Self Must Die

“Let every word and each desire and all my days be Thine.”
My Maker and My King*

Do you believe that every word you speak and every desire you have should be in harmony with God’s will? Or do you have desires that are not in harmony with God’s will?

While the fundamental principle of God’s law is divine love, and the two great commandments are love to God and love to man—which are the ten commandments in action—we still must cooperate with Him and take up our cross and follow Jesus. When Adam and Eve sinned, the natural selfishness that took the place of God’s principle of righteousness in their hearts was passed on to their subsequent generations, making all of mankind sinful, but not just in action. Sin is a part of the human race, just as much as an arm or an eye; sinful is what we are. Man cannot cut it out; there is no medicine he can concoct that can cure it. Sin can only be removed by the miraculous recreative power of the almighty God. And that miracle began 6,000 years ago.

We find in Genesis 3:15 God promises that the devil would not have control over mankind forever. He said that if a man chose to return his loyalty to God, then He would change that man’s heart and mind, replacing his selfishness with His law of love, and would supernaturally give the man the ability to hate sin, going against his carnal nature. He further promised that He would send His Son to be man’s Saviour, who, though killed by the very people He came to save, would rise again and at the end of the present world, completely destroy sin and Satan. Restoration to the image of God and the absolute destruction of sin—this was the covenant promise of God to His people.

How does God supernaturally put this hatred—this enmity—for sin in the heart? “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 Desire of Ages, 391

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63

“God is love and love is life.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 258

Satan Misrepresents the Character of God and Deceives the World

During our study of the mystery of godliness, we have found that this mystery deals directly with the nature of Jesus Christ.

“Never before had there been a being upon the earth who hated sin with so perfect a hatred as did Christ. He had seen its deceiving, infatuating power upon the holy angels, causing them to revolt, and all His powers were enlisted against Satan. In the purity and holiness of His life, Christ flashed the light of truth amid the moral darkness with which Satan had enshrouded the world. Christ exposed his falsehoods and deceiving character, and spoiled his corrupting influence.

“It was this that stirred Satan with such an intense hatred of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 118

So, what caused the revolt? “With his [Satan’s] hosts of fallen beings he determined to urge the warfare most vigorously; for there stood One in the world who was a perfect representation of the Father, and in His character and practices was a refutation of Satan’s misrepresentations of the character of God.” Ibid.

And he continues still to misrepresent God’s character in the world today.

“It was the purity and sinlessness of Christ’s humanity that stirred up such satanic hatred. His truth revealed their falsehoods. Satan saw God, whom he had charged with the attributes which he himself possessed, revealed in Christ in His true character—a compassionate, merciful God, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Him in repentance and have eternal life.” Ibid.

Jesus came to this world and lived a life that was the very essence of God’s true nature. Satan could lie all he wanted, but Jesus came as a man, compassionate, loving, merciful, pleading with all to choose to return to their Maker—He was God’s law personified and thus could not lie.

But Satan still charges God with his own attributes, and people all around the world believe that if there is a God in heaven, He must not be very loving or merciful. Many so-called Christian doctrines are devices of the devil to misrepresent the character of God to deceive people, but these doctrines are totally contradictory to the Bible’s description of God’s true character.

God Offers Transformation

Many people believe, including many Adventists, that God sent His Son in the same sinful flesh as fallen man, and thereby are unwittingly echoing the very same accusations against God that the devil has been making for thousands of years. Satan said that God was unfair and unjust, even cruel because it was impossible for man to keep the law, to offer perfect obedience to God. And God knows that, but demands it anyway. But God sent Jesus to prove that man, with his human nature, could keep the law and could become a partaker of the divine nature, both of which existed in Jesus—the fleshly nature we have, and the holy nature that God offers to sinful, fallen mankind.

“He [Jesus] came not to our world to give the obedience of a lesser God to a greater, but as a man to obey God’s holy law, and in this way He is our example.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 140

“Satan is ever seeking to bring about a state of things in which righteousness may be termed unrighteousness, and unrighteousness righteousness.” The Review and Herald, April 15, 1890

“If this matter were rightly understood and closely guarded, God’s servants would feel a continual burden of responsibility to counterwork the efforts of the men who do not know what they are about, because they are enchanted by the delusive allurements of Satan. When God’s people are fully awake to the danger of the hour, and work fully on Christ’s side, there will be seen a sharp contrast between their course and that of those who are saying, ‘Good Lord, and good devil,’ and we shall see much firmer and more decided work done to counterwork the schemes of satanic agencies.” Testimonies for the Church Containing Letters to Physicians and Ministers Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists, 11

In the humanity of Christ, the covenant promise was fulfilled. God prepared for His Son a human body and inscribed in His human heart His own divine attributes—the principles of righteousness and His law of love. The covenant promise was forever established and ratified when Jesus died on the cross, and the penalty demanded for man’s transgression was paid.

This natural enmity, this hostility that exists in the natural heart of man hates God’s law and the principles of righteousness and the love on which that law is founded. Man cannot love both selfishness and righteousness; the principles are diametrically opposite. If man is willing to return his loyalty to God, then He has promised to supernaturally give to man this enmity against sin through the process of sanctification, which begins with justification by faith. We are told that by studying God’s word, our natural, carnal nature will be destroyed and, in its place a new life in Christ Jesus will be found. This is sanctification.

The Example of Cain

Genesis 4 tells us that in response to God’s request for a burnt sacrifice, Cain brought an offering of fruit from his field. The Bible tells us that there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, so did Cain’s offering meet that requirement? And what are the implications of his offering?

  1. There was no confession of sin. The apostle John said “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9. According to this verse you cannot expect to be forgiven if you do not confess.
  2. There was no acknowledgment that he was in need of a Saviour.

Yes, Cain brought an offering, but his offering did not meet God’s requirements, instead, it showed a reliance on self. Today, there are tens of thousands of people making the same mistake as Cain. Trusting to themselves and to their own wisdom, their self-righteousness prevents them from realizing their own spiritual poverty. The Lord addressed this problem in Revelation 3:17 when He said, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” If we fail to see the spiritual nature of the law and therefore fail to recognize our own spiritual poverty and sinfulness, then we are in the Laodicean condition. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:8–10

“Those 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

This fearful, Laodicean deception involves breaking the everlasting covenant. Jesus counsels those in the Laodicean church to come to Him for a change of clothing—putting off their own filthy rags and putting on His white raiment—so that they are properly dressed for the wedding supper of the Lamb. We cannot attend the wedding supper clothed in our man-made, natural, fig-leaf garments. We must have a garment woven in the loom of heaven, and this we cannot make for ourselves.

Cain was not an atheist. He came to worship God, but he came to worship Him in his own way rather than according to God’s instruction. He decided that God should be satisfied with what he offered.

The Example of Paul

Before Paul was a Christian, he was an exemplary Pharisee, stringent in his belief that he followed the law implicitly. And in his outward life, Paul was blameless in terms of his outward actions (Philippians 3; Acts 26:5). It would be difficult to find anything that he had said or done that was contrary to the law of God, but true obedience involves more than just how a person behaves on the outside.

The problem with the religion of the Pharisees was that it did not touch the soul. Paul was not seeking Godlikeness of character, or for a heart filled with love and mercy. He was satisfied with the religion that touched only the outward life. His righteousness was the fruit of his own works.

But, when Paul was convicted of the spiritual nature of the law he said, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Romans 7:9. He was alive as a Pharisee without the law and thought he was perfect, but when he understood the spiritual nature of the law, he could see that his heart was evil. “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” Verse 18. When Paul understood the spirit of the law, he could see himself for the sinner he was, and then self was able to die.

“When the spiritual character of the law was discerned, when he [Paul] looked into the holy mirror, he saw himself a sinner. Judged by a human standard, he had abstained from sin, but when he looked into the depths of God’s law, and saw himself as God saw him, he bowed in humiliation, and confessed his guilt.” The Review and Herald, July 22, 1890

When sin is limited narrowly to a choice of action, rather than regarded as encompassing every aspect of our existence, the spiritual character of the law is not discerned, and a human standard is set up in the place of the great moral standard of righteousness.

Paul was convicted by the tenth commandment. “I had not known sin except by the law. I had not known lust except the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ ” Romans 7:7. How is the sin of covetousness related to false gods and false worship?

“All covetousness is condemned as idolatry.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 261

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

“No selfishness is of Christ. Selfishness lies at the foundation of all sin.” The Signs of the Times, April 11, 1900

A person who is not selfish will never commit a sin. You see, this is our problem: we believe that sin is just something we do, but really sin is what is on the inside. Our outward actions are simply an expression of our inward condition. If I have a selfish heart, then I am a sinner, and because of that selfish heart, I will covet what my neighbor has; I will be prideful, desiring worldly fame and fortune, power, and recognition; I will resent that my friend has a better job than I do or a bigger house. These are all feelings, part of a person’s sinful nature and character. They don’t require action to be sin.

“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

“The time demands greater efficiency and deeper consecration. … ‘Raise up and send forth messengers filled with a sense of their responsibility, messengers in whose hearts self-idolatry, which lies at the foundation of all sin, has been crucified.’ ” Testimonies, Vol. 9, 27

We see, then, that selfishness is not only a natural human trait of character, it is an imperfection of character that must be crucified. Since imperfection of character is sin, our natural selfishness is sin. All selfishness is covetousness and is therefore idolatry. Self was the idol of Cain and his descendants, and also the Pharisees. Laodicea believed they were worshiping God, but in fact were worshiping at the idol of self.

“Self must be crucified, else sin will remain to defile the whole being. The Cain-spirit must not be allowed to enter the heart; for the hatred it brings is next of kin to murder. …

“They love themselves and their own ways, failing to realize that their ways, their words, and their characters are opposed to God. Such can never reach perfection unless they see themselves as they are.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 21, 1899

Once I understood the spiritual nature of the law, I could see that unless I allow a change in my heart and mind, I am lost, even though I profess to be religious. It was then that I went to the Lord, admitting that I am totally lost unless He saves me. I must put my trust in Him for I cannot save myself.

“Blessed is the soul who can say, ‘I am guilty before God: but Jesus is my Advocate. I have transgressed His law. I cannot save myself; but I make the precious blood that was shed on Calvary all my plea.’ ” Sons and Daughters of God, 120

On the road to Damascus, Paul met Jesus and realized that he was a sinner in need of a Saviour. He also realized that if his natural disposition wasn’t miraculously changed, he would be lost.

While in prison, Paul wrote the book of Philippians and in its chapters we find Paul’s story of transformation—no longer a Pharisee, but now a disciple of Christ.

“For we are the circumcision who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:3–14

The Example of Christ

While Jesus possessed the likeness of sinful flesh in the mortal body of man, He did not possess the same sinful flesh, the disposition of the carnal mind (Romans 8:3; Philippians 2:7; 3:21). Suffering was more keenly felt by Him, for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin, and it is this nature, the character of Christ, that He wants to give to you and me.

“Christ’s perfect humanity is the same that man may have through connection with Christ.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 181. “It is the privilege of every believer in Christ to possess Christ’s nature, a nature far above that which Adam forfeited by transgression.” The Upward Look, 18

“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. If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the soul, will not the law of God be carried out in the life? When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new-covenant promise is fulfilled.” Steps to Christ, 60

In the old covenant, the law was written on tables of stone, but in the new covenant, God says that He will put His law in the hearts of His people, and when the law is written in your heart, you will want to always seek to do what is right. “And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience—the service and allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship.” Ibid.

It is the love of self that brings unrest. Jesus invites us to accept from Him a new heart and mind. When we are reborn from above, we will have the same mind as Jesus, only then will we find the peace that He offers. “ ‘Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ ” Matthew 11:28

It is the glory of God to give His virtue to His children. Jesus said to His disciples, “ ‘Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.’ ” John 14:27, first part. The peace that Jesus gives is the result of His love for the law of God and the principles of righteousness written in His human heart, just as they were written in the heart of Adam before his fall.

“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.” The Desire of Ages, 161 That was God’s purpose from eternal ages. “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. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of heaven is fulfilled.” Ibid.

Friends, we were meant to be a temple for the indwelling of our Creator. It is sin that has made us unfit to be His dwelling place.

It is Christ’s mission to deliver you from sin and to make your heart and mind a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Will you let Him?

* The words to My Maker and My King, were written by Anne Steele as an “expression of praise to her Maker and a heart of thankfulness for all the blessings of life.” Christianmusicandhymns.com/2019/09/my-maker-and-my-king-hymn-story

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 Original Mind

Our study of Romans 8:3 over the last few months has been divided into four major parts. We have covered three of the four. Let’s do a quick summary.

Part 1

It was clearly seen that sinful flesh is the sinful nature, the fallen nature entailed upon man by Adam’s disobedience, and because of this sinful nature, man is unable to keep God’s law.

“Those who have permitted their minds to become beclouded in regard to what constitutes sin are fearfully deceived.” Testimonies, Vol. 9, 267. Mrs. White is writing to the church and its ministers, making this a truly terrible indictment of the church and its leaders. They have forgotten the spiritual nature of God’s law. Sin is the transgression of the law, but you cannot understand what sin is unless you understand the spiritual nature of the law; and if you don’t understand the spiritual nature of the law, then the relationship of the humanity of Jesus Christ to the law is also obscured. This is a major problem in Adventism. What was the relationship of the humanity of Jesus Christ to the law? “In His [Jesus’] humanity, He was the impersonation of the divine character. God embodied His own attributes in His Son.” The Youth’s Instructor, September 16, 1897

The dictionary gives four definitions for the word embody. They are as follows:

  1. To invest with or in a bodily form.
  2. To represent in a concrete form.
  3. To personify (a quality or concept in physical form).
  4. To make something part of a system or part of a whole.

What were the attributes of God that were embodied 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.” Ibid.

Jesus was an exact replica of the divine character, born with the law of self-sacrificing love written in His human heart, full of holiness, grace, and the Holy Spirit. The law is a transcript of God’s character. Christ came as a man to be the embodiment of the law. He was the law of God, walking and talking, loving and caring.

In contrast, you and I are born with the law of selfishness written in our hearts and the natural selfishness of our nature is sin. “Selfishness is sin, and it grieves away the Spirit of Christ.” The Signs of the Times, April 13, 1891

Part 2

It was seen that the word likeness means “a form” and is therefore primarily referring to the body, the physical nature that the Father had prepared for Jesus. (See Hebrews 10:5.)

Paul wrote, “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, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. “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.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 13, 1898. This is not talking about His divinity. However there are Adventists today who are as confused about Jesus’ divinity as they are about His humanity.

Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). “Christ was a real man; He gave proof of His humility in becoming a man. Yet He was God in the flesh. When we approach this subject, we would do well to heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses at the burning bush, ‘Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’ We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart. And the study of the incarnation of Christ is a fruitful field, which will repay the searcher who digs deep for hidden truth.” Ibid. This mystery is so deep that we will study it throughout eternity, but still will be unable to fully understand it.

Part 3

It was revealed that there are several warnings applicable to those who believe that the word likeness means “the same” and how this belief is a barrier to true justification and ultimately to sanctification, so the result is that a person never enters into the rest spoken of in Hebrews 4.

Confession is a prerequisite to justification. Without a correct understanding of what sin is, how can we make the type of confession that is required. Without justification there is no sanctification. The Sabbath is a sign that God is restoring—sanctifying—His righteousness and character in man by separating him from his natural selfishness.

“Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you seem to come short of it.” Verse 1. A spurious justification will lead to a spurious sanctification which will prevent one from entering into His rest, the true sanctification of the Sabbath. Someone might make an outward show of keeping the Sabbath, but if a person’s heart is not touched, they are only keeping the Sabbath out of a sense of legal obligation, and is not impressed with their need of being sanctified in preparation for the second coming of Christ.

Part 4

Our study of the fourth part of Roman 8:3 will show us how the first three parts relate to the offering of Cain and the idol sabbath or Sunday-keeping. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6. It may seem harsh when you first read this text, but God is speaking of a specific knowledge that, if lacking, demonstrates the inability to understand the spiritual character of the law of God.

“The law of God has been largely dwelt upon and has been presented to congregations, almost as destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law as was the offering of Cain.” Faith and Works, 18

Mrs. White is saying that Adventist preachers have largely dwelt upon the law of God, but that their preaching is destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law. When this was written, Adventist preachers had been preaching the three angels’ messages and the law of God for over 40 years, so naturally they thought that they understood it. Sadly, Mrs. White says they did not, and you cannot solve a problem if you do not recognize that there is one. Multitudes of Seventh-day Adventists today, like the Jews of old, have forgotten the relationship of Christ’s humanity to the law, and the result is that many are rejecting knowledge regarding this relationship.

Seventh-day Adventists have been entrusted with the oracles of God. They have been called to give the three angels’ messages to the world, to repair the breach that has been made in the law, which involves far more than just what day you go to church. However, because many people fail to see how the humanity of Jesus is related to the spiritual nature of the law, they present this relationship as the offering of Cain. Inspiration links the offering of Cain-type worship to both the Pharisees and to Laodicea. And my hope is that we will see that—just as the Pharisees of old accused Jesus of breaking the letter of the law, of being a Sabbath-breaker—Laodicea, who is spiritually blind (Revelation 3), is unwittingly accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath in its spiritual realm, presenting the law apart from Jesus.

What was wrong with Cain’s offering? “The sacrificial offerings were instituted to be a standing pledge to man of God’s pardon through the great offering to be made, typified by the blood of beasts. Through this ceremony man signified repentance, obedience, and faith in a Redeemer to come. That which made Cain’s offering offensive to God was his lack of submission and obedience to the ordinance of His appointment.” The Review and Herald, March 3, 1874

Cain obeyed by offering the sacrifice, but by offering the fruit of the ground, wrought by the toil of his own hands, he disobeyed, denying his dependence upon Jesus for salvation. Cain was not a humble man. He did not like expressing his weaknesses and sinfulness, nor did he accept that he needed someone else to save him. In giving the offering of his choice rather than the offering God required, Cain slighted the blood of the atonement. “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground unto God, instead of bringing the blood of a slain lamb, the type of Christ, slain for the sins of the world.” The Signs of the Times, June 1, 1891

What is the significance of the blood of the Lamb? The great promise—enmity between the devil and God’s church—and the prophecy—He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel—found in Genesis 3:15 is fulfilled by the blood of Jesus Christ. “By virtue of His blood the enmity is abolished.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1109

“With Christ the enmity was in one sense natural; in another sense it was supernatural, as humanity and divinity were combined. And never was the enmity developed to such a marked degree as when Christ became a resident of this earth. Never before had there been a being upon the earth who hated sin with so perfect a hatred as did Christ.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 118

“This enmity is supernaturally put, and not naturally entertained. When man sinned, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan.” The Review and Herald, July 18, 1882. Once man sinned, he was no longer in harmony with God, nor at variance with Satan. Satan had deceived angels and caused the downfall of Adam and Eve. He thought that he would have control over all of the human race, becoming the god of this world, and waging a worldwide rebellion against God with the full cooperation of all mankind.

But God said, “I am going to put hatred between you [Satan] and the woman [the church] and between your seed and her Seed [Christ].”

“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 [Romans 8:7].” The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1893

“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.” The Desire of Ages, 391. The definition of to reproduce is “to produce something that has been destroyed.” The reproduction of the character of God in man is the purpose of the plan of redemption.

Man’s nature had been ruined by sin, but God said that He would restore, through the humanity of Christ, His image, His character, in the heart of man.

“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 the divine similitude is reproduced, divine love takes the place of hatred in the heart. There is a direct reversal of what happened to man; God undoes what Satan did to man as a result of the Fall.

“When Satan heard that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head, he knew that though he had succeeded in depraving human nature, and assimilating it to his own, yet by some mysterious process, God would restore to man his lost power, and enable him to resist and overcome his conqueror.” The Review and Herald, July 18, 1882

“Christ became a man that He might mediate between man and God. He clothed His divinity with humanity, He associated with the human race, that with His human arm He might encircle humanity, and with His divine arm grasp the throne of Divinity. And this humiliation [becoming a human being] on His part was that He might restore to man the original mind, the image of God, which he lost in Eden through Satan’s alluring temptations, that man might realize that it is for his present and eternal good to obey the requirements of God.” The Signs of the Times, October 14, 1897

“The excellence and value of pure love consists in its efficiency to do good, and to do nothing else but good. Whatsoever is done out of pure love, be it ever so little or contemptible in the sight of men, is wholly fruitful; for God measures more with how much love one worketh, than the amount he doeth. Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly growth.” Testimony for the Church at Battle Creek, 37

The unconverted heart of man cannot originate or produce love. It is a gift that Jesus wants to give to you and it lives and flourishes only where Christ reigns. So divine love is the inherent power in the image of God.

“The law of God from its very nature is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and the character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law.’ ” The Great Controversy, 467. When God embodied His own attributes in the humanity of His Son, His love became a tangible, living form, an exact replica of the Father’s character.

“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Hebrews 1:1–4

“When God gave His Son to our world, He endowed human beings with imperishable riches—riches compared with which the treasured wealth of men since the world began is nothingness.” The Ministry of Healing, 37. When God gave His Son, He endowed human beings with the possibility of receiving a wealth of riches that this world cannot even conceive of. It is deeply saddening to see people who choose not to follow Christ because they prefer a business or a piece of real estate or a partner. Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” Mark 8:36

“Christ came to the earth and stood before the children of men with the hoarded love of eternity, and this is the treasure that, through our connection with Him, we are to receive, to reveal, and to impart.” The Ministry of Healing, 37. Try to imagine it—the hoarded love of eternity! And this Christ offers to every man, woman, and child who will accept it.

The law of God and His divine love are directly opposed to Satan’s law of selfishness. Through the promise to place enmity between the seed of the serpent and the Seed of the woman, God’s covenant to put His law and love in the hearts and minds of His people was fulfilled. It was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, who is the living example of what God wants to do for His church. However, we have a part in this covenant as well. We must cooperate with Him by taking up our cross (Luke 9:23). It is an unpopular thing, taking up our cross, but when we do, God has promised to supernaturally instill in the hearts of His people the same hatred for sin that was manifested in the life of Jesus.

Jesus came to this world so that God could reproduce His character in the heart of man. The world can make no better offer than the one that Jesus is making to you today. Take up your cross, follow Him, and experience the miracle as God reproduces His character in your life.

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 Spiritual Nature of the Law

We have studied many things regarding the mystery of godliness. Our eternal destiny is directly affected by this sacred subject.

God gave to Martin Luther, one of the great heroes of faith, the work of reminding the entire Christian world of the doctrine of justification by faith. This important doctrine had been almost forgotten, and Christians needed to be brought back to an understanding of it.

Let’s say this very clearly: Justification by faith is the only way that we can be saved. It doesn’t matter what you do, how religious you are, that you go to church and pay tithe, how much you sing and pray, how much you read your Bible, or the amount of missionary work and good deeds you do, unless you are justified by faith you are lost.

“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. Mrs. White wrote this in 1888, at a time of great crisis in the Adventist church. Even today, we are in danger of accepting false ideas regarding justification by faith. Have we seen that in the Christian world, in Adventism, today? “I have been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to confuse the mind on this point.” Ibid. It is the devil’s direct purpose to muddy the spiritual waters as much as he possibly can. He takes special measures, especially on this point, to bring in confusion.

Even though some people will say that Mrs. White wrote more than a hundred years ago, thus these counsels were for her time, they are, in fact, just as true today as when she first wrote them. “The law of God has been largely dwelt upon and has been presented to congregations, almost as destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law as was the offering of Cain.” Ibid. As bad as the offering of Cain? That is a strong rebuke. We must have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relationship to the ten commandments.

For over 40 years after the above statement was written, Adventist ministers preached the three angels’ messages, God’s last message of warning and mercy to the world. The Second Advent Movement was to reach out to a fallen world that was, and still is, rapidly heading toward destruction. The three angels’ messages offered to the people of the world a choice—listen and have life; don’t and be destroyed.

Seldom is there anything revealed that is more important than when God says to listen. We have a problem with listening. Adam and Eve didn’t listen. Cain didn’t listen. The people of the Antediluvian world didn’t listen. The people of Sodom didn’t listen. People today are listening, just not to God. Messages are being given by strange voices, but they are not messages from heaven. These voices are so attractive. They say that man will not die. They say that man can know everything that God knows. They say that man can be and do and have whatever he wants. They say that man can be like God. But these voices are lying, and they lead all who listen to them to destruction.

Ellen White was a prophet. God spoke to her and gave her visions regarding the things He needed for her to share with His people. “I have been shown that many have been kept from the faith because of the mixed, confused ideas of salvation, because the ministers have worked in a wrong manner to reach hearts.” Ibid. She is talking about Seventh-day Adventist ministers in this passage. Sadly, many people have been kept from accepting Jesus as their Saviour because of what these ministers have taught. What a terrible indictment against Adventist ministers!

How much is salvation worth to you? What would it mean if you could have a life with God that would never end—a life with no pain or sorrow, no death or funerals, no troubles or disappointments, no violence—instead there would be songs and praises, everlasting joy and gladness? Then it should be important to us to have a correct understanding of salvation.

At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, speaking of the last days, said that there will be many Christians who would think they were saved, but who, in fact, would be lost. They would come right up to the very end, believing that they were doing the work of God, only to find out it wasn’t true.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ” Matthew 7:21, 22

They are absolutely sure that they are saved. They have prophesied, cast out demons, performed miracles and wonders, all in the name of Jesus. Their prophesies have come true, and when they admonished demons, they departed. They healed the sick and did many other miraculous things. But here is the problem:

“And then I declared to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ ” Verse 23. In spite of all the things they have done, believing that the power was coming from Jesus, He says He did not know them at all. Why? Because they were still sinning. So where was the power to perform all these things coming from? The devil can give prophesies and then make them come true. He can make people sick and then heal them. A demon can certainly allow himself to be cast out so that it looks like the work of the Holy Spirit. These Christians had a power, but it wasn’t a power from God. They had claimed to have worshipped God for years, but Jesus will say that He doesn’t know them.

The Greek word anti plus the Greek word Christos is anti-Christos. From these two Greek words comes our word antichrist. Friend, there is an antichrist in the world. The Greek word anti in its primitive sense means “someone who stands in the place of someone or something else.”

The apostle John writes that there are many antichrists who have stood and are standing in the place of Christ (1 John 2:22). The chief antichrist is the devil. Revelation predicts that a time is coming when almost the whole world will think they are worshiping Christ, but they will be worshiping the antichrist.

How can you tell whether you are worshiping Christ or the antichrist? Matthew 7:23, last part, tells us. “ ‘Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” These people who claim to be Christians are breaking God’s law. The antichrist teaches people to break God’s law. Christ teaches people to keep God’s law. “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” 1 John 3:6. Those who transgress God’s law do not know Jesus and Jesus does not know them.

The Bible is clear that sin is the transgression of the law. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He [Jesus] was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil.” Verses 4–8, first part. If I am living in sin, I am serving the devil, not Christ. Everyone who is living in sin is a child of the devil. “… the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Verse 8, last part

Christ came to this world as a man to destroy sin. It was decided thousands of years ago that sin could not be tolerated and would have to be destroyed. He has allowed it to continue for so long so that the entire universe can see just how bad sin really is, how it destroys lives.

God hasn’t destroyed sin yet because there are people all around the world who have sin in them. If He destroyed sin now, then they would be destroyed, too. God doesn’t want to destroy anyone, but anyone who clings to sin will be destroyed when sin is destroyed. There is only one way to avoid the destruction that will come when sin is destroyed: if we allow Jesus to take the sin out of us. Understand, I can never take the sin out of myself. Neither can you take the sin out of yourself.

When I was a child, people didn’t understand this. They thought if they prayed enough and studied their Bibles enough, if they went to church every Sabbath and paid their tithe, if they told people about Jesus, that sin would be booted out of their lives. But there is no amount of praying, studying, church attending, tithe paying, or witnessing that will remove sin from my life. All of these things are needful, and are the outworking of a transformed life, but by themselves, they will not remove sin from my life. Only God can take the sin out of me and replace it with the righteousness of Jesus in my heart. That is why Jesus died on the cross. Without His death, it would have been impossible for God to take the sin out of me.

Romans 6:23 tells us, that ”the wages of sin is death.” Death is the natural consequence of sin, so when a person sins, they are guilty and cannot receive eternal life. Jesus died on the cross to bear my guilt for me and free me from the penalty of sin.

“The point that has been urged upon my mind for years is the imputed righteousness of Christ.” Faith and Works, 18. That is how God takes the sin out. There are several things that have to happen. What should happen when a person sins? They should die. Remember, “The wages of sin is death.” That is the natural consequence of sin—if you are guilty of sin you deserve death and you cannot be given eternal life. So, the first thing that has to happen if you are going to have eternal life is the guilt in your conscience has to be removed. Sin and the guilt we bear is so awful that the only way it could be removed was for Jesus Christ to die on the cross, bearing your guilt for you.

“I have wondered that this matter was not made the subject of discourses in our churches throughout the land, when the matter has been kept so constantly urged upon me, and I have made it the subject of nearly every discourse and talk that I have given to the people.” Ibid.

Let’s look at the following three points to help us better understand Jesus’ relationship to God’s law.

  1. We must understand the spiritual nature of the law. The main thrust of the Sermon on the Mount was the spirituality of the law (Romans 7:14).
  2. We want to understand Jesus Christ and His relationship to the law—the ten commandments (The Signs of the Times, November 15, 1899).
  3. If you don’t understand the first two points, here’s what will happen:
  4. You will have a wrong idea about justification by faith.
  5. If you have a wrong idea about justification by faith, you will have a wrong idea about sanctification.
  6. If you have a wrong idea about sanctification, you will not know what to do to be ready for Jesus to come.

The foundation of truth in all of these doctrines begins with a correct understanding of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relationship to the law. Before a sinner is justified, he must be convicted of sin and confess it.

The experience of Paul reveals that it is the moral law that brings conviction of sin. “I was alive once without the law.” Romans 7:9, first part. Paul had been taught by Gamaliel. He was a strict Pharisee. In the Jewish church, he was called a doctor of the law and a teacher of it. He could quote the law perfectly in three languages. He could explain all the tenants of the ten commandments. But in this text, Paul admits, without realizing it, that he did not understand the spiritual nature of the law. He knew the words, but he did not know the part the law played in the spiritual transformation of his heart.

Paul engaged in hunting down, persecuting, and killing Christians, breaking the sixth commandment in the name of God, until one day, as he journeyed along the Damascus Road, on his way to hunt down more Christians, God struck him down. A brilliant light shone all around him, brighter than the sun. He fell to the ground, and he “heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ ” Acts 9:4–6

Before he truly understood the law, Paul believed that he was doing God’s work. He believed he was a good Jew, a good Pharisee, doing good work in hunting down those who allegedly spread blasphemy—those who, in Paul’s view, were sinners. Although most of the people of this world, because of their sins, are children of the devil, and yet, they still belong to God. The way we treat them, shows how we would treat Jesus. Thus unknowingly, Paul’s treatment of faithful Christians reveals how he might have treated Christ.

“ ‘Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.” ‘Then they also will answer Him, saying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?” Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ ” Matthew 25:41–46

Paul is saying in Romans 7:9 that, for the first time in his life, the law revealed to his conscience that he was a sinful man. Only then did he begin to understand the spiritual nature of the law. He never understood it before. He lived in the world without the law, but now he was able to see himself as he truly was—a sinner with a character filled with sin. He believed himself to be a righteous person, but the law showed him that he was exactly the opposite. What was his response to this revelation? “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Recognizing that he is totally devoid of righteousness, devoid of all spiritual life, he says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” Verse 18, first part

“The law revealed to Paul his defects of character; but he did not seek to abolish the law because he stood condemned before it. He said, ‘I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came [home to his conscience], sin [in his character] revived, and I died. … Wherefore the law [that worked so sharply against the natural propensities] is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.’ To his quickened conscience, sin became exceedingly sinful. This is the work of the law and the Holy Spirit, that convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.” The Home Missionary, October 1, 1897

When the moral law comes home to the conscience and the spiritual nature of the law is discerned, the sinner will realize that he is condemned because of his natural, sinful propensities. Notice the law not only convicts of sin, it also convicts of the righteousness found only in Jesus.

“Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 608

If we fail to recognize this relationship, we are in danger of embracing false ideas of justification by faith. Many today fail to recognize the relationship between Christ and the law, and therefore, they are not convicted that man is born a sinner. The definition of sin is limited to simply a choice. They deny that we have sin within—that we are sinners by nature—so they ascribe to the humanity of Christ the same sinful flesh [carnal nature] that we inherited from Adam.

Jude warns us against this danger—ascribing our sinful nature to Christ’s humanity—admonishing us to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.

My dear friend, the plan of salvation provides for the removal of sin from your life. Jesus, more than anything else in the world wants to take the sin out of your life so that He can replace it with His righteousness, and give you eternal life.

Are you willing to let Him do it? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to allow Jesus to come into your heart and mind and change you? To save you requires a creative act of God. He speaks and our sinfulness is removed and He creates in us a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit, a new character.

“Behold! I stand at the door and knock.”

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.

Likeness to the Satanic Nature Without, Holiness Within

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, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk after the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3, 4

“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. Christ was a real man; He gave proof of His humility in becoming a man. Yet He was God in the flesh. When we approach this subject, we would do well to heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses at the burning bush, ‘Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’ We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart. And the study of the incarnation of Christ is a fruitful field, which will repay the searcher who digs deep for hidden truth.” The Youth’s Instructor, October 13, 1898

Christ was born as a real man, but He was also God in the flesh. Inspiration tells us that this is so important that as we study it, we should do so as though we, like Moses, were standing on holy ground.

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” Romans 8:7

Paul is simply saying that the law cannot justify man because, in his sinful nature, he is unable to keep the law perfectly, no matter how much he might want to. (See also Patriarchs and Prophets, 373.)

Remember, sinful nature, sinful flesh, and human nature are used interchangeably with reference to the carnal mind. The context determines the exact meaning.

We have seen that the word likeness means “a resemblance in form” which refers to the physical nature. Because of Adam’s fall, man has inherited sinful flesh and a carnal mind. These are manifestations of sin and sin is the cause of physical degeneration. When God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, He did not take the same carnal mind, but He took the likeness—the physical form—of sinful flesh. In other words, He inherited the same kind of physical body, ruined by the degenerating effects of 4,000 years of sin, but He did not inherit man’s carnal mind.

“Christ, who knew not the least moral taint or defilement of sin, took our nature in its deteriorated condition. This was humiliation greater than finite man can comprehend. He was the Majesty of heaven, but in the divine plan He descended from His high and holy estate to take humanity, that humanity might touch humanity, and divinity, combined with humanity, could take hold upon divinity.

“God was manifest in the flesh. He humbled Himself. What a subject for thought, for deep, earnest contemplation; so infinitely great that He was the Majesty of heaven, and yet He stooped so low without losing an atom of His dignity or glory! Christ stooped to poverty and to the deepest abasement and humiliation among men.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 115

Unfortunately, many Adventists have interpreted Romans 8:3 to say that the word likeness means the same sinful flesh. Then they say that He had all the propensities for selfishness, lying, stealing, adultery, and murder that you and I have in our fallen human nature. In essence, they are teaching that Christ had our carnal mind, because the Bible says that the things that defile a man come from the heart and mind, and not the body.

“Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man … .” Matthew 15:19, 20

“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 7:21–23

Jesus made it very clear that none of these things were found in Him. “For the ruler of this world [Satan] is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” John 14:30

The issue is that most Christians, including Seventh-day Adventists, do not understand the relationship between Jesus’ humanity and the law of God. So, let’s start by discussing justification and sanctification.

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. … Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.” Jude 3, 4, and 8

The word dignitaries could also be translated as glories. The men in verse 8 are speaking evil against the glorious Ones. They are speaking evil against the Godhead.

Inspiration is clear that justification is one of the truths that Paul addresses in Romans 8. She also reveals the danger regarding false ideas of justification by faith, which lead to a spurious sanctification, and in turn prevents true Sabbath worship. We will see, as we continue, how Jesus’ relationship with the law makes it possible to properly worship on the Sabbath.

“The danger has been presented to me again and again [through the Holy Spirit] of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith. I have been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to confuse the mind on this point. The law of God has been largely dwelt upon, and has been presented to congregations, almost as destitute of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law as was the offering of Cain.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 810

Notice, Mrs. White says that where false ideas of justification by faith are entertained, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the relationship between the humanity of Christ and the law of God. Mrs. White gives us several warnings regarding this lack of knowledge.

Warnings

“The Lord has presented before me the dangers that are threatening His people who have the sacred work of proclaiming the third angel’s message with clearness and distinctness.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 18, 27

“Several have written to me inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, ‘It is the third angel’s message in verity [reality].’ ” The Review and Herald, April 1, 1890

“The third angel’s message is to be sounded by God’s people. It is to swell to the loud cry.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 9, 212

The third angel’s message is the message of justification by faith, the message that God’s people are to give at this time. We must understand that if we lack knowledge concerning the relationship between the humanity of Christ and the law of God, we are in danger of being ensnared by unsanctified propositions.

“We are in danger of giving the third angel’s message in so indefinite a manner that it does not impress the people. … The Sabbath question has been touched upon but has not been presented as the great test for this time. While the churches profess to believe in Christ, they are violating the law which Christ Himself proclaimed from Sinai. The Lord bids us: ‘Show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ Isaiah 58:1. The trumpet is to give a certain sound.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, 60, 61. This warning links the third angel’s message with the Sabbath.

“Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world. The proclamation of the third angel’s message calls for the presentation of the Sabbath truth. This truth, with others included in the message, is to be proclaimed; but the great center of attraction, Christ Jesus, must not be left out. … The sinner must be led to look to Calvary; with the simple faith of a little child he must trust in the merits of the Saviour, accepting His righteousness, believing in His mercy.” Gospel Workers, 156, 157

“In all ages, the Sabbath has been the test of loyalty to God.” Ibid., 148

So while justification by faith is the third angel’s message in verity, the Sabbath—the great test of loyalty for this time—is also a key part of the message, inseparably linked with justification which cannot be separated from loyalty to God. The Sabbath then involves far more than just which day one goes to church. It is the test of loyalty for God’s people. Sadly, many Adventists have forgotten the spiritual nature and far-reaching principles of the law of God and how the humanity of Christ is related to it.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6

“Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour.” The Desire of Ages, 608

The purpose of the moral law is to convict mankind of sin. If the law fails in this purpose, then instead of accomplishing the work that God has called His people to do, they will be working with Satan and ascribing his evil attributes to the humanity of Christ. Satan has done this so effectively that people now have a false idea of who Jesus really is.

What is justification by faith? A full, complete pardon of sin. “The moment a sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God’s forgiving grace. …

“It is only through faith in His blood that Jesus can justify the believer.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, 1071

Too many people believe that justification is accomplished right before you are baptized and then you just move on to the process of sanctification. However, justification is not a once-and-done action.

There are two parts to justification by faith. First, an instantaneous, full, and complete pardon for sin through faith in the blood of Christ. Second, the righteousness of Christ is then imputed or put to your account. However, there is a prerequisite to being justified. To be justified you must first make a thorough confession. “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

While many believe that we are born into sin, they do not believe we are sinners until we commit an act of sin. Inspiration says that Adam entailed a sinful nature upon his posterity, and thereby, we are alienated from God, and unable to be in harmony with the precepts of His law (Steps to Christ, 43; Romans 8:7).

How does our sinful condition—our carnal mind—measure up to the requirement of the great moral standard? Paul says, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’ ” Romans 3:10

“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 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. … 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 Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895

Human nature is alienated from God because the mind is naturally carnal and not in harmony with the precepts of God’s law. “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 … [and] 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

“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. 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.” Steps to Christ, 43

Every human mind is controlled either by the Holy Spirit or by an evil spirit. The carnal mind is controlled by the power of Satan and is the very essence of the satanic nature. Those who do not believe that we are born sinners, partakers of the satanic nature, have changed Paul’s words and attributed to the humanity of Christ the same sinful flesh that man inherited from Adam. This clearly shows that they are lacking knowledge regarding the relationship between Jesus Christ and the spiritual nature of the law.

We must recognize our sinful, fallen condition. It is this condition that constitutes our unrighteousness. Our condition is our state of being. Let’s say I was born blind. This is my condition, my state of being, and I cannot make myself to see. I didn’t do anything to make myself blind. I am simply blind because I was born this way. This describes our sinful condition. Our state of being is sinful because we were born with the sinfulness that Adam entailed upon us, and we cannot make ourselves sinless. We are simply sinful.

But the Bible gives us good news. If we confess our sins, God is not only faithful to forgive and justify us, but He will also cleanse us from all unrighteousness—not only our sinful condition, but also the deeds that are the fruit of it. Justification by faith begins by confessing the sinfulness of our nature and believing in the spotless, unblemished righteousness of the Lamb.

“By virtue of His blood the enmity is abolished.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1109. Faith in the blood of Christ will abolish the enmity of man’s sinful condition.

Relationship of Jesus’ Humanity to the Law

  1. “All Your commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:172, last part
  2. “Your law is truth.” Verse 142, last part
  3. “All Your commandments are truth.” Verse 151, last part
  4. “The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” Romans 7:12

The word just in Romans 7:12 means “equitable in character or act” and it implies innocence or holiness. The combination of thoughts and feelings develop character, “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.” Therefore, character relates to the mind.

“Such a law [the ten commandments], being an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author.” The Great Controversy, 467

Luke 1:35 (KJV) calls Jesus “that Holy Thing.” Mrs. White tells us that those words refer only to Jesus Christ. “The humanity of Christ is called ‘that Holy Thing.’ The inspired record says of Christ, ‘He did no sin,’ He ‘knew no sin,’ and ‘in Him was no sin.’ He was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.’ He tabernacled among men. This testimony concerning Christ plainly shows that He condemned sin in the flesh.” The Signs of the Times, January 16, 1896

“As speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible God. 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, to make known in His life and character the attributes of the Father, that men might bear the image of the invisible God. He [Christ] was the embodiment of the law of God, which is the transcript of His character.” The Signs of the Times, November 15, 1899

“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

To summarize:

  • God’s law is holy and righteous.
  • Jesus was that Holy Thing, who did no sin, knew no sin, was no sin.
  • Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
  • Jesus was and is the embodiment of God’s law.
  • All perfection of character, all divine excellence dwelt in Him even though He was human.
  • Jesus inherited the attributes of His Father. He was the personification of the law of God, the very righteousness and holiness of God.

For His life on this earth, Jesus put on, if you will, a cloak of sinfulness—our physical human form ruined by 4,000 years of sin—that He might know and understand what sin had done to man. It enabled Him to sympathize with man’s struggles against his sinful nature and the outside enticements brought to him by the devil, but inside, His nature was holy.

Satan is still trying to clothe the Father with his own attributes. Through those who say that God sent His own Son into this world in the same sinful flesh that we have, he is attempting to make people believe that Jesus had the same selfish nature controlled by Satan that we inherited from Adam. This is so wrong, and those who believe and teach it are unwittingly fostering the work of Satan, attributing to the Godhead the attributes of Satan.

“Satan has worked against God and His government, leading men to attribute to God the traits which belong to the power of evil. Christ came to this world to reveal the Father.” The Review and Herald, March 12, 1901

“Satan had clothed the Father in his own attributes, but Christ represented Him in His true character of benevolence and love.” The Signs of the Times, June 27, 1892

“God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and love to man. ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law.’ The character of God is righteousness and truth; such is the nature of His law.” The Great Controversy, 467

“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. Jesus is righteousness. What fullness is expressed in these words!” The Review and Herald, September 2, 1890

To meet the highest claims of the law, Jesus had to begin with righteousness, a perfect character in harmony with all the precepts of the law because the law requires these things.

“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

“He began life, passed through its experiences, and ended its record, with a sanctified human will.” The Signs of the Times, October 29, 1894

“Christ exalted the law, holding it forth in its original purity as a perfect system of morality. His life was a living illustration of the law of God.” The Signs of the Times, June 5, 1901

“He [Christ] made this law honorable by His perfect conformity to its requirements.” Ibid.

The law is just and righteous and it demands a righteous and holy life, a perfect character, and in meeting the highest claims of the law, Jesus became our Substitute. His righteousness substituted for our unrighteousness, and if we confess our sins and accept by faith the fullness of His righteousness, our sins will be forgiven, and we will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. Jesus is our substitute in justification and our example in sanctification. His human nature is the example of what sanctified human nature is to be, and and His divine nature is the example of what we can become by His power and grace.

“He [Jesus] came to our world on a mission from the Father. He came to bridge the gulf that sin had made between God and man. There was to be made a provision for a reconciliation, for a union of the human with the divine nature. Christ would sanctify all who believe in Him. In the gift of Christ to our world, God has provided for everyone a power to overcome evil.” The Upward Look, 149

“He [God] could save the human race only through His Son, who combined humanity with divinity. In His divine plan of salvation, God gave His only begotten Son that every voice may be silent upon the point that it is not possible for humanity to keep the law of God. In Christ, divinity and humanity bore every test of temptation … . In Christ, man is privileged to become a partaker of the divine nature.” The Review and Herald, November 29, 1898

If God’s people believe that sin is limited simply to a choice that a person makes, then they are rejecting the knowledge regarding the far-reaching principles of the spirituality of God’s law.

How does the Sabbath fit with justification by faith, the third angel’s message, the law of God, and the humanity of Christ?

What is the purpose of the law of God? “The law was our school master to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24. The law brings us to Christ that we might be justified, but unless we understand how the law is related to the humanity of Christ, it cannot bring us to the point of justification by faith.

The law also has a role in the judgment. “He who becomes a partaker of the divine nature will be in harmony with God’s great standard of righteousness, His holy law. This is the rule by which God measures the actions of men. This will be the test of character in the judgment.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 314

The gospel does not nullify the law nor does it detract one jot or tittle from its claims. It still demands holiness, and it is by this just and holy law that all will be judged in the last day.

“The law is the great standard of righteousness. It represents the character of God.” The Youth’s Instructor, February 19, 1903

Jesus had the character of God in both His divine and human natures. Studying Christ’s life shows us God’s character—what He is like. The law is a reflection of God’s character, an expression of His perfect holiness. It is the test of our loyalty to His government. The law brings us to Christ, showing us that it was exemplified in His humanity, written in His human heart.

Under the new covenant, God has promised that He will write the law in our hearts. Thus, as we surrender our lives to Him, repent of our sins, and allow the Holy Spirit to effect a complete transformation in our lives, we can be a living example of His character, just as Christ was.

It is by understanding this intimate relationship that Jesus had, in His humanity, with the law of God, that we will have an accurate understanding of justification by faith.

Justification by faith leads to sanctification. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s law, and it is He who is both the Justifier, according to the law of righteousness, and Sanctifier of His people, enabling them to live as He lived, and the Sabbath was given as a sign, a promise, that He will sanctify them.

The Sabbath, God says, is “a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” Exodus 31:13

“Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.” Ezekiel 20:12

“The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that recreates the soul in His own likeness.” Testimonies, Vol. 6, 350

“True sanctification is harmony with God, oneness with Him in character.” Ibid.

“ ‘I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,’—make them holy. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy.” The Desire of Ages, 288

Do you see the connection between the Sabbath, justification, and sanctification in the third angel’s message? “The Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. … It is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.” Ibid.

“No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers. It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the true God.” Ibid., 283

“The human heart is naturally inclined to idolatry and self-exaltation.” The Signs of the Times, April 21, 1881.

Where love to God is, natural self-idolatry will not exist. Practicing self-idolatry makes us unable to keep the Sabbath. “It is the love of self that brings unrest.” The Desire of Ages, 330

True sanctification is a daily dying to sin and our natural selfishness, crucifying our natural self-idolatry, and becoming one with Him in character. Christ is our perfect example of sanctification, and keeping the Sabbath is a sign of true sanctification.

“To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of Creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ ” The Faith I Live By, 33

“Great peace have those who love Your law.” Psalm 119:165. This peace was completely His own; no one could give it, no one could take it away.

Concerning Jesus, the Bible says, “I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8

“The practical lessons of Christ are to be often repeated. Christ and His righteousness are to be so blended with the third angel’s message that the whole world may be lightened with His glory.” The Review and Herald, July 14, 1891

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.

Master, the Tempest Is Raging

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We are perishing!’ But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”

Matthew 8:23–26

You won’t find it in the new Seventh-day Adventist Church Hymnal, but in the old hymnal it is hymn 677. Master, the Tempest is Raging (also titled Peace, be Still) is a song about looking beyond ourselves and our own feeble efforts and putting our faith in the One who made the sea and the wind and who is our Refuge in a time of storm, a Comfort in a time of distress, an Empathizer in a time of loss.

Mary Ann Baker was an American composer and singer born on September 16, 1832. She was very active in her Baptist congregation and well-known for her temperance songs.

She was asked by Dr. H. R. Palmer to compose several songs to go with a series of presentations, in particular, the Bible verses telling how Jesus calmed the tempest.

It hadn’t been long since she had lost both her parents and brother to tuberculosis, and frustrated by the circumstances surrounding her brother’s death, it seems that Master, the Tempest is Raging, was born out of that frustration. I’ll let her tell the story, as she related it to Ira D. Sankey.

“A very dear and only brother, a young man of rare loveliness and promise of character, had been laid in the grave, a victim of the same disease that had already taken father and mother. His death occurred under peculiarly distressing circumstances.

“He was more than a thousand miles away from home, seeking in the balmy air of the sunny South the healing that our colder climate could not give. Suddenly he grew worse. The writer [Mary Ann] was ill and could not go to him.

“For two weeks the long lines of telegraph wires carried back and forth messages between the dying brother and his waiting sisters, ere the word came which told us that our beloved brother was no longer a dweller on the earth.

“Although we mourned not as those without hope, and although I had believed on Christ in early childhood and had always desired to give the Master a consecrated and obedient life, I became wickedly rebellious at this dispensation of divine providence. I said in my heart that God did not care for me or mine. But the Master’s own voice stilled the tempest in my unsanctified heart, and brought it to the calm of a deeper faith and a more perfect trust.”

Dr. Palmer set the words to music, and it has enjoyed appeal among religious schools and churches.

“During the weeks when we kept watch by the bedside of our greatly beloved President Garfield, it was republished as especially appropriate to the time, and was sung at some of the many funeral services held throughout the United States.”

During the 20th century, the hymn gained lasting popularity.

“Suddenly a flash of lightning pierces the darkness, and they see Jesus lying asleep, undisturbed by the tumult. In amazement and despair they exclaim, ‘Master, carest Thou not that we perish?’ … As the lightning’s glare reveals Him, they see the peace of heaven in His face; they read in His glance self-forgetful, tender love, and, their hearts turning to Him, cry, ‘Lord, save us: we perish.’

“Never did a soul utter that cry unheeded. As the disciples grasp their oars to make a last effort, Jesus rises. He stands in the midst of His disciples, while the tempest rages. … He lifts His hand, so often employed in deeds of mercy, and says to the angry sea, ‘Peace, be still.’ … As Jesus rested by faith in the Father’s care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour.” Lift Him Up, 57

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today;
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul;
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth’s sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven’s within my breast;
Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore.

Refrain

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still!

Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons or men, or whatever it be
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean, and earth, and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!

Fallen, but Not Corrupted

Though the Bible enjoins us to gather together to worship God (Matthew 18:20), just going to church will not provide all you spiritually need to know. Bible study and prayer, outside of the church setting, is essential every day in order to develop your relationship with Jesus and strengthen your faith. Successful study of the many topics of the Bible is dependent upon being willing to allow the Holy Spirit to show you what truth is.

“An understanding of Bible truth depends not so much on the power of intellect brought to the search as on the singleness of purpose, the earnest longing after righteousness.

“The Bible should never be studied without prayer. The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the importance of those things easy to be understood or prevent us from wresting truths difficult of comprehension. …

“We are living in the most solemn period of this world’s history. The destiny of earth’s teeming multitudes is about to be decided. Our own future well-being and also the salvation of other souls depend upon the course which we now pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of truth. … We should now seek a deep and living experience in the things of God. We have not a moment to lose.” Reflecting Christ, 116

Too many, including Adventist ministers and laymen, while studying a particular subject, conclude and then doggedly dig in on what they believe to be true rather than on what the Holy Spirit might be trying to show them. It is essential that, before opening the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy to study a subject, that we ask the Holy Spirit to give us open minds and hearts to what He will show us.

Mrs. White addresses this determined refusal to accept evidence of something other than what a person, after their own study of a subject, has decided is truth. Let’s look at this in the context of our ongoing study of the nature of Christ.

The following is a well-known quotation, a favorite of revivalist Adventist preachers when speaking on Christ’s human nature.

“It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam, He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.” The Desire of Ages, 49

All will agree that, based on evidence found in the Bible and Inspiration, the Son of God took man’s nature. We have already studied that in relation to humanity, there are two different meanings to the word nature. Nature can be used to mean humanity in general, or it can be used to mean a single individual. When speaking of humanity, nature is referring to the physical aspects of man’s being. But if you are speaking of an individual, nature refers to the disposition or condition of his mind, therefore, his character.

When Mrs. White says that the Son of God took man’s nature, that He accepted humanity, she is speaking of humanity in general, therefore, the aspects of Christ’s nature under discussion in the above paragraph is His physical nature and not the disposition of His mind or His character. Jesus’ physical nature was “weakened by four thousand years of sin,” just as is the physical nature of all humans.

The word weakened means to “lessen the strength of or to deprive of strength or debilitate or to enfeeble.” This would be a common aspect of both man’s and Jesus’ physical nature.

“Sin is the cause of physical degeneration; sin has blighted the race, and introduced disease, misery, and death.” Pacific Health Journal, February 1, 1902

The word degeneration means “growing worse or losing good qualities from the virtue or worth of ancestors, a decay of the natural good qualities of the species, a falling from a more excellent state to one of less worth either in the natural or the moral world.” In the natural world, plants and animals degenerate when something grows to less its normal size or loses some of the valuable qualities that belongs to its species. In the moral world, man degenerates when he declines in virtue or other good qualities.

“Earthly treasures must pass away; but nobility of character, moral worth, will endure forever.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 69

Returning to the article found in the Pacific Health Journal, February 1, 1902, we find a detailed explanation of the effects of sin.

“Since the fall, the tendency of the race has been continually downward, the effects of sin becoming more marked with every successive generation. But so great was the vitality with which man was endowed that the patriarchs from Adam to Noah, with a few exceptions, lived nearly a thousand years. …

“Since the flood, the average length of life has been decreasing. Had Adam possessed no greater physical force than men now have, the race would before this have become extinct.”

Each generation of man has physically degenerated more and more as a consequence of sin. When Jesus took on humanity and accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity, He accepted the physical degeneration, but He did not take on the condition of our moral (spiritual) nature, one that was defiled with sin.

“Christ who knew not the least moral taint or defilement of sin, took our nature in its deteriorated condition.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 115

Remember, when man sinned in the garden of Eden, his character was no longer governed by the principles of righteousness on which God’s laws are based. His character, instead, became subject to the principles of selfishness, which is the basis for everything the devil does. Jesus’ body and all the other physical aspects of humanity were subject to the degeneration caused by sin. Unlike man’s moral nature which is selfish, Christ’s moral nature is pure.

As a practical example, a person might have dark brown hair, but with a little help from their hairdresser, they can change the color to red. Now, is that person no longer a brown-haired person? What happens as the hair begins to grow out? While the part of the hair that was colored is still red, the new-growth hair is still dark brown. That’s the way it is with our nature and sin. We are selfish by nature, and we can do as many good things as we can, we can even repent and ask the Holy Spirit to transform us, however, being selfish is still what the natural man is inside. Except Jesus wasn’t. His moral nature, His character, was completely free from sin.

“By taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 17, 25.

He took man’s ruined physical condition, his fallen nature (referring to man in general), but He did not in the least participate in the sin, nor was His moral nature (referring to an individual) selfish.

Remember, what we have studied previously regarding Christ’s nature. The foundation of Satan’s government is selfishness. “All sin is selfishness.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 3, 331. But Jesus came to this world as the embodiment, the physical representation, of God’s law. His every word, action, and thought were an outworking of God’s law. Jesus’ moral nature was righteous. God was with man in the person of His Son. Sin cannot exist where God is, so Jesus could not have had our selfish nature. And anyone who digs in and insists that Christ had our moral nature (referring to an individual), is saying He was selfish and sinful like us. Neither the Bible nor the Spirit of Prophecy supports this.

“He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His own consent. He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while as God, but He did not appear as God. … He was God while upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of God … . He walked the earth as a man.

“He humbled Himself, and took mortality upon Him. As a member of the human family He was mortal, but as a God He was the Fountain of life to the world.” The Review and Herald, July 5, 1887

“He might have helped His human nature to withstand the inroads of disease by pouring from His divine nature vitality and undecaying vigor to the human. But He humbled Himself to man’s nature.” Ibid.

“The divine nature, combined with the human, made Him capable of yielding to Satan’s temptations. Here the test to Christ was far greater than that of Adam and Eve, for Christ took our nature, fallen but not corrupted, and would not be corrupted unless He received the words of Satan in the place of the words of God.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182, 183

He came to share our sorrows and temptations. Isaiah described Him as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. What is the cause of our sorrow? Sin is the source of our sorrow. Inspiration says that Jesus came with such a heredity, and, according to the 1828 dictionary, the word such means “the same as what has been mentioned.” He came as a member of the human race to show them how, though ruined by sin, to live a sinless life.

“The human nature of Christ was like unto ours, and suffering was more keenly felt by Him; for His spiritual nature was free from every taint of sin. Therefore His desire for the removal of suffering was stronger than human beings can experience. How intense was the desire of the humanity of Christ to escape the displeasure of an offended God, how His soul longed for relief, is revealed in the words, ‘O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’ ” The Signs of the Times, December 9, 1897

Take just a moment to consider this: Jesus came to this world in a body ruined by the effects of sin, all the while His moral nature was holy and righteous. Imagine how Jesus suffered! A holy gift, wrapped in a degraded package.

Jesus, for our sake, became a real man; one who could suffer our kinds of temptation, who sought relief from the suffering that was imposed upon Him because of our sins.

God’s prophet links the sorrows and temptations of Jesus to the expression “the likeness of sinful flesh,” thereby explaining more fully what Paul meant when he wrote Romans 8:3. “Christ, the second Adam came in the likeness of sinful flesh. In man’s behalf, he became subject to sorrow, to weariness, to hunger, and to thirst. He was subject to temptation, but he yielded not to sin. No taint of sin was upon Him.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 141, 142

The taint of sin is the natural selfishness of sin that the first Adam, the father of the race, entailed upon all his posterity. Yielding to temptation is committing sin. Jesus did not, by any word, action, or thought, commit sin nor was His spiritual nature tainted with sin.

“In His earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth differed from all other men. His entire life was characterized by disinterested benevolence and the beauty of holiness. In His bosom existed the purest love, free from every taint of selfishness and sin. From the beginning of His ministry, men began more clearly to comprehend the character of God.” The Signs of the Times, September 23, 1908

After four thousand years of sin, Jesus took upon Himself the physical degeneration of the race that He might know what it is like to experience the sorrow that I experience, the weariness that I experience, the hunger that I experience, the thirst that I experience, and even the death that I will experience. And while suffering all these miserable things, He was tempted, in every way, like we are, yet He did not sin.

Paul discusses these things in detail in Hebrews. “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.’ ” Hebrews 10:5

When God sent His Son into the world, He came in a body especially prepared in the likeness of sinful flesh—both physically and mentally. “So Christ was to come in ‘the body of our humiliation’ (Philippians 3:21, R. V.), ‘in the likeness of men.’ In the eyes of the world He possessed no beauty that they should desire Him; yet He was the incarnate God, the light of heaven and earth. His glory was veiled, His greatness and majesty were hidden, that He might draw near to sorrowful, tempted men.” The Desire of Ages, 23

This inspired reference “the likeness of men” is found in Philippians 2:7. The word likeness is the same word used in Romans 8:3. His moral nature is also described in this short paragraph. Mrs. White also writes that Jesus was the incarnate God. The word incarnate means “in the flesh.” Jesus was God in the flesh. This is what Paul is talking about when he wrote, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh.” 1 Timothy 3:16, first part. Mrs. White is saying here that Jesus was still God even though He was a man. She describes the incarnate God as the light of heaven and earth. “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12

Jesus was first the light of heaven, but when He took man’s nature, His light, the outward manifestation of His glory, was veiled, completely hidden from man’s sight. Mrs. White wrote that it would have been an almost infinite humiliation for Christ to take man’s nature when Adam stood in innocence in Eden. (See The Desire of Ages, 49.) This has a special significance. “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.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310, 311. Adam and Eve did not need physical clothing. The robe of light that surrounded them was a symbol of their spiritual nature: pure, holy, and righteous innocence.

“Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them.” Ibid., 311. This robe of light that enshrouded the holy pair was a symbol of their inward spiritual condition of innocence. Jesus also wore this white robe, this garment of innocence, but it was veiled. He lived in perfect conformity to the will of His Father, just as Adam and Eve first did in the garden of Eden. All the strength of His affection was given to His heavenly Father.

What happened to the beautiful, soft light that enshrouded the holy pair when they sinned? “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 … .” Ibid. Interestingly, though they were able to fashion for themselves fig-leaf garments, they were still ashamed to appear before God. No longer enshrouded by their heavenly garments, they were naked, deprived of the godly dignity they had worn both inwardly and outwardly, they were humiliated, degraded, and ashamed.

The light that surrounded the holy pair prior to their fall was only a reflection of the far greater light that surrounded God. For Jesus to have taken even this garment of light would have been an infinite humiliation for He is the light of heaven, the source of all light, far surpassing every other light.

“With His divinity clothed with humanity, He stood before the people, presenting to them their true condition.” The Review and Herald, July 17, 1900

It is important that we read carefully what the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy say about Jesus’ nature. He came in the likeness of sinful flesh, not in sinful flesh. Sinful flesh represents the carnal mind. Likeness means “in the form of.” Likeness is not sameness. Jesus did not come with a carnal mind. He came in the likeness of the physical nature of man so that He would be able to suffer, as we do, misery and death while being tempted. However, it should be noted that the physical aspect of His human nature does not deny the reality of the part that His human mental and spiritual nature also played in His suffering.

“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.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182. The taint of sin is the naturally carnal mind that we inherit from Adam. The human spiritual nature of Christ was free from every taint of sin, however, every single son and daughter of Adam inherits the carnal mind from him and the condition of the spiritual nature of the natural man is described as “By nature we are alienated from God.” Steps to Christ, 43. This is our natural nature.

Was Jesus by nature alienated from God? It would be blasphemy to say that.

“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.” Ibid. That may sound harsh, but friends, there is no other way to be saved except to be completely transformed. Transformation comes only by an utterly complete surrender to God because He doesn’t use force.

Putting together everything we have studied to this point, we find that when God sent His own Son in the likeness, the form of sinful flesh, He came in the body of our humiliation. He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity after four thousand years of sin. Sin is the cause of physical degeneration, misery, and death. He was found in the external condition of our nature in its deteriorated condition, able to share our sorrows and temptations.

There are many Adventist people who changed the words of scripture and substituted the word same for the word likeness in Romans 8:3. As a result, many Adventist ministers have said that Jesus came in sinful flesh. For more than 40 years, I have researched the Spirit of Prophecy to find even a single quotation by Mrs. White that says that Jesus came in sinful flesh. I have found not one scripture, not one statement of Inspiration that says He came in sinful flesh. Those who change the words of the Scriptures and say that Jesus took the same sinful flesh that we have, are unwittingly saying that Jesus took a carnal mind. This is blasphemy. Christ’s nature was “fallen, but not corrupted” mentally or spiritually. (See Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 182.)

“Jesus Christ is our example in all things. He began life, passed through its experiences, and ended its record, with a sanctified human will. He was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet because He kept His will surrendered and sanctified, He never bent in the slightest degree toward the doing of evil, or toward manifesting rebellion against God.” The Signs of the Times, October 29, 1894

Jesus began life with a sanctified human will and kept it sanctified. He never had our natural bent to evil, no tendencies or propensities, inherent or cultivated, toward sin as some people have taught.

Friends, the plan of salvation is not just about forgiveness. Jesus Christ came to this world and became one flesh with us in order that we, by being united to Him, might become one spirit with Him. That is the experience that everyone must have if they are going to be in the kingdom of heaven.

The apostle John wrote, “We know that when He appears we will be like Him.” 1 John 3:2

Peter wrote, “Unto us are given exceedingly great and precious promises, that you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4

Everyone who is taken to heaven will be a partaker of the divine nature. Everyone will reflect the light of Jesus’ character. Everyone will be wearing His robe of righteousness.

“The salvation of the human soul requires the will power to be subject to the divine will power, which will can’t be forced, but there must be cooperation of the human and divine agencies.

“Man cannot possibly work out his own salvation without the ordained divine power, and God will not do for man that which He requires man shall do for himself, through his own earnest willing cooperation. …

“The Lord has in His heavenly counsels set forth methods and agencies whereby His grace shall be at work through various influences for the saving of the soul of the sinner. But all these facilities will be ineffectual and powerless without the sinner’s consent … . It is a united work, a union of the divine and human, dependent upon grace, and concurring with grace in willing obedience.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 10, 332

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

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.

Likeness is not Sameness

The book of Romans, written by Paul—the greatest theologian of the apostles—is the most systematic and complete explanation of how a person is saved. In it, Paul begins building a case for the salvation of man in the very first chapter, point by point, each chapter tightly connected to the chapter before it.

Romans 6 is about the beginning of the Christian life, when a person is baptized, laying the foundation for Romans 7, which lays the foundation for Romans 8. It is essential, when studying Romans, to study chapters 6, 7, and 8 together as they are very tightly connected. Do not let chapter or verse divisions rob you of the flow of the text as the author meant for it to be studied.

Romans 8:3 is a pivotal text, connecting everything before and after it. “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.” If a person takes a surface reading of this verse, it is actually possible to use the text to commit a fatal error regarding the righteousness of Christ that robs Him of His glory and His divinity and, I believe, unintentionally, ascribing to His humanity a carnal nature. Friends, Jesus did not have a carnal nature.

As we have studied previously in Scripture, the term sinful flesh refers to the sinful or carnal nature. You will recall that Paul says in verse 7 that this sinful flesh, the one that Adam entailed upon all of his posterity when he sinned in the garden of Eden, cannot keep God’s law.

“Because the carnal mind [flesh] is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”

The word likeness can mean more than one thing. For example, you can be referring to a physical, mental, or spiritual likeness, or a likeness of disposition. Those are very different things. There are many Adventists who think that the word likeness in this verse means sameness because of the root word Homos. They say that Jesus came in sinful flesh, but the scripture does not say that; it says that He came in the likeness of sinful flesh. They teach that likeness means sameness quoting all kinds of statements. Searching for over 40 years, I have not found a single Spirit of Prophecy reference in which Mrs. White says that Jesus came in sinful flesh.

We must understand the root word. The Greek Lexicon gives us the meaning of the Greek words that are a takeoff or modification of the root word Homos. They are: homou, homoios, homoioo, and homoioma.

Homou means “in the same place, or together,” as in people living in the same house. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 2 Corinthians 5:1. The following statement will help to explain when Paul writes about this earthly house, this tent. “There is not one in a thousand, married or unmarried, who realizes the importance of purity of habits, in preserving cleanliness of the body and purity of thought. Sickness and disease is the sure consequence of disobedience to nature’s laws, and neglect of the laws of life and health. It is the house in which we live that we need to preserve, that it may do honor to God, who has redeemed us. We need to know how to preserve the living machinery, that our soul, body, and spirit may be consecrated to His service.” The Kress Collection, 45. Notice, Mrs. White is talking about maintaining cleanliness of body and then about the house in which we live, our physical body.

“Every mother should see that her children understand their own bodies, and how to care for them. … We are God’s workmanship, and His word declares that we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’ He has prepared this living habitation for the mind; it is ‘curiously wrought,’ a temple which the Lord Himself has fitted up for the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 425, 426. Inspiration uses several different phrases—tabernacle, temple, house, living machinery, and living habitation—to represent the body.

If the body represents the house in which we live, then the mind represents the man, the person, the character, the mind that lives in the house. The root word for likeness means the same in the sense of the same place, living together in one house; the man and his mind living together in his body.

Homoios is the first modification of the root word Homos. It means “similar in appearance, resembling, having a like form or appearance.” The word similar in English means “two things that resemble each other but are not exactly alike or identical.” Things perfectly similar in their nature must be of the same essence, or homogeneous, but generally we understand the word similar to denote a likeness that is not perfect. The word similar does not generally mean exactly the same. For example, we say a person looks like his brother or his father. They have a similar physical nature, such as in features or form, but they are not perfectly identical.

“Had Christ come in His divine form, humanity could not have endured the sight. The contrast would have been too painful, the glory too overwhelming. Humanity could not have endured the presence of one of the pure, bright angels from glory; therefore Christ took not on Him the nature of angels; He came in the likeness of men.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1131

Likeness can also refer to a similarity in character. For example, “Your imagination was not given you to be allowed to run riot and have its own way without any effort at restraint or discipline. If the thoughts are wrong the feelings will be wrong, and the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character.” Testimonies, Vol. 5, 310

Moral character is the combination of thoughts and feelings, but notice, Mrs. White links the word imagination with the thoughts as playing a key role in the moral character. When the Scriptures talk about character, very often they use the word imagination. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. This describes man’s character. The imagination produces thoughts and thoughts combined with feelings produce character. “And the Lord said, ‘Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, but they have walked according to the dictates [imagination] of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,’ therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.’ ” Jeremiah 9:13–15

“The natural, selfish mind, as it exists in its carnal state, acts without reference to God, and is evil, and only evil, continually.” The Signs of the Times, June 22, 1888. The natural, selfish mind is evil, and only evil. The imagination of the heart is only evil because when man sinned, he forsook God’s law of love, and became carnal, embracing Satan’s law of selfishness.

A dictionary definition of the English word character, not the Greek word kharaktēr which is very similar in meaning, is “the peculiar qualities impressed by nature or habit on a person which distinguish him from others.” These constitute real character, and the qualities which he is supposed to possess constitute his estimated character or reputation. Hence, we say, a character is not formed when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities. There is probably not a single Adventist who would knowingly say that Jesus possessed the same character as fallen humanity possesses. But there are many who are deceived regarding the qualities impressed on His human nature, and unwittingly or unknowingly say that He did have the same character. If that were true, then He would have a carnal mind.

The Greek word homoioo is a second modification of the root word Homos which means “to assimilate or compare” or “to set or bring things together in fact or in contemplation and to examine the relations they bear to each other with a view to ascertain their agreement or disagreement.” For example, to compare two pieces of cloth or two tables or two coins, to compare reasons and arguments, to compare pleasure with pain. In the definition of the word used as a verb to compare there are two parts. In the first part, things are brought together in fact or in mind. In the second part, the purpose is to determine their agreement or their disagreement. To assimilate means to “bring to a likeness, that is, to cause to resemble or to convert into a like substance.”

Something that is assimilated is made to resemble something else. To resemble means “to have the likeness, to bear the similitude of something, either in form, figure, or qualities.” One man may resemble another in features and he may resemble a third person in temperament or deportment. Can you see that these are two completely different things? If you resemble someone else in features, the resemblance is of a physical nature, the definition of nature when it refers to the human race in general, a physical manifestation of God’s creation. But if you resemble someone in temper, you resemble that person in disposition of mind, especially regarding passions or affections, which means to resemble that person in character.

The third modification of Homos is the Greek word homoioma meaning “likeness.” The word likeness can mean the following:

  1. Resemblance in form or similitude. These two look alike. Or the reproduction of a painting that looks like the original.
  2. Resemblance in form or external appearance such as the expression “guard against an enemy in the likeness of a friend,” or “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
  3. Resemblance of another as a copy or a counterpart.
  4. Resemblance in an image, picture, or statue, a person or a thing.

Paul uses the word homoioma in Romans 8:3 and in Philippians 2:5–8, which is one of the most sublime and profound scriptures in all the New Testament. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Paul uses several words that help us to clarify and pinpoint exactly what he is meaning when he uses the word likeness—for example, the word form.

Figuratively using the word form, Paul is speaking in relation to human nature. Paul said that Jesus took the form, the shape, the physical nature of a servant and was made in the likeness, or in the form, of men. Then he says that He took the fashion of a man. The Greek word translated fashion can mean to “make into a particular or the required form.” Mrs. White, referencing Philippians 2:6, 7, last part, and most of verse 8, explains what they mean. “He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while as God.” The Review and Herald, September 4, 1900

When Jesus appeared in human flesh, He was God. The gospels record in several places that people fell down and worshiped Him and He accepted that worship. It would be blasphemy for any human being to accept worship, but though He was a human being, Jesus was also God. Therefore it was right that He accepted their worship. “He was all the while as God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the demonstrations of Deity, which had commanded the homage, and called forth the admiration of the universe of God. He was God while upon earth, but he divested Himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the form and fashion of a man.” Ibid. He divested Himself of the form of God and took the physical form and external condition of man.

“Jesus was the commander of heaven, one equal with God, and yet He condescended to lay aside His kingly crown, his royal robe, and clothed His divinity with humanity. The incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery. He could have come to earth as One with a remarkable appearance, unlike the sons of men. His countenance could have shone with glory, and His form could have been of remarkable grace. He could have presented such an appearance as to charm the beholder; but this was not according to the plan devised in the courts of God.” The Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896

“He was to bear the characteristics of the human family, and the Jewish race.” Ibid. The woman at the well recognized Him immediately as a Jew. “In all respects the Son of God was to wear the same features as did other human beings. He was not to have such beauty of person as would make Him singular among men.” Ibid.

People were not going to be attracted to Christ because of some physical superiority or beauty that He had more than other people. “He was to manifest no wonderful charms by which to attract attention to Himself.” Ibid. So Inspiration clearly teaches that the word likeness in relation to the humanity of Christ is referring to His physical nature.

“It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin.” The Desire of Ages, 49. This statement is, of all in the Spirit of Prophecy, used by Adventist ministers to prove that the likeness of sinful flesh means the same sinful flesh.

Mrs. White describes Adam as being twice as tall as men now living upon the earth and Eve as coming up to just above Adam’s shoulder in height. Looking at a man proportionate to his height, in this case 12 feet, scientists have estimated that Adam likely weighed about 2,500 pounds, and Eve weighed about 1,700 pounds. The fastest man alive today can only run approximately 28 miles per hour over 100 meters. But given the volume of his lungs and the capacity of his heart, it is believed that Adam could run 70 miles per hour. Adam was innocent and his complexion was “ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health. Eve was … very beautiful.” Last Day Events, 292

It would have been an almost infinite humiliation if Christ had taken Adam’s human nature when fresh from His creative hand. But no, He took instead man’s nature after 4,000 years of degradation and sin. As a man, Jesus couldn’t run 70 miles per hour and as a Jew, He was not even six feet tall. Instead, “Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.” The Desire of Ages, 49

I cannot comprehend or imagine why the King of glory, the One who not only created the universe and upheld it by the word of His power, who determines the eternal destiny of every creature of the universe, chose to come to this world and accept human nature, and chose to become a human being weakened by 4,000 years of sin. It is the second most incomprehensible mystery, after the cross. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations. Don’t ever feel that Jesus cannot understand exactly what your sorrow or temptation is.

Friends, Mrs. White is clear that the Son of God took man’s nature. In relation to humanity, there are two different meanings of the word nature—one referring to the race in general and the other to an individual of the race. Nature in reference to the race in general is referring to the physical aspect of man’s being. Nature in reference to an individual is referring to the disposition or condition of his mind and therefore his character.

When God’s prophet said Jesus took man’s nature, his humanity, she is speaking of the race in general. Therefore, we have been discussing His physical nature and not the disposition of His mind or His character.

There is, however, much more evidence that we need to examine from the Spirit of Prophecy, comparing each inspired statement with another to be sure that we do not twist the scriptures or Inspiration regarding Christ’s coming to be in the likeness of sinful flesh.

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.

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us; and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Micah 7:18, 19

It is said that O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus was written by Samuel Trevor Francis as a personal testimony after nearly committing suicide as a teenager by jumping from London’s Hungerford Bridge into the Thames River. While there is little evidence to corroborate the story, the hymn itself still stands as a reminder of God’s sustaining, powerful, and immeasurable love.

Francis compares Jesus’ love to the ocean, exemplifying the vastness, unchanging, and sacrificial nature of God’s love for all humanity. The ocean is the largest thing on earth, its deepest point being deeper than the highest mountain on earth. Yet, God’s love is deeper still. We can stand at any point on the coast, and see just a small fraction of it. The ocean is vast, but has its boundaries. God’s love, however, is boundless and free.

We sing of the love of the Father who sent His Son as a sacrifice to redeem us, and who now is interceding on our behalf.

There are several tunes associated with Francis’ words, but the most common is a minor melody in 4/4 time written by Bob Kauflin.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
vast, unmeasured, boundless, free,
rolling as a mighty ocean
in its fullness over me.
Underneath me, all around me
is the current of Your love,
leading onward, leading homeward
to Your glorious rest above.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus.
Spread His praise from shore to shore,
how He came to pay our ransom
through the saving cross He bore;
How He watches o’er His loved ones,
those He died to make His own;
How for them He’s interceding,
pleading now before the throne.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
far surpassing all the rest.
It’s an ocean full of blessing
in the midst of every test.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
mighty Saviour, precious Friend.
You will bring us home to glory,
where Your love will never end.

Sources: hymnary.org/text/o-the-deep-deep-love-of-jesus; Wikipedia.org/wiki/O_the_Deep_Deep_Love_of_Jesus

The Greatest Battle Ever Fought

“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

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.