Series

The Greatest Battle Ever Fought

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“Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.”

1 Timothy 3:16

That mystery is so great that even when you get to heaven you will not understand all about it. Mrs. White says that it will ever be a mystery and the subject of study throughout eternity, and yet we need to understand as much as we can about it in this world.

The apostle Paul speaks about the great mystery of godliness in Colossians 1:26, 27: “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” What is the glory of Christ? In 1892, Ellen White wrote this sentence: “The glory of God is His character, and to us it is manifest in Christ.” The Present Truth, December 29, 1892. The riches of His glory are the riches of His character manifested in the life of Christ.

“It was through Satan’s misrepresentation of God’s character that man was led to doubt the reality of His love, and came to look upon God as his enemy. As Satan had done in heaven, so he did on earth—declared God’s government unjust, the restrictions of His law unnecessary, and bade man, as he had angels, to throw aside the yoke and let the dictates of their own nature be their only guide and law. He promised liberty; but as he himself is the servant of corruption, he brought the race into bondage, to sin, misery, and death. He represented God as claiming all and giving nothing, as requiring men’s service for His own glory, but denying Himself nothing for man’s good.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893. Satan presented lies and deceptive reasoning to the mind of man to entice him to disobedience. He lied about God’s character, and he reasoned that God’s government was unjust and restricting. He uses the same deceit and lies still today.

What is the relationship between God’s character and His government? “God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach. The living God has given in His holy law a transcript of His character. The greatest Teacher the world has ever known is Jesus Christ; and what is the standard He has given for all who believe in Him? ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ Matthew 5:48. As God is perfect in His high sphere of action, so man may be perfect in his human sphere.

“The ideal of Christian character is Christlikeness.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 365

“The law of God [the transcript of His character] is the foundation of His government in heaven and in earth, and as long as the follower of Jesus imitates his Lord by exalting the divine precepts in word and life, Satan has no power to deceive or mislead his soul.” The Signs of the Times, March 30, 1888

Satan entices men by lying to them regarding God’s law, His character and love, and if he is successful in persuading the very elect to believe his lies, then they will be indifferent to their high calling in Christ Jesus and fail to be filled with all the fullness of God’s love.

What is our high calling really? Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Our high calling is in Christ. “Let it never be forgotten that the teacher must be what he desires his pupils to become.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 58. Was Christ what He desired His pupils to become? Yes, He was. His divine nature combined with His human flesh were a perfect representation of what we are and what we, by striving to develop a character like His, can become.

“He was the embodiment of the law of God.” The Signs of the Times, November 15, 1899. The embodiment of the law of God is “the transcript of His character.” Ibid. It is God’s purpose that your life will become an embodiment of the law of God. That is our high calling.

But we have an enemy. Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. Satan does not want you to become an embodiment of the law of God, and he uses enticements and deceptive promises to lure men and women into sin.

What is the purpose of temptation? Many people who are tempted ask, “If God is all powerful, wise, and loving, why does He allow this?” “Our heavenly Father sees the hearts of men, and He knows their characters better than they themselves know them. He sees that some have susceptibilities and powers, which, directed in the right channel, might be used to His glory to aid in the advancement of His work. He puts these persons on trial and in His wise providence brings them into different positions.” Testimonies, Vol. 4, 84, 85

People think they are in charge of their own lives. But it is by way of temptation that we can know who is truly in control of our lives. God places His children “… under a variety of circumstances, testing them that they may reveal what is in their hearts and the weak points in their characters which have been concealed from their own knowledge.” Ibid., 85

Notice two points. God allows these temptations to reveal what is in a person’s heart, and to reveal the weak points in their character. We often do not know what is truly in our own hearts, nor what our weaknesses are. Temptations come and reveal to us what we did not know about ourselves.

“He [God] gives them opportunities to correct these weaknesses.” Ibid. As long as we have breath, God gives us opportunity to see and correct our weaknesses. Upon recognizing that there is something in my heart that is out of harmony with God’s law, I must surrender myself to the sovereignty of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Surrendering myself and asking that a miracle be performed to change my heart requires that I cooperate and do my part.

“He gives them opportunities to correct these weaknesses, to polish off the rough corners of their natures, and to fit themselves for His service … . He in mercy reveals their hidden defects, that they may look within and examine critically the complicated emotions and exercises of their own hearts, and detect that which is wrong; thus they may modify their dispositions and refine their manners. The Lord in His providence brings men where He can test their moral powers and reveal their motives of action, that they may improve what is right in themselves and put away that which is wrong.” Ibid.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Matthew 12:34, last part, 35

“The heart must be diligently searched as with a lighted candle, that all defects may be seen in the light of the law of God, His standard of character.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 7, 179

“All defects of character originate in the heart.” The Review and Herald, September 1, 1885. Pride, vanity, evil temper, covetousness, they all proceed from the carnal heart of flesh, unrenewed by the grace of Christ. “Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 330. We have both inherited and cultivated tendencies to sin, but we are not to lower God’s standard to accommodate what we are. “We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin.” Ibid.

God allows temptations in our lives that we might see the defects and imperfections in our characters, that we might repent of and confess these sins—not only to be forgiven, but also to be cleansed from all unrighteousness.

“The purification of the people of God cannot be accomplished without their suffering.” Testimonies, Vol. 4, 85. It is impossible to be purified without going through this process. “God permits the fires of affliction to consume the dross, to separate the worthless from the valuable, that the pure metal may shine forth. He passes us from one fire to another.” Ibid. Has this been your experience—rejoicing as you walk out of one fire, only to walk into another one?

“God’s work of refining and purifying must go on until His servants are so humbled, so dead to self, that, when called into active service, their eye will be single to His glory. He will then accept their efforts; they will not move rashly, from impulse; they will not rush on and imperil the Lord’s cause, being slaves to temptations and passions and followers of their own carnal minds set on fire by Satan. Oh, how fearfully is the cause of God marred by man’s perverse will and unsubdued temper! How much suffering he brings upon himself by following his own headstrong passions! God brings men over the ground again and again.” Ibid., 86

When you are in trouble, God does not give up on you. He brings another test. It may be harder, the circumstances a bit different, but it is necessary that you successfully pass each test until your character has been purified and is ready for heaven. “God brings men over the ground again and again, increasing the pressure until perfect humility and a transformation of character bring them into harmony with Christ and the spirit of heaven, and they are victors over themselves.” Ibid.

Let’s review the purposes of temptation:

  1. to reveal the hidden things in my own heart that I did not see before;
  2. to reveal the weak points in my character;
  3. so that the dross of selfishness can be separated from the true gold and silver of Christian character;
  4. that I might be purified;
  5. that I might reflect the radiance of divine love and be filled with all the fullness of God.

When these purposes are accomplished, then we are ready for the marriage supper. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” Revelation 19:7, 8

The second coming of Christ is drawing nearer every day. God’s church must be pure and perfect so that she can make a full and final display of God’s grace, mercy, and love. But can I make a full and final display of these things if they are not a part of my character? It is impossible.

God’s last day church, every member, must have a character that displays His grace, mercy, and love in order that she might be pure and perfect in these last days.

The Role of Desire in Temptation

“Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed. He is turned away from the course of virtue and real good by following his own inclinations.” Testimonies, Vol. 4, 623. The dictionary definition of inclinations is “a propensity or a disposition more favorable to one thing than to another.” Inclination has to do with desire, love, affection, regard for, and disposition of mind. By following our own inclinations, we find ourselves, too often, in trouble.

James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But 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.” James 1:13–15. “Feeling the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire that leads to indulgence, many a man cries in despair, ‘I cannot resist evil.’ ” The Ministry of Healing, 174. She calls it the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire. “Tell him that he can, that he must resist.” Ibid.

Friend, if you want to go to heaven, whatever the temptation is, no matter how terrible it is, you can and you must resist, calling upon the Lord to help you. Desire is not only the power of temptation, it is the terrible power of temptation.

There is a particular desire that dwells within the heart of every man, woman, and child, and it plays a vital role in temptation. “It is because selfishness exists in our hearts that temptation has power over us.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 118. Temptation has power over me because there is selfishness in my heart.

“Selfishness is the root of all evil.” Evangelism, 633

“Selfishness is sin.” The Signs of the Times, April 13, 1891

“Selfishness is the strongest and most general of human impulses, the struggle of the soul between sympathy and covetousness is an unequal contest; for while selfishness is the strongest passion, love and benevolence are too often the weakest, and as a rule the evil gains the victory.” The Review and Herald, December 7, 1886. Notice, Inspiration links selfishness with covetousness.

“The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness. By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: ‘Dead in trespasses and sins;’ ‘the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;’ ‘no soundness in it.’ We are held fast in the snare of Satan, ‘taken captive by him at his will.’ … God desires to heal us, to set us free. But since this requires an entire transformation, a renewing of our whole nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to Him.

“The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.” Steps to Christ, 43. The terrible power of temptation is the drawing of our natural desires which come from the law of selfishness, the governing principle of Satan’s kingdom. Each and every one of us inherited that selfishness from Adam.

“We have hereditary tendencies to wrong. This is a part of self that no one need carry about. It is a weakness of humanity to pet selfishness, because it is a natural trait of character. But unless all selfishness is put away, unless self is crucified, we can never be holy as God is holy.” The Faith I Live By, 140

“All selfishness is covetousness, and is, therefore, idolatry.” The Review and Herald, May 23, 1907

If there is selfishness in my heart, I am breaking the second commandment in my heart. I’m living with sin within. The Spirit of Prophecy calls these selfish, sinful desires, hereditary tendencies to wrong, defects in my character. Selfishness causes defects in my character, and imperfection of character is sin. All selfishness is condemned by the law of God, and not one of Adam’s posterity has escaped this inheritance. Every single one of us is, by nature, selfish and it is here that Satan has his greatest success.

“Satan finds in human hearts some point where he can gain a foothold; some sinful desire is cherished, by means of which his temptations assert their power. But Christ declared of Himself, ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.’ ” Ibid., November 8, 1887

Jesus said to the religious rulers of His day, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.” All the evil desires that Satan puts in our heart are sin. “Every tree in Satan’s garden hangs laden with the fruits of vanity, pride, self-importance, evil desire, extravagance—all poisoned fruit, but very gratifying to the carnal heart.” Ibid., December 9, 1884

“In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ presented before His disciples the far-reaching principles of the law of God. He taught His hearers that the law was transgressed by the thoughts before the evil desire was carried out.” Ibid., June 12, 1888

“Until the requirements of the holy law were applied as the rule of life, fallen man could not understand his own guilt, nor realize his condemned, lost condition. Jesus made application of the law directly to the soul, and laid under its jurisdiction the will and desires and works of man.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 9, 235. Our desires are under the jurisdiction of the law of God. Any desire that is out of harmony with the law of God is sin.

The Bible describes sin this way: “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. Figuratively, an imagination is a conception, a purpose that is formed in the mind. Lust is the desire for something that is forbidden. When evil desires or lusts are conceived in the mind, sin is being cherished. When sinful desires are cherished, temptation asserts its power. The word cherish according to the dictionary means “to treat in a manner to encourage growth.” To cherish means to indulge and encourage in the mind. Growth in the Christian life has as much to do with what goes on in the mind as it does with the actions that are a result of our thoughts and desires.

So if the natural desires of man are continually evil, is man destined to commit sin until Jesus comes? Many theologians, including some Adventist theologians, believe that we will.

“We should preserve the strictest chastity in thought, and word, and deportment. Let us remember that God sets our secret sins in the light of His countenance. There are thoughts and feelings suggested and aroused by Satan that annoy even the best of men, but if they are not cherished, if they are repulsed as hateful, the soul is not contaminated with guilt, and no other is defiled by their influence. Oh, that we each might become a savor of life unto life to those around us!” The Review and Herald, March 27, 1888

This quotation makes it clear that while even the best Christian can be tempted, he or she can also resist temptation. Man does not have to sin. Temptation is not sin and therefore, when refusing to yield to temptation, a person, by the power and grace of God, does not sin.

The gospel tells how Jesus wants to deliver me from this evil world, but before He can deliver me from the devil on the outside, He must first deliver me from the devil on the inside. Jesus said, “ ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.’ ” Matthew 23:27. What we need is to be cleaned up on the inside and then the outside will be clean.

“Christ desires nothing so much as to redeem His heritage from the dominion of Satan. But before we are delivered from Satan’s power without, we must be delivered from his power within.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 174, 175

If there is any kind of sin in your life, the devil has power to overcome you on the inside. “The Lord permits trials in order that we may be cleansed from earthliness, from selfishness, from harsh, unchristlike traits of character. He suffers the deep waters of affliction to go over our souls in order that we may know Him and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, in order that we may have deep heart longings to be cleansed from defilement, and may come forth from the trial purer, holier, happier. Often we enter the furnace of trial with our souls darkened with selfishness; but if patient under the crucial test, we shall come forth reflecting the divine character. When His purpose in the affliction is accomplished, ‘He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.’ ” Ibid., 175

To summarize the role of desire in temptation:
Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed.

  • Naturally-selfish desires are the defects in our characters that readily respond to Satan’s lying promises and deceitful arguments.
  • God does not tempt any man, but He permits us to be tempted so that we may know what is in our heart so that we might have a deep heart-longing to be cleansed from the defilement of sin.

“No one can be omnipotent, but all can cleanse themselves from filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. God requires every soul to be pure and holy.” The Faith I Live By, 140. No exceptions.

“By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.” The Desire of Ages, 391

“As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, 943

When we yield our will fully to God, our hereditary tendencies to wrong, our sinful desires are cut away and they are replaced by holy desires. “Some seek to control their surroundings, thinking that if they are placed in favorable positions, the bad traits in their character will not be developed. But God orders our surroundings, and He will place us where we shall have test after test, to prove us and to reveal what is in our hearts. Again and again we shall be brought into strait places, that it may be known whether we are indeed crucified with Christ or full of self-love. How will this proving, testing process end with each of us?” The Review and Herald, June 3, 1884

“Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not, then you cannot overcome.” Messages to Young People, 99

“Your only safety is to live like a watchman. Watch and pray always. Oh, what a preventive against yielding to temptation and falling into the snares of the world! …

“Watch, lest evil passions should overcome you, instead of your subduing them.

“Pray. Jesus would not have enjoined this upon you, unless there was actual necessity for it. It is well known to Him that of yourself you cannot overcome the many temptations of the enemy … . He has not left you alone to do this; but has provided a way that you can obtain help.” The Faith I Live By, 224

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Enticements and Desires

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Understanding how we are tempted is helpful in understanding how to overcome temptation. It is important to understand how the devil works and why his temptations are so successful against us. Once we understand that, then we can know how to resist temptation and not yield to them.

“Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires [lusts] and enticed.” James 1:14. Although the New Testament typically uses the word lust to describe a very strong, forbidden and unlawful desire, there are a few times when it is used in a different way. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He used lust to express His strong desire to eat the last supper with them. However, most often, the New Testament uses it to describe a strong, forbidden desire for something unlawful.

There are two elements to temptation—the lust that is common within our own nature and the enticement we experience from an outside source. James is saying, and this is an important point to remember, the lust that is involved when we are tempted is our own lust on the inside. To be enticed is to be seduced, lured, or drawn out. Enticement has to do with craftiness, deceit, guile, or subtlety from the outside, to be seduced by promises or persuasions to do something that is evil.

“Temptations from without find an answering chord within the heart, and the feet slide imperceptibly into sin.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 425. This statement brings together the desire of the heart (the carnal, sinful nature within) and the art of enticement (subtle deceit from without). Enticement meets an answering chord in the sinful nature of man, and the result is that we imperceptibly slide into sin unaware that we are yielding to temptation.

I knew a man who was struggling to quit smoking and hadn’t smoked for many days. But one day, while going through a grocery store checkout, the person ahead of him lit up a cigarette and handed one to him. He took the cigarette, and before he even realized it, had smoked the cigarette half through. The enticement came from the outside when the other man handed him the cigarette, but he responded because of the answering chord that existed within his heart.

The temptation from without is the promise of a liar enticing us to sin, but the responding chord from within is our own desire for something forbidden.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; but an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45. It is in the heart that we find the seat of these lustful desires, the emotions of good or evil. How does Inspiration describe the condition of the heart of man?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurably wicked. Who can even know it?” Jeremiah 17:9, literal translation.

Moses said, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. Because of the sinful nature of man’s heart, the imagination of the thoughts are evil continually.

The word imagination has to do with a forming of or, figuratively, a conception, something framed in a person’s mind. The imaginations of man’s heart are the conceptions and purposes that are formed or framed in his mind. So Moses, talking about the heart, is referring to the mind in these verses when he talks about the imagination of the heart.

Mrs. White says, regarding the heart and the mind, “What is the new heart? It is the new mind.  What is the mind? It is the will.” Sermons and Talks, Vol. 1, 210. When the word heart is used figuratively, it is generally associated with the things that we love. “The mind controls the whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 426. “The will is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or choice.” Education, 289. These references reveal the role of the mind in relation to the will.

The mind is the link between the heart (what we love) and the will (what we choose to do). When you understand this, then this next quotation makes perfect sense. “Every mind is controlled either by the power of Satan or the power of God.” The General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903

What will happen if Satan is in control of my mind? This is imperceptible to us, so we do not recognize that the intelligence controlling our minds today is not the same as it was in the past, once we experience the “new man” conversion. “Full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” Acts 13:10 (KJV)

What will we do if Satan controls our minds? “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.” John 8:44, first part

So, a quick recap of everything we looked at over the last few issues.

When man was created, God was in control of his mind and his nature was pure and holy, governed by the principles of righteousness. But at the Fall, when Adam, the legal representative and father of our race, yielded his allegiance to Satan by eating the forbidden fruit, Satan took control of his mind, and the natural desire of his heart—now governed by the principles of selfishness—was changed. Everything was changed.

The Bible tells us that they immediately began to find fault with each other. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. But they both, by extension, blamed God. Having sinned, the devil now was in control of their minds and immediately there was contention in their paradise home.

“The carnal mind [the fleshly mind] is enmity against God: it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. Notice, it is impossible for the carnal mind to be subject to the law of God. When someone says, “I can’t overcome this,” they are telling the truth. The carnal mind is enmity against God, and therefore, it cannot keep the law of God, no matter how much it might want to.

“Human nature could not keep the law, even if it would. Apart from Christ, without union with Him, we can do nothing.” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895. The carnal mind is now our natural mind, the same one that every son and daughter of Adam possesses. And why is this mind of man hostile toward God?

“When man sinned all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal, and the carnal heart is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Ibid., February 13, 1893. When Adam sinned, he became a partaker of the satanic nature, yielding control to Satan, and as a consequence, all of his descendants bear the same.

Inspiration uses heart, mind, and will synonymously. “You need to drink daily at the fountain of truth, that you may understand the secret of pleasure and joy in the Lord. But you must remember that your will is the spring of all your actions. This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at the Fall given into the control of Satan … .” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 515

Everything that we think, say, and do is formed in and springs from a will, heart, and mind now controlled by Satan. “… And he has ever since been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of man.” Ibid. That’s why, speaking to the people of His day, Jesus said, “O generation of vipers. How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

“As Satan had done in heaven, so he did on earth—declared God’s government unjust, the restrictions of His law unnecessary, and bade men, as he had angels, to throw aside the yoke and let the dictates of their own nature be their only guide and law.” The Signs of the Times, December 15, 1914

This was a scary statement when he made it to the perfect angels in heaven. But then Satan told man, and continues to tell man, to let the dictates of his own nature be his only guide and law. What a terrible delusion! “I decide what to do with my life because I know what’s best for me.” I might believe that I am in control of my life, but in reality, it is Satan who is controlling me.

Satan is subtle and cunning, using deception and craftiness to lead men astray. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” Genesis 3:1, first part. “That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world; he was cast into the earth.” Revelation 12:9. The devil is a liar, a murderer, a deceiver and it is his determined purpose to deceive the whole world.

How does he achieve this? “Satan must deceive in order to lead away. ‘In vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.’ Underhand work must be done; a deceptive influence must be exerted; pretenses must be set forth as truth; suspicion must be lulled to sleep.” The Review and Herald, September 14, 1897

When the enticement comes from the outside and finds a receptive chord inside our mind and heart, temptation comes with overwhelming power. The devil looks into each of our lives to see our strongest desires and weaknesses. The strength of his outside enticement matches the strength of our inward desire, and we are trapped. The devil intimately knows every single one of us. He puts in our hearts the belief that we can overcome it later, but it’s just too hard to do it right now. He tells us that God won’t hold it against us, that He will forgive us, and seeking justification so that we can do what we want to do, we believe what he says.

But when a man decides to serve God, and no longer be controlled by his inward desires and the devil’s outside enticements, the devil changes his tactics from deception to oppression and persecution. “No man can serve God without enlisting against himself evil men and evil angels. Evil angels well know that one soul accepting the truth as it is in Jesus, will by precept and example weaken their hold upon other souls, for the truth is aggressive. Alarmed because he is losing his prey, Satan will first seek to deceive, next to oppress and persecute.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 3, 118

“The way in which Satan tempted Christ, he is today tempting every soul. He seeks to hold men under his reasoning.” The Review and Herald, May 3, 1906. The devil wants to keep you under his control. He first deceives you to believe that you are a terrible sinner, too weak to overcome, that you are lost. He does this to every soul—including you and me.

Imagine a person whose besetting sin is impatience. After decades of expressing impatience in thousands of circumstances, a habit has developed that holds him like chains of steel, impossible for him to break. He will never be free from the sin of impatience unless he is set free by divine power, nor will he be able to be patient without divine aid.

The standard of the gospel is the same for everyone. But the devil is trying to keep us under the control of his deceptive reasoning. A person intends to overcome, but he may say just not right now. He has not reached the point where he can say, “Lord, I want to overcome today.”

Satan has a very special deception for those who proclaim to be followers of Christ. He has deceived even the most educated Adventists into believing that it may be a sin under these circumstances, but in this case, it is not. The world calls that “situation ethics.” “Satan clothes temptation and sin with the garments of righteousness, and by this deception he wins many to his side.” The Review and Herald, September 14, 1897. Reason all you can, but sin is sin no matter what form it may take. There are no circumstances under which we can justify sin to make it right.

I was in a Sabbath School class many years ago when a young man was trying to prove that in certain situations it was all right to tell a lie. I was young myself and not very tactful. I said, “Listen to this.” And I read him this verse: “And why not say, ‘Let us do evil, that good may come’?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.” Romans 3:8

“Through his deception and delusion, Satan would, if possible, deceive the very elect. His is no minor deception. He will seek to annoy, to harass, to falsify, to accuse, and misrepresent all whom he cannot compel to give him honor and help him in his work. His great success lies in keeping men’s minds confused, and ignorant of his devices, for then he can lead the unwary as it were, blindfolded.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 423

You and I must daily ask the Lord to make clear to us the deceptions that the devil has especially prepared for God’s people. It is his determined purpose to keep us under the control of his deceptive reasoning. He intends to raise up false christs and prophets, to show great signs and wonders so that, if it is possible, he might deceive even the elect people of God. We must beware. We need to stay awake or we, too, will be deceived.

“The nearer we come to the close of this earth’s history, the more delusive will be the snares of the enemy. As time passes, his attacks will grow fiercer and more frequent. Satan’s supreme effort is made to ensnare and deceive if possible the very elect—the church and the ministers of Christ.” The Review and Herald, November 14, 1912. Satan is trying everything he can imagine to deceive the members and ministers of the Adventist church. Sadly, he has been too successful.

“With all their ingenuity he and his agencies are working to deceive if possible the very elect. If he can lull them to indifference to their high calling, his triumph is certain.” Ibid. What is my high calling? The promise of the gospel is that God will reproduce the very likeness of Jesus Christ in my mind if I cooperate. Peter said, “Having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust you might be partakers of the divine nature.” 2 Peter 1:4. John says that we can once again be partakers of the divine nature, having a Christlike character (See 1 John 3:2, 3). That is our high calling. If the devil can lull us to be indifferent toward receiving Christ’s likeness in our own character, or deceive us into believing it has already happened when it has not, or convince us that we are okay as we are, then his triumph is certain.

Webster tells us that indifference is a state of mind in which there is no feeling of anxiety or interest in what is presented to it. Satan’s supreme effort is to lull the very elect to indifference to their high calling. And his great success will be in keeping our minds confused and ignorant of his devices. So how important is it for me to know what my high calling is—for me to be awake to my peril and not to be confused or ignorant about the devices of the enemy working against my soul?

Paul said to the Philippians, “Forgetting those things that are behind, pressing toward those things that are before, I press [I urge] toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, last part, 14. To the Colossians he said, “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26, 27. God has promised that the spiritual image of Christ will be reproduced in every one of His children. I must claim that promise every day in prayer. I see myself as miserable, poor, blind, naked, and completely destitute, but God has promised to reproduce the image of Christ in me, and I can rely on God to keep His word.

Paul continues by saying, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth, and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16–19. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” 1 Timothy 3:16

Satan has been misrepresenting the character of God to mankind for 6,000 years. He wants us to doubt and distrust Him. On the one hand, Satan says that God is not loving and merciful, but vengeful; while on the other hand, he posits that if God were loving and merciful, then He would overlook just a little sin. If we fall for the devil’s lies, no matter how they are presented to us, then we will yield to temptation and fall into sin every single time.

I must claim God’s promises, fully surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit, believing that He says what He means and means what He says. Then, through that power, the character of Christ will be reproduced in my character. It won’t matter that I have a fallen human nature where no good thing can be found. It won’t matter that I am assaulted from without by the enticements of the devil or that inside I have an answering chord that strains to respond to them. None of it will matter, because if I surrender and claim the promise, the Lord will work a miracle in my life and I will seek to do His will. I don’t have to be lost.

“You cannot comprehend what a terrible thing it is to be lost. Your conscience has become hardened in sin and transgression and unbelief; but you may, if you will, fall on the Rock Christ Jesus and be broken before it is utterly too late, crying, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me.’ If you do this, God will not leave you to perish. …” Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 145

“The whole mind must be molded by the Holy Spirit. Divine power will combine with human effort, when we seek earnestly to be complete in Christ Jesus. The Lord will help everyone who seeks Him with all his heart.” Sons and Daughters of God, 285

“By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature.

“It is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, which Jesus said He would send into the world, that changes our character into the image of Christ; and when this is accomplished, we reflect, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord.” God’s Amazing Grace, 246

Whatever suggestions Satan may make to keep your soul bound in sin and despair, no matter how much your inner desires may want to respond to his enticements, go to Jesus, the sin-pardoning Saviour, without delay. The Lord, who is mighty to save, will rescue you from the snare of the devil.

“God is faithful who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

How am I Tempted?

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“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15

Is it possible to wrongly divide the word of truth? Paul’s specific wording to rightly divide tells us that God’s word can also be wrongly divided. As we study the subject of the mystery of godliness, we must be careful to rightly divide what we study. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that this subject will be the study of the saved throughout eternity. In its completeness, it is a subject that is meant to be a mystery to us, but there are things that we can study and understand, and God means for us to study and rightly divide what He has revealed in His word.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14

So Paul is saying that to understand the deep things of God, we must wholly and continually rely upon the Holy Spirit to make plain that which we cannot grasp with our human mind. This has led to great debate and controversy in the Adventist church regarding the human nature of Christ.

One of the most wonderful verses in all of Scripture is found in Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.” However, this verse is so difficult to understand that it will not be understood until we get to heaven; and we might not fully understand it even then.

In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “ ‘And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son … He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’ ” Verses 31–35 KJV

Mrs. White wrote to Elder Baker, an Adventist minister, about “that Holy Thing.” “These words [that Holy Thing] are not addressed to any human being, except to the Son of the Infinite God. Never, in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to corruption rested upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption. He was tempted in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called that Holy Thing. It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 19

When God’s prophet quotes a verse from the Scriptures and, without reservation, says that it is a mystery that is left unexplained to man, there is no human explanation that can be trusted.

Mrs. White also wrote, “The incarnation of Christ has ever been, and will ever remain a mystery.” Ibid. Even in heaven, the saved will be unable to fully explain the incarnation of Christ.

However, God has given us some things that can be understood regarding the human nature of Christ. “That which is revealed, is for us and for our children, but let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human, such an one as ourselves: for it cannot be.” Ibid.

The best way to understand how Christ could be tempted like us is to understand how we are tempted. When I was a young preacher, I never preached about this, because I thought everyone understood how we are tempted. But I have since learned that there are many things in the spiritual world that we think everyone understands, but almost no one does. So, to be confident in our study of how Christ was tempted, let’s first study how we ourselves are tempted.

We have already studied that the nature of man before the fall was governed by the principles of righteousness; that the nature of man after the fall was, and continues to be, governed by the principles of selfishness. And what is sin? Sin is not just an action, but also a state of being—the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“As in water face reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.” Proverbs 27:19

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

“All sin is selfishness.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1763

“The sowing of seeds of selfishness in the human heart was the first result of the entrance of sin into the world.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 7, 233

When I am tempted, but do not yield to the temptation, I have not committed a sin. However, if my temptation, for example, is to be angry with a fellow brother, and if I yield to that temptation and express my anger, the Bible says that I am guilty of breaking the sixth commandment (Matthew 5:21, 22). Why is it that if I hate my brother, even though I do him no physical harm, I still am guilty of breaking the ten commandments? Because human nature is now governed by the principle of selfishness. Selfish is what we are to the core and, without a miracle of transformation effected by the power of the Holy Spirit, selfishness directs everything we think, say, and do.

My brother Marshall and I both attended Seventh-day Adventist schools for over 20 years, including Loma Linda University where we both obtained master’s and doctor’s degrees, and also a year at Andrew’s Theological Seminary for Ministers. We both entered the ministry.

Over 40 years ago, Marshall was living on the East Coast while I was living on the West Coast. We had a difference of understanding regarding the incarnation of Christ. We would write back and forth, each trying to convince the other of our understanding. After a few years of this back-and-forth dialogue, we stopped the discussion, realizing that neither of us was going to be able to convince the other to change what we believed to be true. For the last ten years of my brother’s life, I do not recall that we ever discussed it again. We knew we agreed on the important things—that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient, that He did not sin, and that we must overcome sin as He did in order to be saved. On the rest, we just did not discuss it.

During the time of our discussions, I wrote a paper on the subject of sin. Marshall liked my explanation of sin so much, and believing that it needed to be published, he sent it to the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference (BRI). The BRI director at that time happened to be a personal friend of mine, whom I had known for many years. But when he received and reviewed my paper, the BRI would not print it. The BRI is supposed to be a collection of the best theological minds in the Adventist church, but they had a different opinion about sin.

So how is it that two men, having received the same education, both ministers in good standing with the Seventh-day Adventist church (at that time), both totally committed to studying, knowing, following, and preaching the truth, along with a collection of the best theological minds of the Adventist church be so opposite in their understanding of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy on the subjects of sin and the incarnation of Christ?

In addition to the texts and quotations above, let me add what I feel is the best definition of sin that I have ever found in the Spirit of Prophecy.

“God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral perfection is required of all. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. …

“And those who would be workers together with God must strive for perfection of every organ of the body and quality of the mind.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 330

Notice that moral perfection is not optional. It is a requirement, an obligation to do our very best. This is a frightening thought. I am a terrible sinner and I cannot make myself better, let alone perfect. But there is a way that you and I can reach that required, perfected character.

“All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and everyone who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.” Ibid.

Unless Christ delivers me, I have no hope. He, the promised Saviour, is my only hope. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25. Another literal Greek translation of this verse is, “He is able to save perfectly those that come to God by Him.”

There is no need to be afraid or feel anxious about your imperfect character, for we have a Saviour who is able to save every soul, even those at the very bottom of the pit of sin. He has promised to pull us, each one, out of the darkness of sin and to perfectly save us. In your heart, you may feel that you are nothing, filthy, and that your mind is all wrong, but you can call upon Him, and trusting in Him alone, He will work out the plan of salvation in your life.

God’s law is holy, just, and good, and broad in its requirements. It reaches to the very thoughts and feelings of the soul (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 10, 287). Notice that God’s law reaches to my thoughts and feelings. Why? Because that is where the sin is. It is not just what I do, but what I am. I, my thoughts, feelings, and intentions, are not in harmony with God’s law. Just because I have not committed an act of sin does not make me any less of a sinner. If I am, in any way, out of harmony with the law of God, then I am sinning because I am living in a state of sin.

“They [the law of God, the ten commandments] lay men under obligation to God: they reach to the thoughts and feelings of the soul; and they will produce conviction of sin in everyone who is sensible of having transgressed them. If the law extended only to the external conduct, men would not feel guilty over their wrong thoughts, desires, and designs. But the law requires that the soul itself, the spiritual agent, be pure.” Ibid., 287, 288. We must accept Christ as our Saviour, surrendering to His transforming power, or we will remain impure, unholy, and sinful, because alone we are unable to be anything else.

The Spirit of Prophecy makes it very clear that the expression “that Holy Thing,” was referring to Jesus’ humanity not His divinity. Jesus was to be the physical walking, talking, breathing example to man of the character of God. “The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the glory of the Godhead.” The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1895

Webster’s dictionary defines embodiment as “the act of embodying or a state of being embodied.” Embodied means to “cause to become a body or part of a body”; in other words, incarnate. When Mrs. White wrote that Jesus is the embodiment of the glory of the Godhead, she was speaking about His body.

“What speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible Father. He is the manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. God sent His Son into the world, His divinity clothed with humanity, that man might bear the image of the invisible God. He made known in His words, His character, His power and majesty, the nature and attributes of God. Divinity flashed through humanity in softening, subduing light. He was the embodiment of the law of God, which is the transcript of His character.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1131

“To human eyes, Christ was only a man, yet He was a perfect man. In His humanity He was the impersonation of the divine character. God embodied His own attributes in His Son—His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His purity, His truthfulness, His spirituality, and His benevolence. In Him, though human, all perfection of character, all divine excellence, dwelt. …

“He was manifesting God in humanity. Yet He was the humblest of all the prophets; and He exemplified in His life the truth that the more perfect the character of human beings, the more simple and humble they will be.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897

Jesus came to this world as a human being, “not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man could do, through faith in God’s power to help in every emergency. Man is, through faith, to be a partaker in the divine nature, and to overcome every temptation wherewith he is beset. The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam through faith in Jesus Christ, serve Him in [the] human nature which we now have.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 140

The devil was jubilant. He was sure that finally he would win the great controversy. And if he were to win, every son and daughter of Adam would perish. Christ would perish, too, because if the devil had won, Christ would have lost His divinity.  Divine wrath would have come upon Christ.

“Satan and his angels exulted as they discovered that the Son of God had taken upon Himself the nature of man, and had come to be man’s substitute, to engage in the conflict in our behalf. The human family had been overpowered by the deception of the enemy; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and the enemy hoped that Christ also would become a victim to his seductive wiles. Satan gloried in the opportunity of besieging the Son of God with fierce temptations. Because He had taken upon Himself the nature of man, Satan deemed that his victory was certain, and with every malignant device in his power he strove to overcome Christ. The steadfast resistance of Christ to the temptations of the enemy brought the whole confederacy of evil to war against him. Evil men and evil angels united their forces against the Prince of Peace. The issues at stake were beyond the comprehension of men, and the temptations that assailed Christ were as much more intense and subtle than those which assail man as his character was purer and more exalted than is the character of man in his moral and physical defilement. In his conflict with the prince of darkness in this atom of a world, Christ had to meet the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversary of God and man; but at every point he met the tempter, and put him to flight. Christ was conqueror over the powers of darkness, and took the infinite risk of consenting to war with the enemy, that he might conquer him in our behalf.” The Signs of the Times, February 20, 1893

Christ was tempted far more than any of us will ever be tempted. If He had lost, we, too, would have been lost. Yet, He took an infinite risk, coming to this earth as a man to face the devil, and to save mankind. Imagine the difference of the level of temptation between Jesus and us. One demon comes and whispers a suggestive thought to us and have we not given in to the temptation many times? Jesus met Satan and “the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversary” and stood fast.

Very few Adventists understand what happened to mankind when Adam sinned. “When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which He had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal [fleshly].” Ibid. February 13, 1893. The entire human race became carnal.

Man’s carnal flesh must be crucified, and he must be born again. Paul speaks repeatedly that the old man, our carnal nature, must be crucified.

“That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22–24

Your carnal nature is to be crucified, but a crucified person can come down from the cross. That is what they said to Jesus. “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down [from the cross].” Matthew 4:6. Mrs. White says that Christ could have come down from the cross and gone back to His Father, but had He done so, you and I would be lost (The Desire of Ages, 145). Have you let your carnal man get down from the cross?

Because of Adam’s sin, the whole human race became carnal, therefore, we are all partakers of the satanic nature, and if we are to be in heaven, three things must occur. “Since the divine law is as changeless as the character of God, there could be no hope for man unless some way could be devised whereby his transgression might be pardoned, his nature renewed, and his spirit restored to reflect the image of God.” That I May Know Him, 18

God’s law requires a perfect character. “Even the thoughts must be brought into subjection to the will of God, and the feelings under the control of reason and religion. Our imagination was not given us to be allowed to run riot and have its own way, without any effort at restraint and discipline. If the thoughts are wrong, the feelings will be wrong; and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character. When we decide that as Christians we are not required to restrain our thoughts and feelings, we are brought under the influence of evil angels, and invite their presence and control.” The Review and Herald, April 21, 1885

God’s law requires that we present to Him a holy character. What constitutes a holy character? “The law requires us to present to God a holy character. It demands of men today just what it demanded of Adam and Eve in Eden—perfect obedience, perfect harmony with all its [the law of God] precepts in all relations of life, under all circumstances and conditions. No unholy thought can be tolerated, no unlovely action can be justified. As the law requires that which no man of himself can render, the human family are found guilty before the great moral standard.” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895

The thoughts and feelings in all relations of life, under all circumstances and all conditions must be holy, in harmonious agreement with all the precepts of God’s law; anything less is transgression of God’s law and therefore, sin.

 “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” James 1:14. So what is temptation?

“It [temptation] is the means by which those who claim to be the children of God are tested and tried.” The Signs of the Times, May 27, 1897

When Satan tempted Eve in the garden, the temptation involved three parts: [1] distrust in God’s love, [2] doubting His wisdom, [3] and transgressing His law (Patriarchs and Prophets, 57). “Satan exulted in his success. He had tempted the woman.” Ibid. Eve failed in all three, and if you or I fail on the first two parts, we will fail on the third—every time. We must be vigilant, because the devil is still using this same temptation on God’s people all over the world today.

Someone might say, “I know that God loves me and everything He does is wise and best. I would never distrust His love or doubt His wisdom.” But what if that same person had a loved one in the hospital dying of cancer, and they say, “This person is a Christian, how can this happen? If there was a God in heaven, this couldn’t happen.” Do you see? The devil is tempting them to doubt God’s love and wisdom. The devil whispers in the ears of those suffering some trial, “If there was a God who had infinite love, infinite wisdom, and infinite power, He wouldn’t let this happen.”

The time of trouble is coming, and if I do not trust in God’s love and wisdom now, then I will not keep His law, and I will be unable to make it through that terrible time.

If I am to survive the temptations that are coming, then I must be rooted and grounded in the truth so that I have perfect trust and confidence in God’s love for me. Whether I am sick and no one can say why, or everything seems to be going against me and nothing makes sense, still I must have faith in God’s love and wisdom now.

An army of soldiers came to the home of a Waldensian family. They killed the sons, cut off their heads, tied them around their father’s neck, and then marched the father to his death. Could you trust that there is a God in heaven who has infinite love and wisdom for you in a situation like that? Can you trust God’s love and know that He is wise and He is going to work all things out for your good in the end even when everything’s going wrong and you can’t understand it?

Friends, we must practice trusting in God now, every day, in all things—because trust in God will not just magically appear when things get tough. We must trust in Him or we will fail and be lost.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Songs – Just as I Am

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Charlotte Elliott was born on March 18, 1789, in Westfield Lodge, Brighton (England). She was the third of six children, with two brothers and three sisters. Charlotte was highly educated and developed a great passion for music and art at an early age and was surrounded by great refinement and piety in her family.

While still young, Charlotte became “aware of her sinful nature and realized her need to resist sin’s enticements. She felt unworthy to receive God’s grace, and wholly incapable of facing a righteous and perfect God.” She was a frequent visitor at many different churches and the pastors advised her to pray more, study the Bible more, and to do more virtuous deeds.

The first 32 years of her life were spent in Clapham, a district in S.W. London, where she was popular as a portrait artist and wrote humorous verses. In 1821, she suffered a serious illness that removed her from the whirl of social life in London and put her in a position to feel her dire need of a personal Saviour. A pastor visiting in her father’s home, asked her, “Are you at peace with God?” She resented the question at first, but some days later, she called for the pastor to return. She apologized for her behavior and told him that she wanted to cleanse her life before becoming a Christian. But the pastor replied, “Come just as you are.” Charlotte committed her life to Christ that very day.

She had a weak constitution thereafter, but in 1834, undertook the editorial supervision of The Christian Remembrancer Pocket Book and in 1836, the Invalid’s Hymn Book. This she did for the next 25 years and many of her own hymns can be found in these annual publications.

In 1835, Charlotte wrote the hymn Just As I Am. It is sung to at least four different hymn tunes, but the tune Woodworth, written by William B. Bradbury, is the best known and used by congregations the world over today.

Charlotte Elliott died on September 22, 1871. Little did she know that her most famous hymn would become the number one altar call song in the world. It was the song to which Billy Graham gave his heart to the Lord and then used for decades during his own crusades.

Just imagine the number of people who will come to Charlotte Elliott, if she remained faithful, to tell her how this beloved song touched their hearts and helped them to come, just as they were, to the Saviour.

“Jesus loves to have you come to Him just as you are, hopeless and helpless, and cast yourself upon His all-abundant mercy and believe that He will receive you just as you are.” In Heavenly Places, 119

Sources: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_as_I_Am_(hymn); Wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham; Wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Elliott

 

Just as I am – without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come!

 

Just as I am – and waiting not

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come!

 

Just as I am – though toss’d about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come!

 

Just as I am – poor, wretched, blind;

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come!

Miraculous Change

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“Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”

1 Timothy 3:16

“The Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:1, 14

From these scriptures we can see that there was a time when Jesus was not a fleshly being, but a spiritual one. It was when He was born of Mary that He became flesh.

These scriptures would not be so difficult to understand or explain except for one other scripture found in Romans. “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. We need to clearly understand this scripture.

Mrs. White says that Jesus was just like we are, so Adventist preachers for decades have gone to the moon and back with this verse preaching that Jesus had a fallen, sinful, human nature, which, of course, means that He had a carnal mind. They are preaching that He had to fight selfishness just like you and I have to fight it. From this scripture, preachers and laity alike have decided that Jesus came in sinful flesh, but Romans 8:3 doesn’t say that He came in sinful flesh. It says He came in the likeness of sinful flesh.

Paul wrote Romans 8:3 the way he did for a reason, so let’s do some research to understand what he was trying to tell us when he said that Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh. This subject is very controversial, spawning much argument, but rather than arguing, we need to search the inspired writings and let Inspiration tell us what is true about Christ’s human nature.

“Even the moral law fails of its purpose unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour. Christ had repeatedly shown that His Father’s law contained something deeper than mere authoritative commands. In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man’s duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.” The Desire of Ages, 608

Romans 8:3 has been misapplied by many Adventists who fail to see the relationship of the humanity of Jesus Christ to the law. Notice the first sentence of the previous quote “Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour.” The reason so many are confused is because they do not understand the far-reaching principle of God’s law and what constitutes sin. It is important to understand both, but it is also necessary to understand what the word sinful means and to what the word likeness refers. Let’s be sure we understand the meaning of the terms that we are using.

The word flesh can refer to one of two things—the physical body or the carnal mind—depending on the context. Flesh is sometimes used when referring to the physical body of man, the living machinery through which sin or righteousness is manifested. The body itself cannot act contrary to the will because the body is controlled by the mind, the will.

“The mind controls the whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 426

So the body, the flesh, the house in which we live, is not sin, but is affected by sin. However, if the word flesh is used in relation to the natural or carnal mind, then that is sin. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” Romans 8:7

The carnal mind is enmity against God and, therefore, is most certainly sin. It is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.

Texts that use flesh in reference to the physical body have been interpreted to mean the mind. It is the failure to recognize in inspired writings that the word flesh can have two different applications, depending on the context, that has confused so many people and resulted in much controversy.

As for the far-reaching principles of God’s law, David said that God’s commandments are exceedingly broad (Psalm 119:96). The ten commandment document is really one of the most amazing that was ever written—so short that a child can learn it, and yet so all-encompassing that it involves the entire will of God for the human family.

“It is so brief that we can easily commit every precept to memory, and yet so far-reaching as to express the whole will of God, and to take cognizance, not only of the outward actions, but of the thoughts and intents, the desires and emotions, of the heart.” The Signs of the Times, April 15, 1886

God’s law is to govern not only my actions, but every thought, intent, desire, and emotion of my heart. If I have a sinful desire, even if it has not yet manifested in action, that also is sin.

Human laws cannot do this. They can deal only with the outward actions. A man may be a transgressor, and yet conceal his misdeeds from human eyes; he may be a criminal—a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer—but so long as he is not discovered, the law cannot condemn him as guilty.

“The law of God takes note of the jealousy, envy, hatred, malignity, revenge, lust, and ambition that surge through the soul, but have not found expression in outward action, because the opportunity, not the will, has been wanting. And these sinful emotions will be brought into the account in the day when ‘God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.’ ” Ibid.

“Christ, in His teaching, fully developed the principles of the law, making it plain that it does not concern the outward actions merely, but has to do with the heart, reaching even to the unspoken thoughts.” The Signs of the Times, June 5, 1901

“God does not deal with actions so much as with the heart that prompts them.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 4, 440

Sin is not determined only by what I do, but by the motives in my mind and heart that cause me to do the things I do. Think about that: a single action could be good or evil depending on the motive in the heart. The far-reaching principles of God’s law embrace the heart, the mind, and the sinful emotions that have not found expression in outward action because of lack of opportunity. The requirements of God’s law go beyond what I choose to do.

“Many mistakes were made by the Jewish teachers in regard to the true character and far-reaching principles of the law. Its relation to sin was misconceived and misapplied. The outward action was dealt with, but inward sins were not touched. …

“In His sermon on the mount, Christ made known the comprehensive and far-reaching character of the law of God. He applied its great principles to the thoughts and the desires. He taught that all wrong thoughts and feelings, though unknown to any human being, are a transgression of the law of God, and that those who cherish them must suffer the penalty. Thus the law was shown to reach the inner life.” The Review and Herald, May 3, 1898

The word sinful means being tainted with, full of sin, being wicked. Being tainted means to be contaminated by or infected with, ruined or corrupted by something. An example would be a body full of cancer with no human way to eradicate it.

Being sinful isn’t just doing bad things, any more than being righteous is not doing bad things. It involves the very being of man. The heart and mind, thoughts and desires totally consumed by sinfulness, will do nothing but wickedness.

“And He said, ‘What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.’ ” Mark 7:20–23

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

“The law requires righteousness—a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God’s holy law.” The Desire of Ages, 762. Man is sinful, corrupted, so thoroughly infected with sin that it renders him incapable of meeting the claims of God’s holy law.

Did Jesus have this kind of heart and mind? Look again at these texts. In describing the nature of man’s heart and mind, were Mark and Jeremiah describing Jesus’ heart and mind as well? If His mind was tainted and infected with sin as ours are, how could He have been our Saviour?

When people say that Jesus had our natural tendencies toward sin, but that isn’t sin because He never actually committed sin, they speak directly against the word of God and inspired writings. We know this from 1 John 3:15: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” And Matthew 5:27, 28: “ ‘You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ ”

These both describe the thoughts and motives of the mind and heart of sinful man. A man who lusts after a woman is breaking the law just as if he had physically laid down with her and committed the act. A man who hates a brother, or anyone, is breaking the law just as though he had taken his life. Is this what was in the mind and heart of Jesus?

“All sin is selfishness.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 1763. The person who has a selfish heart is living in sin. Every thought, every word, every action that he does is sinful because it proceeds from a selfish heart and therefore, is motivated by selfishness, which is sin. It is my nature, as a son of Adam, to be inherently selfish, and, therefore a sinner by nature which results in sinful action. It is who I am. Reason then says, that if Jesus had a nature like mine, He would be inherently selfish and thereby a sinner though He never committed a sinful act.

“One unsanctified act on the part of our Saviour would have marred the pattern, and He could not have been a perfect example for us; but although He was tempted in all points like as we are, He was yet without one taint of sin.” Sons and Daughters of God, 148

The word nature also is used in reference to two different things. Sometimes it is used to reflect or describe the physical nature of man, and other times to describe his mental nature. In the context of Romans 8:3, the word flesh means man’s sinful nature that cannot keep the law. Flesh then equals sinful nature. Paul makes it very plain in Romans 8:5. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Here Paul is still speaking of the same sinful flesh that he has been speaking of in verses 3 and 4, but now he specifically identifies this sinful flesh. “For to be carnally [fleshly] minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Verses 6–8

“ ‘The carnal [or natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ Human nature could not keep the law, even if it would.” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895. When someone tells you they cannot keep the law, they are telling the truth, for sinful human nature cannot keep the law of God no matter how much a person might want to.

That which Paul calls sinful flesh God’s modern-day prophet calls sinful nature and human nature. Therefore in this context, sinful flesh, human nature, and sinful nature are used synonymously to refer to the carnal mind which cannot keep the law of God.

In Zechariah 3, we find the vision of Joshua the high priest, the leader of God’s people, standing before the angel in filthy garments. Mrs. White says the setting of this vision is just before probation closes. What are these filthy garments? “The fact that the acknowledged people of God are represented as standing before the Lord in filthy garments should lead to humility and deep searching of heart on the part of all who profess His name. … we should realize our sinful condition.” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 471

“Your sinful condition demanded a sacrifice. In your spiritual destitution you had nothing to offer.” The Review and Herald, May 28, 1901. Our filthy garments, our sinful condition, is the result of our spiritual poverty. “By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as these: ‘Dead in trespasses and sins;’ ‘the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint;’ ‘no soundness in it.’ We are held fast in the snare of Satan, ‘taken captive by him at his will.’ Ephesians 2:1; Isaiah 1:5, 6; 2 Timothy 2:26.” Steps to Christ, 43

We are carnally-minded. Our sinful human nature is spiritually destitute and at war with God. Our sinful condition demanded a sacrifice that was not spiritually destitute, nor hostile toward God.

“Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by God, He [Jesus] began where the first Adam began. Willingly He passed over the ground where Adam fell, and redeemed Adam’s failure.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 2, 1898

“He humbled Himself to become a man, so that a body should be found, a Lamb without blemish should be provided as a sinless offering, that God might be just and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.” The Signs of the Times, June 18, 1896

Every mind is controlled either by Satan or the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our condition is sinful because the carnal mind is held captive to the power of Satan. The body alone is not evil. The sin is in the mind and the body simply responds to its direction.

“The standard of the law cannot be lowered to meet man in his fallen condition. No compromise can be made with the sinner to take less than the full requirement of the law. The law cannot acquit the guilty, it cannot cleanse the sinner, or give power to the transgressor to raise himself into a purer, holier atmosphere.” Ibid., May 30, 1895. How then is it possible for me to be saved? It is impossible unless a divine miracle takes place in my life.

For the unconverted person, every thought, word, emotion, everything that he or she says or does, is sinful. Remember when Adam was first created, the law of righteousness was written in his heart and his life was governed by this law. But when he sinned, the law of selfishness became the governing power and his heart became permeated with selfishness. Because selfishness is sin, then a man’s motives are selfish, and everything he thinks, says, and does is sin.

Paul first realized this and wrote about it in Romans 7. He was one of the strictest of Pharisees, and while he lived without the law, he considered himself to be blameless regarding the law. No one could accuse him of committing a wrong action. Paul knew the law, had memorized it, but he did not yet understand the far-reaching claims of God’s law. He believed that if he did all the right things, then he was following the law.

But the day came when, on the Damascus road, Paul met Jesus. It was then that he realized that God’s law especially had to do with the motivations of his heart, his thoughts, and desires. Having been “alive once without the law,” Paul now recognizes that our inward, fallen condition, prompting our outward, sinful acts, is the transgression that is being condemned.

We are born into this world with sinful flesh which is hostile against God, and all of Adam’s posterity have and will inherit from him sinful flesh. This inherited condition is out of harmony with God’s law, making all of Adam’s posterity transgressors by nature, even before they are born (Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 48:8; Psalm 58:3), and guilty of not keeping it. Selfishness is the governing principle in the life of every man and woman, and selfishness is sin. “Adam disobeyed and entailed sin upon his posterity; but God gave His Son for the redemption of the race.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 6, 3

Man is selfish by nature, a sinner at enmity with God, unless a miraculous transformation is accomplished in the mind, heart, and soul.

“The perishing sinner may say: ‘I am a lost sinner; but Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost.’ He says, ‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’ (Mark 2:17). I am a sinner, and He died upon Calvary’s cross to save me. I need not remain a moment longer unsaved.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 392

Paul tells us that he was ignorant of sin and the true principles of the law, even though he had memorized the law and was a “strict” law keeper, but then he saw that God’s law, His great standard of righteousness, condemned sin in the flesh. Suddenly Paul saw himself as God saw him—a sinner. He accepted the truth found in the gospel, laid hold of the Saviour, and the Holy Spirit immediately began the work of purification in his life.

The person in the most dangerous spiritual condition is not the man who knows he is a great sinner and sees that he is lost unless he surrenders all of himself to this work of purification. It is the man who believes he is rich and needs nothing who is in the most dangerous spiritual condition.

“When man [Adam and Eve] fell, the law of self was set up. This law harmonizes with the will of sinful humanity.” The Signs of the Times, January 25, 1899

“The sowing of seeds of selfishness in the human heart was the first result of the entrance of sin into the world.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 7, 233

We must understand that selfishness is the root of all sin, the most deeply-engrained, natural trait of man’s character. It must be purged if we expect to be in the kingdom of heaven. “It is a weakness of humanity to pet selfishness, because it is a natural trait of character.” The Faith I Live By, 140

“Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 330

If I am to be saved, I must go to the foot of the cross, recognizing that I am ruined and unable to change myself. I must surrender myself to the Lord and ask Him to help me, for He has promised to send the Holy Spirit to begin the process of transformation in my life if I will but ask. I cannot, by my own efforts, be born again because it is a creative act that only God can perform. Everything must become new. This is the change that the Holy Spirit makes in my heart and mind.

Mrs. White says that we must pray day by day asking the Lord to cast out all selfishness from our hearts. This is the Christian’s warfare. The Holy Spirit will implant a new nature within us, but we still must overcome our carnal nature by His power and grace.

“God desires everyone to understand the evil of selfishness, and to cooperate with Him in guarding the human family against its terrible, deceptive power.” Manuscript Releases, Vol, 7, 233

“Christ will not permit one selfish person to enter the courts of heaven. No covetous person can pass through the pearly gates; for all covetousness is idolatry.” The Review and Herald, July 11, 1899

Friend, this is an overwhelming problem in Adventism today. People do not know what sin truly is. They believe our actions alone are sin. But selfishness permeates man’s mind and heart, and it is selfishness that directs his sinful actions.

When we understand our true condition, then we can understand that we must surrender everything to the Lord, choosing to follow Him because nothing short of a miracle can ever change us. The God whom we serve is a specialist in miraculously doing the impossible. He who is mighty to save will never turn away anyone seeking salvation. The conversion of a sinner is God’s greatest miracle of all.

“The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37, last part

[Emphasis supplied.]

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

The Humanity of Christ is Everything

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“The humanity of the Son of God is everything to us. It is the golden chain that binds our souls to Christ, and through Christ to God. This is to be our study.”

Selected Messages, Book 1, 244

We started this series several months ago with 1 Timothy 3:16: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Another text speaks of the same mystery found in 1 Timothy, but the language is completely different. “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:24–27

Friends, if I do not understand the truth about the nature of Christ, then I will not understand what it means for Christ to be in me, the hope of glory, and that has serious implications.

Let’s continue our study of the mystery of godliness, focusing on Galatians 4, starting with verses 4 and 5.

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

This is a simple and straightforward text, yet there is, in Adventism, tremendous controversy and misunderstanding over it. This is because we often read into the text something that it does not actually say. Some Adventists have interpreted that when the Bible says “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” as meaning that Christ was born under the law of sin. You and I are born under the law of sin; in fact, every human being, save One, that has ever lived and is alive in the world today is born under the law of sin. The Spirit of Prophecy talks at great length about this and I challenge you to search it out for yourself.

In the Bible, the word law can apply to a number of different things and this is where the problem arises among conservative, Protestant Christians. They take New Testament texts that refer to the law or laws and apply them to the ten commandments—the law of God—when the texts could be referring to the law of the Lord, the law of Moses, or even the Torah. We have to be careful which interpretation of the word law we are adopting when we speak of the nature of Christ. Jesus was born under the law, just not the law of sin.

The first section of the Hebrew Bible is called the Torah. The Torah is the law, written by Moses and followed by the Jews as the law. The ten commandments are contained within the Torah, and oftentimes, the New Testament talks about the Torah, referring to it as the whole law of Moses. So, it is important to know which law the Bible is referring to: the law of the Lord, the law of God (the ten commandments), or the law of Moses.

But Paul writes in Romans 7 about “another” law which is not one of these three, but rather the law of sin. If you recall, we previously learned that Adam was originally created and lived in perfect harmony, not only with the law of God, but also with the nature of God. The principles of righteousness were written on his heart. Adam’s natural thoughts and feelings, his disposition and affections were in harmony with the nature and law of God; he reflected the character of God. Adam was created under the law of God.

But when he sinned, his nature, once governed by the principles of righteousness, was changed, and thereafter governed by the principles of selfishness. This new nature, governed by the law of sin, became the nature of all mankind.

We are born under the law of sin, but Jesus was born under the law of God. He was born to be the embodiment of the law of God. How could He be the ultimate example of a life lived in perfect obedience to the law of God if He was not born under the law of sin, the same law that governs us?

Let’s see how this can be true. “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ ” Luke 1:26–35

What these texts say cannot be said about any human being except Jesus Christ. “He was born without a taint of sin, but came into the world in like manner as the human family.” Lift Him Up, 345. He grew in His mother’s womb and when the fullness of time was accomplished, He was delivered into this world, born with a physical body the same as all human beings.

Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit and a human woman. So here’s the question, what did He inherit from Mary? We find the answer in Romans 1:3, “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” And Hebrews 10:5, 10, “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.’ … By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Remember, that the words flesh, nature, and law can have more than one meaning, and to know the correct meaning, we have to know the context of the scripture. So, what does the word flesh in Romans 1:3 refer to?

This is what Ellen White says are the attributes of human beings: “We have reason, conscience, memory, will, affections—all the attributes a human being can possess.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 6, 112

Now let’s look at what she says about Christ:

“We should consider the fact that to Christ our nature was a robe of humiliation and suffering. He humbled Himself to become a man, so that a body should be found, a Lamb without blemish should be provided as a sinless offering, that God might be just and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Humanity was in union with divinity.” The Signs of the Times, June 18, 1896

“He had not taken on Him even the nature of the angels, but humanity, perfectly identical with our own nature, except without the taint of sin. A human body, a human mind, with all the peculiar properties, He was bone, brain, and muscle. A man of our flesh, He was compassed with the weakness of humanity.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182

These two references make it clear that the word flesh, in this context, refer to His physical, human body and mind.

“The circumstances of His life were of that character that He was exposed to all the inconveniences that belong to men, not in wealth, not in ease, but in poverty and want and humiliation. He breathed the very air man must breathe. He trod our earth as a man. He had reason, conscience, memory, will, and affections of the human soul which was united with His divine nature.” Ibid.

So from our reading in Galatians 4 and from Inspiration, we find that Jesus received from His mother a human body and mind—prepared by God—with all the attributes possible for a human being to possess. He was made to be the Lamb without blemish, without the taint of sin, that a sanctified offering might be found. Christ’s humanity did not exist before He was conceived and born of Mary.

“His [Christ’s] human nature was created; it did not even possess the angelic powers. It was human, identical with our own.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 6, 111

Jesus had existed as a divine person throughout the ceaseless ages. In His divinity, He was not under the law of God. As the author of the law, He was above it. But when He was made of a woman, He was made in subjection to the law of God. He became a child of humanity, instructed by the Holy Spirit as every child may be, and a servant under the government of His Father until the time appointed for Him to receive His kingdom.

The foundation of God’s government in heaven and throughout His earthly dominion is His law, and it has two ruling principles: to love God supremely and to love our fellow human beings as ourselves. “The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love—homage that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His character.” The Great Controversy, 493. The authority of God is backed by His law which requires all created intelligences to be in subjection to its claims.

God sent His Son made under the law, placed under the jurisdiction, power, and control of His government and His law. To be subject to God’s law, Jesus had to have a human body, because in His divinity alone, He was not under or subject to the law.

This raised the question in Ellen White’s time, and still today, when Jesus was tempted, was it possible for Him to yield to the temptation? In fact, there are many Protestant theologians who believe that it was impossible for Christ to fail, impossible for Him to yield to temptation.

But Mrs. White says in answer to this question: “The point you inquire of me is, In our Lord’s great scene of conflict in the wilderness, apparently under the power of Satan and his angels, was He capable, in His human nature, of yielding to these temptations?

“I will try to answer this important question: As God He could not be tempted: but as a man He could be tempted, and that strongly, and could yield to the temptations.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 129

Notice how particular and definite she is in detail. Was Christ God? Yes He was. In His divine nature as God He could not be tempted (James 1:13–15).

“For a period of time Christ was on probation. He took humanity on Himself, to stand the test and trial which the first Adam failed to endure. Had He failed in His test and trial, He would have been disobedient to the voice of God, and the world would have been lost.” The Signs of the Times, May 10, 1899

From these references we can know that Christ was identical to us in His humanity, including not only bone, brain and muscle, but also all the attributes a human being can possess—conscience, memory, will, and affections—with the vital exception that His humanity did not possess the taint of sin.

We have studied that the law of God is an expression of His very nature, the embodiment of the great principle of love, the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. Mrs. White says that His law is a transcript of His character and the only correct standard of holiness.

“Righteousness is holiness, likeness to God, and ‘God is love.’ 1 John 4:16. It is conformity to the law of God, for ‘all Thy commandments are righteousness’ (Psalm 119:172), and ‘love is the fulfilling of the law’ (Romans 13:10). Righteousness is love, and love is the light and the life of God.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 18

God’s law is truth, the embodiment of the great principle of love, the foundation of His government in heaven and on earth, a transcript of His character, the security of life, happiness, and peace. God’s law is righteousness and the only correct standard of holiness, but to sinners that law is a ministry of condemnation and death.

The law of God is broad in its requirements, and man is under the obligation to keep it, not only outwardly, but in his thoughts, emotions, intents, and feelings of the heart and soul.

“If the law extended to the outward conduct only, men would not be guilty in their wrong thoughts, desires, and designs. But the law requires that the soul itself be pure and the mind holy, that the thoughts and feelings may be in accordance with the standard of love and righteousness.” The Review and Herald, April 5, 1898

Notice that the soul and the mind are closely connected. “The mind controls the whole man. All our actions, good or bad, have their source in the mind. It is the mind that worships God, and allies us to heavenly beings.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 426. The law of God requires that the soul itself—the inward thoughts, feelings, motives, and desires—not just the outward actions, be pure and in harmony with it.

There are two powers seeking to control in this world. Satan is in a vicious and violent battle to control the minds and souls of men. He spends all of his time trying to figure out how to accomplish it. We need to understand this warfare and how we must cooperate with the heavenly agencies.

“The law requires righteousness—a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God’s holy law.” The Desire of Ages, 762

The reason we cannot meet the claims of God’s law is not complicated. When Adam yielded to temptation, man became carnal, and when he had a son, his son was then born in his carnal image. All of us are born as partakers of the satanic nature. Adam’s natural allegiance belonged to his Creator, but he became a traitor, and as the legal representative of the race, laid its homage as a willing offering at the feet of the enemy, who then took control of man’s mind. Knowing this, it is easy to look back through history and understand how man was, and still is, capable of some of the most horrendous thoughts and actions.

How is it that mankind has become so degraded? There is but one explanation: the devil controls the human mind. Selfishness is the law of Satan’s kingdom, and when man chose him as his ruler, he came under the jurisdiction of the law of self, the law of sin. Selfishness replaced love in man’s heart and became the ruling principle of his life.

The law of God requires righteousness, and not one of Adam’s posterity is born inheriting righteousness, because Adam disobeyed and entailed sin upon his posterity (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 6, 3). Righteousness is holiness, a likeness to God. “No man inherits holiness as a birthright, nor can he, by any methods that he can devise, become loyal to God.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 310. From the moment of conception, we are, by nature, transgressors of God’s law. We do not possess the righteousness, the holiness, nor the allegiance to God that the law demands.

But what does the Bible say regarding the humanity of the only begotten Son from the moment that He was conceived? “And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Ghost will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you: therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’ ” Luke 1:35

Referring to this scripture, Mrs. White says, “These words do not refer to any human being, except to the Son of the infinite God.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1128. It was essential that from the moment of conception, Jesus had to be righteous, holy, and have an allegiance to God, all the things which the law demands. He had to meet the claims and the requirements of the law of God from the moment of conception, because He came to fulfill the law. “Jesus volunteered to meet the highest claims of the law, that He might be the justifier of all who believe on Him. We look to the cross, and see in Jesus a fully satisfied and reconciled God.” The Review and Herald, September 2, 1890

“Christ did not possess the same sinful, corrupt, fallen disloyalty we possess, for then He could not be a perfect offering.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 131. From the moment of His conception, Jesus Christ had not one sinful thought, desire, or propensity. If He had, it would be impossible for Him to be our Saviour; He would be unable to justify us, nor to forgive our sins.

Paul, speaking of Jesus, says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:9, 10

“The glory of Christ is His character, and His character is an expression of the law of God. He fulfilled the law in its every specification.” The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1895

“The facts of this history are not fable, but a living, acting, experience. To deny this would rob Jesus of His greatest glory—allegiance to God—which enshrouded Him as a garment in this world on the field of battle with the relentless foe, and He is not reckoned with the transgressor.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 183

Jesus came to this world to reveal what the apostle Paul says was hidden in the mind of God from the beginning. The inhabitants of the unfallen worlds could not understand it; the devil and the people of this world do not understand it; but Jesus came to reveal it.

He couldn’t do it as an angel, and He couldn’t do it as God. “Christ came in human form to show the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds and of the fallen world that ample provision has been made to enable human beings to live in loyalty to their Creator.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 227. What a wonderful promise!

“Christ came to vindicate the sacred claims of the law.” Pacific Union Recorder, December 17, 1903

“He came to manifest the nature of His law, to reveal in His own character the beauty of holiness.” Education, 76

There is attractiveness like no other in studying the life and character of Jesus. People who lack spiritual understanding might say He was just a good man. He was a man, but He was a perfect man, for in His humanity, “God embodied His own attributes in His Son.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897

Jesus, as a man, was God’s goodness, wisdom, power, purity, truthfulness, spirituality, benevolence, and love. “In Him, though human, all perfection of character, all divine excellence, dwelt.

“The words of Christ were full of deep meaning as He put forth the claim that He and the Father were of one substance, possessing the same attributes.” The Signs of the Times, November 27, 1893

“The righteousness of God is embodied in Christ. We receive righteousness by receiving Him.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 18

From childhood to manhood, Christ taught that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Truth because He did not, by one act of disobedience, separate Himself from God. The source of His peace was the power of the Holy Spirit who was upon Him and in control of His mind. Disobedience would have separated Him from God, just as disobedience separated the first Adam from God.

“Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by God, He began where the first Adam began.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 2, 1898

Christ’s obedience to the law, was not merely an outward compliance. Jesus was the very expression of God’s law in His nature, with the great principle of love in His heart. If we have this same principle of love implanted in our hearts, then the image of our Saviour will be reflected in us, and we will be ready for Jesus to come again.

“Let it never be forgotten that the teacher must be what he desires his pupils to become.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 58 [Author’s emphasis.]

“None need fail of attaining, in his sphere, to perfection of Christian character. By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection and places before us the example of Christ’s character. In His humanity, perfected by a life of constant resistance to evil, the Saviour showed that through cooperation with Divinity, human beings may in this life attain to perfection of character. This is God’s assurance to us that we, too, may obtain complete victory.” The Acts of the Apostles, 531

In closing, Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

Born of a woman, embodied with the very attributes of God’s nature, born under the law of God, filled with love, righteousness, and holiness, Jesus came to confront the master deceiver and save mankind.

We must understand who Jesus is, what He is like and then, we must claim the promise that His character will be worked out in us, and we will be perfected by the power of the Holy Spirit. Alone, we are helpless, but with His divine grace and power, our hearts and minds can be changed to be in harmony with His.

[Emphasis supplied.]

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

I Must Tell Jesus

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Each morning, before we start the workday here at Steps to Life, we have staff worship. Part of our worship is singing a hymn. Recently, we sang I Must Tell Jesus, and after having sung the hymn, we contemplated what tragedy or discouragement might have befallen the writer of the song to elicit such a heartfelt declaration. I determined to see if I could find out.

I Must Tell Jesus was written, both lyrics and music, by Elisha (E. A.) Hoffman. He was born in 1839 in the town of Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania.

In 1864, at the age of 24, Elisha served in the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1865, he married Susan Orwig, who died in 1875. In 1879, he married Emma Sayres Smith. In total, he had three children, sons Orey and Harry, and daughter Florence.

He worked for eleven years in the Evangelical Association’s publishing house. In 1868, following in his father’s footsteps, he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church. He served as a minister for over 60 years in Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, spending 33 of those years as pastor of the Benton Harbor Presbyterian Church.

He is credited with writing over 2,000 hymns, such as Are You Washed in the Blood?; Leaning on the Everlasting Arms; and I Must Tell Jesus. He was both lyricist and composer of his songs.

While serving a church in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, he visited a woman who had faced a number of struggles. He relates his visit with her thusly:

“There was a woman to whom God had permitted many visitations of sorrow and affliction. Coming to her home one day, I found her much discouraged. She unburdened her heart, concluding with the question, ‘Brother Hoffman, what shall I do?’ I quoted from the word, then added, ‘You cannot do better than to take all of your sorrows to Jesus. You must tell Jesus.’

“For a moment she seemed lost in meditation. Then her eyes lighted as she exclaimed, ‘Yes, I must tell Jesus.’ As I left her home, I had a vision of that joy-illuminated face, and I heard all along my pathway the echo, ‘I must tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus.’ ”

Upon arriving home, he wrote the words of this beloved hymn and composed the tune he titled “Orwigsburg” after his birthplace. I Must Tell Jesus first appeared in the Pentecostal Hymns hymnal in 1894.

Perhaps some might find the song simplistic or repetitious, since in the four stanzas, with their refrains, the phrase “I must tell Jesus” is repeated twenty-one times. But I think it would be true to say that, sometimes, we most definitely need to be reminded—and reminded again—that Jesus alone is the One who can help us.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Elisha Hoffman retired from the ministry in 1922, and died at the age of 90 on November 5, 1929, in Chicago, Illinois.

Sources: dianaleaghmatthews.com/i-must-tell-jesus; hymnary.org/person/Hoffman_Elisha; wordwisehymns.com/2011/12/02/i-must-tell-jesus; Wikipedia; hymnologyarchive.com/elisha-hoffman

I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress, He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

 

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone;

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

In Harmony with God

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“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifested in the flesh.”

1 Timothy 3:16

In the old covenant, God’s law was written on stone, but in the new covenant, His law is written on a fleshly tablet—the heart. “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” 2 Corinthians 3:2, 3

Jesus is a perfect, living example of the ten commandments written in the heart and lived out in the life. We can read this in Psalm 40:8. “I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart.” The context of this verse makes it clear that this is a prophecy regarding the Messiah.

Since Jesus is our perfect, living example of how the ten commandments are to be lived out in the life, anything that is in my life, anything that I think or say or do that is not Christlike is a violation of the ten commandments, and therefore is sin. This is the new covenant understanding of what sin is.

Just as God was manifested in the flesh of Jesus Christ, He wants to be manifested in my flesh and in your flesh. In fact, unless this happens in your life and my life, we will never be in the kingdom of heaven. Let me repeat that. If God is not manifested in your flesh and my flesh, as He was in the flesh of Jesus Christ, then we will not be in the kingdom of heaven.

Mrs. White wrote the following regarding the purpose of the plan of salvation. “In order to understand what is comprehended in the work of education, we need to consider both the nature of man and the purpose of God in creating him. We need to consider also the change in man’s condition through the coming in of a knowledge of evil, and God’s plan for still fulfilling His glorious purpose in the education of the human race.” Education, 14, 15

There are four things in this quotation we need to study:

  1. The nature of man
  2. The purpose of God in creating him
  3. The change in man’s condition through the knowledge of evil
  4. God’s plan for fulfilling His purpose in the education of the human race

When God created man, He said, “ ‘Let Us make man in Our image, and in Our likeness.’ ” The purpose of the plan of salvation is to restore in mankind, in all who will accept His salvation, the image of God.

When I was seven years old, I began reading my Bible through for the first time. I read the first chapter of Genesis and contemplated that man was created in the image of God. I thought that we must then look like God. I have hands and eyes, feet and ears, so God must have those, too, I thought. But I was a child, and as I grew into adulthood, I started thinking differently about the terms likeness and image.

Being in the likeness of something has to do with resemblance, being a copy, representing someone, acting like someone, specifically bearing the character or power of another. Children may have the same color eyes and hair as their parents, but they also may adopt their parents’ mannerism and habits, they may sound like them, walk like them, they may have the same moral character and spiritual beliefs as their parents. People will say of them, “You are just like your mother,” or “You are just like your father.”

God wants you to become like Him. He wants people to look at you and me and see Him in our words and actions, in our compassion and love. “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His children. Godliness—godlikeness—is the goal to be reached.” Ibid., 18

“When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. ‘God created man in His own image’ (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived, the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe—the ‘wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge’ (Job 37:16)—invited man’s study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more and more fully have reflected the Creator’s glory.” Ibid., 15.

That was God’s purpose when man was created, but when man sinned, it seemed to the whole universe that God’s plan would never be fulfilled.

Man was created to be like his Creator in every way, and it was God’s plan that as he continued to live, he would more and more fully reveal or reflect His image. “The glory of God is His character. While Moses was in the mount, earnestly interceding with God, He prayed, ‘I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory.’ In answer God declared ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’ ” The Signs of the Times, September 3, 1902

“In the beginning, man was created in the image of God. He was in perfect harmony with the nature and law of God; the principles of righteousness were written upon his heart.” The Great Controversy, 467

In his original state, Adam was in perfect harmony, not only with the law of God, but also with the nature of God. The principles of righteousness were written on his heart. You will recall that nature, heart, mind, and character are used synonymously in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. It is the natural thoughts and feelings, the disposition and affections that make up a person’s character. Adam’s natural thoughts and feelings, his disposition and affections were in harmony with the nature and law of God; he reflected the character of God.

First John 4:16 tells us that “God is love.” This is His nature. Adam was in harmony with the nature of God because the principles of righteousness were written in his heart. A principle is “a law of action in a human being,” in other words, an innate propensity common to the human species. And when man was created, his nature was in harmony with the nature of God.

Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, is about the ten commandments. Verse 172 says, “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness.” The principles of righteousness are the principles of God’s commandments. Paul says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” Romans 13:10. Ellen White describes it like this: “Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 49

So, what causes the Christian to obey God? Obedience is the outworking of a principle within. “The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer, doing right because it is right.” That I May Know Him, 118

“Love is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it. The power of wealth has a tendency to corrupt and destroy; the power of force is strong to do hurt; but the excellence and value of pure love consist in its efficiency to do good, and to do nothing else than good. … Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly origin, which lives and flourishes where Christ reigns.

“Love cannot live without action, and every act increases, strengthens, and extends it. Love will gain the victory when argument and authority are powerless.” Gospel Workers, 311, 312

After man sinned, when he was no longer in harmony with the character and love of God, we are told that, “Christ came to our world to represent the character of God as it is represented in His holy law; for His law is a transcript of His character.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 1, 44

Christ came and lived the very principles of the law of God; the principles that are the very nature of God (Steps to Christ, 60). It is God’s purpose that as the law was written in the heart of Jesus (Psalm 40:8), so they will be written in our hearts. This is His promise to His people under the new covenant. “ ‘This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put My law into their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.’ ” Hebrews 8:10

To be in the kingdom of heaven, the law of God must be written in your heart. It was once a natural part of the nature of man, but once man sinned, selfishness took its place and became the all-governing principle of the human heart and mind.

“All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. 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.” The Desire of Ages, 668

Imagine it! To be so aligned with Christ that you would rather die than sin; that all you want, all you think about is to do the will of God. To know God so well that you literally hate sin. Have you ever eaten something and hated it so bad you would never eat it again? I’m reminded of a child with their lips firmly closed together, absolutely refusing the food mom is trying to spoon in their mouth.

If sin isn’t like that for me, then I don’t know God. If there is any sin that has not become hateful to me, if I have chosen to become a Christian, but there is still some darling sin that I am hanging on to, then I do not know God. But once the sinful things I used to love become hateful and terrible to me, then I can say that I know God and that He has changed me so that I now hate sin and once again love righteousness.

As part of his nature, Adam also had other powers of mind that were created in the image of God, such as his judgment, his reason, his intellect, and his affection, but these, too, were ruined when Adam sinned.

“When man came from the hand of his Creator, he was perfect in organization and beautiful in form.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, 1082. What does it mean that “he was perfect in organization”?

“Those who would have clear minds to discern Satan’s devices must have their physical appetites under the control of reason and conscience. The moral and vigorous action of the higher powers of the mind are essential to the perfection of Christian character.” Messages to Young People, 236, 237

This speaks of the higher powers of man’s mind. His will, judgment, reason, and conscience were regulated according to the truth, the law or the will of God, and therefore, they controlled the lower powers of the body.

“Before his fall Adam was free from the results of the curse. When he was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He was created perfect in thought and in action.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 141

Our actions, good and bad, have their very foundation in the mind. The thought must exist before the action can take place. People must sin in their mind before they can sin with their lips or their hand. “Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy.” Steps to Christ, 17

“In the counsels of heaven God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. … So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him.’ The Lord created man’s moral faculties and his physical powers. All was a sinless transcript of Himself. God endowed man with holy attributes, and placed him in a garden made expressly for him.” The Youth’s Instructor, July 20, 1899

“God did not create man sinful. Adam came forth from the hand of his Maker without the taint of evil.” The Signs of the Times, August 26, 1897

All moral evil is sin. Therefore, the taint of evil can also be called the taint of sin. To be tainted with evil or sin means to be sinful. So, God made man upright with intellectual and moral powers. He was not created sinful, but was created without the taint of evil. “God made man upright. He gave him noble traits of character, with no bias toward evil. He endowed him with high intellectual powers, and presented before him the strongest possible inducements to be true to his allegiance.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 49

When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature a likeness to his Maker. He was noble, pure and holy, with no tendency to evil. The purpose of the new covenant is to restore men and women to the perfection they possessed when created. Christ alluded to the significance of this restoration in His conversation with the scribes and Pharisees.

“ ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’ ” Matthew 23:25–28

Notice, the people who crucified Jesus appeared clean on the outside, but on the inside they were unclean and full of wickedness. They worked to look good to the world, but they had failed to do the heart work necessary to make the inside clean so that the outside would then be truly clean.

Let’s say a bomb exploded inside your house and caused a lot of damage—ruined your furniture, blew out a couple walls and made holes in the ceiling, broke all the windows and left burn marks and peeling paint outside. You hurriedly replaced the windows and had the exterior of the house repainted, making sure that all signs of the damage were no longer visible. You stand back and smile because now everyone will see that the outside looks like new again. But inside, you just cleared a path and made do, making no repairs, not even making sure that the house was still in stable condition.

That’s what the scribes and Pharisees were doing. Sin had made a horrible mess on the inside of their lives, but they were only concerned with cleaning up what people could see.

God doesn’t work that way. He is determined to clean up the inside first. In our spiritual lives, with the inside clean, the outside actions and words will be clean also. When God gives us a new heart and mind, then our character will be like Christ’s character. This is the purpose of the plan of salvation under the new covenant. God’s purpose is to restore perfection in man’s physical, mental, and moral nature so that it once again reflects the likeness of his Creator.

Remember, the image of God is His glory and the glory of God is His character. God’s character was reflected in the character of Adam because the law of God, the principles of righteousness, were written upon his heart, and the Holy Spirit was the ruling power in his life. The law of God is a transcript of His character, and it is also, Ellen White says, an expression of His very nature.

Lucifer told God that he wanted a change in the law, but what he was actually telling his Creator was, You change. And today, people are still saying that. They look at the ten commandments as rules too restrictive to bear and they want to be free to adjust or do away with them as they please.

But the ten commandments are a transcript of God’s character, His very nature, the embodiment of the great principle of love that prompted God to create man in the first place. When God made man, He placed these precepts in his heart. They were a part of his very nature. Obedience to the law kept every thought and action in harmony with God’s own nature.

After man sinned, however, man’s nature was governed by selfishness, and it became necessary for God to write the ten commandments in stone so that man could read them and know what God required of him. But it wasn’t enough to have the law written down. So God sent His Son, in person, so that we, sinful man, could see Him live out the principles of God’s law—principles of righteousness and love so strong that Jesus was willing to die to redeem us, so that we might once again have these principles written in our hearts and perfectly reflect the nature of God.

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.  But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.  For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:1–6

Jesus Christ was a perfect reflection of the glory of God, the law of God, the nature of God. “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Verse 6. The purpose of the new covenant is to restore in you and me a perfect reflection of the law of God, the nature of God, the thoughts of God, the character of God.

Let it be our constant prayer to be changed so that the new covenant can be worked out in our lives; that the law may once again be written in our hearts, so that our lives will be in harmony with God and our characters will be like Jesus.

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

To Reveal His Glory

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To understand the plan of salvation we must understand not only the nature of man when he was first created, but what happened to his nature when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

The glory of God is His character, and man was created in the image of God for the purpose of revealing His glory. We know that the law of God is a transcript of His character, and an expression of His very nature. The law of God embodies the principles of righteousness, and the very essence of God’s nature is summed up in two words: divine love.

Adam was created with these principles of righteousness written upon his heart; divine love motivated every thought, word, and action of his life. He was in harmony with the character and nature of God and could therefore reflect the glory of God. But when Adam disobeyed God and acquired a knowledge of evil, something changed in his nature.

“The world laid its homage, as a willing offering, at the feet of the enemy.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, 236

“From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One.” The Desire of Ages, 161

Paul refers to this in Ephesians 2:2, 3, “You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” We are familiar with what happened after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. They knew they had sinned, and in shame they hid from God’s presence. Adam said, “ ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ ” Genesis 3:10

First John 4:18 tells us that there is no fear in love because perfect love, God’s kind of love, casts out fear. If we are afraid, then we have not been perfected in love. Adam was made perfect in love and given a simple test to determine his loyalty to his Creator, but he failed when he ate of the fruit. He yielded to temptation, and his nature was changed.

Now no longer perfected in love, he feared his Creator. This was the first change we see in the nature of man as a result of sin. Adam was now a bondservant of the devil, and as the legal representative of the human race, he had chosen for himself, and on behalf of all mankind to come, to serve the enemy of righteousness.

Adam’s single act of disobedience demonstrated that he believed Satan’s lie and disbelieved God’s word, thereby implying that God was a liar. As a result, he transferred his love and loyalty from God to his new master, Satan. “The white robe of innocence was worn by our first parents when they were placed by God in holy Eden. They lived in perfect conformity to the will of God. All the strength of their affections was given to their heavenly Father. A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair. This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly innocence.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310, 311

Adam and Eve were not naked, they were clothed in light. But once they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they accepted Satan as their new master, and traded this robe of innocence for the nakedness of sin. We need to know what this garment of light represented, why it is so significant that Adam and Eve were once clothed in it, and what a great loss it was when it was removed from them.

The Bible uses light to represent the law of God and since the law is a transcript of His character, light also represents God’s character.

“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” Proverbs 6:23

“To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20

“Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation: for a law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My judgment to rest for a light to the people.” Isaiah 51:4

Jesus came as a man to represent God’s law, to bear this light to the world. “Christ came to our world to represent the character of God as it is represented in His holy law; for His law is a transcript of His character.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 17, 8. “The law of God is an expression of His very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth.” Steps to Christ, 60. The robe of light worn by Adam and Eve before the fall was a symbol of the law of God—the righteousness of God that was written in their heart when they were created.

“This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly innocence. Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them. But when sin entered, they severed their connection with God, and the light that had encircled them departed. Naked and ashamed, they tried to supply the place of the heavenly garments by sewing together fig leaves for a covering.

“This is what the transgressors of God’s law have done ever since the day of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. They have sewed together fig leaves to cover their nakedness caused by transgression. They have worn the garments of their own devising, by works of their own they have tried to cover their sins, and make themselves acceptable with God.

“But this they can never do. Nothing can man devise to supply the place of his lost robe of innocence.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311

Revelation 16:13 describes the sixth plague as three unclean spirits that come out of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These spirits go out to the kings of the earth and the whole world to gather them together to that great battle of the great day of God almighty. We want to notice, right in the middle of this description, Jesus stops and makes an announcement in verse 15, “ ‘Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.’ ” Mrs. White explains this more clearly in Manuscript Releases, Vol. 8, 345, “ ‘Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked (without the robe of Christ’s righteousness) and they see his shame.’ ”

Friend, there is nothing that we can ever do to cover our own nakedness, no more than could Adam and Eve. People try, just like Adam and Eve tried, but the only way your spiritual nakedness can be covered is with Christ’s righteousness, a spiritual robe of light that embodies the principle of God’s law and love.

So, what happens when there is an absence of God’s love in the life and nature of man? “For God is love, and love is life.” Christ’s Object Lesson, 258. “Leaving the first love is represented as a spiritual fall.” The Review and Herald, December 15, 1904. Having left his first love, Adam now feared God, because he no longer had the perfect love of God in his heart, and his connection with God was severed. His robe of light—righteousness—was replaced with a robe of darkness—selfishness.

“Under God, Adam was to stand at the head of the earthly family, to maintain the principles of the heavenly family. This would have brought peace and happiness. But the law that none ‘liveth to himself’ (Romans 14:7), Satan was determined to oppose. He desired to live for self and sought to make himself a center of influence. It was this that had incited rebellion in heaven, and it was man’s acceptance of this principle that brought sin on earth. When Adam sinned, man broke away from the heaven-ordained center. A demon became the central power in the world. Where God’s throne should have been, Satan placed his throne. The world laid its homage, as a willing offering, at the feet of the enemy.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, 33

“Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love.” Steps to Christ, 17

“When man fell, the law of self was set up. This law harmonizes with the will of sinful humanity. There is no strife between them. But when the word of God speaks to the conscience, telling of a higher than human will, even the will of God, man’s will desires to go its own way, irrespective of consequences. The charm of obedience was broken by Adam’s disobedience. A sense of the importance of obedience as an absolute necessity, ceased to exist in the mind. And now man thinks, If I choose, I can obey God; and if I choose, I can disobey Him.” The Signs of the Times, January 25, 1899

“Love is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it.” Gospel Workers, 311. Paul says in Romans 7:22, 23: “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” What is that other law? Paul calls it the law of sin. Mrs. White calls it the law of self. When Adam fell, the desire to live for self, the principle of selfishness that governs Satan’s kingdom, became the governing principle of the heart and mind of man.

“When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of sin. Both became evil through apostasy.” The Great Controversy, 505

The Bible says that the heart of man is, “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Jeremiah 17:9. The literal translation of desperately wicked is incurably wicked. Remember that the heart, mind, and will are used synonymously in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, so these words all represent the governing power in the nature of man.

Think about this for a moment. When Adam sinned, everything about him changed. His perfect heart and mind, became sinful. His will, while still free to choose, became a slave to wickedness and, without determined effort and divine aid, would naturally always choose to do evil. His body was no longer free from age or disease or the desires of his selfish heart. His thoughts were no longer filled with love or in harmony with God’s mind, but were now open to and willing to receive the temptations and dictates of his new master. Adam could say, “I don’t want to be this way. I’m going to go back and be like I was before,” but he couldn’t make it so. Adam would be forever a sinner, unless he surrendered himself to the transforming power of God, which can and will change the heart, mind, and will of every man, woman, and child if they choose it, restoring once again the principles of righteousness and love within.

If the will is right, then all the rest of the being will come under its sway. The will is not an inclination, it is the choice, the deciding power, the kingly power which works in the children of men, either to obey or to disobey. “This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at the Fall given into the control of Satan.” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 515. Adam and Eve, by their deliberate choice to disobey God, gave their will to the tempter. Now in control of the will of man, Satan works in and through man to bring about his utter ruin.

“When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

Carnal is from the Latin word caro which means flesh. The Greek word is Sarks, also meaning flesh. To be carnal is to be flesh. Just like heart, mind, and will, carnal and flesh are used synonymously in the Bible. Notice also, in the previous quotation, that the prophet uses nature and character synonymously. Let’s read that quotation again: “Through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal.”

Man sinned and became carnal, his nature governed by selfishness. The mind of man is intimately associated with his nature, and his mind is now ruled, not by the principle of divine love, but by the natural, ruling principle of selfishness.

“Selfishness and covetousness are at the foundation of all sins, yet many are not convicted of the sin of selfishness because it is a part of their nature, and they do not listen to the reproving of the Holy Spirit.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 270

“It is a weakness of humanity to pet selfishness, because it is a natural trait of character.” The Faith I Live By, 140

“Sin alienated him [Adam] from his Maker. He no longer reflected the divine image. His heart was at war with the principles of God’s law. ‘The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ Romans 8:7.” The Great Controversy, 467

We clearly see that when Adam sinned, the change that occurred in his nature—replacing the robe of light representing the principles of love and obedience with a robe of selfishness and sinfulness—is a change that affected all who came after him, right down through time to all of us today. But we must look carefully at something else that was handed down to us as part of the change in our nature.

“Adam sinned, and the children of Adam share his guilt and its consequences; but Jesus bore the guilt of Adam, and all the children of Adam that will flee to Christ, the second Adam, may escape the penalty of transgression.” The Signs of the Times, May 19, 1890

Many Adventists do not believe or at least struggle with the idea, that through Adam we all share in the guilt for an action that we had nothing to do with. But let me ask a question: Is the guilt a result of Adam’s decision to eat of the fruit, or is it a consequence of something else?

“It is plainly written on the unrenewed heart and on a fallen world, All seek their own. Selfishness is the great law of our degenerate nature.” Ibid., December 8, 1881. “Selfishness is the want [lack] of Christlike humility, and its existence is the bane of human happiness, the cause of human guilt, and leads those who cherish it to make shipwreck of faith.” Mind, Character, and Personality, Vol. 1, 271, 272. What is the cause of human guilt? It is the governing principle of selfishness in the heart of man.

When Adam sinned, his loyalty and allegiance, and that of the entire human race, was transferred from God to Satan, and the principle of selfishness which is the cornerstone of his government became the natural ruling principle in man’s life. The key word here is natural. Man’s nature is now naturally selfish. It cannot, of itself, be any other way. And since selfishness is sin (The Signs of the Times, April 13, 1891), man is guilty of selfishness whether he commits a particular act of selfishness or not. Adam’s disobedience resulted in the consequence of a ruined nature, and the principle of selfishness by which his nature, and ours, is now governed, is the cause of our guilt.

In addition to this ruinous change in man’s nature and the guilt that accompanies the principle of selfishness that governs his heart, there is another consequence of Adam’s sin that his children must face.

“Sin is the cause of physical degeneration; sin has blighted the race, and introduced disease, misery, and death.” Pacific Health Journal, February 1, 1902. Consequences to our moral nature led to a selfish, sinful nature and involved us in guilt, but there are also degenerative consequences to our physical nature that are not sin. It is very important to understand the difference.

“Adam disobeyed, and entailed sin upon his posterity.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 6, 3. The word entail means to be settled on a person and his descendants. Adam settled sin upon his posterity. This entailment separates us from God because we now have carnal minds and hearts.

“ ‘The carnal [or natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ Human nature could not keep the law, even if it would. Apart from Christ, without union with Him, we can do nothing. ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ The law requires us to present to God a holy character. It demands of men today just what it demanded of Adam in Eden—perfect obedience, perfect harmony with all its precepts in all relations of life, under all circumstances and conditions. No unholy thought can be tolerated, no unlovely action can be justified. As the law requires that which no man of himself can render, the human family are found guilty before the great moral standard, and it is not in the province of law to pardon the transgressor of law. The standard of the law cannot be lowered to meet man in his fallen condition. No compromise can be made with the sinner to take less than the full requirement of the law. The law cannot acquit the guilty, it cannot cleanse the sinner, or give power to the transgressor to raise himself into a purer, holier atmosphere. Standing before a holy, good, and just law, and finding ourselves condemned because of transgression, we may well cry out, What shall we do to be saved?” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895

This statement is very clear. The law requires righteousness, a holy character. The law must be written in the heart, stamped on the soul. We do not have this righteousness, but Jesus does, and He offers it to each and every one of Adam’s children. He offers it to you and me.

“By nature we are alienated from God. The Holy Spirit describes our condition in such words as, ‘Dead in trespasses and sins;’ ‘The whole head is sick, the whole heart faint;’ ‘no soundness in it.’ We are held fast in the snare of Satan, ‘taken captive by him at his will.’ ” Steps to Christ, 43

Let’s do a quick review and answer the following questions:

What does it mean to be naked?

To be naked represents an absence of Christ’s righteousness. Christ’s righteousness is represented in His law which is described in two words: divine love.

Why did Adam’s nakedness cause him to fear?

Because perfect love casts out fear and Adam had left his first love.

What does being naked have to do with the change in man’s nature after the fall?

The robe of light was a symbol of God’s law—His righteousness surrounding them, the principles of righteousness and love in their hearts. This garment departed when Adam and Eve sinned and selfishness became the natural, ruling principle of the nature and character of man.

Does this nakedness have anything to do with death?

Paul tells us in Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally [fleshly] minded is death.” Remember, “God is love, and love is life.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 258. Without God’s love and righteousness in the life, death is the inevitable result. Adam, having left his first love, died spiritually that day, and would have died physically as well if Christ had not interceded on man’s behalf. Man’s choice resulted in death, but Christ’s choice to intercede resulted in redemption.

“When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow … . They ceased their songs of praise, and throughout the heavenly courts there was mourning for the ruin sin had wrought. … Since the divine law is as changeless as the character of God, there could be no hope for man unless some way could be devised whereby his transgression might be pardoned, his nature renewed, and his spirit restored to reflect the image of God. Divine love had conceived such a plan. …

“The Creator of man, could be his Saviour. No angel of heaven could reveal the Father to the sinner, and win him back to allegiance to God. … None but Christ could redeem man from the curse of the law. He proposed to take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive in the sight of God that it would necessitate separation from His Father. Christ proposed to reach to the depths of man’s degradation and woe, and restore the repenting, believing soul to harmony with God. … Christ redeemed him from the condemnation of the law, and imparted divine power, and through man’s cooperation, the sinner could be restored to his lost estate.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

Any particle of selfishness in my heart makes me a partaker of the satanic nature and an enemy of God, and I have no ability to remove selfishness from my nature. But there is hope for mankind—it is to surrender and be born again. The Christian religion is more than just Jesus dying on the cross and forgiveness of sins. That was necessary or I could not be saved, but I can never be saved until the natural selfishness of my nature has been replaced with a new heart and a new mind. This is accomplished only when I surrender my heart, mind, and will to the working of the Holy Spirit.

[Emphasis supplied.]

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

What is Sin?

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Seventh-day Adventists take great pride in knowing what sin is. Our friend Evan Sadler tells a story of a person who was trying to find out what sin really is. He asked a clergyman, but the clergyman could only say that it was something bad. Then he met a Seventh-day Adventist and was told that sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Yes, Adventists know what sin is. Or do they?

It is a dangerous thing for a Seventh-day Adventist to be mixed up about what sin really is. We cannot rest upon the assurance that our sins will be blotted out in the judgment, leaving our eternal life in jeopardy, if we don’t fully understand what sin is.

“Those [Seventh-day Adventists] who have permitted their minds to become beclouded in regard to what constitutes sin are fearfully deceived. Unless they make a decided change they will be found wanting when God pronounces judgment upon the children of men. They have transgressed the law and broken the everlasting covenant, and they will receive according to their works.” Testimonies, Vol. 9, 267. Mrs. White wrote this specifically to the Seventh-day Adventist leadership.

We must understand that we have sinned and are sinners, and as such, the Bible tells us what we must do: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive to us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. It is a prerequisite that, before we are forgiven and cleansed from unrighteousness, we must first repent of and confess our sins. But how can I confess a sin if I don’t even know that I have committed one?

It is very important for us to understand what sin is. And because we can quote 1 John 3:4, it’s very easy for us to say that we know what sin is. But does the Bible give us more information about what sin is than what we find in this text alone?

Jesus warned His followers that in the last days it would be possible that they could be deceived. “False christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24. Peter told us the same thing in 2 Peter 2:1. Notice that these destructive heresies are done in secret because Inspiration tells us that Satan must deceive in order to lead astray. This deception is so imperceptibly accomplished that those who will be caught up in it will unwittingly deny the Lord and speak evil of His glory.

“And Peter, describing the dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers, ‘who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. … And many shall follow their pernicious ways.’ … Here the apostle has pointed out one of the marked characteristics of spiritualist teachers. They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 686

1 John 3:4 tells us that sin is the transgression of the law. Paul says, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ” Romans 7:7. Paul is clear, the law makes known the knowledge of sin and without the law, we would not know what sin is, nor would we know that we were breaking the law.

“All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.” 1 John 5:17. Sin is the transgression of the law and all unrighteousness is sin, therefore all unrighteousness is the transgression of God’s law. But the sin described in this text is one that “is not leading to death,” rather it is a sin confessed and forsaken.

“The law requires righteousness—a righteous life, a perfect character.” The Desire of Ages, 762. If the law requires a perfect character, then what exactly is character? “If the thoughts are wrong, the feelings will be wrong; and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” The Review and Herald, April 21, 1885. God’s law requires a perfect character made up of pure and perfect thoughts and feelings.

“The law requires us to present to God a holy character. It demands of men and women today just what it demanded of Adam in Eden—perfect obedience, perfect harmony with all its precepts in all relations of life, under all circumstances and conditions.” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895

If the thoughts and feelings in all relations of life, under all circumstances and all conditions must be holy and in harmonious agreement with the precepts of God’s law, then anything other than this is sin, transgression of God’s law.

“In the precepts of His holy law, God has given a perfect rule of life; and He has declared that until the close of time this law, unchanged in a single jot or tittle, is to maintain its claim upon human beings. Christ came to magnify the law and make it honorable. He showed that it is based upon the broad foundation of love to God and love to man, and that obedience to its precepts comprises the whole duty of man. In His own life He gave an example of obedience to the law of God. In the Sermon on the Mount He showed how its requirements extend beyond the outward acts and take cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Acts of the Apostles, 505

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest … .” Hebrews 4:11, first part. If you look at the context of this verse, it is clear that Paul is writing about the Sabbath rest, a symbol of a rest from sin. Jesus spoke of the same rest in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Paul continues in Hebrews 4, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Verses 11–13

“The law of God is presented in the Scriptures as broad in its requirements. Every principle is holy, just and good. … They reach to the thoughts and the feelings of the soul; and they will produce conviction of sin in everyone who is sensible of having transgressed them. If the law extended only to the external conduct, men would not feel guilty over their wrong thoughts, desires, and designs. But the law requires that the soul itself, the spiritual agent, be pure, the mind holy, that all thoughts and feelings shall be in accordance with the law of love and righteousness. By its light men see themselves guilty before God.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 10, 287, 288

We must understand that the law does not cover actions only, but extends to our thoughts and feelings as well. Sadly, many Seventh-day Adventists don’t understand this. They have been taught that you do not sin until you actually do something. They don’t understand that our actions are simply an outward expression of our thoughts and feelings. What we say and do come from the thoughts and feelings that are constantly in our minds. These are thoughts, desires, intentions, and feelings that can, and do, constitute sin, and our actions are a result of the things we harbor in our minds.

The great controversy is a war being waged over the soul. Mrs. White explains, “Two powers are at work. On the one side Satan is working with all his forces to counterwork the influence of the work of God; on the other hand God is working through His servants to call men to repentance. Which will prevail?” The Youth’s Instructor, May 17, 1900

“In every soul, two powers are struggling earnestly for the victory. Unbelief marshals its forces, led by Satan, to cut us off from the source of our strength. Faith marshals its forces, led by Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.” Ibid., January, 10, 1901

“Every mind is controlled either by the power of Satan or the power of God.” The General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903

What happens if God isn’t the One who has control of our minds? The Bible tells us in John 8:43, 44, first part: “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” Notice, when Satan has control over your life, you want to do as he does.

Probably the most recognized example of this in the Bible is when the Jews, who had been longing and looking for the Messiah for millennia, demanded that Christ be crucified. They believed they were doing all the right things—tithing, sacrificing, keeping the Sabbath—but they didn’t realize who was really in control of their minds and hearts.

Some people believe that it is possible to allow God to be in control of your mind and feelings sometimes, but also allow the devil to be in control at other times. However, the truth is, if you allow the devil to control you even some of the time, it will become so easy to let him be in control all the time, and then you will continue to sin, all the while believing that you are obeying and following God. If we expect to spend eternity in the kingdom of heaven, our minds must be under the control of God all the time.

A rich, young man came to Jesus and asked what he should do to gain eternal life. Jesus’ response is recorded in Matthew 22:37–40 and Luke 10:25–28. “He [Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’ So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.’ ” Jesus presented the ten commandments to this young man as two basic principles: loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and loving your neighbor as yourself.

But, the carnal, fleshly, mind is unable to do this.

“ ‘The carnal [natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ Human nature could not keep the law, even if it would.” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895.

“By nature man has no love for God. It is not natural for him to think of heavenly things.” The Review and Herald, March 12, 1901

Human nature, the carnal mind, cannot keep the law even if it wanted to.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve by nature loved God. So why does man now have a nature that does not love God?

“When man sinned all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature.” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

Notice, once man sinned, he no longer had the pure, perfect nature God had given him at creation.

“But when man fell, the law of self was set up.” Ibid., January 25, 1899. Paul explains that in Romans 7:23. “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” The law of self harmonizes with the will of sinful humanity. There is no strife between them. The charm of obedience was broken by Adam’s disobedience. To the carnal nature, the importance of obedience as an absolute necessity ceased to exist in the mind. Man now thinks that he can choose when to obey God and when he can disobey Him. But this is a lie fostered by the father of lies because even if you choose to obey God, you are not capable of doing it unless you receive divine aid from the Holy Spirit.

“You must remember that your will is the spring of all your actions. This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man, was at the Fall given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the utter ruin and misery of man.” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 515

“Until the requirements of the holy law were applied as the rule of life, fallen man could not understand his own guilt, nor realize his condemned, lost condition. Jesus made application of the law directly to the soul, and laid under its jurisdiction the will and desires and works of man. Wrongdoing and all thoughts and feelings condemned by the law are to be overcome.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 9, 235, 236

Thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character, and God’s holy law requires that love be the ruling principle of life. But at the Fall, selfishness took the place of love in man’s heart. Inherited from Adam, we are now born into this world with selfishness as the ruling principle of life.

“As related to the first Adam, men receive from him nothing but guilt and the sentence of death.” Ibid., 236. We have been taught that we are not guilty of sin until we have committed a sinful act on our own, but this statement says that man is inherently sinfully guilty.

“Adam was required to render perfect obedience to God, not only in his own behalf, but in behalf of his posterity. God promised him that if he would stand the test of temptation, preserving his allegiance to the Creator during the great trial to which he would be subjected, his obedience would ensure his acceptance and favor with God. He would then be forever established in holiness and happiness, and these blessings would extend to all his posterity.” Ibid., 229

Adam was required to obey God not only for himself, but also for the benefit of future generations. He was the father of the human race. Had he remained obedient, his holiness and his happiness would be guaranteed forever, and this same blessing would extend to all his posterity. “But Adam failed to bear the test. And because he revolted against God’s law, all his descendants have been sinners.” Ibid. Even a baby who is born and never comes to conscientiousness and dies, is, by nature, still a sinner who cannot be saved except through the blood of Christ.

“Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrongdoing. We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 330. If imperfection of character is sin, then who can be saved?

God does not deal with actions so much as with the heart that prompts them. “Christ desires nothing so much as to redeem His heritage from the dominion of Satan. But before we are delivered from Satan’s power without, we must be delivered from his power within.” Ibid., 174, 175

Until our sins are blotted out at the end of the final day of atonement, all human beings will have sin within. It is our nature. Paul is crystal clear. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” Romans 7:18, first part

“The danger has been presented to me again and again of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith.” Faith and Works, 18

Those who do not have a clear understanding of what sin is, how permeated with sin we are, and how desperately we need to be cleansed, will have an incorrect understanding of justification by faith. The doctrine of justification by faith makes it clear that we cannot earn our way to heaven. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves fit to spend eternity with God. “It is a work of God … doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 457

Man cannot stop sinning by himself. It is only by the surrender of his will and by an act of the Holy Spirit in creating in him a new heart, mind, and spirit, that man has the ability to resist temptation and develop a perfect character.

Even more so, man is incapable to remove from his nature the principle of selfishness which makes him inherently sinful, and replace it with the principle of love and righteousness which creates within him pure devotion to God. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. This is a finished work only God can perform.

It is not enough to understand the law of God as it was written on tables of stone. To understand what the law of God really is, you have to understand what it is when you see it in a person. Jesus Christ came to this world to reveal the law of God. Christ kept the law of God so that we would know how to keep it, too.

“What speech is to thought, so Christ is to the invisible Father, He is the manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. God sent His Son into the world, His divinity clothed with humanity, that man might bear the image of the invisible God. He made known in His words, His character, His power and majesty, the nature and attributes of God. Divinity flashed through humanity in softening, subduing light. He was the embodiment of the law of God, which is the transcript of His character.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1131

Unless we understand what the law is in relation to who Jesus Christ is and what His life means to us, we do not really know what the law is nor what sin is. Studying the life of Christ is how we are able to understand what sin is. Jesus Christ is the law lived out in the life. Anything in our lives that is not Christlike is sinful, because if we are to live in harmony with God’s law, our lives must be a reflection of the life of Christ.

“The Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the glory of the Godhead. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. God has revealed Himself to men; He stooped to take upon Him our nature, and in His Son we see the glory of the divine attributes. Those who see not in Christ the divine character are in the shadow of Satan’s misrepresentation of divinity. ‘The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.’ ” The Signs of the Times, December 12, 1895

For six thousand years, the devil has misrepresented the divine character, painting God as having his attributes and describing himself to the human race as having the attributes of God so that people would be deceived. This is why the devil hated Jesus so much, and caused Him to be tortured and killed. Through Jesus, Satan’s deception was unraveled and revealed to the whole universe. Through Jesus, it was revealed that God is not at all like Satan had described Him to be to the universe or to human beings. Christ is a living representation of God’s law, and by His life on earth, He shows man that he can become Christlike by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Since ‘the law of the Lord is perfect,’ every variation from it must be evil. … The Saviour’s life of obedience maintained the claims of the law; it proved that the law could be kept in humanity, and showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop.” The Desire of Ages, 308, 309. Man can only keep the law by receiving the Holy Spirit.

“Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead … .” Ibid., 671

“To human eyes, Christ was only a man, yet He was a perfect man. In His humanity He was the impersonation of the divine character. God embodied His own attributes in His Son—His power, His wisdom, His goodness, His purity, His truthfulness, His spirituality, and His benevolence. In Him, though human, all perfection of character, all divine excellence, dwelt.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897

“All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and everyone who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 330. God says, My thoughts will be your thoughts, and My law will be written in your heart by the Holy Spirit, not just on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart.

Perfection. The world freely admits that no one in it is perfect, and they seem perfectly happy not to be. If I say I can be perfect, then I’m claiming to be like God because only God is perfect. Yet, Jesus was perfect and He said that He and His Father are one. He also said that we are to be perfect, even as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). And finally, as the Father was in Him, He asked that we all might be one in Them (John 17:21). Jesus’ life guarantees that we, too, through His power, can be perfect as He is. And although we may achieve perfection of character, at heart, we remain sinners, by nature, until the final day of atonement.

To be perfect means two things: to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. If I take a thorough inventory of my thoughts and feelings, words and actions, and if I am truly honest with myself, I have to admit that every single sin I commit is breaking one of these two principles. And I cannot escape it, not alone.

Jesus is the express image, an exact personification of the Father. Perfection personified. No matter if you are the weakest person and the greatest sinner, that only means that you need Jesus as your personal Saviour all the more. He has enough power, enough wisdom, and enough love for all the righteous attributes of His character to become part of your character.

This requires, however, a complete surrender of your will to God. Only then can the Holy Spirit perform a complete transformation of your character. No more will you be trapped under the sway of the devil, helpless to resist his temptations and deceptions.

The Great Controversy, in its closing chapter, tells us that there will finally be a group of people who have been made spotless by the blood of the Lamb, who possess not one defect of character. “The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean.” Don’t you want to be part of that group? [All emphasis supplied.]

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.