There is only one thing that God cannot do, and that is commit sin — and because Jesus was God, He could not sin. (1) God was gracious to warn Adam about sin and its consequences. It is also expressly taught. That man is responsible for his wicked actions is made so plain from the beginning of the Bible to the end that it is quite useless to cite individual proof texts. Used with permission of the publisher. Initially, it is obvious that Adam and Eve did not repent. Yes, man is responsible for his wicked actions; and no, God is not the author of sin. To be clear, sin is a falling short of God’s standards. God knew that He would judge man’s sin and impose the penalty of death upon him and curse the earth. Is it the difficulty of harmonizing the free will of the creature with the certainty of the creature’s actions as part of God’s eternal purpose? Reformed writers have... denied that God is the cause of sin. Local: 704-401-2432 For both, the problem remains. So, he ascribes to God the ultimate causality of our wandering — of Israel’s wandering into sin. Yes, God has told us much. The lesson continued in the symbolism of Passover, a prophetic picture of the cross of Christ. He was without sin, for He was God in human flesh. And that is what happened when Jesus died on the cross: All our sins were transferred to Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment we deserve. Any bad action, feeling, or thought is a sin. Is it surprising that there are some things in his counsels about which he has bidden us be content not to know but instead just to trust him who knows all? ©2021 BGEA The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a cautionary tale of the destructive consequences of sin. In other words, Jesus was different from every other person who ever lived or ever will live, because He was both fully God and fully man. He does not tempt the men to sin; he does not influence them to sin. Why is this important? Yes, of course he did. Even His enemies admitted they could find no fault in Him (see John 8:46). The real difficulty is the difficulty of seeing how a good and all-powerful God ever could have allowed sin to enter the world that he had created. When God causes the bringing to pass of the evil actions of men, he does that in still a different way. God knew that He would have mercy and not kill man but would send Jesus to restore all things to … decree, predestination, sin, Apologetics 101: Apologetics and Missions II, Covenant Theology: Early Origins of Covenant Theology I. Read More On Since Jesus Christ was the greatest Person ever to set foot on the Earth—the Teacher of teachers, the Man Who has changed more lives than any other throughout the centuries, and the One Who gives mankind the opportunity to be free from the bonds of sin—everything associated with His life, His character, and His teachings has been a source of great interest to many. Achan’s Sin. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in Genesis, notorious for their flagrant sin. But he causes the bringing to pass of those deeds by the free and responsible choices of personal beings. God knew that man would sin, but by allowing it to happen He was able to show the redeemed how much He loved us. As the Bible says, “There is no one who is righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). He also frequently does not stop sin from continuing when it does take place. Truthfully, most of man has not made a choice to rebel against God yet. I am afraid we shall have to do with it something that is not very pleasing to our pride; I am afraid we shall just have to say that it is insoluble. Even His enemies admitted they could find no fault in Him (see John 8:46). How could a holy God, if he is all-powerful, have permitted the existence of sin? 7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things []; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, [] the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. . Is it surprising that there are some mysteries which God in his infinite goodness and wisdom has hidden from our eyes? Ask me who made God, why suffering is in the world, or why God allows evil, and I will answer you quicker than the government gives away our tax dollars. 01/26/2013 10:22 pm ET Updated Mar 28, 2013 Most Christians’ first reaction to this question is to answer this with a resounding “Of course not!” After all, he was the Son of God; he had to be blameless in order to be the perfect sacrifice...right? If wicked actions of wicked men have a place in God’s plan, if they are foreordained of God, then is man responsible for them, and is not God the author of sin? For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." That is clear from the very nature of sin, as rebellion against God’s holy law. If Jesus had only been an ordinary man like everyone else who ever lived, then you’d be right — He, too would have been a sinner. He has told us how at infinite cost, by the gift of his Son, he has provided a way of escape from it. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. A Presbyterian writer, James M. Boice, asserted that when Christ died upon the cross [tree] he, “violated the law — through no fault of his own — [and] he became technically guilty of all of it [the law]” (1976, 10.460). Coolidge replied, “He was against it.” Coolidge’s answer is a succinct summary of Zechariah 5, which tells us what God thinks about sin… It’s important for one reason: Only someone who was without sin could save us from our sins. The Bible, however, says that Jesus never once sinned. God knew that in creating man, man would sin. Is it surprising that he has not told us all? Billy Graham Answers, Franklin & Billy Graham Meet with Sarah Palin, Prepare for Easter: Daily Devotions from Billy Graham, Will Graham to Livestream Good Friday Message, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201 This post is adapted from J. Gresham Machen, What is Predestination, (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Seminary Press, 2017), 39–42. Toll Free: 1-877-247-2426. We don’t read that Adam and Eve repented of their sin and we also don’t read any scripture that says they didn’t. We don’t see any clear scripture that answers this question. Is it so surprising that there are some things that we do not know? The reason that her flesh was spotless is that she was fully redeemed by the death of Christ on the cross being applied back to her at the moment of her conception - the immaculate conception - across time and space. Privacy Could anyone go through life without ever sinning? And in that moment He was banished from the presence of God, for sin cannot exist in God’s presence. DECEIVING A CHILD OF GOD: Eph 4:14: 33. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’” says the Epistle of James, “for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. Answer: God did not create sin, but He created beings with free will who have the ability to sin. The Bible tells us that He was also divine — that is, He was God in human form. His desire is that all come to repentance and experience the blessing and joy of eternal life with Him (2 Peter 3:9). To each of these questions the Bible returns a very unequivocal answer. That difficulty faces not only the consistent and truly biblical view of the divine decree which we have tried to summarize this afternoon, but it also faces the inconsistent views that we have rejected. But that doesn’t mean that God forgives our sins before we commit them. It’s important for one reason: Only someone who was without sin could save us from our sins. Yes God has sinned. The Bible says, “He is the image of the invisible God. Yes, God has told us much. God not only makes payment for our sin, but puts our sin completely out of view and replaces it with His own righteousness. 1 Kings 15:5 Did David sin? But Jesus wasn’t only a man. He could be tempted — but He could not sin. How did God do that? Sin is not an entity or a thing that “exists”; it has no independent being. The angel Gabriel testified to Jesus sinless when … Yet we deny that God is the author of them and we put the responsibility for them upon man. How can we possibly do that? We have said that God has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. Is it surprising that he has not told us all? They do not, indeed, surprise God by the doing of them; their doing of them is part of his eternal plan; yet in the doing of them they, and not the holy God, are responsible. Why is this important? It can never be used, therefore, as an argument in favor of any one of those inconsistent views and against the consistent view. After all, we are but finite creatures. Org/did-yahshua-ever-sin-. Most of our religious leaders try to convince us that man has rebelled against his Creator. The Bible says that God is all-powerful (Genesis 17:1; Jeremiah 32:27; Revelation 19:6) and that He ‘accomplishes all things according to the counsel of His will’ (Ephesians 1:11). God did not and does not create sin, nor does He delight in punishing those who choose to sin (Ezekiel 33:11). Throughout the Bible, from Genesis onward, God was teaching the lesson of substitution. The second half of the verse says, “Return for the sake of your servants,” suggesting, pointing, that somehow God’s absence did it. No, I do not think that is the real difficulty. Psalm 18:21-23 (also Psalm 26) For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I have not done evil by turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. BGEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. “What did the preacher say about sin?” his wife persisted. That includes such things as uncontrolled anger, cursing at one’s mate or children, nurturing a wrong desire, or giving in to a selfish impulse. Genesis 18:20-21 states, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. CAUSING A CHILD OF GOD TO SIN (GREAT SIN) Mt 18:6: 32. Verse 12 teaches that when Abraham made it clear he was willing to offer his only son to God, the Lord intervened: "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." Besides all the obvious sins described in the Bible, his (hers, or its or whatever) greatest unforgivable greatest Sin of the Universe is that each individual (with free will, and moral agent , each one of us actually) was not asked before he (she) was born if he (she) wanted to be created (born) into this world, that God has created. God has told us much. We’ve seen two ways to understand Genesis 4:13: Cain is unrepentant yet thinks his punishment is too heavy to bear, and Cain is sorry and feels his sin is beyond God’s forgiveness. Calvin teaches, “For the proper and genuine cause of sin is not God’s hidden counsel but the evident will of man,” 1 though in context he also states that Adam’s Fall was “not without God’s knowledge and ordination.” 2 Some other examples: But it is … He could be tempted — but He could not sin. The Testimony Of The Angel Gabriel. God cannot be subjected to sin because God is perfect holiness. God-forsaken. However, we can read some passages that show us that Adam and Eve could have repented of their sins. They only know Satan's side of the story and have not heard God's, at least if we believe what Jesus said from the cross. Html makes a pretty convincing argument that Jesus most definitely sinned at some point of his life before he was baptised by John the Baptist. No, He loved his Son as much at that moment as He ever had. Did Jesus Ever Sin? He turned away in anger over all the sin of the world that sent His Son to the cross. Home Permissions That man is responsible for his wicked actions is made so plain from the beginning of the Bible to the end that it is quite useless to cite individual proof texts. God knew that we would sin, therefore, and yet He did not seek to prevent it from occurring. There is only one thing that God cannot do, and that is commit sin — and because Jesus was God, He could not sin. 1. • Topics: Jesus Christ, Sin. By Billy Graham • So the Lord ’s anger burned against Israel. He's omniscient. How, then, can we meet the difficulty? For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (Colossians 1:15,19). Completely forsaken. What is the real difficulty here? DESPISING ONE OF GOD’S CHILDREN: Mt 18:10 Is the same as despising God: Lk 10:16: 34. As far back as the Garden of Eden, to cover Adam and Eve’s sin, God put to death an animal and covered them with its skin. Yes, man is responsible for his wicked actions; and no, God is not the author of sin. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid for every sin that you and I and the rest of the human race will ever commit, from Adam’s first sin until the very last sin that will be committed on this planet. Instead, God sought Adam out, and exposed his sin (Genesis 3:8-13). This includes Satan, fallen angels (demons), and humans. . That is true even of the good actions of men who are his children. Contact Us. The things that they do in exercise of that gift are their acts. In simple language, Jesus took away the sin of the community by taking in hatred and giving back love; by taking in anger and giving out graciousness; by taking in envy and giving back blessing; by taking in bitterness and giving out warmth; by taking in pettiness and giving back compassion; he taking in chaos and giving back peace; and by taking in sin and giving back forgiveness. “Sin,” replied silent Cal. What shall we do with the problem? This is verified by the testimony of the angel Gabriel, the demons, unbelievers, believers, Jesus Himself, and God the Father. . Why he put the tree there, knowing we would disobey him? To quote, “Nothing ever occurred to God.” You're really asking why, though. Did God know Adam would sin? February 18, 2011 But as He died all our sins were placed on Him, and He became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. God told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. He has told us much even about sin. So the flesh that he received from his mother needed to be spotless and without sin. I do not think so, my friends. He turned away in sorrow and deepest pain when He saw what sin had done. But it is equally clear in the Bible that God is not the author of sin. He has created those beings with the awful gift of freedom of choice. (2) When Adam sinned, God did not immediately put Adam to death, as his sin deserved. Even when God causes those men to do certain things by the gracious influence of his Holy Spirit, he does not deal with them as with sticks or stones, but he deals with them as with men. God did not want Abraham to sin; He wanted to test the depth of his faith. He told him that if he did, he would die (Genesis 2:15-17). No! I know the pat answer. But ask me why God created mankind even though He knew man would sin, and I hesitate.. When he did that, Jesus was alone. (2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” What separates Christianity from all other belief systems is the truth that God came to earth, lived perfectly though tempted, and took upon himself … He does not cause them to do those things against their will, but he determines their will, and their freedom as persons is fully preserved when they perform those acts. Enormously. The acts remain their acts, even though they are led to do them by the Spirit of God. What’s The Unforgivable Sin? That being said, it is true that Christians will still struggle with sin … It is a must read for anyone who wants real hard scriptural evidence and not just an opinion. Are we not involving ourselves in hopeless contradiction? The sinful actions of sinful men are things that come to pass. - Newsletter. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:13–14). Ask a Question! The eternal God came down from Heaven and became a man — and that man was Jesus. No matter who we are, we all — without exception — commit sin and break God’s law. He does not cause the bringing to pass of the actions of personal beings in the same way as the way in which he causes the bringing to pass of events in the physical world. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. Granted, bearing iniquity in the Hebrew Bible can mean to bear the punishment for sin (see Ezekiel 18:20), but it can also indicate forgiveness. The answer is found in the fact that although God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, he causes the bringing of those things to pass in widely different ways. When he returned home, she asked him what the minister had talked about. Don’t carry your burden of sin and guilt any longer, but open your heart to Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for your salvation. He turned away in complete revulsion at the ugliness of sin. 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