The Sins Of Jesus!

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Perhaps, one of the greatest misconceptions about God is that He is a Just God, who justifies the sinful nnature of man through forgiveness. When one considers the evil committed against one man by another and Gods’ seemingly tolerance of such actions - can one really state such a claim that He is in fact, a just God? Particularly when God Himself makes the following comment as found in the book of Isaiah 45:7(KJV); “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” How can a just God be so inconsistent? This appears to be contradictory to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For this God was a just God and it is this God that Christians have come to know, love, and trust. However, perhaps this so called just God is not the true God of Creation. Perhaps this God is the God of our very own personal creation for it would be a greater contradiction for this God to be a just God when man is so unjust! For if man is unjust then God Himself must be an unjust God for not punishing man for his sins – for the Book of Romans 3:23 clearly state that “we all have sinned – falling short of the glory of God”. If God is truly a Just God then man would be doomed, if not terminated, because God hates sin.

If God is a just God – the judge of all the earth – then He would do the right thing when dealing with the unjust man. For if God is truly a just God then His response to the unjust man would be quite harsh, and brutal. Christians would argue this point by indicating that God would not punish man with such vengeance because He is not an angry God. Unfortunately the book of Psalms Chapter 7:11 suggest otherwise as it reads “God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.” Some translations replaces the word ‘wrath’ with the word ‘anger’ .

Not only is the true God an angry God, but He is also a God who hates. The God of man however, is described as a loving God who hates the sin but not the sinner. While this belief is admirable in describing a personal God – it is found nowhere in the Bible and therefore it is unscriptural with no relevance to the true God of creation. The statement that "God hates the sin but love the sinner" is a quote from Mahatma Ghandi, not the true God of Creation. The true God of Creation is a God who hates both the sin and the sinner. The book of Psalms chapter 5:5 appear to support the latter statement as it reads; “Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.” The personality of a personally created God is supported by statements such as “God Love us all so much that He will save us all”, or “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner” – or - “God is love, and will not send anyone to hell.”

Twentieth Century Christian doctrine teaches that God is so full of love, that He simply cannot send anyone to eternal hell fire, for it is against His infinite love. Such teachings suggest that God will forgive everyone; even those who openly reject and curse Him on their death bed. An example used is the thief on the cross next to Jesus. Such an assumption of a loving God with such infinite love sounds great but it is a false and dangerous teaching. One may argue that the Book of John 3:16 which reads; “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” carries greater truth than Psalms 5:5. However, the love of God comes with great sacrifices, as was demonstrated by the death of Christ.

While the true God of Creation is a loving God He also hates, the God of man sees only one personality trait of the God of Creation and this personality trait is the only one he wants to see and is capable of dealing with – for it serves mans’ desires for self gratification and the need for a god of convenience. But the God of Creation is much more complex than this one-sided perspective. Scripture teaches us that we need the full council of God to understand Him. God is love but His love comes with a price. God is a God of salvation but salvation comes with a price. God is a God of forgivingness but forgiveness comes with a price. While John 3:16 is a true statement of the love of God the entire text suggests however, that for such love to be realized His only begotten Son had to make the ultimate sacrifice by giving up His life. Gods’ love is exalted – and the only way to truly understand and appreciate the true love of the God of Creation is through the evil of men, and the acceptance of God for who God really is – and not what we want Him to be.

Is it possible for God to be a Just God who is also an angry God with the capabilities of hating? When one picks up a newspaper or see a news story about an innocent child being raped or beaten, or even killed, it is a natural response to get angry. Why not God? Should He not get angry? Should He not hate the perpetrator, or perpetrators, and men in general for allowing such atrocities? He is angry and we will see His anger on the Day of Judgment when He pulls back His mercy from a sinful world and all of mankind will seek hiding places from His face in an effort to escape the wrath of His judgment, as described in the book of Revelation. No one will be spared for the Book of Psalms Chapter 5:5 states that God hates all who do wrong - and we all do wrong. The wrath is not just directed towards the sin – it is directed towards the man who commits the sin therefore, how can Christians, who should know better - make a claim that God loves the sinner and not the sin when it is the sinner who sins. One who makes such a claim is excercising philosophical doctrines which are unscriptural, dangerous, and misleading – for if God loves then He must hate. If we love our children then we must hate their actions when such actions contradict our instructions for their safety. Therefore, if God is love then He must hate everything that contradicts His nature, His will, and His plans for the salvation of man including man himself when such actions interferes with such plans. In fact, the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19 warns us of the six things God hates and seven that are detestable.

The greatest challenge in all scriptures where it relates to the personality of the true God of Creation is found in The book of Proverbs chapter 17:15 as it reads; “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both like an abomination to the LORD”. Every man, woman, and child has broken every law God has ever made and therefore no one is righteous - no, not one, for everyone has sinned – even from birth - for the Bible states that we are all born with sin. Therefore, in accordance to Proverbs 17:15 if God says that whoever justifies the wicked is an abomination before Him then how can He justify man without becoming an abomination to Himself – for we are all wicked. Therefore, in consideration of Proverbs 17:15 - if God is truly a just God then He cannot forgive us. Perhaps a good example would be you turning a person over to the local police for killing your family. As the murderer stands before a judge and jury of his peers the judge makes the statement that although you lost your entire family, and he sympathizes with you - he cannot sentence the murderer because he is a loving judge who cannot get angry so he sets the murderer of your entire family free – and says to him “I forgive you – go, and kill no more” What would be your next step? It would most likely not include inviting the murderer, or the judge to your home for a fellowship meal. Human nature suggest that you would rush up to the judge and demand justice – and you would report to every news agency at your fingertip the deeds of a judge who sets on the bench who is more wicked than the murderer who killed your family. Why, because a judge is suppose to do the right thing, and the right thing would have been to persecute this individual who is wicked. A judge is supposed to do justice for if he is a just judge he cannot justify the deeds of the wicked by setting them free. God hates the sin, and the sinner. Therefore, can we who are wicked expect forgiveness from God unless He becomes wicked himself? The Bible states “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both like an abomination to the LORD”. Any action which contradicts the will of God is considered by God to be a sin.

Sin is so distasteful to God that He even turned His face away from His Son when the Son became sinful. Perhaps the greatest mystery in the life of Jesus is found in the book of Matthew 27:46 when Jesus cried out on the cross; “My God, My God, Why Hath Thou Forsaken Me”. When one is asked why Jesus died on the cross the number one response is ‘He died for our sins’. One may conclude that sin was the problem - and - they would not be entirely wrong. However, the real answer is found much deeper in scripture. If God is a Just God – the judge of all the earth - then He must do the right thing. He must be consistent with His character and His own instructions. He must be Holy and Just. If He looks over sin and sets the wicked free then according to His own words He is just as wicked as the sinner. Therefore the real question is; how can God justify the deeds of wicked men – or forgive us, while at the same time be a Just God? Christian doctrines suggests that God is a Just God however from a practical perspective if God is a Just God then His love is Unjust which makes His wrath somewhat powerless. Perhaps Christians are so accustomed to traditional teachings that we’re void of gospel truths.

God’s love for man caused Him to turn His back on His own sense of justice and sin in order to save us – which poses the greatest problem in scripture. How can God be Just, while justifying wickedness? God is not Just because of His own universal law which suggests that He must be Just. This is not what the Bible teaches. God must be Just because He is Just. God’s love must be Holy. Gods’ love must be Just. Again, this takes us back to the question. How can God be Just, while justifying wickedness?

The answer: Propitiation! (the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing [especially appeasing a deity]} which makes it possible for the deity to forgive where under normal circumstances the guilty would be put to death). Propitiation is a form of sacrifice – and the sacrifice was Jesus.

From the beginning of Scripture to the Exodus out of Egypt, to the promise land, and into the 21st Century - it was prophesized that the one who is to be sacrificed must be a man – and he must die a humiliating death. However, it must be more than an ordinary man – it must be God Himself – and the reason is found in a small verse in the book of Jonah 2:9 which reads; “Salvation is of the Lord”. The book of Isaiah makes it clear when it suggests that “God shares the title of savior with no one” (paraphrase of Isaiah 43:3). The man who dies must be God because who else is worthy and who can withstand the wrath of God and rise again with all power - but God?

We are not saved because the Romans nailed Jesus to the tree. We are not saved because Jesus was whipped. We are not saved because of the physical punishment of Jesus. We are not here today simply because Jesus died for our sins. We are here today because in order for Jesus to die for our sins and save us He must first take on our sins and therefore, become sinful Himself. He must become that which the Father hates most! We often feel that we're being judged however, in the case of the crucifixion it was both the Father and the Son on trial. The Father hates sin so much that He had to kill His only begotten Son because the Son became sin. When Jesus was on the tree He cried out; “My God, My God, Why Hath Thou Forsaken Me”. God had to turn His face from Him because He was full of sin – not His sins because Jesus was sinless – but the sins of man – which the Father hated the most and considered an abomination. In that crucial instant Jesus was bearing our sins. He therefore, became sin and the Father could not stand to look at Him. Even though it hurt the Father Jesus had to die because the wages of sin is death and we’re not dead because He bore our sins that we may live! If Jesus had separated His Godly powers from His human purpose, and stepped down from the cross - on that day we would all have fallen dead the moment His foot touched the ground, and man would be no more. To save the world, Jesus had to die. He was the Sacrificial Lamb!

At the moment He cried out to the Father Jesus was aware of His limitations and the consequences of sin. Contrary to popular belief Jesus did not die from the crucifixion. He was killed by the Father because He became that which the Father hated most - He became sin. If a loving God will destroy His only begotten Son because the Son became sinful then He would surely destroy us had Jesus came down off the cross. Jesus bore witness to the first hand hatred of the Father who utterly forsook Him because He became sin – and the Father hates sin so much that He will destroy both the Sin, and the Sinner. God’s wrath on the Son was so great that Jesus cried out in Psalms 22: 1 – 7, posing an argument while answering His own question in verse 4 by saying ‘Yet you are Holy”, and in verse six by saying “I am a worm” . It was at that moment that Jesus, for the first time, felt the full burden of the sins of the flesh and was forced to recognize His own wretchedness. As a result He was forsaken by God and by God’s people, because He became the bearer of a multitude of sins and the Father could not stand to look at Him so Jesus had to die!

That however, was the beginning of the story of redemption because the book of Psalms 110:1 and Hebrew 1:3 suggests that after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to the Father, having passed through the heavens He entered into the heavenly temple of God, and there He received the official proclamation of His victory over sin, the sinful cross, and death. He proved that the wages of sin does not have to be death if one is willing to repent and give it all to God. God instructed Him to "Sit down at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet" (Ps.110:1, ref: Heb.1:3). In the book of Isaiah 1:1-4 Isaiah testified that 1) "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2)Above it stood the seraphim’s: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3)And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4)And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

John 12:1 suggests that the God Isaiah saw was the Son of God – sitting on the throne, whom left the throne to be crucified on a tree for the salvation of man despite the fact that man was a sinful creature. And He, who knew no sin, not only took the sin from man but became sin. He became a curse for us because until He was crucified we were all cursed. He became like the maggots we avoid, or the dead skunk we shield our noses from because of its stench. He became the very cursed creature that God destroyed Sodom-Ghomorra over, and we are not worthy of His sacrifice yet a Just God sent Him to die on the cross for our sins. But in order to complete the mission He had to become sinful – like the wretched beings we are.

While in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father that “this cup” would pass from Him. Modern day Christian teachings suggest that Jesus was not prepared to suffer and therefore was afraid - or - Jesus felt He needed more time with man. However, it would be unlikely that Jesus was afraid or not prepared since His disciples were crucified with joy in their hearts for the same cause – and although He was walking on the earth in the flesh from His mothers’ DNA He was still anointed with the Spirit from His fathers’ DNA, so He knew and accepted His mission, as well as the ultimate outcome. What made Jesus tremble was the wrath of God which was in the cup. It was God’s hatred for all that was, and is evil. The depth of such hatred caused even the Son to tremble in fear. However, in order for man to receive salvation someone had to drink that bitter cup of wrath and there was none worthy but Jesus.

Jesus the Christ, while on that cross bore the guilt of the people and stood as a representative for them before the Father. All the guilt, the sin, the hatred, fornication, lies, greed, selfishness, stupidity, ungratefulness, pride, and the blasphemy…every sin of man that God hated came crushing down on Jesus and the wrath of God was so powerful that it killed Him. Imagine the total weight of 10 World Trade Center’s crushing down on the flesh of a human and yet it was nothing compared to the weight of the wrath of God as it came crushing down on Jesus while he hung on that tree. This wrath which was destined for man was intercepted by Jesus and it killed Him. In so doing Jesus drunked every drop of the contents of the cup and not one drop fell to the ground. After the cup was empty He cried out; “It Is Finished”, and the sins of the flesh was crushed......"It Is Finished"

God laid His hands on the head of His only Begotten Son for the sins of man and He slaughtered Him like the priests would slaughter an innocent lamb. Jesus and the cross became symbols of suffering and sin - symbols which are not to be carried around as momentums because Jesus paid the price that we shall sin no more. Whenever men wear the cross around his neck or place it in His sanctuary it represents more than the crucifixion of Christ - it is also a representation of the sins of man which Jesus died for. Some Christian denominations suggests that the wearing of the cross is a sign that man is not willing to give up his sins - because the cross is cruel, horrible, vile, and not the sort of thing one wears around their neck – or hangs in their sanctuary. Other denominations consider the cross to be an idol which is a violation of the commandment that man shall have no other Gods but the one true God. To these believers bowing down to and worshipping the cross is on the same level of disrespect as the golden calf during the days of Moses. However, other denominations views the cross as a reminder of the love of Christ and His ultimate salvation which saved mankind. Nevertheless, someone had to die in order for Justice to be satisfied. To demonstrate love, God had to first put away sin and the only way to do it was the death of His only begotten Son. When His Son died on the Cross the cross became as sinful as the Son and both the Son and the cross had to be destroyed. God would not even look at the cross.

Jesus died – but He did not stay dead. It is not the death of Jesus that justifies us it is the glory of the resurrection. God declared that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient to atone for the sins of His people. In raising Jesus from the dead God not only justified us but He justified the Son as well. Christ died and ascended 40 days later to the right hand of His Father. As Christians we are always defending the deity of Jesus Christ to unbelievers. However, we must understand and never forget that Jesus Christ was God in the most complete and full sense of the term, and He was also man, in the most complete and full sense of the term. There is only one God, and one mediator between God and man and its Jesus the Christ - who boldly walked up to the gates of Heaven.

For the first time in the history of history, a man walked up to the doors of heaven and cried out the words founds in Psalm 24:7 “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in” – and all the heaven behind those doors were in utter shock and wonder until finally one behind the doors had the nerves to speak up saying “Who is this King of Glory? "Who dares speak to these doors with such authority for no man has ever made it this far to lay his hands on the knobs of these doors – Who is this King of Glory?" Then all of a sudden, The Lord, The Messiah, The Christ, the Son of God, The man with the human flesh cried out saying ‘The Lord, mighty in battle “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in” and for the first time of all times those mighty doors opened for a man – and that man walked through those doors and everything that could move fell on its face as they shouted “ All hail the power of Jesus’ name, let angels prostrate fall, bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all”.

One can picture Jesus walking amidst the angels towards His Father with boldness. It was a right He had faithfully earned. One can picture Jesus climbing the steps of the heavenly throne and walking up to the Father with a look of affirmation reporting “Father, It Is Finished”. He then takes His seat to the right side of the Father without even asking permission, as all the heavenly hosts cry out Holy, Holy, Holy! And the Father says to the Son “It Is Finished, Indeed!”

This Jesus who we crucified is made both Lord and Christ of ALL! Through the propitiation of Jesus, God has flipped Romans 3:23 upside down proving that He is a Just God! Whether we serve Him, curse Him, hate Him, or simply deny His deity He is the Lord of our lives because God has given Him a name above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus the Christ is Lord!

God will save man but not because of man, for man has given God no justification to be saved or made right. However, God will justify a man without cause because of His Grace. Being justified is a gift by Gods’ Grace through the redemption of Christ. For it is only through the path of redemption that man receives justification. However, justification does not necessarily save a man. A man is saved by the Blood of Jesus who took the sins of man and became sinful, then crucified so that man may live! God is a Just God and every man, woman, and child will one day stand before Him to be judged – whether you like it or not!