1. Was Jesus Sinless?
Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
John 8:46 “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?” He challenged His enemies to show that He was a sinner, which they could not.
John 15:10 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”
During his trials and crucifixion, He was declared as innocent 11 times [by Judas, by Pilate 6 times, by Herod, by Antipas, by Pilates wife, by the repentant thief, and by the Roman centurion].
Jesus never offered a sacrifice, He was the sacrifice.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
1 Peter 2:22 “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”
1 Peter 1:19 “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot”
1 John 3:5 “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
Hebrews 7:26-27
Most agree Jesus was sinless, but the debate comes with the Question, “Could Jesus have sinned?”
2. Could Jesus Have Sinned?
A. Two words or views:
1. Peccability? Latin for the fact that Jesus could have sinned. Liberals believe He could have sinned and did sin.
Heb. 4:15- If temptation was real then Christ had to be able to sin; otherwise the temptation was not a genuine temptation. This view does not sufficiently consider Christ in His person as God as well as man. Temptation does not demand the ability to sin. Temptation is used of God the Father and the holy Spirit [Acts 15:10; 1 Cor. 10:9; Heb. 3:9]. It is unlikely they could have sinned.
2. Impeccability? Latin for the fact that Jesus was not able to sin. Christ’s temptation was real, but it was impossible for Christ to sin.
6 Observations from Matt. 4:1-11
Observation # 1- The purpose of the temptation was not to see if Christ could sin, but to show that He could not sin. To show the nation he was the impeccable Son of God.
Observation # 2- The Holy Spirit initiated the temptation and not Satan [4:1]. If Christ could have sinned, then the Holy Spirit enticed Jesus to sin. God does not entice to sin [James 1:13].
Observation # 3- His divine and human nature could not be separated from the person of Christ, and since His divine nature could not sin, it must be affirmed that Christ could not sin.
Observation # 4-Christ’s temptation in Matt. 4:1-11, was for demonstrating His holiness and sinlessness [Heb 4:15] without any possibility of enticement to evil [James 1:13].
Observation # 5- They were designed to test a God-man [Matt. 4:1-11]. No ordinary man could have been tempted to turn stones into bread, jump off a high place expecting to land unharmed. No ordinary human could take seriously Satan’s offer of the kingdoms of the world. These were peculiar to the God-man.
Observation # 6-. The testing of Christ fell into these 3 categories [Matt 4:1-11; 1 John 2:16; Hebrews 4:15].“All points” means all means or manner.
Christ was sinless and impeccable- He could not have sinned.
7 Evidences that Jesus could not sin
Evidence # 1- Christ is immutable [Heb. 13:8]. If He could have sinned on earth, what assurance is there that He will not sin now?
Evidence # 2- Christ is omnipotent [Matt. 28:18]. How could He be all-powerful and still be able to sin?
Evidence # 3- Christ is omniscience [John 2:25]. If Christ could have sinned then He really did not know what would happen if He would sin. Christ cannot be deceived because He knows all things.
Evidence # 4- Christ is deity. God cannot sin. Which nature was stronger?
Evidence # 5- The nature of temptation [James 1:14-15]. Christ was tempted from without not within. Jesus did not possess a sin nature to respond to the outward temptation.
Evidence # 6- If Christ could have sinned then His human will would be stronger than His divine will.
Evidence # 7- The authority of Christ [John 10:18]. If Christ had authority over life and death then He had authority over sin.
Christ was sinless and impeccable- He could not have sinned.
