THE SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST 2

SHAPE YOUR FUTURE IN GOD

Ministering God’s free grace through Christ

Vol. II, No. 3                                                      Feb. 1, 2015

  

A second prophecy on the Sinlessness of Christ is found in Psalm 45: 6 – 7. It says

Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Here the Psalmist prophesies about the king whom God has anointed with grace and with the oil of gladness. He talks of the king as loving righteousness, and one of whose scepter is of justice. Does this refer to Christ or to some other person?

The writer of the Book of Hebrews clears the air. It is recorded in Chapter 1, verses 8 and 9 of that Book as follows: “But about the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with oil of joy.”“ The prophecy therefore refers to Christ, the Son of God.

The sinlessness of Christ, therefore, is not something limited to time. He was sinless in glory before His incarnation, was sinless in the days of His flesh on earth, and would continue in a sinless state in His triumph for all eternity.

2.  The many testimonies in Scripture regarding the sinlessness of Christ form a second set of evidence. The testimonies came as follows:

i)  The Testimony of the Father:

    “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matt. 3: 17;  17: 5).

God had no business presenting a sinful Saviour to a lost world. He could as well have picked any of us. But God needed a Man distinct from men, a sinless Substitute for sinful humanity, one on whom    He could look and give a nod of approval. He looked around and    could find none with such supernal qualities, for all have sinned    and fallen short of God’s glory. And so He girt Himself, as a    combatant cornered, and His right hand brought Him the victory.    The “Whom shall I send” call of God (Isaiah 6: 8) found perfect response in the words of Christ: “I have come to do Your will O    God” (Heb. 10. 8). When therefore he appeared, the Father could    not hide His joy but said, “I am well pleased.” God was perfectly     satisfied with the perfection of Christ so much so He could be set    the standard of perfection for the children of God. His death on the    Cross was accepted by the Father as perfect sacrifice for sins. The guilty cannot ransom the guilty. The guiltless must. Christ was    guiltless, guileless, yes, sinless.

ii)  The Testimony of Christ Himself:

    “The One who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases       Him.”         John 8. 29

    “Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?”       John 8. 46

    “The prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me.”                                                                           John 14. 30

In all these statements Christ declared His sinlessness. While the Jews accused Him of breaking God’s law He maintained that His life was in perfect harmony with the will of God. “I always do those things that please Him.” Healing on the Sabbath, the claim of rebuilding the temple in three days, the claim of antedating Abraham, the claim of equality with God, all of which were offensive to the unbelieving Jews as they are to some today, had God’s stamp of approval. They pleased Him. And had not the Father Himself earlier said, “I am well pleased”? Perhaps the Son was taking a cue from the Father in saying the same thing. When He put to the Jews the challenge of any who could convict him of sin (John 8: 46), none could answer. They knew that though they accused him of many things, those things were really not true. They simply were moved with envy and were looking for ways to disprove his claim of being the Messiah. It is much the same today, that many who accuse Christ of one wrong or the other, or who find fault with His church, are only looking for excuse not to place faith in Him. But the sinlessness of Christ is not something based merely on acts of righteousness. It has root in His very nature. He told his disciples that the prince of this world (that is, the devil) has no hold or claim on Him (John 14: 30). In Christ, there is nothing that belongs to the devil, be it sin or the sin nature. His sinless living was more or less an evidence of an inherent holy nature.

iii)  The Testimony of the apostles:

       a)  Paul:  “God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him (Christ) we                might be the righteousness of God”                                     2 Cor. 5. 21

       b)   Writer of the Book of Hebrews:   “… (Christ) a high priest, tempted just as we are, yet             did not sin. A high priest… who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.”  

                                                                                                          Heb. 4: 15;  7: 26

       c) Peter:  “Christ committed no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”                                                                                                                                       1 Pet. 2. 21 – 22

d)   John:    “He (Christ) is pure. In him is no sin. He is righteous.”        1 John 3. 3 – 7

Peter and John physically walked with Christ and, therefore, had first hand information about him. Peter said he was not deceived into believing some fables about Christ but was an eyewitness of his life (2 Peter 1: 16). John said they not only heard of Christ, but saw him, looked upon him and physically touched him (1 John 1: 1). They interacted with him. Such people therefore can tell us better. They put it plainly that Christ committed no sin and was no deceiver. He said what he meant and meant what he said.

Paul did not have the privilege of a physical walk with Christ, but the Lord’s revelation of himself to him and the subsequent lasting relationship was enough to convince him of Christ’s sinless life. Paul was no stranger to the Law of Moses and the Prophets in which he excelled above many his fellows. He knew what type of a person the Messiah would be. His problem, however, as with many other Jews, was accepting that Jesus of Nazareth was that Christ. But when the revelation dawned on him, he immediately started preaching that Jesus was very Christ (Acts 9: 20 – 22). With the knowledge of the Scriptures and Christ’s revelation of himself to him, Paul could affirm like those who had been apostles before him that Christ was sinless. Paul could serve as an example for all believers after the resurrection of Christ including those alive today in that none walked with Christ physically yet all believe and are convinced from Scripture and the witness of the Holy Spirit in their hearts that the Lord was without sin.

After examining the evidences of those we may call the Lord’s friends we hope to also look at those of people who were not too friendly with Him. This, by God’s grace, we would do next edition. God bless you.  SYF

 

Published by The Rev. Dr Esesien Ita @ CRUTECH, Okuku Campus, Yala LGA, CRS., Nigeria. 08063138664;  07086950995;  07057479040;  08095590696;  esesien2000@yahoo.com ;  esesienita@gmail.com ; www.italiteratures.blogspot.com ;  www.facebook.com/italiterature ;  www.twitter.com/esesien_ita .