"Our Impeccable High Priest"

Intro (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Now there is a controversy related to this passage. A Christological controversy. On one side many believe that Jesus was peccable meaning he was able to be tempted to sin like you and I.

On the other side, there are people that believe that Christ was impeccable, meaning unable to be tempted the same way we are tempted to sin. Some of you today might think, “Well that is a useless controversy.”

But Friends, it is not. It is extremely important! We are talking about the nature and person of Christ!

Now, before we tackle our controversy I want us to be filled with Joy as we observe the first verse! More than that I want us to see why getting to the bottom of this controversy matters!

Hebrews 4:14 ESV

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

We have a great high priest—> We currently have an intercessor, we have one who lives to make intercession for us.

We have one who has carried our names upon his chest and brought us to the Holy of Holies!

We have one who has sacrificed himself as an eternal sacrifice so that we may have eternal life in him!

We have one who has passed through the heavens! He died and has risen to life and is currently reigning as king!

This High Priest is Jesus the one who’s name is above every name!

Friends, this is our confession!

Understanding Temptation Biblically

The word for temptation is used in two ways in the New Testament:

(1) In general, to test or to prove. God is said to test; and we are commanded as our duty to test, try, or search ourselves to know what is in us and to pray that God would also do so. Also… Affliction tests us, and James exhorts that we count it all joy when we meet trials Jam 1:2

James 1:2 ESV

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

In Genesis 22:1-2 we see God testing Abraham.

Genesis 22:1–2 ESV

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

(2) Secondly, testing in the negative sense is to seek to lead the soul into evil. We generally translate it temptation. In this sense, God tempts no one, and Christ exhorts us to pray that we do not enter temptation.

James 1:13–15 ESV

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Peccability vs Impeccability

The teaching that Christ was peccable has become a popular doctrine in evangelicalism. The following list briefly states the beliefs of some who teach that Christ could sin:

1. One believes that depravity was imparted to Christ in birth making it possible for Him to sin and to suffer for sin. So… He was more sympathetic to us in our depravity.

2. Christ, as man, could have sinned but did not and was tempted but did not yield. The so-called temptation of Christ is regarded as real with a genuine appeal to Him as a man.

3. Christ, being human, found Satan's offers attractive; and although He did not, He could have chosen to sin.

4. This final view is more subtle. Although He did not experience sin, He was subjected to temptation. Therefore, His intercession for us is with greater understanding. In other words, His power of feeling for our needs is greater because He has experienced the strength of the temptation to sin. How can one feel what he has not experienced?

Peccability teachers have sought to explain Christ's temptation of Hebrews 4:15 this way!

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Imagine a man who has 4 kids, and he recently lost his job. When he is driving home he passes the house of a rich man that he knows who makes way more than he does and wastes it. Let’s say he has the opportunity to take some of that money that belonging to the rich man. BUT after thinking more about it he did not. He was not guilty of stealing the money, but the thought of his starving family made him feel the temptation.

In the same way! It is therefore plausible that although Christ was without sin, He could have chosen to sin.

OR

There are Christians right now overseas being killed for the faith. Imagine one that is sentenced to die if he does not renounce Jesus Christ. The love of life would make the Christian feel the temptation to recant and leave Christ behind, BUT he chose not to do it.

In the same way! It is therefore plausible that although Christ was without sin, He could have chosen to sin

Friends that is problematic! think of James 1:13-15

James 1:13–15 ESV

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Friends there was no indwelling sin in Christ! He was completely perfect! There was nothing in Christ being lured to do what is evil!

Colossians 2:9 ESV

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

What we are saying when we believe Christ was peccable is that there was a possibility that The Holy God of the universe had it in his nature to do the very thing that he is separate from. The very thing that he hates!

Psalm 5:4 ESV

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.

WICKEDNESS CAN NOT DWELL WITH HIM

Psalm 11:5 ESV

The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

SEPARATE FROM SINNERS

Hebrews 7:26 ESV

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

GOD CANNOT LIE

Hebrews 6:17–18 ESV

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

So friends this Impeccable High Priest is the same one who understands us more than we understand ourselves! For who can understand the power of temptation better than the one who does not give into it? This is what C.S. Lewis said about this

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness — they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means — the only complete realist.”

Friends, we can come to him because he understands far more than we understand temptation and as the rest of our passage says!

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.