Ruckman: “Jesus was so constituted that He could have sinned if He desired”

Another Peter Ruckman view that should raise eyebrows is his affirmations that Christ was capable of sinning (otherwise known as peccability). We are not alleging that Ruckman is the originator of this view, as Charles Hodge (1797-1878), famous for his Systematic Theology, expressed similar views.

Allow Ruckman to present his views in his own words:

Jesus was so constituted that He could have sinned if He desired, for He was a perfect man and He was not a God and man mixture; He was God and man. Therefore, Jesus’ victory was absolute and complete for He did not once yield to sin, although He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” Hebrews 4:15. (Ruckman, Peter. Theological Studies, Vol. 7, p. 17)

The Devil never had any problem taking down any descendent of Adam and Eve (Rom. 3:23, 5:12), but he had a problem with Jesus Christ. Why was that? Because Jesus Christ had no human father from whom to inherit a sin nature. There was no propensity in Jesus Christ to sin.
Don’t misunderstand me: the temptations were real temptations. Those who teach the so-called “impeccability of Christ”—that Jesus could not have sinned—don’t know about what they are talking. The weakness of Christ’s earthly body certainly made a temptation like turning the stones into bread appealing. But Jesus was in the same position Adam was before the Fall. With no “original sin,” He was completely free to turn down sin. So when it comes to the “impeccability of Christ,” I teach exactly what the Scriptures say about the matter: Christ did not sin—in thought, word, or deed. (Ruckman, Peter. The Book of Mark. Pensacola: BB Bookstore, 2017, pp. 23-24. Emphasis ours.)

When the subject of the sinlessness of Christ is brought up, the apostate Fundamentalists and Conservatives all say it was impossible for Jesus to sin.
(Ruckman, Peter. Bible Believers' Bulletin. January 2011, p. 16)

Verses 1-10 [Mat. 4] deals with the question of the peccability of Christ; i.e., could Jesus Christ have sinned? Every apostate Fundamentalist would say He could not have sinned, under any condition. If that were so, why would Satan tempt Christ if he did not believe there was a chance that he could have succeeded in getting Jesus to rebel against God? When a Conservative or Fundamentalist takes the position that Christ was impeccable (unable to sin), he is claiming to be smarter than the most brilliant being in the universe outside of God Himself (see Ezek. 28:3). (Ruckman Reference Bible. 1st edition, Matt. 4:1 pp. 1239-1240)

In the last quote, regarding the peccability of Christ, Ruckman bases it on his own assumption of the Devil’s reasoning, not what the Scripture teaches. Think about that—the Devil’s reasoning! Also the Devil is not omniscient, and he surely doesn’t have any special knowledge about Christ regarding this that we do not have access to. We should go by Scriptural reasoning, not the reasoning of whom Ruckman calls “the most brilliant being in the universe outside of God Himself.”

In the second quote, Ruckman properly noted that Christ did not inherit a sin nature. He also teaches this elsewhere:

We have learned that Jesus was born without original sin in the sense of the Adamic nature, that is, without a sin nature… (Ruckman, Peter. Theological Studies, Vol. 7, p. 2)

However, how could Christ even be capable of sinning if He did not even possess a sin nature?

Ultimately what should settle a theological matter is the plain teaching of the Word of God. There are two passages that shed light on the issue that nonetheless could appear to contradict each other:

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

As for Heb. 4:15, He was tempted and He suffered, but in a way we could never begin to comprehend. He “knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21), yet He was confronted with sin up close, which caused Him great agony.

There is no contradiction between James 1:13 and passages such as Heb. 4:15. The "tempted" of Heb. 4:15 is not even the same Greek word as the "tempted" of James 1:13, although they are synonymous. In Hebrews 4:15 it should be understood that he was subjected to temptation, in the sense of being presented with choices, both good and evil; but in the end, since God “cannot be tempted with evil” and could not be “drawn away of his own lust, and enticed,” Christ could not have deliberated or wrestled in his mind. Heb. 4:15 reveals that there was temptation in the sense of presentation, but James 1:13 reveals there could have been no deliberation.

For Christ to have been capable of committing sin, He would have had to possess a sin nature. Christ’s declaration that “the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (Jn. 14:30) makes it clear that Christ did not have a fallen nature. If Christ was peccable on earth, what would impede him from being peccable in heaven? For Christ to somehow possess a fallen nature and be capable of sinning because of his humanity, would have been a violation of his moral character, as He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26). “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13) and “it was impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18). Since Jesus is God, to teach that Christ could have sinned is to imply that he was not fully God, or that God could sin.

The doctrine of peccability is closely related to another questionable teaching of Ruckman in which he affirms that sin occurs at the debate stage even before committing the act:

A man doesn't sin when he commits an act. Furthermore, a man doesn't sin when he decides to commit the act. A man sins when he debates whether or not to commit the act after he knows whether it is good or evil. (Ruckman, Peter. Bible Believers’ Bulletin. April 1992, p. 14)

Temptation enters at presentation and illumination, but once a man begins to debate, the sin has started. (Ruckman, Peter. Theological Studies, Vol. 20, p. 59)

Now when these apostates say Jesus Christ couldn’t have committed sin, what they actually mean is that He had no desire (i.e., “lust”) that could be appealed to in order to make the decision to commit the act. But as we have just seen, that is not where the problem lies. The problem lies at the debate state, and when it comes to that, Christ certainly could have sinned. (Ruckman, Peter. Bible Believers' Bulletin. January 2011, p. 7)

In the above quote, Ruckman makes up a problem where none exists, namely his bizarre teaching that sin occurs when one begins to debate, and that therefore Christ could have sinned, but chose not to. In the temptation in the wilderness, Christ would have experienced desire in the form of hunger. However, hunger is a natural desire that is not inherently sinful. What he had no desire to do would be to fulfill Satan's suggestion to turn stones into bread. The hunger He sensed enabled Christ to experience temptation in a manner that He could relate to us. Ruckman goes on to bring up the case of Christ agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Don’t believe me? Look at Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I WILL, but as THOU WILT” (Matt. 26:39). Do you see those two wills? There they are just as plain as a plate glass window with the pane knocked out: “I will”; “THOU wilt.”
Given that, what did Christ do? He surrendered to the Father’s will WITHOUT DEBATING IT. He said, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, THY WILL BE DONE” (Matt. 26:42). (Ruckman, Peter. Bible Believers' Bulletin. January 2011, p. 7)

For Ruckman to use the case of Christ agonizing in the garden to prove that Christ surrendered to the Father’s will without debating it (because that would constitute sin according to Ruckman) seems odd. Our view is that the garden experience reveals to us His humanity in all the emotions He was experiencing in anticipation of the crucifixion and the forsaking of the Father as He took on the crushing weight of the sin of the world. Christ experienced natural desires, that absent from pleasing Satan or preventing His Father's will, would not have been sinful in fulfilling. This would include the hunger He experienced in the wilderness and the agony He experienced in the garden of Gethsemane.

As we have documented previously, Ruckman believes correctly that Christ did not have a sin nature. However, he conveniently refuses to explain how Christ could be capable of sinning without even possessing a sin nature!

In the following quote, Ruckman seems to contradict himself as to whether Christ experienced a debate when he was tempted. Notice:

Christ had a choice, so there’s an issue up for debate. He recognizes two sides: He can get out or He can’t. He could choose one or the other—that’s the debate. Right there is where He shows He’s sinless. At that time, He could have chosen His own will if He wanted to have it more than the Father’s. Having illumination, He didn’t debate as to whether or not He should have chosen His own will: knowing what His Father wanted, He cut off any debate and chose to do what His Father wanted. (Ruckman, Peter. Bible Believers' Bulletin. January 2011, p. 7)

Quoting Haldeman, Emery Bancroft in his Elemental Theology makes the following excellent observations regarding the impeccability of Christ:

This [impeccability of Christ] must be true, otherwise it would be setting up redemption on a basis of possible overthrow. The whole scheme of redemption predetermined in the counsel of God was, according to this theory, unsettled till after the temptation; during the temptation it was in the balance.
… The Scriptures give no warrant for the teaching that our Lord might have sinned. The illustration from Satan and Adam cannot come into court. Satan was a created angel. Adam was not the begotten Son of God, but a creation of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ was not a created angel. He was not a created man. He was begotten of God, from the seed of the woman, by and through the Holy Ghost. That which was begotten was not a person but a nature, a human nature. This human nature was holy. Scripture calls it “that holy thing.” It was in its quality the holiness of God. Since its quality was the holiness of God, there was no sin in it, and no possible tendency to sin. This holy, sinless, human nature could not have sinned without the consent of His unique Personality; that Personality would have to say: “I will” to sin. Since the personality of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Personality of God, it was impossible for that Personality to consent to sin. Since his personality could not consent to sin, it was impossible for Him in His human nature (seeing that human nature was inseparably joined to His personality) to have sinned. (Bancroft, Emery. Elemental Theology: Doctrinal and Conservative. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 3rd edition 1960, pp. 95-96)

Other recommended reading:

“The Impeccability of Christ” by John Walvoord https://bible.org/seriespage/7-impeccability-christ

Shedd, William. Dogmatic theology. Vol. II, New York: Scribner’s. 1888, pp. 330-349. https://archive.org/details/dogmatictheology02sheduoft/page/330

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9 Responses to Ruckman: “Jesus was so constituted that He could have sinned if He desired”

  1. I am NO fan of means-employing Hodge, but he as well as Ruckman had a similar view to the 1700s Catholic Apostolic Church founder Edward Irving on the Son of God. This is deep heresy, though about standard for Ruckman. I don’t know of any other Baptists or Protestants espousing this lunacy. Hebrews 4.15 & I Peter 2.20-5 lay this HERESY to its interred rest, & GOOD RIDDANCE. Irving as well translated the Jesuit Lacunza’s futurist work which would in part propell what we know today as dispensationalism. http://pneumareview.com/edward-irvings-incarnational-christology-part-1/

  2. Nate Beck says:

    I don’t really comment on this site anymore, but I do check in every once in awhile to see new articles. This is an article that is very important and as a Christian, it’s very important to me.

    The Lord Jesus Christ was and is perfect God and perfect Man. I believe that. His being God is just as important as His being Man. Because it’s so important that we get those right and respect our Lord and what He did as the Perfect Man, I’ve come to the conclusion that we Christians should just leave this topic alone. The fact is our Lord Jesus did NOT sin. Whether He could have or not is irrelevant. He did NOT!

    I think Christians, Peter Ruckman included, should just leave this subject alone. It’s irresponsible to even argue about it and I think folks should just praise God that we have a Perfect Saviour, who was tempted, yes, but He NEVER SINNED! PRAISE GOD!

  3. Steve says:

    Christ was in all points tempted, if it were not possible for him to sin could you say that he was tempted?  

    Also, I find it surprising that the main evidence against Ruckman's view was that of another theologian.  If that's the case, what's the difference between following him and making fun of those who would follow Ruckman, just because he said something.

    Isn't,t anytime we put any man in place of the word of God make us guilty of some sort of "ism"?

    • Webmaster says:

      Your accusation that the main evidence against Ruckman’s view was that of another theologian in this article is totally out of place and completely misrepresents the evidence presented. I even pointed out that “Ultimately what should settle a theological matter is the plain teaching of the Word of God,” then I proceeded to quote and explain multiple Scriptural passages to back up my premise and refute Ruckman. Quoting from another theologian at the end was extra, and simply constituted what some people would call “icing on the cake.”

  4. George says:

    Jesus Christ could have sinned had he chosen to, which is why its that much more incredible that he didn't; and furthermore, this fact adds to the importance of his precious blood atonement.

    This site is a liberal haven of baby Christians who are chasing after their feelings and not the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not let the Bible interpret itself? Because man doesn't want to understand God's ways. But I tell you this, if you let that book say what it says, you'll actually trust Jesus Christ in everything you do. Let God be true and every man a liar.

    Isaiah 55:8-9 Reads in God's word: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

    Just because you don't understand basic bible, and you are afraid to think that Jesus could have sinned, you lack faith in Him and fear the opposing religious apolagetics because you don't really know how to argue the case that it is also fact that HE DID NOT SIN. But your problem is as always, YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND THE WORD OF GOD. Therefore, you can't believe a word of anything you see or read or think, because everything you see, read, or think is biased, and YOU are the final authority for believing it. You poor souls, I pray that you are saved, and that you stop tormenting yourselves. Just shut your mouths and get a KJV, read it til the day you go to be with the Lord. Praise the Lord that He kept His promise as He always has, by not only inspiring, but preserving His words for us.

    Live after the world, or live after Jesus, your choice.

    • Webmaster says:

      You wrote: “This site is a liberal haven of baby Christians who are chasing after their feelings and not the Lord Jesus Christ. Why not let the Bible interpret itself?”

      I used Scripture to demonstrate Biblically that Christ did not have a sin nature. Even though you made not attempt whatsoever to use Scripture to refute anything stated in this article (only one verse about a very general principal) you had the audacity of accusing me of chasing after feelings!

      You wrote: “Just because you don’t understand basic bible, and you are afraid to think that Jesus could have sinned, you lack faith in Him and fear the opposing religious apolagetics because you don’t really know how to argue the case that it is also fact that HE DID NOT SIN. But your problem is as always, YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO FIND THE WORD OF GOD. Therefore, you can’t believe a word of anything you see or read or think, because everything you see, read, or think is biased, and YOU are the final authority for believing it. You poor souls, I pray that you are saved, and that you stop tormenting yourselves. Just shut your mouths and get a KJV, read it til the day you go to be with the Lord. Praise the Lord that He kept His promise as He always has, by not only inspiring, but preserving His words for us.”

      So you think hurling insults at someone is proof that you are right? I see you are following Ruckman’s example. Follow Christ!

  5. Ulrich says:

    The devil may not know whether Jesus was capable of sinning or not, but the Holy Spirit for sure knew, and drove Jesus into the desert to be tempted.

    So, yes, he could have sinned. Just because Ruckman says it, doesn't mean it's wrong.

  6. Aaron says:

    Isn’t it fairly obvious? Adam before the fall did not have a sin nature, yet fell anyway. The sin nature was inserted into Adam when he fell, when the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil corrupted him with blood.

    So having set this precedence, whether he knew it or not, Satan went to do the same to Jesus. Either he assumed that since Jesus was also man, then He would have the sin nature built in. Or, that Jesus did not have the sin nature but Satan thought he could corrupt Him like he did Adam.

    Either way you look at it, the word of God shows Peter Ruckman was correct. We really should be reading the word as it says and not trying to interpret it as we want it to say. But, welcome to the age of the Laodicean Church, good thing if any, this means we are close to going home!

  7. GL says:

    To say that Jesus had a sin-nature is saying that all he did was simply make the “right decisions” EVERY TIME! How can that be if he is not God? Human beings are incapable of not making mistakes. Jesus Christ had no sin-nature. He was perfect to show us that He was/is the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

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