being tempted and failing a temptation. There's a difference between temptation and sin. It is my assertion that, because of the doctrine of divine impeccability, jesus could not have sinned. Actually, he certainly was tempted and tried in every way that we are, and that gives us great comfort, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1: 24:54

But I don't believe Jesus could have failed any of those tests. Because if we assert that the God man could have sinned, yes, he would fail the test, yes, he wouldn't have been who he said he was. But the idea that Jesus, the God man, the second person of the Trinity, could have sinned or committed the very law of God that he gave it, is blasphemy upon blasphemy. You're only left with two options. If Jesus could have sinned, he is not God, and that's the route most people would take. But if Jesus really is God, and he really is according to Scripture, over and over and over Old and New Testament, jesus is God and he really is according to Scripture, over and over and over Old and New Testament. Jesus is God and because he's God, he could not have sinned. In my estimation, in my theological understanding, the tests were real. Just because the test was not able to be failed doesn't mean the questions weren't live, that the rounds weren't live, that the bullets weren't live, that the temptation with Satan in the wilderness in Matthew 4 was not live. It certainly was live. Jesus really was man, right. But the idea that Jesus could have sinned because he was human and divine is a bridge too far in my opinion. If Jesus could or would have sinned, then sin would have been applied and credited to God, which, again, is absolutely unthinkable.

Speaker 1: 26:27

If we believe that Jesus sinned, we lose everything that we believe as Christians. This is my fourth and final point. If we believe that Jesus sinned, we lose everything that we believe as Christians. This is my fourth and final point. If we believe that Jesus sinned, we lose everything. If he sinned, our hope is gone right. We sing all the time in church. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Now we talk a lot about blood, but we sing in these old timey songs, like these hymns about the truth of the matter, which is that His righteousness is what is at stake. His righteousness is what is at stake in the gospel. If we believe that Jesus is powerful and mighty to save and we do if we believe that, then we must believe that he never sinned.

Speaker 1: 27:17

And, brother, sister, if you're struggling with this unbeliever, if you're watching this video, I ask very kindly that you open up the Word of God and you read these verses, that you read Mark 1, and you read Luke 4, and Matthew 4, and Hebrews 4, and you read 2 Corinthians 5, and 1 Peter 2, and 1 John 3,. That you read these passages and that they enable you to stop and understand this one of whom we worship. We worship him because, while he was one of us, he was not sinful like us. In fact, this is what makes him different from every other religious figure you have ever considered my friend. I hope that you truly entertain that thought, because it will change your understanding of the world around you when you see that we worship him because, while he was just like us, he never failed any of the tests that we fail on a second-by-second basis.

Speaker 1: 28:15

So our hope is built on nothing less but His blood, his righteousness. If he sinned, all of our hope is gone. If he sinned. It should be obvious by now. He cannot save us. If he sinned, there is no salvation for me or you, sir or ma'am, christian or unbeliever, there is no salvation whatsoever. And 1 Corinthians 15 makes very clear that we, above all, are to be pitied. We are lost, we are helpless, we are hopeless. We are the largest and greatest fools in the history of the world. If we believe Jesus is mighty to save, if we believe he can save us, and if he sinned, we are the world's greatest donkeys. So if he sinned, we are all going to hell. It doesn't matter how fervent your belief in him is. It doesn't matter how much you serve him. It doesn't matter how much you evangelize. It doesn't matter how much you read his word or go to church or give money. It doesn't matter how much you try to raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. None of that matters. None of it matters whatsoever. It amounts to a giant goose egg. If Jesus sinned, the gospel is undermined totally.

Speaker 1: 29:24

The Bible is a book of lies. The God-man, the one hope for all of humanity, is absolutely a fraud. Okay. And if he is a fraud which is one of my other points. If he is a fraud, then you are doomed to hell. Worse, maybe there is absolutely no God whatsoever in the universe. If the one who came to be him, if the one who was him, sinned, we're all doomed. He's the biggest fraud in history. The Bible, therefore, is a lie. And if he sinned, god is worse than not real. And this is a subtle point. I don't want to make too long out of it, but if Christ sinned, if he wasn't a true Savior that these verses say he is, then God's not only not real, but if he is real, he is absolutely morally evil. He would be absolutely morally repugnant. The thought of it is nauseating. The thought that we would even form our lips to speak about Jesus and any member of the Godhead this way is blasphemy upon blasphemies. I hope that's clear by this point in the video. And if he sinned, he can't help us, he can't hear our prayers and there is no salvation for any of us. Okay, so I hope from those verses.

Speaker 1: 30:41

I encourage you to share this video with somebody. Please send it through text message like subscribe to the channel If you're not already a subscriber. If this video has been official to you, please go ahead and give it a like a comment? I'd love to hear from you guys. I know that this is a little different of a topic than we do, but I trust and believe that it's been beneficial to you.

Speaker 1: 31:02

This has been Gospel Grit, like always, where we seek to apply the Word of God to the people of God for the glory of God and, in this case, for the honor and the reputation and the fame and the renown of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, the sinless Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself up for us. He took our place so we could take His Brother sister. If you need to comment, if you need to email below in the description, if you need to text me and you have my number and you would like to talk about coming to this sinless Savior, the one of a kind Son of God, I would love to talk to you guys about that. God bless you guys. See you on episode 22, 23.