Journal: Masters Seminary Journal
Volume: TMSJ 11:1 (Spring 2000)
Article: Potuit Non Peccare Or Non Potuit Peccare: Evangelicals, Hermeneutics, And The Impeccability Debate
Author: Michael McGhee Canham

MSJ 11:1 (Spring 2000) p. 93

Potuit Non Peccare Or Non Potuit Peccare:
Evangelicals, Hermeneutics, And The Impeccability Debate

Michael McGhee Canham*

[*Editor’s note: Michael Canham (M.Div. [1994] and Th.M. [1995] from The Master’s Seminary; Ph. D. [in progress, Westminster Theological Seminary]) serves as the Associate Pastor/Acting Senior Pastor at the Penn Yan Bible Church in Penn Yan, N.Y. The following article is adapted from a paper of the same title presented at the National Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Danvers, Mass., on November 17, 1999, and represents Mr. Canham’s response to a difficult issue.]

The debate over whether Christ was not able to sin or able not to sin results from Scripture’s failure to address the issue directly. Some advocate that He was peccable (able not to sin), others that He was not able to sin (impeccable). Five hermeneutical issues relate to the resolving of this debate: what to do about the silence of Scripture, the argument from theological implications, the meaning of theological terms such as “ability” and “humanity,” the role of theological presuppositions in exegesis, and an appeal to other relevant theological models. The role of theological suppositions includes a consideration of the meanings of περιάζω (peirazō, “I tempt, test”) in connection with Christ and of χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας(chōris hamartias, “without sin”) in Heb 4:15. Relevant theological models to be consulted include the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ, the theological concept of “antinomy,” and the kenosis of Christ. The preferred solution to the debate is that Christ in His incarnation was both peccable and impeccable, but in His kenosis His peccability limited His impeccability.

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One of the greatest challenges believers face in seeking to answer questions the Scripture does not clearly or explicitly address is clarifying the relationship between hermeneutical, exegetical, and systematic theological questions. In issues where the Scripture is silent or unclear, hermeneutics play a role in aiding believers to arrive at an answer to such questions. So it is with the question of Christ’s impeccability (i.e., whether Christ could have sinned or not). After elaborating on issues in the debate, this essay will examine several hermeneutical and theological issues that bear upon answering the question about Christ’s relationship to sin.

Discussing the matter of Christ’s relationship to sin is not a discussion of whether Christ actually sinned or not. This essay does not propos...