Is a Sinless Life Possible (Part 4 of 5)

Six hundred years before the apostles, the prophets foresaw a future time when the Spirit of God would be poured out on mankind (Joel 2:28), enabling a person to overcome sin and live in complete obedience to the commandments.

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezek 36:27), and “I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them…that they may walk in My statues and keep My ordinances and do them,” (Ezek 19:19-20).

Divine assistance is required to overcome the superhuman inclination toward sin, as affirmed by the words of the LORD spoken to Zerubbabel, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts,” (Zech 4:6). Divine assistance is only available from God and must be sought by each person.  The Hebrew Sages saw both the need and the promise of God’s assistance to withstand the evil inclination.

“One who comes to purify himself (ba l’taheir) receives siyata d’Shmaya – Divine assistance, and without Divine assistance it is impossible to withstand the evil inclination.  As the Talmud states, ‘In the way that a person wants to go, he will be led.’”[1]

The Genesis Rabbah, commentary of the rabbis, employs a Hebrew idiom familiar to believers to encourage us that God will mightily reward even our small efforts toward righteousness. 

“The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘My sons, if you will give me an opening of repentance no bigger than the size of the eye of a needle, I will widen it into openings through which wagons and carriages can pass.’” (Genesis Rabbah 5:3)

   

A person does not outgrow sin, nor can a person intellectually reason his way into a sinless life, nor can a person become master over his sinful nature through the sheer determination of his own will,

“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” ²² (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? ²³ These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in  self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” (Col 2:21-23)

Sin cannot be overcome by the advancement of science, nor the increase of the human intellect; popular solutions proposed by our society.  A modern societal rejection of traditional "sin" arguments is to say, “We are beyond that way of thinking”, implying that reasoning and science are the solution to all the world’s problems.  Science will never find an antidote for sin and the unshakable confidence in our own intellect will hasten the ultimate downfall of mankind, (1Cor 10:12).  Despite the popular notion that the Dark Ages were overcome by science and knowledge, it was actually the restoration of God’s word to the individual believer that brought about the Reformation and the rebirth of Western civilization.  The Dark Ages were such because man was removed from the light of God’s word, “the brightness of your rising,” (Isa 60:3).

The underlying power behind sin is simply too strong to be resisted by our present corruptible bodies.  Sin must be attacked beginning at its source, in the “heavenly places”, where Divine Assistance be found.  It is interesting to observe in the Book of Revelation that, “the restoration of Israel…can only happen after the cosmological cleansing has taken place” [2].  This cleansing begins when Michael and his angels expel Satan and his followers from the heavenly places, (Rev 12:7-13). The elimination of the corrupting forces from heaven becomes a pattern for the life of each believer who must look to heaven for the Helper, "the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father," (John 15:26).

When the Union Army marched through the South near the end of the Civil War in 1864, they spared Savannah, but utterly destroyed Charleston (location of Fort Sumter).  Union soldiers understood that Charleston was the birthplace of the rebellion, making Charleston's destruction an act to usher in the end of the rebellion.  The Civil War was over three months later.  Since rebellion against God began in the heavenly realms, believers must obtain victory in the heavenly realms to overcome sin in our earthly lives.  Always remember that the heavenly realms can be accessed through daily prayer that elevates us to the heavenly places in Christ.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph 1:3)

(to be continued - Scott)

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[1] The Power of Teshuvah, Rabbi Heshy Kleinman, 2011 Edition, page77

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

Is a Sinless Life Possible (Part 3 of 5)

Paul frequently framed the life of a believer in terms of a battle between two opposing forces: the flesh and the Spirit.  In Paul’s writings, "the flesh” is consistently portrayed as the unstoppable superhuman force “in opposition” preventing a believer from doing the works of God, while “the Spirit” offers the Divine Assistance capable of overcoming the flesh.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” (Gal 5:16-17). 

According to Paul, a human being does not have the power to overcome “the flesh”, because “it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,” (Rom 8:7). 

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom 8:6-8)

The only way the flesh can be overcome is through the Divine Assistance of the Spirit, as written, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh,” and “if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Rom 8:11).

The Law reveals the type and nature of sin, but the Law is not the source of sin; “May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law,” (Rom 7:7).  Sin existed before the Law, “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,” (Rom 5:13).  Sin did not originate because of the Law, as some might argue, but through the weakness of man, as testified by the writer of Hebrews, “for finding fault with them (the people of Israel), He says, ‘Behold the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘When I will effect a New Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah,” (Heb 8:8). 

If sin is to be eliminated, God must either change the definition of sin, which requires a change in the Law, or God must change the nature of man.  Many believers espouse the former approach, a lowering of the standard until the Law is eliminated, “where there is no law, there is not transgression,” (Rom 4:15).  One need look no farther than our current society, to understand the popularity of this approach taught under the general heading of "tolerance".

However, the Law has not been eliminated or altered.  It remains as unchanging and eternal as the very nature of God the Author, as Jesus said, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished,” (Matt 5:18). Since the Law cannot be altered or removed, sin can only be eliminated by transforming the nature of man, removing man’s inclination toward sin, “You must be born again.”

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:5-7)

At the very heart of the New Covenant we find God’s promise to change the nature of man by writing the Law on a person’s heart (Jer 31:33-34), empowering each person to live a life free from sin.  The fact that this has not occurred in every believer stands as evidence that the fullness of the New Covenant has not come into effect.

-- Scott 

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