Do you believe that Jesus lived a SINLESS LIFE?
Or do you, like 56% of so-called born-again Christians today, believe that Jesus did not live a sinless life, but rather committed sins during his life?
Is that the kind of Jesus of Nazareth you believe in?
A recent poll in which the well-respected George Barna, a Christian researcher, was involved, indicated that some 56% of all so-called born-again Christians believe that Jesus did not live a sinless life! That is so, no matter that Hebrews 4:15 states emphatically that Jesus lived a life without sin. Other scripture passages indicate the same thing. No matter, in this pick-and-choose spiritual Christian day and age, so many Christians are apt to interpret for themselves, ignore, or even deny any part of scripture, 66 books, which they do not like, or with which they do not agree. That, says George Barna, is even true of so-called born-again Christians. Scripture, the Holy Word of God is no longer believed by so many so-called Christians to be inspired, infallible, the perfect Word of God Almighty. So, when asked by these pollsters, the 2000 so-called born-again Christians interviewed had no problem indicating that they thought, in their infinite wisdom, that Jesus did not live a SINLESS LIFE.
That, my fellow Christians, is the attitude and spiritual approach of this HE GETS US woke Christian approach. The false teachers abound, progressive, changing, spirituality is the rule of the day and Jesus needs to come to us, accept us, understand us, rather than the traditional biblical way of our coming to Him, understanding Him, and asking of Him, especially for forgiveness.
So, they believe that our Savior, who went to the cross, did so as a sinful carpenter from Nazareth, subject to, and perhaps even yielding at times to such sins, the true Son of Man, and not the perfect Son of God, a flawed, sinful, human being perhaps in need of a blood-washing himself. That, to me, is shocking, heresy, blasphemy, and just plain dead wrong in every way.
Again, do you believe that Jesus lived a sinless life? Or a life sinful like ours?
There is no doubt that Jesus was tempted and tested like we are. But there is an enormous difference between being tempted, exposed to sin, and yielding to sin. There are three illustrations of that temptation. The spirit led our Lord into the wilderness, where he was subjected to fasting for 40 days and nights, and the tempter, the tester, Satan himself, came to Jesus in this weakened physical-human state, knowing HE was hungry and thirsty. So said the devil, turn these stones into bread. Jesus told him to back off, for all humans should live from the bread of life, every word out of the mouth of God.
Satan, undeterred, led Jesus to the highest point of the holy temple in Jerusalem, and said JUMP! Cast yourself down and nothing will happen to you, because His Angels, your angels will watch over you and protect you. Jesus rebuffed him again. And yet, a third time Satan tried. Our Lord was led to a high mountain where there was a view of all the Kingdoms of the world, and Satan promised to give all of them to him if Jesus of Nazareth would worship him. Again, he refused and Satan, defeated, departed. There was no way that Jesus would worship and serve the tempter, the evil one.
So, that eliminated the potential sins of power-hungry, ego, pride, and greed. Tempted, yes. Tested, yes. Sinful, NO!
But the Christ haters never give up. They claim Jesus was guilty of violating the commandment that all should honor their father and mother. They say he rejected his own father and mother, encouraged children to leave their parents, dishonored his mother by refusing her requests, and claimed that his followers were his father and mother. Commandment broken, they say. But, not so, for his intention was for all children to live the life which God Almighty had ordained for each of them. Still sinless was the Son of Man, the Son of God.
But, they say, HE was guilty of the sin of anger. He angrily treated the money changers with contempt and even violence as he threw them out of the temple. Wrong again. That was nothing more than the right attempt to protect the integrity, the purity of the Temple of the Living God. So, that spotless, sinless record was still intact.
But, these anti-Christians say, Jesus used curse words, first-century curse words, calling religious rulers, the Pharisees, VIPERS, snakes, and poisoners. He swore at them, they say, by calling them white as sepulchers, hypocrites, dead and deadly. But in reality, there was nothing more than describing them as they were. Sinless record still intact.
Then comes Gethsemane, where they say that Jesus, in temptation, was a quitter. He asked out of His mission, His purpose in coming. He knew the horrific ordeal which awaited him, a Roman crucifixion on a wooden cross, and with sweats of blood, He asked the Father to let him out, to let this CUP pass from me. Not once, not twice, but three times. But, at the end of the third request, He knew what He had to do, what He came for, and that it was the will of the Father to be done, and not his will. The human side of our Lord was tempted to quit, but for the good of the world and all of us, He knew He had to fulfill his divine mission. To the cross our Lord went, SINLESS, and that SINLESS BLOODSHED was the greatest act of redemption in human history.
Do you believe that Jesus lived a sinless life? Do you accept the truth of Hebrews 4:15 which states emphatically that he did live a sinless life? Let it be known that I surely do, and I hope and pray that you do as well. If you don’t you had better have some incredibly strong, powerful, convincing evidence to the contrary. I hope you are not like 56% of 2000 so-called born-again Christians interviewed who, in their infinite wisdom, believed that Jesus of Nazareth sinned and consequently lived at least to that extent a sinful life. Scriptures say that is wrong in every way.
May the sinless but tempted LIFE OF OUR LORD be a source of joy, inspiration, and hope for all of us as being truly born again, we love and respect the life of our Lord, and seek to be like Him, LIVE LIKE HIM!