Could Jesus Sin?

For where a testament is, 

there must also of necessity

be the death of the testator.

For a testament is of force

after men are dead: otherwise

it is of no strength at all while

the testator liveth. Whereupon

nether the first testament was

dedicated without blood. For

when Moses had spoken every

precept to all the people according

to the law, he took the blood of 

calves and of goats, with water,

and scarlet wool, and hyssop,

and sprinkled both the book, 

and all the people saying,

this is the blood of the testament

which God hath enjoined unto you.

Hebrews 9: 16:20

     The Old Testament held for us pictures of God's revelation about the coming of the One who meets all the requirements of the law that: "Moreover he sprinkled with blood the both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And  almost all things are purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is not remission. It was necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these" (Hebrews 9:21-23). The ancient Hebrew people are not without blame for they knew of the sacrifices, the reason for the tabernacle and then the temple, why this must be done and that this pictured the One who would be the fulfillment of God's original promise made to Adam and Eve. The tabernacle, and the temple pictured the Most High Place in heaven, and the sacrifices pictured that only by a sacrifice could sins be remitted. 

     Who could the one who would remit their sins permanently? Who would be the one to meet the requirements to be the propitiation for sin? Would not that one have to die and have his blood spilled? Yes! Would that one have to be sinless? Just sinless in heaven? No! He would have to be a man who would face all the trials and temptations that come upon any man and not become sinful. How? Did Jesus only live sinless because He could sin and would not? Could Jesus have sinned: peccabilty (He had as man original sin so He could sin) or impeccability (He was faultless,incapable of sin)? This is the teaching of some: i.e., The United Church of God that teaches that Jesus could sin but live even though tempted sinlessly. The United Church of God uses Hebrews 4:15 to prove their point and point to the word translated "tempted."πεπειραμένον" means to be put to the proof, to be put on trial, to be afflicted, Satan attempted to discredit Jesus by offering Him life pleasures as at the temptation Jesus underwent in the desert right after His baptism and then by living in this world, a world that is sinful attempted to cause Jesus to sin. (See: 2Corinthians 5:2; 1 Peter 2:22; 1John 3:5). Does this verse prove their point? No! The Greek word translated "who was tempted" "(For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15) as can be seen is not to have the ability to sin, rather that Jesus faced the same trials and could relate to us and how we too are facing a sinful world. 

     Jesus cannot be "touched" by sin, that is to be sinful, but He can sympathize with our sinful nature to know what it means to face this dilemma of trying to live godly and still having the original sin afflicting a person. The Greek word often translated "touch" means to have sympathy, as Jesus was able to sympathize with sin in man, yet He could not sin. Why? If Jesus was able to sin, how then could He be truly God? Yet, the Bible teaches us that Jesus is God: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1Timothy 3:16). Let us look at the facts: 1. Jesus was begotten by God. God placed into the womb of Eve to join Himself with the ovum of Eve to beget a man that was not of the nature of man that had been corrupted by Satan. 2. Being begotten in the womb of Eve Jesus was then fully man, he ate, slept, got hungry, tired. 3. Jesus was led into the desert, not by Satan, but by the Holy Spirit. There in the desert Satan attempted to thwart the purpose of God to insert into the world Himself by means of the Second Person of the Godhead His wisdom, and His Only Begotten Son who would be the Savior upon His death. Satan was defeated for Jesus could not be enticed to listen to and heed the attempts of Satan for He is God, not just some angel that could sin for if He could then the purpose of God to save those who believe upon Jesus would only have God not knowing that Jesus would be sinless. This God would not do, for God does not trifle with man. God sets forth to have His will done and this is His will, that any person who will believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ will be save, not maybe, but will be saved and this can only be accomplished if God saves man Himself. If God sent an angel and that angel failed then God would have to do this all over again, but He did not allow this to happen, it was a once for eternity salvation and Scriptures tells us that this is fact: "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others, for then must He be often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in he end of he world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:24-26). 

     Are you getting this yet? God knowing that man would sin and could not ever save himself from the penalty of sin, prepared a way for salvation before all time. Man was given all the right to be man, to live on this earth, to choose, and to live the consequences of his choices. But, and most importantly, God in His Mercy and Love sent His Wisdom, the creator of all that is created, that is, to die, to pour out His blood, pictured for all to see by the law of Israel. You can have salvation because God loves His Only Begotten Son, not because He died on the cross but because of God's Love He provided a way for man Himself, by Himself and by no other. We can be assured that what God has done is final, complete, finished and you can participate in this eternal salvation. You have a choice, to accept or not, for God has given freely faith, by His word, and by His Spirit. You can choose knowing that God chose you first. 

 Blessed is the man that maketh

     The LORD his trust, and respecteth

not the proud, or such as turn aside to lies.

                      Psalm 40:4

God is calling: Choose rightfully

Richard L. Crumb