SINLESSNESS

sin'-les-nes: The 15th Anglican article ("Of Christ Alone without Sin") may be quoted as a true summary of Scripture teaching on sinlessness: "Christ in the truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, sin only excepted, from which He was clearly (prorsus) void, both in His flesh and in His spirit..... Sin, as Saint John saith, was not in Him. But all we the rest, though baptized, and born again in Christ, yet offend in many things; and, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves."

1. Christ Sinless:

Here the sinlessness of the Incarnate Son is affirmed. It needs no elaborate argument to show that this is the affirmation of Scripture. It is not only, as we are reminded above, definitely taught there. Yet more is it implied in the mysterious (and morally miraculous) phenomenon of the Lord's evidently total immunity from the sense of sin, His freedom from inward discord or imperfection, from the slightest discontent with self. It is not too much to say that this representation is self-evidential of its truth to fact. Had it been the invention of worshipping disciples, we may say with confidence that they (supposed thus capable of "flee handling") would have been certain to betray some moral aberrations in their portraiture of their Master. They must have failed to put before us the profound ethical paradox of a person who, on the one hand, enjoins penitence and (with a tenderness infinitely deep) loves the penitent, and, on the other hand, is never for a moment penitent Himself, and who all the while has proved, from the first, a supreme moral and spiritual magnet, "drawing all men to him." Meanwhile the Scripture represents the sinlessness of the Incarnate Lord as no mere automatic or effortless condition. He is sensitive to temptation, to a degree which makes it agony. His sinlessness, as to actual experience (we are not here considering the matter sub specie aeternitatis), lies in the perfect fidelity to the Father of a will, exercised under human conditions, filled absolutely with the Holy Spirit, willingly received.

2. Saints Not Sinless:

On the other hand, "we the rest," contemplated as true believers, are warned by the general teaching of Scripture never to affirm sinlessness as our condition. There are passages (e.g. 1 John 3:9; John 5:1) which affirm of the regenerate man that he "sinneth not." But it seems obvious to remark that such words, taken without context and balance, would prove too much; they would make the smallest sense of sin a tremendous evidence against the person's regeneration at all. It would seem that such words practically mean that sin and the regenerate character are diametrical opposites, so that sinning is out of character, not in the man as such, but in the Christian as such. And the practical result is an unconquerable aversion and opposition in the regenerate will toward all known sin, and a readiness as sensitive as possible for confession of failure. Meanwhile such passages as 1 John are, to the unbiased reader, an urgent warning of the peril of affirming our perfect purity of will and character. But then, on the other hand, Scripture abounds in both precepts and promises bearing on the fact that in Christ and by the power of His Spirit, received by faith into a watchful soul, our weakness can be so lifted and transformed that a moral purification and emancipation is possible for the weakest Christian which, compared with the best efforts of unregenerate nature, is a "more than conquest" over evil (see e.g. 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 6:16 Jude 1:24).

See further FLESH; SPIRIT.

Handley Dunelm

The Servant's Triumph
... I think it refers to both, and that we have here, expressed in prophetic outline,
not only the fact of Christ's sinlessness, but the fact of His consciousness ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the servants triumph.htm

His Freedom from Sin.
... HIS FREEDOM FROM SIN. THE first impression which we receive from the life of Jesus
is that of perfect innocency and sinlessness in the midst of a sinful world. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the person of christ/his freedom from sin.htm

Christ Our Righteousness.
... confessing their sins." While he did not know Jesus to be the Christ, he knew Him
as his kinsman, and he knew enough of the purity and sinlessness of His life ...
/.../xii christ our righteousness.htm

Jesus Born the Son of God.
... We must have sinlessness clearly set forth to us; and the Redeemer is this living
sinlessness; and only as we make this our own by the most intimate friendship ...
/.../schleiermacher/selected sermons of schleiermacher/xvi jesus born the son.htm

Literature.
... We confine ourselves to a list of such books and tracts as treat more immediately
of the moral character and sinlessness of Christ, and rise from the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the person of christ/literature.htm

Jesus Tempted in the Wilderness.
... to be tempted, and thus sharing our nature with its weakness and temptation he might
bring us to share his nature with its strength and sinlessness (Hebrews 2 ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xix jesus tempted in the.htm

The Suffering Servant --iv
... The Servant was of absolute sinlessness, and yet the Divine Hand crushed and bruised
Him. ... 2. The staggering mystery of His sinlessness and sufferings. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the suffering servantiv.htm

The Early Years of Jesus
... The apostles found no difficulty in recognizing the divinity and sinlessness of
their Lord without inquiring how he came into the world or how he spent his ...
/.../rhees/the life of jesus of nazareth/v the early years of.htm

From' and 'to'
... It underlies, for instance, the personal sinlessness of Jesus Christ, and hence
His power to bring a new beginning of pure and perfect life into the midst of ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture st john chaps xv to xxi/from and to.htm

Critical Notes.
... The sinlessness of Jesus is denied by DF Strauss, in his two destructive works,
"The Life of Jesus," and "The Dogmatics in Conflict with Modern Science;" and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the person of christ/critical notes.htm

Sinlessness
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SINLESSNESS. sin'-les-nes: The 15th Anglican
article ("Of Christ Alone without Sin") may be quoted ...
/s/sinlessness.htm - 10k

Immaculate
... (ii) The abundant positive evidence that the principal Fathers of the early church
did not believe in the sinlessness of Mary (see list of names and references ...
/i/immaculate.htm - 16k

Conception (6 Occurrences)
... (ii) The abundant positive evidence that the principal Fathers of the early church
did not believe in the sinlessness of Mary (see list of names and references ...
/c/conception.htm - 19k

Pauline
... this period). As Messiah His sinlessness was unquestioned, while the facts
of His life proved this sinlessness also. His teaching ...
/p/pauline.htm - 38k

Nathan (42 Occurrences)
... generic prophecies. Nor is it Messianic, for 2 Samuel 7:14 could not be
reconciled with the sinlessness of Jesus. The message is ...
/n/nathan.htm - 29k

Undefiled (7 Occurrences)
... in the way." In the New Testament amiantos, presents the negative side, "unstained"
"unsullied" "without taint." Used to describe the sinlessness of Christ ...
/u/undefiled.htm - 9k

Only (3813 Occurrences)
... Other elements in His uniqueness may be gathered from other passages, as His
sinlessness, His authority to forgive sins, His unbroken communion with the Father ...
/o/only.htm - 10k

Points (18 Occurrences)
... to become the spring of trial." Whichever interpretation is adopted there is profound
insight into the things of the soul in joining sinlessness with fullness ...
/p/points.htm - 13k

Begotten (77 Occurrences)
... Other elements in His uniqueness may be gathered from other passages, as His
sinlessness, His authority to forgive sins, His unbroken communion with the Father ...
/b/begotten.htm - 33k

Sinless (1 Occurrence)

/s/sinless.htm - 6k

Is sinlessness possible? | GotQuestions.org

Why did Jesus tell people to “go and sin no more” if sinlessness is impossible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the Holiness movement / church? | GotQuestions.org

Sinlessness: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus