The God
OF
Chapter Ten
WHY DOES MAN SIN?
Why does mankind sin? Is it because we are born sinners and have a built in predisposition to sin or is it because we make choices that lead to sin? Adam and Eve sinned because they made a sinful choice and not because they were predisposed to do so. Scripture indicates that a third of the angels sinned. Were these angels predisposed to sin or did they exercise their inherent passions in a way that led to sin? Apparently two-thirds of the angels choose not to sin.
Jeremiah wrote that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus said that from within men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly (Mark 7:21-22). Paul often spoke of the sinful nature of man (Romans 7:5, 18, 25, Ephesians 2:3). In Galatians chapter 5, Paul provides a list of behaviors that he classifies as acts of the sinful nature. Are these human evils the result of us being born with a sinful nature that has these evils resident within such nature or do these evils result from expressing inborn human passions and desires in an evil way?
Is the heart inherently deceitful and is our nature intrinsically sinful by virtue of being born a human? Or, is a deceitful heart and sinful nature the result of the choices we make? Jesus spoke of man having both good and evil in his heart.
Luke 6:45: The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
This teaching from the lips of Christ provides important insight into the human makeup. Humans were created with the ability to express both good and evil. Simple observation will reveal this to be the case. This ability involves the attribute of choice. God created Adam and Eve with the ability to choose good and evil, obedience or disobedience. Their sin was not in desiring wisdom and knowledge. They were created with such desire. There sin was in expressing that desire contrary to God’s command.
It should be evident from a review of human history that while much evil behavior has occurred and continues to occur, humans have also produced a great deal of good. As Christ said, a good man brings forth good things out of the good stored up in him, or as the KJV renders it, “out of the good treasure of his heart.” Many humans live the Law of love and express their humanity within the parameters established by God. Only one person has done this perfectly throughout His life, the man Jesus. In a parable, Jesus speaks of how the word of God can fall on good soil characterized by a noble and good heart.
Luke 8:15: The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
The human heart is not inherently good or evil. The heart can develop good or evil proclivities based on how we express our human passions and desires. Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world by behaving contrary to God’s will. The descendants of Adam and Eve have continued to make sinful choices to one extent or another. Much of our sinful expression of human nature results from being born into a world where sinful behavior has prevailed since creation. We all have been conditioned by this culture of sin and we all participate in it to one degree or another.
Being conditioned by the culture of sin we are born into does not equate with having an inherited predisposition to sin. It is evident from the Scriptures that we have the power of choice over our behavior. Human nature is not sinful in and of itself. If we express our human nature sinfully it becomes a sinful nature. If we express our human nature righteously it becomes a Godly nature. It’s how we express human nature that determines whether it is sinful or righteous.
Romans 8:5-8: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
Paul associates sinful nature with what goes on in the mind. It is in the mind where behavioral choices are made. God wants us to have thoughts that are expressed in righteous behavior and Paul associates such thinking with having the mind of God. Sinful thoughts are hostile (against) God and can’t be subject to God. God wants us to pursue righteous thoughts which result in righteous behavior. Jesus had the full measure of the Spirit of God from birth. Therefore, Jesus never expressed a sin nature. As already stated, Jesus was not a robot. He was able to choose between good and evil. Having the ability to choose either to obey or disobey God is foundational to the makeup of humans and even angels. As already discussed, a third of the angels sinned. There is no indication they sinned because of having a sin nature. They apparently sinned because they choose to express the passions they were created with in a manner contrary to God’s will. As is true of His human creation, God created angels with free will.
It is apparent we humans were created with certain passions and desires and the power to choose how those passions and desires are expressed. Human passions and desires are not sinful in and of themselves. They become sinful when expressed contrary to what God intends. For example, sexual passion is not sinful in and of itself. It becomes sinful when expressed as fornication, adultery and other forms of prohibited sexual conduct. Anger is not sinful in and of itself. When expressed as rage or when it leads to hatred, it becomes sinful. Desiring to have something someone else has is not sinful but if it leads to envy, greed or theft, it becomes sinful behavior (See Galatians 5:20-21).
When Paul wrote in Galatians 5:24 that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires,” he was not teaching that in Christ we lose our human passions and desires. He was teaching that in Christ our human passions and desires are no longer sinfully expressed. Our human passions and desires are now expressed in righteous behavior pleasing to God.
Jesus had the same human passions and desires we all have but never made choices that resulted in those passions and desires being expressed in behavior contrary to God’s will. He was totally orientated to obeying His Father God. No other human has ever been born with the level of power Jesus was given to submit to the will of God. Jesus had the appropriate level of power to consistently resist temptation to sin. This is why Jesus was able to be tempted in every way we are and yet without sin.
We humans are not sinners because we inherit Adamic sin. We humans are sinners because, like Adam, we yield to temptation which leads to sin. Paul wrote to the Roman and Corinthian Christians that sin entered the world through Adam and like Adam we all sin and because we all sin we all die. We die because of our sin, not Adam's sin. Adam was not created a sinner and we are not born sinners. We are born with the ability to make choices. Our choices determine whether our behavior is sinful or righteous. Apostle James wrote, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins” (James 4:17). All humans, except for one, have make sinful choices and have consequently been condemned to death since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus never sinned because of the powerful presence of God's Spirit He had from birth which gave Him the ability to resist sin throughout His life.
COULD JESUS HAVE SINNED?
Jesus had free will and was able to choose between good and evil. In the face of temptation, Jesus was able to exercise the power of God's Spirit and resist all temptation to sin. Not sinning in the face of temptation presupposes the ability to surrender to temptation and sin. If Jesus could not sin (innately had no ability to sin), the following statement in Hebrews 4:15 would be superfluous and meaningless.
Hebrews 4:15: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
Could Jesus be tempted? Apostle James writes that God cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). Because Jesus is believed to be God, it is argued that Jesus wasn't actually tempted but only presented with temptations which had no effect on Him because He was God in the flesh and could not actually be tempted. It is believed when Jesus had temptations presented to Him in the wilderness by Satan, nothing Satan said or did could actually tempt Jesus because Jesus did not have the ability to be tempted. If this is true, how can it be said Jesus was tempted in every way we are and yet without sin? To be tempted and not sin presupposes having the ability to yield to temptation and sin.
Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He was able to experience what we go through in resisting temptation. The context of Hebrews 4:15 is Jesus experiencing temptation without surrendering to it and committing sin. If Jesus didn't actually experience what it is like to resist temptation, then Jesus could not sympathize with our weaknesses. Our weakness is our constant struggle against temptation. It is apparent Jesus struggled like we do.
Hebrews 5:7-9: During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
In Hebrews, chapter 5, the writer explains how a priest experiences the same weaknesses as those unto whom he ministers so he can identify with what they go through. The writer goes on to explain that Jesus, our High Priest, offered up prayers and petitions with strong cryings and tears to his Father who was able to save Him from death and was heard because of His reverent submission. The implication is that Jesus had to petition His Father for the strength to remain obedient in the face of temptation to do otherwise. In Hebrews 2:17-18, Jesus is seen as suffering when tempted so He can help us who are tempted.
Hebrews 2:17-18: he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
These three passages in Hebrews portray a Christ who had to resist temptation like we all do in order to avoid sinning. If Jesus had to resist temptation like we do to avoid sin, it should be obvious Jesus had the ability to sin and could have sinned where it not for the powerful presence of God's Spirit in His life. Jesus suffered through a great deal of persecution during His ministry. He suffered the insults of His trial and crucifixion. He could have retaliated and sinned in the process. He did not do this. Peter writes that when He suffered He did not threaten anyone (1 Peter 2:23).
To suffer when being tempted or tried involves practicing restraint and not reacting in an unrighteous manner. While Christ was born with the power to resist all temptation to sin, He still had to exercise that power when confronted with temptation and trial. Jesus had to put forth effort to remain sinless. While the NT narrative only reveals trials and temptations presented to Jesus by His Jewish persecutors and Satan, the fact that the writer to the Hebrews reveals Jesus was tempted in all ways we are tempted suggests Jesus faced many other temptations which He had to successfully resist in order to avoid sin.
These passages in Hebrews plainly indicate Jesus was able to be tempted like other humans. The Greek word translated “tempted” is pirazo and means to be tried, tested, proved or tempted. It is the same word used in the account of Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. The testing, trials and proving Jesus experienced were not like passing a math test, overcoming the trial of a health problem or proving an ability to run a mile. Scripture clearly says Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. This clearly shows Jesus' temptations and trials were associated with resisting sin.
Scripture shows Jesus struggled against surrendering to trial and temptation just as we do. If Jesus didn’t have the ability to sin as some teach, what was He struggling against? How would trial and temptation have any significance for Jesus? Scripture clearly teaches Jesus experienced the same struggles we experience. This would be a rather hollow teaching if Jesus didn’t have the ability to be tempted and sin. Jesus was given the power to resist all temptation to sin from the day He was born. God gave Jesus Divine nature from birth. Jesus consistently exercised the Divine nature in all His behavior. God enabled Jesus to always be successful in resisting temptation.
AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY:
If humans are not born sinners but become sinners by the choices they make, what about babies and children? Do babies and small children sin? Is there an “age of accountability” below which a person is not held accountable for sin or where behavior is unclassified? Paul taught that all men have sinned (Romans 3:23, 5:12). Does Paul's “all” include babies and young children? Paul taught that all humans die in Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22). Does Paul’s “all” include newborns and aborted babies?
When a two year old is told by His mother not to take cookies out of the cookie jar and the child succumbs to the temptation of the cookie jar and chooses to take a cookie, is this two year old held accountable before God as a sinner because he disobeyed God’s command to obey one’s parents? Furthermore, did the child take the cookie because of having a sinful nature that predisposes him to disobey his parents or is he simply expressing his natural desire to want a cookie but because his action runs contrary to the instruction of his mother his action becomes a sinful action. Does the child take the cookie because he is a sinner or does he become a sinner by taking the cookie?
The Scriptural indications are that we become sinners by the choices we make and not that we make sinful choices because we are born with a sinful disposition. Sinful choices are made when we express our human nature in ways contrary to righteousness. That is when sin occurs. All humans express their human nature in sinful ways from time to time. Some sin much and others sin little. But we all sin and therefore are all in need of Christ’s atonement. At what point a baby is seen as committing sin only God can determine. To conclude, however, that humans are born sinners and have a sinful disposition because of what Adam did simply does not square with the Scriptural evidence that we die for our own sin, not inherited sin. Our sinfulness is determined by how we express our human passions and desires and not by an inborn proclivity to behave sinfully.
Jesus taught that we must receive the Kingdom as little children in order to enter it. Jesus equates being humble as a child with being great in the Kingdom (Matthew 18:3-4, Mark 10:14-15). In Isaiah 7:16, a child is spoken of who was not at an age to know how to choose the evil from the good. In Deuteronomy 1:39, small children are spoken of as not knowing the good from the bad. Does not knowing the good from the bad remove accountability for doing bad? What about disabled adults who cognitively don’t know the good from the bad? Does ignorance of the law remove the penalty for breaking the law?
If we are to take Paul’s statements about all sinning and all dying in Adam as meaning all humans who have every lived, then it would appear that all humans are seen as sinning. Having an inability to comprehend certain behavior as sinful does not negate the sinfulness of such behavior or remove its consequences. However, if it should turn out that babies or children under a certain age are not held accountable for sin, it takes nothing away from what Christ did in facilitating salvation for all who are accountable for sin. In either case eternal life is a gift from God and not dependent on anything we humans do or don’t do. Since the Scriptures do not present a clear teaching as to an age of accountability for babies and children, we cannot be dogmatic on this matter.
THE NATURE OF JESUS:
Hebrews 2:17, records that Jesus was made like his brothers in every way. Paul told the Philippian Christians that Jesus was made in the likeness of man (Philippians 2:7). Paul told the Roman Christians that God sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful man (Romans 8:3). In the Romans passage the Greek word translated “man” in the NIV is sarx which is better translated “flesh" and is rendered as such in most translations. The Greek sarx appears 151 times in the NT and by context can be seen to simply mean the fleshly body and/or the fleshly nature which can be expressed sinfully or righteously.
The English rendering of “like” and “likeness” in these three passages is from a basic Greek word which means to be like something. This word can mean being exactly like something, similar to something or an image of something. The Scriptures show Jesus to be flesh. Paul said Jesus was of the seed of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). Peter spoke of the flesh of Christ not seeing corruption (Acts 2:31). Paul speaks of being reconciled to God through the fleshly body of Christ (Colossians 1:22). Paul wrote to Timothy that Christ was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Peter wrote that Christ suffered in the flesh (1 Peter 4:1). In 1 John 4, John speaks of Christ coming in the flesh.
Since Jesus is consistently seen as being flesh in Scripture, it appears reasonable to conclude when Paul writes that Jesus is in the likeness of man, He is truly in the likeness of man and not merely a facsimile of man. Being in the likeness of man means Jesus had the same passions and desires as all other humans. What differentiates Jesus from all other humans is that He never expressed his human passions and desires in a sinful way.
What does Paul mean in Romans 8:3 in saying God sent Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh? Sinful flesh is often associated in Scripture with behaving sinfully. We know from Scripture Jesus never sinned. So what is Paul saying in Romans 8:3?
Romans 8:3: For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (KJV).
Paul wrote to the Corinthian's that Christ took our sins upon Himself on the cross and virtually became sin for us (1 Corinthians 5:21). The context of Romans 8:1-3 is God sending Jesus to condemn sin in the flesh by becoming a sin offering. Paul appears to be saying to the Romans the same thing he said to the Corinthians. Jesus took upon himself the sins of humanity and suffered sin death on our behalf. Jesus had sinful flesh in that He became sin for us at the time of His crucifixion.
Paul makes it clear that to behave righteously or unrighteously is a choice. Humans are not inherently predisposed to do one or the other. What we inherently are predisposed to do is make choices. In Romans 6:15-18, Paul complements the Romans for having turned from being slaves to sin (choosing sin) to being slaves to righteousness (choosing righteousness). Sin and righteousness are manifested through behavioral choices not through inherent predispositions. Jesus showed this to be the case when He said; “If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). Let’s now consider Romans 8:8-9.
Romans 8:8-9: So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you (KJV).
When Paul tells the Romans they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, he is not telling them they are no longer in their fleshly body or no longer have human passions. He is not telling them they have lost their human nature. He is telling them they are no longer exercising their human passions in a sinful way. God didn’t design humans to have sinful nature. Adam’s sin didn’t change God’s design of the human heart so that it became inherently sinful. Sinful nature results from expressing our human nature in ways contrary to righteousness. Sinful expression of our natural and normal human passions and desires became ubiquitous after Adam and Eve were tossed out of the garden. We see this in what led God to bring the flood upon the earth. Did God destroy his human creation because they were inherently sinful or because they allowed sinful behavior to dominate their lives?
When God created man He created human attributes which included various passions and desires. God created man with the power of choice as to how the human nature He created could be expressed. There is no indication God created man with a predisposition to express human nature in a sinful way. He pronounced his creation of man to be very good (Genesis 1:31). The doctrine of original sin implies that when Adam sinned, mans nature was changed to a sinful nature and all mankind inherits this sinful nature through procreation. This doctrine virtually gives Adam the power to have changed what God made very good into something very evil. This is not what the Scriptures teach.
The Scriptures associate sinful nature with the deeds done by the body. The sinful nature is something we produce by sinfully expressing the passions, desires and free will God created in us. Paul makes this evident when he defines the sinful nature as the misdeeds of the body which can be displaced be deeds engendered by the Spirit. It is not our human nature that is changed. It is our expression of our nature that is changed.
Romans 8:13-14: For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Jesus was led by the Spirit of God from birth. Jesus always expressed His human nature according to the Spirit. He was totally led by God's Spirit throughout His life. Jesus never expressed sinful nature. He lived His whole life according to the Spirit. Jesus was successfully able to resist all temptation to sin because God gave Him the power to do so. God insured Jesus would never sin by equipping Him with the power to never sin. The presence of God was so pronounced in Jesus that His will and the Father's will were the same as Scripture clearly shows. Jesus was a son of God from birth because He was led by the Spirit of God from birth. We become sons of God through spiritual transformation which leads to expressing our human nature in a Godly way as opposed to expressing it in a sinful way.
DID GOD DIE IN JESUS?
God is eternal and cannot die. Trinitarians acknowledge God cannot die but believe God died as a human incarnation of the Son distinction in the Godhead. Functionally the Son of God is seen as being humanly born, able to suffer and able to die while all the while remaining ontologically one with the Father and Spirit. In His role as a human sacrifice for sin, Jesus is seen as remaining sinless because, while functionally a human, He remained fully God and therefore did not have the ability to sin.
Scripture, however, shows Jesus remained sinless not because He was God in the flesh but because God gave Him the power to be sinless. As already discussed, Apostle Peter wrote that it is through Divine power that we can escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Peter shows this to be equivalent to participating in the Divine nature.
2 Peter 1:3-4: His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
We know Jesus had a full measure of God's Spirit which allowed Him to participate in the Divine nature. It is evident He participated in the Divine nature from birth. That is why Jesus would not sin and did not sin. It was not that Jesus could not sin but that He would not sin. It must be understood, however, that having fullness of the Spirit of God and participating in the Divine nature of God does not equate with being God, either for us or for Jesus.
There is no need for a doctrine of Immaculate Conception to mitigate what is believed to be a sinful birth for Jesus. There is no need to postulate Jesus had to be God in the flesh in order to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. Just the opposite is true. Jesus had to be a total human in the flesh so He could experience what we experience and be tempted like we are tempted. Jesus had to experience what we experience in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest, representing us before His Father God. Jesus even had to experience our sin. He did this when He took our sin upon Himself on the cross.
When we see Jesus in this light, it makes what He did truly extraordinary. When we understand that Jesus was totally human and struggled to overcome temptation so He could be the sinless sacrifice for our sins, it should elevate our love for Jesus to new heights.
THE TWO ADAMS:
The Scriptures compare Jesus with the first Adam. The first Adam was directly created by God, placed in the Garden of Eden and given authority over the physical creation. This first Adam sinned and all humans have followed in his footsteps except one. As the second Adam, Jesus lived a sinless life and was thus able to be the perfect sacrifice for the sin that began with the first Adam. The Scriptures clearly show that as sin and death came about as a result of the actions of the man Adam, salvation from the consequences of sin came about as the result of the actions of the man Jesus.
Paul speaks of the first Adam being a pattern of the one that was to come (Romans 5:14). The first Adam was born without sin but with the ability to sin. Adam yielded to temptation which led to disobeying God's command. Eve was actually the first to sin as a consequence of being deceived into lusting after the fruit of the tree (Genesis 3:6). Adam was well aware of God’s command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam was not deceived but simply chose to disobey God (1 Timothy 2:14). Adam and Eve brought death upon themselves because of the sin they committed and humans have continued to bring death upon themselves by committing sin.
As previously discussed, Adam was created without sin but became a sinner. Jesus, the second Adam, was born without sin but, unlike the first Adam, was able to resist temptation and never sin. Jesus became the vehicle through whom death is replaced with life for all of mankind. Because of sin, the first Adam was limited to being a living human Being subject to eternal death. The last Adam, by not sinning, could not be held by death and was resurrected to life and became a life giving spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:45: The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.
It was through the disobedience of the man Adam that sin and death came about. It was through the obedience of the man Jesus (the second or last Adam) that sin and death is eliminated and eternal life came about. Since God cannot be tempted or die, it should be plain that Jesus is not the eternal God. Jesus was tempted. Jesus died. Jesus was made to be like all other humans. The first Adam was directly created by God and was called a son of God. Jesus, as the second Adam, was directly begotten by God in the womb of Mary and became the only begotten Son of God. In order for Jesus to be patterned after Adam He had to have had the ability to be tempted like Adam so He could resist temptation and succeed where Adam failed.
Trinitarian theology teaches Jesus was God the Son who added humanity to His Divinity. In reality, just the opposite is true. Jesus was born totally human to which His Father added the necessary attributes of the Divine nature for Jesus to successfully fulfill all of God's will. God gave Jesus supernatural powers to heal the sick, turn water into wine, feed the five thousand and calm the storm. Much of this was done to demonstrate Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah. Above all, God gave Jesus the power to resist all temptation to sin so He could be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Jesus was God's servant to facilitate the replacement of death with life. In Acts chapter one, Peter identifies Jesus as God’s servant (verse 13 & 26), as God’s Christ (verse 18) and as the offspring of Abraham (verse 25). A careful reading of the Scriptures will show that the Messiah was not God but the anointed servant of the Most High God. The OT indicates the promised Messiah would be a ruler in the mold of Moses and David. Moses and David did not exist prior to their human birth. The OT passages that foreshadow events in the life of Christ do not give any indication the Messiah would be a pre-existent Being.
Because of what Jesus accomplished as the human Son of God and because of His elevation to being the most powerful Being in the universe next to God, Jesus is worthy of the highest level of reverence next to God Himself. While Jesus is not the Most High God, He is above all powers extant under the Most High God and is to be worshiped accordingly.