Send to friend
According to the proponents of this heresy, Jesus became sin on the Cross when He yielded Himself to Satan. He swallowed up the evil nature of Satan, thus becoming one in nature with the adversary, taking upon Himself the diabolical nature of Satan. At that time He became a lost man, they say, crying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mat. 27:46; Ps. 22:1). These teachers therefore conclude that Jesus at that time died spiritually and became a lost sinner.
According to these teachers he was taken to the burning side of Hell, and was chained with the fetters of sin, wickedness, disease, and all other evils of Satan. The Devil stood before the darkness, crying, “We have conquered the Son of God.” There followed, they continue, a gala celebration down in the pit. Satan believed he had finally triumphed over God. Jesus consequently suffered agonies beyond description in the pit for three days as all the hosts of Hell were upon Him. But then suddenly, they say, Jesus was justified. From His throne in Heaven, Almighty God arose and put His hands to His mouth and screamed, “It is Finished; it is enough.” Jesus was now, they say, “born again” and made spiritually alive once more.
Hell itself then was shaken, they say. Jesus shook off His chains of sin, sickness, and evil. He walked over to the Devil, grabbed him, and threw him to the ground. As the Devil cowered and trembled on the floor of the pit, Jesus put His foot on top of him and took the keys of death, Hell, and the grave from Satan. At this time, according to these teachers, the Holy Spirit kicked open the gates of Hell and raised Jesus from death. He then ascended to the Father and announced, “I have paid the price. The prison is now opened.” He was now a born again man who had defeated Satan. Jesus was the firstborn from the spiritually dead. Thus it was at the time Jesus was made alive down in the pit that the Believer was also made alive. The Church, they continue, had its origin in the pit of Hell when Jesus was begotten from the dead as the “firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29).
At first glance, this doctrine appears to be a glorious cause for rejoicing; however, if you think about it for a moment, you quickly realize that you have never read anything of this nature on the pages of your Bible. Why? Because it’s not in the Bible! It is fictitious from beginning to end.
THE TRUTH
The truth is, “He blotted out the handwriting of Ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His Cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14-15). The words “nailing it to His Cross…triumphing over them in it” means that Jesus’ great victory was won on the Cross, and on the Cross exclusively.
THE OLD TESTAMENT SACRIFICES
The Old Testament animal sacrifice (a type of Jesus), which was to die as a substitute for the sinner, had to be without spot or blemish.
“How much more shall the Blood of Christ (while the Sacrifice of animals could cleanse from ceremonial defilement, only the Blood of Christ could cleanse from actual sin; so that throws out every proposed solution other than the Cross), Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God (in this phrase, we learn Christ did not die until the Holy Spirit told Him to die; in fact, no man took His Life from Him; He laid it down freely) [Jn. 10:17-18]
As well, the fact that Jesus “offered Himself without spot to God” shoots down the unscriptural Doctrine that “Jesus died Spiritually” on the Cross; had He died Spiritually, meaning He became a sinner on the Cross, He could not have offered Himself without spot to God, as should be obvious; God could only accept a perfect Sacrifice; when He died on the Cross, He took upon Himself the sin penalty of the human race, which was physical death; inasmuch as His Offering of Himself was Perfect, God accepted it as payment in full for all sin — past, present, and future, at least for those who will believe [Jn. 3:16]), purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? (“Dead works” are anything other than simple Faith in the Cross of Christ, i.e., “the Blood of Christ.”)” (Heb. 9:14).
When these false teachers claim that Jesus literally became sin with the inherent need to become “born again,” they expose the basic flaw in their doctrine, which stems from apparent ignorance of the nature of the Old Testament Sacrifices, especially the Sin Offering. They conveniently forget (if indeed they ever really knew) that the Old Testament clearly teaches that at no point does the Sin Offering become an unholy sacrifice, either before or after its death.
The answer above was condensed from a Jimmy Swaggart Book entitled "Straight Answers to Tough Questions."
