Is a Sinless Life Possible (Part 2 of 5)

A hierarchy exists within the creation that positions the heavenly realm as superior in power and authority to the earthly creation.  Scripture may speak of a future time when believers will judge the angels (1Cor 6:3), but in the current age, angels have power and authority over mankind, limited only by the providence of God’s eternal plan.  Under the existing hierarchy, the natural person will continually struggle and ultimately conclude that it is impossible to resist “the power of sin”. 

In the Garden, the superhuman power of Satan was able to overwhelm Adam and Eve at a time when they were separated from God.  In a similar way, the “daughters of man” also succumb to the superhuman power of the “sons of God” (Gen 6:4), leaving the creation of the Nephilim a foregone conclusion once angels abandoned their own domain and came down to the earth.  If evil and temptation are superhuman in origin, then how can mere mortals resist the power of sin?  Answer that question, and you have taken a significant step toward living a sinless life.

When Jesus dwelt on the earth, He was made “like His brethren in all things” (Heb 2:17), “made for a little while lower than the angels” (Heb 2:9), after the pattern of Adam (Rom 5:14), “tempted in all things as we are,” (Heb 4:15).  To be “made for a little while lower” is to surrender one’s own power and authority, as with Jesus Who “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but  emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men,” (Phil 2:6-7).  Yet, in this submissive condition, living with the same frailties and weaknesses of the flesh as you and I, Jesus lived “obedient to the point of death” (Phil 2:8), as written, “A high priest…who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin,” (Heb 4:15).

If Jesus came as a type of Adam who surrendered to sin, and “like His brethren” who “all have sinned”, then how was Jesus able to resist the superhuman power behind sin?  Surprising to many, the answer cannot be that Jesus was God.  If the explanation for Jesus’ sinless life is relegated to Jesus’ role in the Godhead, then it becomes impossible for any individual believer to fulfill the commandment to “walk in the same manner as He walked,” (1John 2:6), and “Resist the Devil” (James 4:7).  We are not individually gods with power in the heavenly realms, despite the insistence of Satan (Gen 3:5), and the attitude of secular humanists.  So what power did Jesus, made “like His brethren in all things”, draw upon to resist the temptation of Satan?

It seems reasonable to surmise that a superhuman force can only be resisted by the application of an opposing and more powerful supernatural force, a bigger stick, a larger engine, more horsepower, or greater thrust.  In scripture, the superhuman force given to resist sin is “the Helper, the Holy Spirit,” (John 14:26).  The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt 3:16), was the power behind His resurrecti0n (Rom 1:4), and remained on Jesus through His ascension, (Acts 1:2).  It is the power of the Spirit, and not Jesus’ position in the Godhead that empowered Him to live a sinless life, as written, “God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power,” (Acts 10:38). 

The death of Jesus was the payment required for each of our sins, but the life of Jesus empowered by the Spirit is the pattern given in scripture for believers to overcome sin, to “walk in the same manner as He walked,” (1John 2:6).  If sin is likened to the waves that drive our ship toward the rocks, it is the wind (Spirit) that can be captured in our sails to overcome the negative forces of the waves.  

Happy 4th - Scott

Is a Sinless Life Possible? (Part 1 of 5)

As a believer, I desire to walk as my Master walked, in an obedient life free from sin.  However, I find myself wondering if a sinless life is achievable for the believer.  The general consensus of believers, supported by personal experience, would say no.  After all, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23).  As John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us,” (1John 1:8).  Yet, scripture also holds out the hope of a condition “freed from sin” (Rom 6:7, 6:18), offering the potential to live a sinless life.  If it is possible to be “freed from sin”, then why is a sinless life so difficult to achieve?  Why does sin hold such a powerful sway over our lives preventing us from doing what we ought to do, while at the same time, enticing us to perform the very sins we despise?

These questions are not new.  The apocalyptic writings of the first and second century before Christ, dealt with many subjects including the origin and nature of evil.  One tradition (called Enochic) linked the introduction of evil to the rebellion of the fallen angels (1Enoch 10:8), a position apparently supported by the Essenes in the Qumran community, and reflected in the Book of Revelation, “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,” (Rev 12:7).  In the Enochic understanding,

“The transgression of the created order (that is, the boundaries between heaven and earth) by fallen angels (1Enoch 7:11) leads to violence and bloodshed teaching humans ‘to make swords of iron and weapons and shields and breastplates and every instrument of war’ (1Enoch 8:1), and to idolatry, ‘and there was much godlessness on the earth’ (1Enoch 8:2).” [1]

The other predominant position (called Adamic) held that evil was introduced into the creation through the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden.  Paul was a strong proponent of the Adamic position in his writings, “Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned,” (Rom 8:12).  In short, Second Temple Jews principally argued two parallel, but virtually mutually exclusive explanations for the origin of evil, the “Enochic” and the “Adamic” positions.

“According to the first (Enochic), the sins committed by…the fallen angels, the ‘sons of God,’ were the source of evil and the cause of the state of the world.  Quite different stories (Adamic), attributed the state of the world to Adam’s disobedience in general, or more specifically to Eve’s seduction by the serpent, also circulated in Jewish works of the Second Temple period, as well as in the New Testament…There can be no doubt that Paul belongs to the Adamic camp.” [2] 

Whether evil originated through the cosmic rebellion of angels or the deception of Adam and Eve in the Garden by Satan, the origin of evil has, at its source, a superhuman angelic element.  Whether leading a heavenly rebellion or deceiving Eve, it is Satan who tempts us (1Cor 7:5), for “the devil has sinned from the beginning,” (1John 3:8).   

The superhuman force behind sin, referred to in scripture as “the power of sin” (1Cor 15:56), is reflected in Paul’s words, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places,” (Eph 6:12).  If sin is superhuman in origin, how is mankind, created lower than the angels, capable of resisting the “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”? 

...to be continued - Scott

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[1] Paul the Jew, Gabriele Boccaccini & Carlos A Segovia, 2016 Edition, page 187

[2] Paul the Jew, Gabriele Boccaccini & Carlos A Segovia, 2016 Edition, page 23-24

They Found Favor And...

“Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord…Noah was a righteous man,  blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Gen 6:8-9)

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.’” (Ex 33:17)

Scripture tells us that both Noah and Moses "found favor" in the in the eyes of the Lord.  This was important since both men lived among sinful people worthy of God’s judgement.  Although considered a grave sin, we do not traditionally elevate the sin of the golden calf to the same level as the wickedness of Noah’s generation.  However, God's perspective on the golden calf is what matters, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” (Ex 32:7).  The key word conveyed to Moses about the people’s condition is “corrupted” (Hebrew = shahat), which occurs in only one previous story in scripture,

“Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” (Gen 6:11-12)

The use of the word “corrupted” is noteworthy because it conveys the serious nature of the golden calf sin, the unrepentant condition of the people, and the judgment that God has predetermine.  By linking the people of Israel to the condition of the generation living before the flood, God connected Israel to the same fate.  Only Moses stood between God and the destruction of Israel, and God requested that Moses step aside, “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them,” (Ex 32:10).

At this point, the story of Moses deviated dramatically from the story of Noah.  Whereas Noah used the favor granted him to escape the corrupted world saving only his family, Moses used the favor granted him to save the corrupted people he was living among, “O LORD, why does You anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand, (Ex 32:11).  What follows is a remarkable passage based solely on the actions of Moses, “So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people,” (Ex 32:14). 

Before the flood, we are told, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  The LORD said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land…” (Gen 6:6-8).  Similar words are spoken to Moses after the golden calf, “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.” (Ex 32:10).  

In both stories, God has determined to destroy the people because they have become corrupted.  In both stories, God has instructed the individual possessing favor to leave the location so that destruction can occur.  Whereas Noah chose to separate himself from his generation, Moses chose to unite himself to his generation (Ex 32:32), in the hope that his “favor” (merit) would be sufficient to save the people of Israel. 

The actions of Moses saved the people of Israel and become a pattern for the actions of Jesus, Who also gained favor (Luke 2:52), which He used to save those united with him.

“For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Rom 6:5)

Noah is introduced in scripture as “a righteous man,” (Gen 6:9), while Moses is introduced as baby born in Egypt, destined for an Egyptian throne, (Heb 11:24).  Noah’s story concludes with drunkenness and cursing his son Canaan.  Moses grew up, “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb 11:25), and at the end of his life Moses is called “the man of God,” (Deut 33:1).

So how are we using the favor (grace) that has been granted to us?  Are we like Abraham who used the “favor” granted him to entertain the angels of God and plead for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:3), or we like Lot who used the "favor" granted to him to saved himself, (Gen 19:19)? 

 

All the best, Scott