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

Obedience The Sacrifice Acceptable By God

...which stood only in meats and drinds,

and divers washing, and carnal ordinances,

imposed on them until the time of

reformation. But Christ being come 

an high priest of good things to come,

by a greater and more perfect

tabernacle, not made with hands,

that is to say, not of this building;

neither by the blood of goats and calves,

but by His own blood He entered in 

once into the holy place, having

obtained eternal redemption for us.

Hebrews 9:10-12

     Let take a moment to meditate upon these verses: Jesus Christ is the High Priest that does not need a physical building and did enter into the Most Holy place in the tabernacle, the place where God has His presence, once for all eternity this entrance is done, final, never again to be repeated. This entrance into the greater tabernacle He was able to do by the shedding of His own blood, and not be meat, or drink, or any other animal as was needed to be performed by the tabernacle made by hands. The entrance into this greater tabernacle did what the tabernacle of could not do: redemption. Not a temporary redemption that needed to be repeated at least once a year by the high priest of Israel, but an eternal redemption once for all time: "For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sancitifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 10:13-14)? God accepted the sacrifices given by the ancient Hebrews but now a greater High Priest came and by the eternal Spirit (Notice that this word "Spirit" is not a neuter word in Greek, rather a masculine word, therefore it speaks that this "Spirit" was not just some power, rather God in the Third Person who alone Himself can accept the sacrifice of spotless blood by Jesus Christ"). If the old sacrifice could sanctify, how much more then can the blood of Jesus sanctify? How much greater is this event of the death of Jesus than the previous economy and dispensation of God in the ancient tabernacle? A person by their coming to God and offered a sacrifice by faith pleased God, and the high priest making intercession for sin pleased God and sanctification could be applied, how much more should we sacrifice ourselves to God? We are alive in Jesus Christ to serve Him. The question is: are you? What is this sacrifice that is acceptable to God? It is your obedience! The bringing of an animal,or fruit, or vegetable was done in obedience, and it is this obedience that is acceptable to God, nothing else albeit good and philanthropy. You must die to yourself, and anything and anyone who would attempt to cause you to think differently. Think upon this: "And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Hebrews 9:15). by means of the sacrifice given by the ancient Hebrew by faith he believed the promises of God. By means of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we have a sure promise of eternal life, and inheritance that only God Himself can give to anyone. Do you want a blessing? Good! Here it is: Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, a salvation of eternal life, and to receive an inheritance, and adoption by God. What else do you need? If God is God, then only God can give redemption, only by the action of God can there be a sure redemption, and Jesus being the High Priest under the dispensation of God gives redemption, and this is another testament to Him being God, the Second Person of the Godhead. The miracle of God is salvation. You cannot earn it, do anything to cause God to give it, but you can accept it, and you can convert to Him by denying yourself and picking up your cross and follow Him. God gives freely faith, and receive that faith upon acceptance and that faith grows as does your earthly sanctification by studying His word and applying His word in your life and this then is obedience, and obedience of sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed for you, are you willing to sacrifice for Him?

Deliver thyself, O Zion,

     that dwellest with 

the daughter of Babylon.

             Zechariah 2:7

Sacrifice yourself by obedience

Richard L. Crumb

The Sacrifice Approved And Accepted By God

Now when these things were thus

ordained, the priests went always

into the first tabernacle, 

accomplishing the service of God.

but into the second went the

high priest alone once every year,

not without blood, which he offered

for himself, and for the errors of the

people; the Holy Spirit signifying, 

that the way into the holiest of all

was not yet made manifest, while

as the first tabernacle was yet 

standing: which was a figure for

the time then present, in which were

offered both gifts and sacrifices, that

could not make him that did the 

service perfect, as pertaining to the

conscience

Hebrews 9:6-9

     As we grow in knowledge we grow in our faith and in our continual growth in sanctification, we grow into Authentic Christians with Authentic Biblical Faith. Not just any knowledge, rather the knowledge that come by means of Scripture rightly translated and not be some man(s) presupposition founded on poor exegetical study. Many people throughout the years who aligned with Christianity did not thoroughly understand what God has revealed and added to what they learned what they believed a verse, or narrative, meant and taught this as truth. It is not that many of those men did not believe in Jesus Christ, or followed good Biblical morals, it is that they did believe and did attempt to be a "good" Christian. It is that they did not remove from their thinking error because that error fit their theological bent. Last blog I wrote about the Neo-Orthodox and how they followed teaching that was not Scriptural. It is not that those men as with Karl Barth and others did not believe that Jesus was our Savior and is God, it is that they added their own belief that is leading people to practice and believe what Scripture does not teach. Often there is a holding on to practices and beliefs of a denomination or religious body even while rejecting other practices and beliefs. Examples of this can be seen in such "Christian" Churches that teach Modalism, or teach mysticism, or the need to practice some spiritual gift: i.e., speaking in gibberish tongues, or healing ministries, or the need to empty oneself and to meditate in this emptiness (as do the Buddhist, and Hinduism religion teach), to teach a prosperity religion, etc., all of this not found in Scripture for an Authentic Christian to practice and believe. but it is taught as truth and many fall prey to such heresy. Take for instance Jehovah Witnesses founded by Charles Taze Russell who could not hold to the idea of hell as taught and practiced by other denominations, or that Jesus was God, and prophesied times for events that did not occur but then gave that problem a spiritual bent: they too call themselves, "Christian." The Greek Orthodox do not believe in "Sola Scriptora" among many other things and still, even though leaving the Roman Catholic Church, still have many of those same practices, albeit some are renamed. May not be heresy, but it is not according to Scripture. 

     Why all this about various doctrines and practices? The early Christians faced similar problems and those men inspired by the Holy Spirit to write wrote to confront error and they used Scripture to interpret Scripture and so should we do the same. 

     The writer of Hebrews is going about this problem in regards to who Jesus Christ is gives examples recorded in the Old Scripture that point to Jesus Christ. The tabernacle was a figure for something else, and that else was about Jesus Christ. The priests who serviced in that tabernacle did so to accomplish the will of God, the service that presented to God sacrifices for the people. Not that service or sacrifices made them perfect, this cannot be done by anything natural, rather to present to God in faith that His required sacrifice would be accepted for the sins of the people. Now, the most Holy Place where the high priest entered into once a year did so by bringing into that tabernacle blood, which he offered first for himself and then for the errors of the people. This sacrifice points to the sacrifice of blood offered on the cross by Jesus Christ and the picture of the old tabernacle was that the high priest had to do this once each year whereby Jesus only needed to sacrifice His blood once for all time. The picture was only a picture pointing to a future event. The sacrifices and gifts brought to the temple pictured a future event and they brought to the temple those things commanded by God in faith that they would do what they were intended to do: show their faith, to show that something was needed to remove from their sins but this had to be done regularly. With the actual, the reality of that which was pictured was that by Jesus pouring out His blood, and entering into the High Place sitting at the right hand of God there was no longer any sacrifice for sins needed: it was done once and for all time. 

     So, what are we to do? It is not by doing that saves you or removes sin from you so those teaching a doctrine of works are wrong and leading people to believe that they are accepted by God by means of their works are misled and have a different idea of God and of Jesus Christ than what is taught in Scripture. Jesus is the High Priest foreshadowed in the Old Testament, therefore, you must believe upon Him as to who He is and testified to be in Scripture, not man's idea. First, then, believe and you will be saved: "and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Upon our belief there must be manifested that this is authentic and this is done by obedience and by obedience your life becomes sanctified, not by doing some special work, rather by doing what we are commanded to do: live a life according to what Jesus laid out for all believers to live and that is found in Scripture rightly translated and interpreted, nothing added, do what Scripture says to do and do not do that which Scripture says not to do. Our natural self cringes at this but the natural must be turned into the spiritual be sacrifice. This does not mean works, no it is denying oneself and this is the true sacrifice to God, it means the deliberate commitment of yourself whom God has saved. Sanctification means more that deliverance from sin, it means the deliberate commitment of yourself, no matter what it costs, to God. Become a living sacrifice, sacrifice the natural to the spiritual otherwise you will be mocking God and will often cause a person to live an undisciplined life and refuse to discipline ourselves, physically, morally, or mentally. If not sacrificing yourself to God only ruin is ahead of your personal life for God. This may mean that you leave the denomination you are now in, or that religion that you are in, and as you come to know the difference between false teaching and truthful teaching you will not reach the level of being an Authentic Christian. This is serious business!

Only be thou strong and very

     courageous, that thou mayest

observe to do according to all the law,'

    which Moses my servant commanded thee:

turn not from it to the right hand or to the

    left, that thou mayest prosper 

whithersoever thou goest.

                      Joshua 1:7

Obedience God's requirement

Richard L. Crumb