nwingate said:
This is an interesting debate.
Basically the question goes like this... Could Christ have sinned while on this earth.
Two sides of the debate...
How was Christ Tempted if he never could have sinned.
or
Sin is missing the mark... That mark is God. If Christ had sinned wouldn't that just change the standard and not really be sin.
Mind twisting debate....
Nathan
contractorschatroom dotcom
Are you asking if there was a possibility that He could sin or if there was a possibility that He could have chosen to sin? They may seem like the same thing but they are assuredly not. Christ's
natural ability to sin was most certainly a possibility. However, due to His moral inclination to
always obey the Law of God it was
morally impossible for Him to do so. You see, we are creatures of desire.
Everything we do is predicated by a desire to choose to either glorify the Lord in obedience or a desire to glorify ourselves by feeding the lusts of our flesh. Whatsoever we choose to do is motivated by whatsoever we most strongly desire at the given moment of choice. The thing we must understand about Christ is that He
never desired to disobey the Lord. His desire to do the Will of His Father was always His first and foremost desire. It was, in fact, His only desire. To choose contrary to that desire would be impossible, in the moral sense.
As for Christ being tempted, we must understand that the word "tempted" is used in two very distinct ways in the Bible. Christ was "tempted" in the sense that He encountered every form of outward temptation that we experience. The fact that He never sinned just means that He was never inwardly tempted to disobey.
Here's an example of what I'm saying. If I say to you, "nwingate, feel free to send me $100." In one sense I have tempted you to give me $100. Despite my outwardly tempting you to give me $100 I seriously doubt you are inwardly tempted to actually do so. This is the same relationship as is expressed in the Gospel.
Hope that helps,
God bless
