Simple question, could Jesus have sinned?
note I'm not asking if he sinned only if he had the capacity to sin.
note I'm not asking if he sinned only if he had the capacity to sin.
Could Jesus have sinned?
- Thread starter Barnabas
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No. He is not capable of sinning.
He does not have a sinful nature. He is God.
Why are you asking?
He does not have a sinful nature. He is God.
Why are you asking?
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there is no way for jesus to sin, not even in his human nature. he had the capacity to be tempted but not to sin, imho.
I can't see him being able to sin if he is God.
Moreover I can't see him being tempted either. This may be more my opinion but I see even temptation as originating from impure thoughts, it's a desire to sin which IMO would have made him not pure.
Of course there is the story of Satan tempting Jesus but I'd have to look at this to tempt being a verb on Satan's side. i.e. he tried to entice Jesus but I'd have to doubt that the temptation was actually felt by him for my previous reason.
Moreover I can't see him being tempted either. This may be more my opinion but I see even temptation as originating from impure thoughts, it's a desire to sin which IMO would have made him not pure.
Of course there is the story of Satan tempting Jesus but I'd have to look at this to tempt being a verb on Satan's side. i.e. he tried to entice Jesus but I'd have to doubt that the temptation was actually felt by him for my previous reason.
These are just some thoughts, I don't want to disrespect noone:
Every human is born with the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus was human and was born, so why shouldn't it count for him as well. When a newborn guiltless child has sinned, Jesus did too.
I don't want to seem respectless, but wasn't his death some sort of suicide?!
He transformed normal water into wine, which makes you drunk and is sinful therefore.
He disrespected the local laws all the time...
If he was without sin, he would have to through a stone when he said "You without sin, throw the first stone."
Just assumptions and probably there are just matters of opinion than any real answer...
Every human is born with the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus was human and was born, so why shouldn't it count for him as well. When a newborn guiltless child has sinned, Jesus did too.
I don't want to seem respectless, but wasn't his death some sort of suicide?!
He transformed normal water into wine, which makes you drunk and is sinful therefore.
He disrespected the local laws all the time...
If he was without sin, he would have to through a stone when he said "You without sin, throw the first stone."
Just assumptions and probably there are just matters of opinion than any real answer...
it may not have been possible in the sense that it was not in His nature, its eventuality was never the smallest possibility because it was not in His ability to sin.
from the simple perspective of His having possessed free will He could have been capable of it, because i dont think anyone could doubt that God has free will. or is it possible that God is entirely outside of and above sin, and nothing that He does by his will could ever be a sin, no matter what it is, simply because He is God, and the will of God can never be sinful?
from the simple perspective of His having possessed free will He could have been capable of it, because i dont think anyone could doubt that God has free will. or is it possible that God is entirely outside of and above sin, and nothing that He does by his will could ever be a sin, no matter what it is, simply because He is God, and the will of God can never be sinful?
Yeah but Jesus was true God and true man. Therefore I would conclude it is possible.
In Mark he appears when talking to the syrophenician (spelling) woman to endorse an ethno-nationalist idea about salvation which was current at his time and in the previous history of the Hebrews but rethinks it as a consequence of her faith, now you could suggest that this was all an elaborate test or a hoaxing by Jesus but I dont believe that Jesus or God engages in that sort of behaviour, instead I would attribute it to the fact that Jesus was
true God and true man.
It is true that the bible relates a lot of stories of him being confronted by temptation and overcoming that, I do think that he had a certain edge in that he had God nature for as much as he had human nature and he was unlikely to be capable of betraying that, on the other hand would there not have been a balancing act between the two?
In the sense of turning away from God, seperateness from God etc. I dont believe Jesus could possibly have sinned, that is a little like asking could a dog transform into a horse, of course it cant and wouldnt, a dog born in a stable is still a dog and not a horse. This is what sin ultimately is, it is not reduceable to ethics, morality and social conscience. Its only in this way that some of the passages in which Jesus appears to contradict his own teaching make sense, when the disciples or others correct him and he counters.
Although asking if Jesus was capable of human error while he was alive, I'd say sure, or at least this is not something which would pose great difficulty to my faith or anything like that you know?
In a very paradoxical way, it is possible that He might sin, but it is also impossible for He to sin.
Possible because He had a free will. Impossible because His will was in submission to the Father's will, and so it was impossible for Him to sin.
Its like one would ask if God can sin.
In one sense, He can sin, yet in another sense, for Him it is impossible even to lie. This must be judged in onformity with other atribbutes of God, like the one tha say He doesn't change at all. He is the same, from everlasting to everlasting. Thus, it is more logicaly proper, given His unchanging nature, that He can not sin, because He never sined.
Possible because He had a free will. Impossible because His will was in submission to the Father's will, and so it was impossible for Him to sin.
Its like one would ask if God can sin.
In one sense, He can sin, yet in another sense, for Him it is impossible even to lie. This must be judged in onformity with other atribbutes of God, like the one tha say He doesn't change at all. He is the same, from everlasting to everlasting. Thus, it is more logicaly proper, given His unchanging nature, that He can not sin, because He never sined.
I do not think that Christ could have sinned because of two reasons:
1. Even though he had two natures - human and divine - he was but one person; and that person is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Whatever Christ did was the action of a divine person, so just as it is correct to say that God died (on the Cross); it is impossible to say that God should turn away from himself in sin.
2. Even within the human nature (human intellect, will, and body) of Christ, it was not possible for Him to sin, if one holds that He enjoyed the beatific vision from the moment of His conception. Allusions to Him having the beatific vision include passages wherein he speaks of knowing the Father, of seeing the Father, etc. So, just as the saints in heaven cannot sin - because seeing God there is no other good greater to them, which could entice them, or even tempt them to choose the inferior good, so in Christ, He could not be mistaken, or ticked into choosing a contradictory lesser good. We can sin because things opposed to God may appear to be superior goods at the particular time of temptation - but they only seem superior, because we do not see God and His infinite goodness.
These two modes of impeccability are classically termed 1. Physical impeccability; and 2. Moral impeccability. (The term "physical" was interchangeable with "existence-based" until modern times).
1. Even though he had two natures - human and divine - he was but one person; and that person is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Whatever Christ did was the action of a divine person, so just as it is correct to say that God died (on the Cross); it is impossible to say that God should turn away from himself in sin.
2. Even within the human nature (human intellect, will, and body) of Christ, it was not possible for Him to sin, if one holds that He enjoyed the beatific vision from the moment of His conception. Allusions to Him having the beatific vision include passages wherein he speaks of knowing the Father, of seeing the Father, etc. So, just as the saints in heaven cannot sin - because seeing God there is no other good greater to them, which could entice them, or even tempt them to choose the inferior good, so in Christ, He could not be mistaken, or ticked into choosing a contradictory lesser good. We can sin because things opposed to God may appear to be superior goods at the particular time of temptation - but they only seem superior, because we do not see God and His infinite goodness.
These two modes of impeccability are classically termed 1. Physical impeccability; and 2. Moral impeccability. (The term "physical" was interchangeable with "existence-based" until modern times).
This.
Regardless of how you see him after he was baptized, what about the large chunks of time of his life that weren't detailed in the Bible? He was just a guy like every one of us. Sinning and being a carpenter.
Could he have? Yes, I think so. Anything is possible.
I wonder what happened between the ages of 15 and 30, though.
Part of me likes to think there was a training process and he met the most holy people of his time and knew many like-minded people before finding those who would become his disciples. This would make his choice of disciples more like taking on another challenge because he brought that message to people not normally exposed to anything like it...and by Pentecost it had finally reached them all.
Again, I believe sin is relative on earth and impossible in the absolute realms. I believe Jesus the man was too holy and focussed to regularly sin against himself but I have no doubt he will have had his moments where he could have made different decisions and gone 'off-course'. I believe he had free will and this makes his story even more remarkable.
I wonder what happened between the ages of 15 and 30, though.
Part of me likes to think there was a training process and he met the most holy people of his time and knew many like-minded people before finding those who would become his disciples. This would make his choice of disciples more like taking on another challenge because he brought that message to people not normally exposed to anything like it...and by Pentecost it had finally reached them all.
Again, I believe sin is relative on earth and impossible in the absolute realms. I believe Jesus the man was too holy and focussed to regularly sin against himself but I have no doubt he will have had his moments where he could have made different decisions and gone 'off-course'. I believe he had free will and this makes his story even more remarkable.
The Bible declares that Jesus had no earthly father, he was born of a virgin. And he did not take on Adam's fallen nature, but was born from above, formed in the virgin's womb by the Holy Spirit.
So, despite his humanity, he is still the holy Son of God, who is utterly incapable of sin.
The atonement required a man with a holy NATURE, not just a man who never committed a sin.
It is utterly blasphemous to suggest he is capable of sin. And anyone who calls himself a Christian should know that.
So, despite his humanity, he is still the holy Son of God, who is utterly incapable of sin.
The atonement required a man with a holy NATURE, not just a man who never committed a sin.
It is utterly blasphemous to suggest he is capable of sin. And anyone who calls himself a Christian should know that.
For Jesus to have been truly human, he must have the capacity to sin. However, if he was programmed not to and he knew what sins were sins and what the effect of him sinning would have on him, naturally he did not.
So yes he could have but he knew where it would put him so he did not. However had he been fully human and not known what would happen to him, I fully believe he likely would have been one of the biggest sinners the planet has ever known.
So yes he could have but he knew where it would put him so he did not. However had he been fully human and not known what would happen to him, I fully believe he likely would have been one of the biggest sinners the planet has ever known.
Barnabas,
You claim you are a Christian as well as a preacher.
Stop giving people the idea that the Word of God is something they can cherry-pick and ponder at their leisure, and that repentance and faith in Christ is optional.
It's not optional. Those who don't know Christ are headed for Hell.
You must repent and believe on Christ, as he is revealed in the Holy Scriptures,or you will be justly condemned forever. That is a fact.
Barnabas,
You are a classic false prophet. And you are under the wrath of God.
Even if you're sincere, you're still sincerly wrong. You are clearly not saved. You don't know who Christ is or what he's done.
You're the blind leading the blind. Plain and simple.
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