Friday, August 20, 2010

Could Jesus have sinned

Ok so we obviously know that Jesus didn't sin. Just wanted to clear that up :) But could He have sinned?? Did Jesus have the ability to sin?


Well we know that Jesus was fully man. Men have the ability to sin
We also know that Jesus was fully God. God does NOT have the ability to sin due to the fact that he is... God :)

So we have a dilemma here (no DUH) While I'm not brilliant enough to tell you how Jesus can be both full man and fully God here is how I look at the question of whether Jesus could sin.

If we look at Matt 4 we see Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. So to be tempted you have to have the ability to succumb to that temptation otherwise it wouldn't be a temptation. (Think about it)
Also in Is 50:5 (This is Jesus prophesying about himself) "The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious"
So we know that He had the opportunity to rebel (disobey) the Father. But didn't
So I think that while Jesus had the ability to sin, but Chose not to. This is something that should be a great comfort to us. We have to remember that:

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." 1Cor 10:13

Thursday, August 19, 2010

And we're back! Limited atonement

So I have finally gotten back to my series comparing Calvinism and Arminianism. I'm going to look at limited atonement. Limited atonement basically says that Jesus only atoned for the sins of the elect. While Arminianism believe that Jesus atoned for all the sins of the world but it is only attributed to you when you accept the free gift of salvation.

Eph 1:3-12
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love
 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
 8which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
 9He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him
 10with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
 11also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,
 12to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 

This passage of scripture raises a lot of questions on both sides. Suffice it to say, I have heard both sides argues from this same passage of scripture. So I'm going to let YOU decide which side you come down on.


(I side with the Arminian side btw)
















Monday, August 16, 2010

Love

For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life

This passage of scripture is so well know that everyone who prob reads this know where it comes from. But I think that its so familiar that sometime we gloss over what that verse says. This verse says that God LOVES the world. That means you. God, the creator of the universe LOVES you. God Loves You. If you think about that for a while it can really blow your mind. And this love comes about not with anything that you do. Actually if you were hoping to get this love by YOUR "good" deeds....... you would fail miserably. \

 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God Eph 2:8


Gift: Property, money or asset that one person transfers to another while receiving nothing in return.

This is what God offers to us. A free gift of salvation. Sometimes we take salvation for granted, but God was under no obligation to to do anything for mankind. He could have just started over. But he sent his Son to die on our behalf so that we can spend eternity with him

And I'm so glad he did