Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (James 1:14-16).
These tendencies to sin that are in us have appeared in action, and have become sins committed in the open. There’s a difference between a tendency to sin and the open appearing of that sin in the actions. There are tendencies to sin in us that have not yet appeared; but multitudes have appeared.
Now all the tendencies to sin that have not appeared, Christ conquered. What about the sins that have actually appeared in us? “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53: 6). “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness- by whose stripes you are healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Thus it is plain that all tendencies to sin that are in us and all the sins which have appeared, were laid upon Him. It is terrible; it is true. But, oh, joy! In that terrible truth lies the completeness of our salvation. He conquered them all, and in Him we all have victory over them all.
We ourselves have felt the guilt of those sins we have committed, we were conscious of condemnation because of them. These were all imputed to Christ; they were all laid upon Him. Now a question: did He feel the guilt of the sins that were imputed to Him? He was never conscious of sins that He committed, for He did not commit any. But our sins were laid upon Him, and we were guilty. We will look at that in such a way that every soul shall say, “Yes.” There may be some who have not had the experience that I will bring for the illustration, but many have; they can say, “Yes.” All others who have had the experience will say, “Yes” at once.
Waggoner, Christ and His Righteousness, p.28
Are temptations and tendencies sin?
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