The time of trouble is coming when we will stand in the presence of God without a mediator (The Review and Herald, January 17, 1907). However, right now, we all need a mediator 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So a clear understanding of this subject reveals what must happen among God’s people.
Differences in the understanding of a word have unfortunately resulted in much theological confusion. Some Adventists hold that the word sinful simply means having a tendency to sin and therefore, have concluded that having a sinful nature does not involve guilt, since a tendency to sin falls short of committing an actual act. Misunderstanding the true definition of sinful has resulted in a great deal of erroneous thinking, resulting in completely untrue conclusions.
The definition of sinful, according to Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (1828) is:
- “Tainted with sin, wicked, iniquitous, criminal, unholy.”
- “Containing sin or consisting in sin; contrary to the law of God.”
Again, from the 1828 Webster’s American Dictionary we find this definition for the word tainted.
“Impregnated with something noxious, disagreeable to the senses or poisonous, infected, corrupted, stained.”
It is easy to show from the writings of Ellen White that she did not believe Jesus’ nature was sinful by any of the above definitions. However, when Jesus went to Gethsemane, our sins—our sinful spiritual nature—were laid upon Him. He voluntarily accepted them. But, had His Father not intervened, our sins and nature would have killed Him (The Desire of Ages, 693).
Mrs. White calls this experience in Gethsemane “Christ’s humiliation.” Some Adventists have tried to prove that Christ had a sinful spiritual nature by the following Spirit of Prophecy quotation:
“He [Christ] took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin.” The Youth’s Instructor, December 20, 1900. They overlook the fact that this statement was written about “Christ’s humiliation.”
Christ’s entire human life can truthfully be described as a humiliation, but the term “Christ’s humiliation” refers in a special sense to His experience in Gethsemane and the cross.
“The awful moment had come—that moment which was to decide the destiny of the world. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. … Will the Son of God drink the bitter cup of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequences of the curse of sin, to save the guilty?” The Desire of Ages, 690
Mrs. White’s statement that “not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity” (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13, 18), creates a problem for those who believe that Christ had a sinful nature, including the propensities to sin just like the rest of humanity. They feel compelled to try to explain it by saying that Christ’s human nature had the same “natural propensities” as we do, but not the “evil propensities” that our nature (flesh) has.
Let’s return to Webster’s American Dictionary for the definition of propensity:
- “Bent of mind, natural or acquired; inclination, in a moral sense; disposition to any thing good or evil, particularly to evil; as a propensity to sin.”
- “A natural tendency.”
So, what is the natural bent or propensity of man’s sinful mind?
“ ‘The carnal [or natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.’ ” The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1895. (Bracketed words are in the original Signs of the Times article.)
It is easy to see that natural and evil propensities are one in the same.
If we incorrectly assign a definition to the word sinful, concluding that a person can have a sinful nature without having guilt because it is only a tendency to sin, then the next false conclusion follows that Christ had this sinful nature in Him. Note this carefully: having or possessing a sinful nature in Him is very different from having our sinful nature “laid upon Him.” To correct the erroneous conclusion—built on several false assumptions—that Christ had a sinful nature in Him, just like we do, Mrs. White wrote the Baker letter (found in Manuscript Releases, Vol. 13).
An Important Question
If Christ had a sinful nature, erroneously defined as only a tendency to sin, where does that tendency to sin originate?
- (a) If we say that sinful involves a tendency or propensity to sin and then suggest that Christ had a sinful nature, we are calling Christ a sinner. (b) To say that a tendency or propensity to sin does not involve guilt is not true because an evil propensity can only proceed from a heart that is selfish (Matthew 15:19, 20, first part; Luke 6:45), and selfishness is sin (The Signs of the Times, April 13, 1891). If Christ had a sinful nature, and consequently a propensity to sin, He would have been a sinner. (c) If Christ had a bent toward sin, then He would have an imperfect character and imperfection of character is sin (Christ’s Object Lessons, 330).
- The Bible says that “sin is transgression of the law.” (1John 3:4 KJV). The law commands that I love God supremely and my neighbor as myself. If I have a sinful nature (the essence of which is a selfish nature), then all of my thoughts, words, and actions will be sinful because selfishness is sin and I would be in constant violation of the two great principles of the law. So a person with a selfish (sinful) nature cannot keep the law and certainly cannot be a saviour (Romans 8:7, 8).
- People who think that a sinful nature is only the tendency to sin, and that Jesus possessed this sinful nature or evil propensity without guilt, imply that an action is not a sin unless it is a premeditated, conscious act of the will.
- This wrong definition of sinful, accuses Jesus of having a sinful nature, and lowers the standard of righteousness to accommodate our inherited tendencies to wrong (Christ Triumphant, 157). Mrs. White expressly states that we are not to do this (The Review and Herald, March 10, 1910).
- People who use this type of thinking use flesh and nature synonymously and teach that Mrs. White made the same mistake.
- This also gives to the humanity of Christ a tendency toward sin, again accusing Him of being a sinner. The tendency toward sin proceeds from a selfish heart and is also a trait of an imperfect character, and both are sin.
- This also suggests that Mrs. White had the false belief that the human nature of Christ possessed traits which belong to the power of evil—the same natural, sinful tendencies that we inherit.
Mrs. White considers carnal and natural to be equivalent terms, indicating that the carnal [sinful] mind is the natural mind of man. The Bible and Inspiration use carnal and flesh as equivalent terms. Desire, or carnal lust, is a power of the carnal mind. Mrs. White distinguishes between flesh as in the body and flesh as in the carnal mind.
“The lower passions have their seat in the body and work through it. The words ‘flesh’ or ‘fleshly’ or ‘carnal lusts’ embrace the lower, corrupt nature; the flesh of itself cannot act contrary to the will of God. We are commanded to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts. How shall we do it? Shall we inflict pain on the body? No; but put to death the temptation to sin. The corrupt thought is to be expelled. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to Jesus Christ.” The Adventist Home, 127, 128
A bent toward sin is a natural propensity for evil. Our natural propensities are evil because they come from the flesh, that is, our lower, corrupt nature. “By nature man has no love for God. It is not natural for him to think of heavenly things. Satan has worked against God and His government, leading men to attribute to God the traits which belong to the power of evil.” The Review and Herald, March 12, 1901. It is, and ever has been, Satan’s work to lead men to attribute his character traits to God.
Mrs. White is in harmony with both the Bible and the dictionary definitions of sin and sinful because she clearly understood that the word flesh can be used when speaking either of the body or the carnal mind and that the word nature can be used when referring to the body or the character. She never suggests that Christ’s human nature possessed the same tendency toward sin—the natural propensities—that we, as sinful man naturally possess.
If you believe, as many Adventist preachers have taught and are still teaching, that Christ had sinful tendencies or propensities toward sin, Mrs. White describes a long-term effect on your individual character development.
“It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. Man will rise no higher than his conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking lower and lower. The worshipers of false gods clothed their deities with human attributes and passions, and thus their standard of character was degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 91
If I believe that Jesus had the same naturally-sinful nature that I inherited from Adam, then I will never rise higher than my own conception of truth, purity, and holiness.
The affections of the mind—this natural bent of our desires, inclinations, and propensities—are accurately described as having tempestuous thoughts within our mind. Paul calls this the “carnal mind” or to be carnally minded (Romans 8:6, 7).
Jeremiah describes it as “desperately wicked.” In the Hebrew language, desperately wicked is translated as “incurably wicked; cannot be cured.”
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
“The secret of Satan’s power over God’s professed people lies in the deceitfulness of the human heart.” The Signs of the Times, December 13, 1899. Satan has power over us because he has something in us that he uses in his temptations against us. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, and cannot be because it doesn’t want to be. Our nature is selfish and enjoys being selfish. But Jesus showed how our nature can be subjected to the power of the Holy Spirit, and how our natural, sinful nature can be changed by it.
“Every mind is controlled either by the power of Satan or the power of God.” The General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903
Man does not possess the independence he thinks he does. He is under the control of one of two great powers. Because of his fall from heaven, it is impossible for Satan to ever again be subject to the law of God. The carnal mind that man inherited from Adam after the Fall is controlled by Satan, and as a consequence, it is impossible for it to be subject to the law of God.
Think Prayerfully, Because It Bears Repeating
Man, as he came from the hand of his Creator, possessed a pure, holy, and righteous nature controlled by love—all characteristics of the Creator, His government, and His kingdom. Man’s heart responded to God’s love, becoming a conduit of that love. But when he yielded to the temptations of Satan, his nature no longer possessed that purity, holiness, righteousness, and love of and for the Lord. Instead, he chose to follow the government with no holiness and no ability to engender it, for it is controlled by selfishness and sin. Man’s heart now responds only to the selfish desires of his own sinful nature (James 1:14, 15) and the control of Satan.
The government of God is perfect and pure. The government of Satan is selfish, deceitful, and desperately wicked. These are the only two powers in this world and they are in conflict with one another over the very soul of man. From the day we are born, sin reigns in our nature. You might say that sin is in our DNA. It is not something that we just do; it is what we are. Man, naturally selfish and wicked, must choose to be remade in purity and holiness. How, then, can I truly believe that Jesus possessed my fallen, selfish, sinful nature; a nature described as more deceitful than anything else and hopelessly wicked?
Was Jesus tempted from within like we are? Jesus said of Himself, “The ruler of this world [the devil] is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” John 14:30. Satan found nothing in Christ that would respond to temptation because He did not possess our inherently wicked and selfish nature. Jesus possessed nothing, not a single propensity or desire toward sin that would answer to Satan’s temptations.
“Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to the power of temptation. 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 … Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. He had kept His Father’s commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.” The Great Controversy, 623
Jesus kept His Father’s commandments. He was the living, breathing embodiment of them. He could state with complete assurance, as did David, “Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11. “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. … I will keep Your statutes … .” Psalm 119:1–3, 8, first part
Two in One
“God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempteth no man.” James 1:13, R.V. The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted like we are, that He was a brother to us in the trials of this world. But in order for that to be true, He had to be like us. If He did not have our sinful nature, then how was He able to be like us, and at the same time, be a perfect sacrifice for our salvation?
“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 [Jesus] veiled His divinity with the garb of humanity, but He did not part with His divinity. A divine-human Saviour, He came to stand at the head of the fallen race, to share in their experience from childhood to manhood.
“Christ had not exchanged His divinity for humanity; but He had clothed His divinity in humanity.
“Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. … He [Jesus voluntarily] took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity. …
“Avoid every question in relation to the humanity of Christ which is liable to be misunderstood. … [G]uard strenuously every assertion, lest your words be taken to mean more than they imply, and thus you lose or dim the clear perceptions of His humanity as combined with divinity. …
“Never, in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to, corruption rested upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 5, 1128
Concerning the fact that Christ was tempted in all points and yet without sin—a text used innumerable times as a proof text for advocates of Christ having a sinful nature—Mrs. White wrote:
“He was tempted in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called ‘that holy thing.’ It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted … and yet be without sin.” Ibid., 1128, 1129
If Christ had a sinful nature, there would be no mystery in saying He was tempted in all points as we are (See 1 Timothy 3:16; The Review and Herald, November 8, 1887; The Signs of the Times, July 30, 1896).
The physical mind and body are both fallen, ruined, as a result of sin, but the naturally-carnal mind is ruined with corruption. The body is ruined with mortality, physical degeneration that ends in death. The ruined physical nature of man is not sin but rather the result of sin. However, the carnal mind is sin, and it is this sin that causes mortality. Christ took our ruined physical nature and our mortality, but He did not take our corrupted mental nature, the carnal mind.
“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
“Christ who knew not the least moral taint or defilement of sin, took our nature in its deteriorated condition.” Manuscript Releases, Vol. 16, 115
Inspiration compares the fallen, ruined nature and the character of the first Adam with the pure and holy nature and character of Jesus (The Youth’s Instructor, June 2, 1898). All of mankind was ruined by Adam’s failure, but it was redeemed by the second Adam.
“Jesus Christ is our example in all things. 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 came to the earth, taking humanity and standing as man’s representative, to show in the controversy with Satan that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every divine requirement. [This was Satan’s original, and persistent accusation, against God, that man could not deny self and keep the law, therefore, God is a dictator, unjust, lacking mercy and love for those He created.] Speaking through His servant He declares, ‘His commandments are not grievous’ (1 John 5:3). It was sin that separated man from his God, and it is sin that maintains this separation.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 253, 254
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Hebrews 8:10
Concerning the Messiah, the Bible says, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8
The law, and God’s pure, divine love filled the heart of His only begotten Son. Thus, Jesus had an unblemished divine spirit, so that He could be our unblemished sacrifice. But in order that He might be sacrificed, Jesus took on our ruined, human body. Only in this way could He be tempted (Christ Triumphant, 208) and die (God’s Amazing Grace, 153).
“Christ’s perfect humanity is the same that we may have through connection with Christ. As God, Christ could not be tempted any more than He was not tempted from His allegiance in heaven. But as Christ humbled Himself to our nature, He could be tempted. 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.” Christ Triumphant, 208
Christ is the promise of what we are to become. As a man, He possessed a holy and pure nature, for He was God, but He also possessed a ruined body and other physical attributes that could respond to Satan’s temptations, for He was also man. God promises that we—who are wicked by nature and naturally seek to do evil—can be given a new pure and holy heart when we surrender ourselves body, soul, mind, and spirit to God, are transformed, and, by commitment, remain close to the side of Jesus.
Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived. He was what He desires us to become. He possessed the peace that He desires to give to us. His peace will be the result when His law of pure, divine love is written in our heart.
“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord, who has mercy on us.” Isaiah 54:10
“Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Hebrews 4:1, 2 KJV
The night Jesus was betrayed, a terrible time of trouble waited just before Him. But as He stood before the infuriated Jewish judges and Pilate, He was not afraid, for He had peace in His heart—a peace that comes from doing the will of the Father, of keeping His law in His heart; a peace that the world could not give, nor take away.
“He stood unmoved by the fury of the waves that beat about Him. It was as if the heavy surges of wrath, rising higher and higher, like the waves of the boisterous ocean, broke about Him, but did not touch Him. He stood silent, but His silence was eloquence. It was as a light shining from the inner to the outer man.” The Desire of Ages, 726
“In taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which man is encompassed. … He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are. And yet He ‘knew no sin.’ He was the lamb ‘without blemish and without spot.’ …
“Not even by a thought could Christ be brought to yield to the power of temptation. … Christ declared of Himself, ‘The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.’
“Jesus did not allow the enemy to pull Him into the mire of unbelief, or crowd Him into the mire of despondency and despair.
“Christ’s humanity was united with divinity, and in this strength He would bear all the temptations that Satan could bring against Him, and yet keep His soul untainted by sin. And this power to overcome He would give to every son and daughter of Adam who would accept by faith the righteous attributes of His character.” The Faith I Live By, 49
“This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble.” That I May Know Him, 354
Friends, the Lord wants us to have that same peace in our hearts, but unless His law is written in our hearts, we will never have it. The work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify each individual heart, but the sins of God’s people must be blotted out, and a complete transformation, a recreation, must be accomplished in man—physically, mentally, spiritually. Any propensity toward sin results in an imperfect character which is sin (The Signs of the Times, September 3, 1902). A person who possesses, inside, even one propensity toward sin will fall short of a perfected character.
“In our own strength it is impossible for us to deny the clamors of our fallen nature. Through this channel Satan will bring temptation upon us. Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, … and by passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. …
“So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
“And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. … Only by the word could He resist temptation. … All its strength is yours.” The Desire of Ages, 122, 123
(Emphasis supplied throughout.)
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.