Because Jesus lived His entire earthly life in dependence upon His Father, because He never gave in to the temptation to separate Himself from His Father, even for a moment, the devil was not able to tempt Him with sins, plural. He found sins repulsive.

The evidence is given, over and over again, in the inspired writings. Hebrews 1:9 says of Christ,

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity.”

The Desire of Ages, page 111:

“Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust that transgression had brought, was torture to His spirit.”

Selected Messages, book 1, page 322:

“Hating sin with a perfect hatred, He [Jesus] yet gathered to His soul the sins of the whole world.”

Ellen G. White Comments – S.D.A. Bible Commentary, volume 5, page 1142:

“His character revealed a perfect hatred for sin.”

Volume 7, page 904:

“Christ ever retained the utmost hatred for sin.”

Volume 7, page 927:

“Would that we could comprehend the significance of the words, Christ ‘suffered being tempted.’ While He was free from the taint of sin, the refined sensibilities of His holy nature rendered contact with evil unspeakably painful to Him.”

The Desire of Ages, page 88: Jesus

“hated but one thing in the world, and that was sin. He could not witness a wrong act without pain which it was impossible to disguise.”

The Desire of Ages, page 700: Jesus

“suffered in proportion to the perfection of His holiness and His hatred of sin. … To be surrounded by human beings under the control of Satan was revolting to Him.”

Sometimes people will try to prove that Christ was tempted with evil in the same way in which a sinful man is tempted when he is living apart from Christ. They say that the sins and temptations that the devil brought to Christ in this world were attractive to Him, but that He gritted His teeth, stiffened His spine, and refused to act out that which His natural desires urged Him to do. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Another theory is that Christ was attracted by evil things, that He experienced lust and greed and anger, but that because of His love for His Father, He refused to do that which He would otherwise have been happy to do. The inspired information does not support this view either. While it is true that His love for His Father was strong, His hatred for sin was also strong. He found sin repulsive, not attractive.

As we study the life and nature of Christ, the good news is that His view of sin and wrong is also available for us. We don’t have to live out our Christian lives wishing we could join the world in its sins, but gritting our teeth and forcing ourselves not to do so.

We don’t have to try to work up enough love for God so that we are willing to deny our natural instincts in order to make Him happy. We can experience the same kind of victory that Jesus experienced–victory not only over the sinful actions, but over the sinful desires as well. A victory that goes beyond behavior, to the very desires and tastes of the heart. We can find sins as repulsive as Jesus did.

Again, the evidence in the inspired writings is overwhelming. Messages to Young People, page 338:

“When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin. … We may make mistakes, but we will hate the sin that caused the suffering of the Son of God.”

The Great Controversy, pages 649, 650:

“By their own painful experience they learned the evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe; and they look upon it with abhorrence.”

The Great Controversy, page 508:

“In the renewed heart there is hatred of sin.”

Testimonies, volume 2, page 294, speaks of the converted person:

“His former life appears disgusting and hateful. He hates sin.”

And The Desire of Ages, page 668:

“When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.”

Do you relish sins, or do you find them disgusting and hateful? The difference comes in whether or not you know God as it is your privilege to know Him. You don’t hate sin by trying hard to hate sin. You learn to hate sin by putting forth the necessary effort to know God and commune with Him day by day. No matter where you start in the study of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, you always end up in the same place.

Do you know Him? Knowing Him is the basis of all the things that follow. Knowing Him is life eternal.