Jesus said that a man can sin in any one of three ways: "In thought, in word and in deed".
Every word He spoke, every thought He thought and every deed He did was always spoken, thought of, or performed according to the perfect and sinless will of God. When you add them all up and say that He was without sin, it becomes even that more remarkable, especially when we consider the fallen human race as sinning every day, every hour and even every second.
Jesus was totally "selfless"! What He spoke and did and what He heard was all done according to the will of God! He NEVER once veered away from His Father's purpose for him as a man. He and the Father were ONE! They were one in every way: one and the same in agreements, in mind, in heart, in Spirit, in Truth, in Communion, and in Love. There was a "Union" between the Father and the Son, a Perfect Oneness!
Remember too that Jesus was tempted to sin every bit as much as we are, yet He did not give in to the tempation to veer away from His Father's will and purpose, even though He was FREE to do so IF He wished. Everything that Jesus said or did was first heard and seen as coming from the Father.
He only did what He saw the Father doing, and spoke what He heard the Father saying. As a man He gave Himself over to the will of the Father for His life. Whether it was speaking to the Pharisees, giving sight to the blind, or going to the cross, it was all done out of obedient love, and all done for and because of the Father.
Compare Him and His ministry with the selfish greed and self-love of todays human. Is it any wonder why people are pouring into hell in droves? Not only don't they believe thus receive Him and ALL that He has done in His life as well as in His death to become their righteousness (right standing) before God, neither do they want to change their daily sin habits and become new creations in Christ either, receiving in them the same Spirit and will that was in Christ and that taught Him (as a man) obedience and that led Him to His cross.
Jesus led a Perfect - Sinless life for one purpose: "FOR US"! God; because of mans fallen/sinful nature, needed someone (a perfect Lamb without sin, having neither spot or blemish) to grow up and go to the cross as the payment for those sins, and was raised to life that we might also be raised IN Him.
Christ was the man! Perfect in every way! The Lamb that went to the slaughter - FOR US! In this way only is God satisfied! In this way only does Jesus become the one and only FINISHED sacrifice that forgives sin as well as vindicates the Holy God and keeps Him from rightfully wiping out the entire lot of us as we deserve.
Now the Gospel whereby we receive God's Saving Grace is simple:
It is also at this time that the person becomes crucified with Christ (the time when self dies) and that person is raised up to new life in Christ and made whole.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT: Although necessary, GOD IS NOT INTERESTED SO MUCH IN SAVING A SINNER FROM HIS SINS (i.e. IN DEALING WITH WHAT THEY DO) AS HE IS IN SAVING THEM FROM THE WHY THEY DO IT BECAUSE OF WHO THEY ARE IN THE FIRST PLACE! Pure and simple.
The reason the Lord saves people from their sins is to bring them to new life in Christ so that they may LIVE a Godly, Loving, Righteous, Holy life for Him, loving both God and man, even denying themselves, taking up their cross and following Him! That's why He gives the Holy Spirit to those who have been forgiven and who ask Him.
It's all in the WHO unregenerated men are. Men are "Born Sinners"! THAT is WHY they sin, and THAT is what needs to be changed (and will be through the new birth!). There's none righteous, not a one that will stand before God and boast, period. Therefore, that is exactly why men (unregenerated men) sin and continue on doing so, being powerless to stop from sinning; not having the Spirit, thus assuring them of God's wrath.
Understand: The Lord is not interested in leaving the sinner a sinner! Not at all! "IF" He saved you; truly saved you FROM your sins then He; with your obedience to the Gospel, will save you from WHO you are as well, or you are NOT saved. It's all in the "WHO" we are that determines "WHERE" we're coming from, that determines "WHETHER" a man will go on sinning or not.
God DOUBLY SAVES the believer both 'FROM' his sins as well as saves him 'TO' Himself! In saving us FROM sin He deals with our sins (the what we do part) AT the Cross through justification by faith in The Sacrifice He sent for sin - And in saving us TO Himself He deals with our Old Man (the who we are part) ON the Cross through sanctifying us to and through the Truth!
So... if any person continues to sin and is powerless to stop it it's because they are still under the law living as an unregenerated sinner! They sin because there is no new nature - no Holy Spirit - no New Life in them to help them control and want to control their sinning MORE than they want to breathe! They sin because they love it not hate it! It's as simnple as that. If they truly loved God and hated and despised what they were doing they would want to stop by seeking the Lord for the cure at any price!
It is for THIS VERY PURPOSE that the Lord has come into the world to save and deliver us from: "FROM OURSELVES" - and not just so much from our sins, but from OURSELVES, the very cause and nature of our sins!
So... when that person confesses Christ upon the God-given revelation of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done FOR THEM as being PERFECT in Every Way, is when they become "Born Again", and is also when they too will KNOW this "Miracle" of new life IN Christ for themselves which in turn establishes them in "His Church" that He alone is building.
Then they will rejoice mightily and continuously, because at that time they will KNOW God, and KNOW that they KNOW that they KNOW Him, and that He knows them! The BARRIER OF UNBELIEF that had always seperated them from Him will have been broken upon the knowledge of Him and His saving grace, thanks to the risen Lord Jesus Christ and His Finished work.
This "Revelation of Who He is" leaves no more room for them to doubt nor to continue being religious (going to church) in order to try and help gain or maintain their own salvation, which (if that is why they are doing so - God knows) only goes to prove their "Unbelief" in Him and in His finished work in the first place.
The way one sins therefore is obviously to be OUT OF God's will.
Jesus was ALWAYS doing the Father's will and never sinned! Can you even imagine the awesomeness of it all? Seeing that Jesus was God come in the flesh, He NEVER had an evil thought or word or deed that could be tainted with sin.
He chose to live as a common man, bound by the same laws and elements as we all are, even though He was the Word made flesh - the same "Word" who created it all - and all without sin!
When a man hears the Gospel/the word of God speaking to them (to their heart), understands it and draws it in intent on obeying it (because "Obedience - doing God's will") is the understanding behind the Gospel), then it is at this time that the person truly becomes BORN AGAIN and KNOWS IT like they've never known anything before.
And to Know Him is to automatically Love Him - and to Love Him with all of ones heart is to Serve Him and not self.
At this time the person receives a whole new nature that enables him to be Christ-like, doing the Father's will and avoiding sin wherever it may rear up and even standing against it and all the wiles of the Devil, just the way Jesus did, through hearing and obeying the Spirit.
May every blessing in Christ be yours,
Biff
