Sin. It isn't a topic we like much, is it? When the pastor preaches out of Romans 3, a lecture from your parents when you've messed up—whatever the situation may be, it's a little uncomfortable, right? When we think about all the wrong things that we do day-to-day, the things that don't make God happy, we're bound to start squirming a little. As Christians, the topic of sin in our lives isn't something that the Spirit inside of us is at peace with, and will often remind us of any sin that's present and in the way of a healthy relationship with our Heavenly Father. This is called conviction. As Romans tells us, sin separates us from our Creator. Thankfully, in His great love for us, God sent His Son to live a perfect life and die in our place so that our sins could be forgiven.
We all know that sin is bad. We're all familiar with that wriggling feeling inside that wants us to 'fess up. We know Jesus lived without sin, and was the only One to ever do so. None of this is new. Thus, I'm not here to preach at you. But I want to invite you to ponder a question.
I'm taking a New Testament Survey class this semester. However, my professor prefers to approach it as more of a theology/philosophy course. We are forced encouraged to think, to question, and read the Bible like a theologian. I think he sometimes forgets that we're freshmen, and that this is just a core curriculum class.That we're still adjusting to college classes. Or perhaps he just believes in our abilities that much. Either way, it's a class I've come to enjoy thoroughly. Along with asking us the tough questions of faith and theism, my professor absolutely loves it when we ask questions of our own. This past week, one of my classmates asked something that really got my professor excited.
Jesus lived a sinless life, but could He have sinned? In sinning, Jesus would have given up His ability to die for the sins of the world, as He would no longer be the Perfect Sacrifice. But would it have even been possible for Him to sin?
I've thought of this question before, and in my mind, it's always had a pretty simple answer. Yes, Jesus could have sinned. He was human, after all. That's what made Christ the Only One Who could have died for us—He could have sinned, but He didn't. If it was impossible for Jesus to sin, then that would have made the whole "literally taking our place" thing kinda pointless, as He wouldn't really be taking our place as humans. Do you see what I'm getting at here? Jesus was fully human, and He was totally capable of being tempted just as we are. Paul even points this out in Hebrews 4:15, where he says that Jesus was "tempted in every respect as we are." But the thing is, Jesus was also fully God. Completely and totally. And to me, that's always been my answer: since He was just as much God as He was human, and He was born without the sinful nature of Adam, I reasoned that He had more control over His choices, and thus more of a will to obey and not sin, you see what I'm saying? Therefore, I didn't really understand why my professor was getting all giddy when the answer was right in front of us. Then my professor began to focus on the why of the sinlessness of Jesus instead of the how, and I started to see why he'd been so excited.
Have you ever really thought about why Jesus never sinned? I don't mean the usual, Sunday school answer of "He was perfect, born without a sinful nature." That's true, of course, but that's the surface explanation. As a theologian-in-training, I must look deeper than that. I'm talking about the actual reasoning behind why Jesus did not sin; what in Christ's motives kept Him from sin.
When you think about why you obey God, what are your reasons? Is it because you know you should? Is it because you've grown up being told to? Is it because the Bible says that you need to? Is it out of duty, out of guilt? John 14:15 and 2 John 1:6 both say that our obedience to God should be out of love. I think that sometimes with the traditional answer of "He was born perfect/He was God," we sorta mark it up as Jesus had no choice except to obey. And I don't believe that's true. In being the Perfect Sacrifice for us, Christ had a choice. And that choice was ultimately made out of love. Love for His Father, the One Whom He knew was always looking out for Him.
Romans 8:18 expresses that "there is no present suffering that is worth comparing to the glory that is to come." In this, Paul is speaking of the eventual return of Christ, when He will establish His kingdom and reign eternally. He is reminding us, as Christians, that no matter what we may face today, tomorrow, next year, and the years to come, none of it is going to hurt anymore when one day we see the face of our Jesus. It won't matter. Of course it matters now, but it simply can't compare to what lies ahead. It will all be worth it. I've seen this verse worded a bit different in a way that I think applies equally as well; instead of saying glory, this version had "the joy that is to come." Jesus knew that true joy is only found in God. He knew that no matter what, He wasn't going to find satisfaction in anything except the Almighty.
In my New Testament class, my professor said that Jesus was so focused on what was to come that He didn't even consider the current pleasures that the earthly world had to offer Him. Jesus knew that one day, when His work on earth was finished, He would ascend to heaven and be seated at the right hand of His Father. In addition, Christ knew that the things of God were worth so much more than anything on earth. How many times did He say that the kingdom of God is like a treasure to be sought? This is what Jesus desired, not the satisfactions of this world. Jesus' desire to obey was grounded in His love for His Father, and His focus on what lay ahead.
Where does your focus lie? Is it on the things of heaven, or is it with the things of this world? As Christians, it can be easy to get wrapped up in obeying God for the sake of obeying. At least, in my experience it is. We stop thinking about why we obey, and why we want to obey, and just "try our best." But I encourage you to really think about why it is you want to obey God. God doesn't want us to listen to Him simply because He said to; He wants us to listen and obey because we love Him. And we love Him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Keep your eyes on what's ahead. Focus not on what right here and right now can offer you, because I promise you it won't be as great as you think it will be. Instead, remember how Jesus lived. Remember how He kept his focus on the things of His Father, for He knew their worth. Seek the Kingdom as a treasure, and love the Lord. Let this, not any sense of duty or guilt, be your motivation to live in holiness, just as your Father in heaven is Holy.
