Miles McKee Ministries
PO Box 541, Kingston Springs, TN 37082
Was Christ a Sinner?
Jim Byrd
I was recently asked if I believe that sin was actually infused into Christ thereby making Him a sinner when He died in the stead of His people. I want you to think about that issue and as you do reflect on these questions, what is a sinner - and - what is the Bible definition of sin? In order to understand the word sinner, pay attention to Mr. Webster’s meaning of er when put at the end of a verb. He says er is "a suffix added to verb bases meaning the action of." Here are some examples of verb base words with er added. One who fights is a fighter. One who runs is a runner. One who preaches is a preacher. One who serves is a server. You get the idea. One who sins, therefore, is a sinner. Now I ask you, did the Lord Jesus sin? What do the Scriptures say? "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:22-24).
What is sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). The issue, therefore, amounts to this: did Christ ever transgress the law of God? If He did, He was a sinner; if He did not, He was not a sinner. Again, what do the Scriptures say? It is written that Christ died, "the Just for the unjust to bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). "Just" means righteous, and the word is capitalized. Christ was not sinful or unrighteous when He died. He was, is and always shall be "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6).
Remember that in the covenant of grace our Surety assumed full responsibility for our spiritual indebtedness, as illustrated by what Paul said concerning Onesimus. He wrote to Philemon, "if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account" (Philemon 1:18). The sin-debt of His people was imputed to the account of our Substitute. When He shed His blood and paid for our sins, did He become a sinner? Did sin enter that Holy One? The very idea is preposterous and anti-scriptural. How did Christ satisfy the demands of a broken law and save us from our sins? By enduring the judgment of God appointed for sin; He was the Offering for sin. It is not written that Christ died for His sins, but He "died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3). The Savior endured divine wrath and so redeemed His people from the claims of offended justice. He was condemned because of our sins, but He had none of His own, therefore He was never a sinner.
Imputation
Every believer rejoices in the glorious truth that our sins were imputed to Christ and His righteousness has been imputed to us. Daniel prophesied of the coming of the Savior and said of Him, "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself" (Daniel 9:25). The meaning is that the promised Redeemer would die for sins which were not His own except in the sense that they were imputed to Him. Christ was without sin in His birth and so we read in 1 John 3:5, "He was manifest to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." Christ was without sin in His life and so we read in 1 Peter 2:22, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." And He was without sin when He died and so we read in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." He bore our sins, but He was not defiled by our sins. Our sins were imputed to Him, but not imparted to Him. He was numbered with the transgressors, but He was not a transgressor. He died for sinners, but He was not a sinner. He laid down His life for the ungodly, but He was not ungodly. Just as Christ bore the burden of our guilt, though in Himself He was not guilty of sin, so we are made the righteousness of God in Him, though in ourselves, we are not righteous. As sin was imputed to Him yet He remained righteous, so righteousness is imputed to those for whom He died though, in ourselves, we are still sinners. This is the glorious truth of imputation.
The Sinless Sacrifice
When the Lord Jesus Christ hung upon the cross, He was there as the Representative and Substitute of His people. It is written that He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), was without sin (Hebrews 4:15), did no sin (1 Peter 2:22), and in Him was no sin (1 John 3:5). He was the divine, perfect sacrifice for sin. This was His qualification. When He died, He had not been made unjust, but remained "the Just One" (Acts 7:52). "The Just died for the unjust to bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18). It is true that all of the iniquities of His people were imputed to Him, yet all the while He remained, in Himself, the spotless, holy Lamb of God. He was undefiled (Hebrews 7:26) and could not be defiled. He was, is and always shall be the impeccable Christ. In all aspects of His life and in every conceivable sense, the Lord Jesus was the embodiment of purity and the Spirit of inspiration led the writers of Scripture to keep this vital truth of the sinlessness of the Savior ever before us. The whole work of redemption is dependent upon the perfection of the Sacrifice. Many believe that the Lord Jesus Christ actually became sinful, and therefore, wicked on the cross (the belief of the Charismatics, Catholics and others). To say that the Son of God literally became wicked is to state an impossibility for it is written, "the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 15:8). We know the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was not a detestable, abhorrent thing to the Lord. His work as our Redeemer was satisfying to God and accepted as full payment for the indebtedness of the sins of His people. Only the guiltless Son of God could make infinite satisfaction to divine justice for sin. He was the Father’s "righteous Servant" (Isaiah 53:11) Who died that God might be "a just God and a Savior" (Isaiah 45:21). By one offering for sin He compensated the demands of a broken law. Since "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), Christ our righteous Representative "died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). The sins for which He died were "our sins" and not His own, except by imputation.
Jim Byrd
Pastor, First Baptist Church
Almont, Michigan
Pastor, First Baptist Church
Almont, Michigan