Hello to all who have read or posted to this thread.
"Why didn't Jesus sin? How did He keep from sinning?"
"We know Christ came in the same flesh as you have I have. He had the genetic makeup handed down from Adam's fall through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and King David. So He was made in all points just like we are. He had flesh and blood and could suffer death. So what kept Him from sinning........?"
Lainie you have ask one of the most important questions, if not the most important question, that can be ask about God Himself and the plan of salvation. Without a proper understanding of the true charector and nature of God, and why Christ had to die for our salvation as well as how Jesus Christ was able to live for 33 and 1/2 years as a mortal human being here on this earth, just like you and me, it becoms impossible to grasp the plan of salvation.
I hope that all who read this will grant me the leaway to make this a fairly simple narative, and allow me to use a bit of paraphrasing. I also ask that everyone remember that some of what I may use for explinaton may be based on biblical principals not necessarly on chapter and verse. Or to put it another way; What I say may be by permission, not by commandment. Nor am I going to attempt to answer each point raised or challenge made up to this point. I should also say, that for those who want want to go into much greater depth on this topic I will be happy to oblige you a a later time after we get through with the new forum rules and changes.
I doubt that there are any here who belive that we can be saved without faith. The faith required starts with faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, but there are many other topics and subjects that we must take by faith because there simply isn't a "Thus saith the Lord," or a detailed explaination given in the Bible.
The Bible is quite clear that we as finite, mortal, human beings can not fully comprehind the infinite, immortal, divine charector of God. That being understood, we are told in scripture that there are two great mysteries.
The first great mystery is the mystery of Godliness. We simply can't comprehind how God could have always been, and always will be. A being with no beginning and no end. Also a being that knows all things, could change anything at anytime, yet doesn't. Created man with the power of free will, knows what choices we will make and yet doesn't interfear.
This brings us to what we might call the second phase of the mystery of Godleness. Knowing eveything that would happen before He first created Lucifer, knowing full well what he, Lucefer would do, and then creating mankind knowing that he would make wrong choces, all the while wanting a love relationship of a parent and a child with mankind, yet didn't over rule man's free will when man made wrong choices although He certainly could have, produces a mistery that is clearly beyond man's comprehension. In fact we will spend eternity learning the ways of God.
This now brings us to the second great mystery found in the Bible. The mystery of iniquity. How could Satan, Lucifer, the most exaulted of all of God's created beings, choose to turn against God and let pride and ego put him at odds with Gid's divine plan?
In rather simplistic words Satan accused God of being unfair by holding His created beingts to a standard that only, He, God, could live up to. To show that God was fair, and that a mortal man could live up to God's stanards and lead a sinless life Jesus Christ was sent into this world with absolutely no divine advantage over you, me or any other created human being that ever has or, ever will, live on the face of this earth.
I realize that the most common answer given when someone ask how Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life on this earth is that He was the Son of God. To that answer I must respond; NOT SO! If Jesus Christ had used His divivnity in even the slightest way then Satan could hve gleefuly pointed out that God was unfair! That only some divine charector could live up to God's standards (law). With that accusation shown to be true the whole plan of salvaion would have been distoryed.
So how did Jesus Christ live a perfect, sinnless, life as a mortal that was absoluely no different from you and me? He used one thing that is availale to each and eryone of us this very day, and always will be, but we simply don't use it, and that is FAITH. That is a complete dependance and total faith in God the Father.
Scripture tells us this: And Jesus said unto them,... ":for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove you hence to younder place and it shall be removed: and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matt. 17:20.
When Christ said that nothing would be impossible, that included the ability to live a perfect, sinless life on this earth even with Satan's teptations, through faith and dependnce, on our Father God. Since Jesus Christ used nothing but Faith in God the Father, He could not know for sure that He would be raised from the dead after is death. He had to have faith from the prophecies of the Old Testament that he would be raised but he could not know for sure that he would be raised anymore than you and I know that we will be raised from the grave. Christ had faith and so we must have faith.
The ultimat example of faith on the part of Jesus Christ was: ". . .when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost." Luke 23:46. With these last words, Jesus showed that complete faith that the Father would indeed keep His promise to raise Him from the tomb, and the plan of salvatin would indeed be completed as planed.
Respectfully, your brother in Christ,
Doc
PS: This computer is an atheiest. It just came back from HP for repair and I can see it still doesn't want to reord the keystrokes correctly. I really don't have that many senior moments. GEEERRRR!!!
