IMPECCABILITY OR PECCABILITY OF CHRIST

part one

Charles,

In our Sunday School class, we are studying/debatingthe peccability/impeccability of Christ. Any thoughts?

Leslie

Most of the articles I am finding are leaning towards impeccability. The reason is that although Jesus was human, He did not have the sin nature of humans because God subvented the human with the virgin birth.

However, taking the other position, the question that remains is: Although Jesus was undoubtable sin-free and was tempted by Satan, how can He truly guide and assist us with our temptations when He was not able give into the temptations of Satan?

Does Christ's impeccability mean that He had no free will?

Leslie/Eric Whisnant (Eric is my oldest son and live in Lexington KY.

My response to this required a little study you know:

Now the question arises, given the fact of Christ's sinlessness, is whether His alleged temptations were real. The text used is Hebrews 4:15 cf Luke 22:28 . "who in every respect has been tempted as we are."

The debate has been between whether the Savior was "able not to sin" or "not able to sin".

The first emphasizing His identification with sinful humanity and consequent struggle, and the second His identification with God and God's eternal purpose for the salvation of the world.

Here is the assumption: (if you take that Jesus had a free will and that he could sin) The assumption that what applies to us (you and me) applies to Christ; that if there be a close connection for us between our capacity for sin and our struggles, then there must be such a connection for Christ."

The assumption says, Christ was just like us in all forms.

However, in Jesus Christ, there is not the inner propensity (a natural inclination or tendency:) TO SIN THAT THERE IS IN EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RACE. Jesus Christ HAD THE holy SPIRIT WITHOUT MEASURE TO SUSTAIN him IN his EARTHLY MINISTRY.
THROUGHOUT JESUS’ EARTHLY SOJOURN, WHILE TEMPTATION WAS REAL, THE GOD WHOSE LIFE HE FULLY SHARED (Col. 1;19, 2:9) and who He was (John 1:1 10:30) kept Jesus Christ from committing any sin and, as important, dedicated to His messianic mission.

Did Christ have a free will? His will was totally dedicated to the will of the father. There was no thought of disobedience to the will of the father.

Hebrews 4:15, I Peter 2:2 I John 3:5 "witness that he (Jesus) did not give in to temptation, nor violate the moral standards of God, nor was he inconsistent with the nature of His character.

Jesus had to be sinless, and only by a sinless life could his death have been vicarious substitution and fulfill God's redemptive plan for man. Had Jesus sinned, or could have sinned, he would have died for his own sins and not for those whom God chose to save.

So the question of free will or could Jesus have sinned if he had wanted to is the debate. if he could, the term is peccability of Christ. the term impeccability says Jesus could not have sinned even if he wanted to.

Those in the peccable camp say: if Jesus was not peccable then just how "human" was He? could Jesus have been 'true man' if he were not able to sin like the rest of mankind? (a footnote: this is a question of whether Christ could have sinned; not that Christ had to have sinned in order to be human).

Humans have a consciousness of past sin. Jesus did not have any sin therefore no consciousness of past sin. So does this make him less human?
Jesus took on most of the qualities of the human nature, but shielded himself from the consciousness of sin.

The point of studying this issue is important:

Drafted by Charles E. Whisnant and Proof Checked by Charity Whisnant