2017-12-17 English Sermon Notes

THE SINLESS CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS SAVES SINNERS

 

In a 2003 George Barna survey 42% of Americans believed that when Jesus Christ was on earth He committed sins. In 2009 33% believed Jesus sinned & in 2015 52% believed Jesus sinned. Why do people want a Sinful Savior? Because a Sinful Savior would give you a license to sin.  But the message of Christmas is clear: “Thou shalt call His name JESUS for he shall save his people from their sins” (Mat. 1:21)

Surveys show that 50% of adults believe that anyone who is generally good or does enough good things during their life will earn a place in Heaven.”  God’s Word is very clear that all those who think they can get into heaven by their good works are tragically deceived (Titus 3:5-8; Gal. 2:16).  The Bible makes it perfectly clear they will in fact end up eternally condemned (Gal. 3:10). Our greatest concern is not have I done enough good works to get into Heaven but “Have I ever committed a sin that will keep me out?” (James 2:10).

Illus: In Courts of Law they don’t care how many good works you did.  They just want to know if you broke the Law even once!

These misguided beliefs are the result of people’s willingness to draw their faith from a variety of conflicting sources.   44% of adults believe “the Bible, the Koran and the Book of Mormon are all different expressions of the same spiritual truths.”  Most people who reject this deception are evangelicals (84% disagree); Protestants (47% disagree), non-evangelical born again Christians (45% disagree).

          Another reason so many believe they can earn their salvation is that they believetruth can be discovered only through logic, human reasoning and personal experience.”  54% of Americans embrace this perspective.  Americans still think of themselves as Bible-believing people even though they adopt spiritual views from many other fallible sources.  Becoming a Bible-illiterate society we have been blinded by absorbing the syncretism of our culture.  We combine beliefs from many different religions: mixing truth with error.  This is often fatal in real life (2Thess 2:10-12)!   Illus: Reuben Brown the cockroach exterminator

 

I.)        JESUS WAS ABSOLUTELY 100% SINLESSHe had no faults & never made a mistakeHe is PERFECT & HOLY.

A.)       First it is important to define what  God means by sin:  Definition of sin: Positively

  1. 1.  “… sin is the transgression of the law.”  (I John 3:4;                                see Daniel 9:14; Lk. 12:47-48; John 3:19-21)

Sin is knowing something is wrong but you still do it .                           Even wrong thoughts are sin (Matt. 5:21-22, 27-28).

Definition of sin: Negatively

  1.  “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and                                       doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

Sin is knowing God wants you to do something but you                         don’t do it. (I Sam. 12:23; James 4:17)

 

God the Father bore witness to the fact that Jesus was Sinless when He said: “…This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mk. 1:11; 9:7 Lk. 3:22; 9:35; 2 Pet. 1:17).  Jesus said: “…the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).  To get to Heaven by your good works you would have to keep all 613 Laws of Moses your entire life (Deut. 27:26; Gal 3:10).  Jesus did that perfectly.  But every other human has failed (James 2:10; Rom. 3:10, 23; Ps. 14:1-3; 53:1-3).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Definition of sin: Ignorance no excuse

  1. 3.  “…whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be                                defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he                                 knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty” (Lev 5:3-6).

Illus: throwing a banana peel on the sidewalk

 

Jesus was & is Omniscient: It’s Impossible for Him to commit a sin of Ignorance. The disciples said: “Now are we sure that thou knowest all things…  by this we believe that thou camest forth from God” (John 16:30).  Jesus knows our thoughts (Matt. 9:4; 12:25; John 2:24; 21:17)

 

B.)       Jesus perfection & sinlessness is clearly taught by Sacred Scripture (I Pet. 1:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26; 9:14; Acts 3:13-14; 4:27, 30).  That is whyit was not possible that he should be holden of death” (Acts 2:24); because death is the wages of sin (Rom. 3:23).  Only Jesus ever lived a life of perfect obedience to God (Phil. 2:8; Rom. 5:19; Heb. 5:8)

1.)        To say it as clearly as possible: “In Him is no sin” (I John 3:5) {sin nature}.  Thus Jesus could say, “the prince of this world {satan} cometh, and has nothing in me” (John 14:30; Heb. 4:15).

2.)        He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (I Pet.2:22).  Sinless in deed & word

3.)        Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21).  Jesus never even had a sinful thought!

 

(His sinless Divinity was acknowledge by the people – Mk. 10:17-18; Lk. 18:18-19; Lk. 23:4, 14, 22; Lk. 1:76; By the Apostles – Matt. 16:15-16; John 1:1,14; By His enemies – Matt. 27:4; John 8:45-46; Acts 13:28; By demons – Mark 5:7; Lk. 8:27-28; by good angels – Lk. 1:35; & by God the Father – Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7; by Jesus Himself – John 8:46)

 

II.)       THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS A REVELATION THAT            JESUS WAS SINLESS BECAUSE HE WAS 100 % GOD.

            He was “God manifest in the flesh (I Tim. 3:16 KJV).

A.)       Jesus had no earthly Father.  If he did He would not                             have been sinless.  God was his father!  (“Jesus {being                                    as was supposed} the son of Joseph” – Lk. 3:23).

 

“The angel said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Lk. 1:35;  Son of God = God in John 5:18) (Matt. 1:23 with Isa. 7:14)

 

B.)       Jesus is the one True Omnipotent Sovereign Eternal God                         (I John 5:20; John 1:1-3; 10:30; Isa. 9:6; Titus 2:13)

 

III.)      THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS A REVELATION THAT            JESUS WAS SINLESS EVEN THOUGH HE WAS 100%   MAN BECAUSE HE WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN.

A.)       Jesus, the Eternal, Immutable, Righteous God broke into                         time (Micah 5:2) through the “incarnation” [in flesh].

 

Behold, a virgin [Gk.  parthenos] shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Matt. 1:23; Isa. 7:14; John 1:1,14; 17:5)

 

The very first prophesy of a coming Savior who would destroy satan (“bruise his head”) is found in Genesis 3:15.  It mentions the woman’s seed (“her seed”) which is a unique concept.  Ancient society didn’t even know the woman had a “seed.”  So this prophecy points to the virgin birth of Jesus.  This is confirmed by many other prophecies (Matt. 1:23; Jer. 31:22; Isa. 49:1, 5; Ps. 22:9; Jer. 31:22; Micah 5:3).  The miracle of the virgin birth was in the Divine conception through the Holy Spirit, not in the process of the formation of body in the womb or His birth. (I John 4:2-3; Col. 2:9).  Sin enters the World through the “man” (Rom. 5:12, 17, 19; I Tim. 2:14) and the “sin nature” is passed on to the children by the father not the mother.  So Jesus could be a perfect man without sin by being supernaturally born of a virgin without a human father.  Every other human being inherited a sin nature from his earthly father.

 

B.)       Jesus is the only person whose birth was completely                              revealed through Divinely Inspired prophesies

He would be the “seed” of the woman (Genesis 3:15).  He would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14).  He would be God (Isa. 9:6-7); he would be Jewish (Gen. 12:3); of the Tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10); of the house of David (2 Sam. 7:12-13).  Daniel 9:24-27 is an amazing prophesy pinpointing the time of Christ’s birth.  He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  A special star would accompany the King’s birth (Num. 24:17) & lead other Kings to Him (Isa. 60:3, 6, 9; Ps. 72:10).  Wicked men would try to kill him at Bethlehem (Jer. 31:15; Matt. 2:18). These prophesies along with 300 others predicting the life & ministry of Jesus are irrefutable proof the Bible is the only God inspired Book on earth (Isa. 45:21; 48:3-7).

 

IV.)      JESUS HAD TO BE THE PERFECT GOD-MAN IN ORDER TO SAVE IMPERFECT PEOPLE.

Jesus is 100% human & 100% God! (Heb. 2:14-18; Col. 2:9).  Thus Jesus is the only “mediator between God & men” (I Tim. 2:5)

 

A.)       Because He is God, Jesuswas in all points tempted                             like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).                                          Because He is human, Jesus could be made “perfect                          through sufferings” (Heb. 2:10; 5:9).

B.)       Jesus isGod manifest in the fleshso He can never sin or make a mistake (Heb. 6:18; Lk. 18:26-7)

 

V.)       CONCLUSION: Jesus is the only Sinless Savior there is!

A.)       If we make the mistake of thinking that Jesus was not so good then we make the parallel mistake of thinking we are better than we really are.  Illus:  Valuable Baseball card of Jeff Schneider, Bobby Bonner & Cal Ripken.

1.)        Jesus’ humanity defines our humanity.  Only in relationship with him can we face the reality of our fallenness in Adam and rise to our potential in Christ.

            B.)       Our victory over sin is guaranteedVictory revealed by            God’s perfect word & empowered by our perfect savior!

 

            “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21)

Jesus said: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin .  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36; Rom. 6:1-2, 6, 11,14,21-2).  “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (I Jn. 3:7-10; 2 Pet 1:3-4; Titus 2:11-4).  Illus: Lord of the Rings, Gandolf the Grey

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