10.) What is the nature of sin?
/Many years ago in the mid 1970’s, soon after God revealed to me the experiential sanctuary message, I attended a camp meeting where Elder Martin*(not his real name), a very popular speaker and author on the subject of righteousness by faith, was the featured speaker of the week. I had written some articles on my discoveries, and presented them to him for his comments. The next day I met with him, and he said that he had been praying for new light on the sanctuary, and believed that this was an answer to his prayers. He encouraged me to take this light to the world. Then He told me the following story.
Some years before, he was walking down the steps of the Loma Linda church, when he met a well-known leader among conservative Adventists coming up the steps toward him. They stopped and chatted for a few moments, and then the gentleman said to Elder Martin, “I have not sinned for ten years!” He then went on up the steps, leaving Elder Martin musing over this comment. Several years later, Elder Martin was again going down the same steps, and this gentleman was coming up. This time they didn’t stop to exchange pleasantries, but as the gentleman passed by Elder Martin, he called over his shoulder, “I still haven’t!”
After telling me this story, Elder Martin looked at me seriously and said, “Don’t fall into the trap of this kind of thinking!” I assured him that I wouldn’t, and he seemed satisfied. But I knew what he meant: Don’t become a perfectionist who focuses on one’s own behavior for salvation instead of the righteousness of Christ.
Both these men have gone to their rest, and I would never venture to sit in judgment upon either one of them. But I have kept my promise to Elder Martin, not because I am following the beliefs of any man, but because I believe that the problem of sin is so deep and invasive into the human heart that to say I haven’t sinned for ten or fifteen years would be taking the prerogative of God, who alone can read the heart and know its spiritual condition. Some may say, but doesn’t the Bible say that sin is the transgression of the law? Then wouldn’t I know if I am not cursing, worshipping idols, breaking the Sabbath, dishonoring my parents, killing, lying, stealing, murdering, committing adultery, etc.? Certainly we can and should know if we are committing outward sin against God’s law. Only thus can we see our need for constant dependence upon God and His power and grace. We are also aware of the inner struggle against the promptings of our natural heart to be angry, resentful, critical, lustful, jealous, self-centered, judgmental, etc. It is this inner battle with self every day that tells us that there is more to the problem of sin than outward behavior. The men and women of the Bible certainly recognized that this battle is far deeper than outwardly staying within the bounds of the law. Paul says:
“Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. . . .
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Rom. 7:7-25.
What a dilemma Paul describes here! But I think we can all identify with Paul’s description of this struggle at various times in our lives. Some people debate over whether Paul was talking about the converted man or the unconverted man. I am not going to get into this debate. But what I do know is that there are times when we struggle with our sinful propensities even after our conversion. Or perhaps I should personalize it and say that I have at times struggled with inner conflicts under certain circumstances and have fallen prey to sinful ways of coping with problems in my life.
David also bows down in grief to God because of his innate tendencies toward sin:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Ps. 51:1-7. (Emphasis supplied.)
He traces his sin back to his conception, and asks for the deepest cleansing possible—that of the inner parts and inmost place of his mind and heart. These words correspond to the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest cleansed all the sins of the people at the end of the year. We, too, are in the finishing work of Christ when He wants to cleanse His people from all their sins on the deepest levels of their mind (thinking) and heart (feeling). This work cannot be done in absentia, or while we are engaged in normal life activities with scarcely a thought about the vital work of cleansing and judgment that is going on in heaven to prepare a people whose sins will be blotted out and made ready for the latter rain.
In contrast to the cleansing and preparation of the righteous to inherit eternal life, notice what David says about the offspring of the wicked:
“Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.” Ps. 58:3-5.
The intimation here is that the Holy Spirit speaks to the offspring of the wicked just as He does to the righteous, but the hearts of the wicked are turned off to the pleadings of the Spirit, even from the womb. Here are some other interesting quotations which indicate the connection between parental sins, and the sins of their offspring:
“Come here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! Whom are you mocking? At whom do you sneer and stick out your tongue? Are you not a brood of rebels, the offspring of liars? Isa. 57:3, 4.
“Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord.” Isa. 26:10.
“The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. Prepare a place to slaughter his sons for the sins of their forefathers; they are not to rise to inherit the land and cover the earth with their cities. ‘I will rise up against them,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘I will cut off from Babylon her name and survivors, her offspring and descendants,’ declares the Lord.” Isa. 14:20-22.
Why did God throughout Old Testament history destroy whole nations and people groups when their wickedness reached a certain point of wickedness? Why did He not save all the newborn babies and give them a chance to live and choose whether or not they would follow God? One possible answer is that they were already a recipient of the sins of their fathers which pass on to their children to the third and fourth generation. The cup of their iniquity was full, just as it had been in the day of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Canaanites when Israel was commanded by God to destroy the inhabitants of the land they were to inherit.
There are several ways that sin is passed on from generation to generation. The genes and DNA can be carriers of hereditary factors. This is a fact that is being discovered and proved more concretely in our generation.
“Current studies reveal that emotional pain, which parents themselves experienced prenatally in their childhoods, gets passed on to their offspring in the DNA of body cells. Whatever damaging wounds the parents have received as children, their children also receive it. It sounds hopeless, but it is not! Because even the most severely damaged human beings can experience recovery. What it takes is an individual who says, ‘Satan has damaged me and mine long enough. I will choose recovery. My garbage will not be passed on to the next generation. They cycle of abuse will stop with me.” Nancy and Ron Rockey, Belonging, p. 124, Pacific Press Pub. Assoc., 1998.
Another way that the roots of sin are passed on to the next generation is during the prenatal months in the mother’s womb.
“Even before the birth of the child, the preparation should begin that will enable it to fight successfully the battle against evil.
“Especially does responsibility rest upon the mother. She by whose lifeblood the child is nourished and its physical frame built up, imparts to it also mental and spiritual influences that tend to the shaping of mind and character. . . .
“The effect of prenatal influences is by many parents looked upon as a matter of little moment; but heaven does not so regard it. . . .
“The well-being of the child will be affected by the habits of the mother. . . .If before the birth of her child she is self-indulgent, if she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will be reflected in the disposition of the child. Thus many children have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil.
“But if the mother unswervingly adheres to right principles, if she is temperate and self-denying, if she is kind, gentle, and unselfish, she may give her child these same precious traits of character. . . .
“Let the husband aid his wife by his sympathy and unfailing affection. If he wishes to keep her fresh and gladsome so that she will be as sunshine in the home, let him help her bear her burdens. His kindness and loving courtesy will be to her a precious encouragement, and the happiness he imparts will bring joy and peace to his own heart.
“The husband and father who is morose, selfish, and overbearing, is not only unhappy himself, but he cast gloom upon all the inmates of his home. He will reap the result in seeing his wife dispirited and sickly, and his children marred with his own unlovely temper.” MH 371-375.
“The father should bear in mind that the treatment of his wife before the birth of his offspring will materially affect the disposition of the mother during that period, and will have very much to do with the character developed by the child after its birth.” 2 SM 428.
“The habits formed in youth, although they may in afterlife be somewhat modified, are seldom essentially changed. Your entire life has been molded by the legacy of character transmitted to you at birth. Your father’s perverse temperament is seen in his children.” 4 T 499,
“It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrong-doing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins. It is usually the case, however, that children walk in the steps of their parents. By inheritance and example the sons become partakers of the father’s sin. Wrong tendencies, perverted appetites, and debased morals, as well as physical disease and degeneracy, are transmitted as a legacy from father to son, to the third and fourth generation. This fearful truth should have a solemn power to restrain men from following a course of sin.” PP 306.
Many years ago I heard a taped message by Dr. Agatha Thrash, head of Uchee Pines Institute, in which she stated that the thoughts and feelings of the pregnant mother produce chemicals that go through her bloodstream, pass through the placental barrier, and influence similar neuron pathways to synapse in the developing brain of the child. These become permanent pathways upon which the thoughts and feelings of the child will travel throughout life unless there is divine help from Jesus and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again”! That is why, even when we have given our lives to Christ, there is need of a complete overhaul as we walk with Him through the rest of our lives! That is why some people have a harder time in walking the Christian pathway! Jesus understands our background and our struggles, and He loves us still, and will not forsake us!
“We are not all organized alike, and many have not been educated aright. . . .Some have had a quick temper transmitted to them, and their education in childhood has not taught them self-control….
“Jesus, our Advocate, is acquainted with all the circumstances with which we are surrounded, and deals with us according to the light we have had, and the circumstances in which we are placed. Some have a much better organization than others. While some are continually harassed, afflicted, and in trouble, because of their unhappy traits of character, having to war with internal foes and the corruption of their nature, others have not half so much to battle against. . . .
“. . .those who are less favorably situated, who are erring and faulty. . . .Jesus pities, because Satan has more power over them and is constantly taking advantage of their weak points.” 2 T 74, 75.
“Many have to battle against strong hereditary tendencies to evil. Unnatural cravings, sensual impulses, were their inheritance from birth. These must be carefully guarded against. Within and without, good and evil are striving for the mastery. Those who have never passed through such experiences cannot know the almost overmastering power of appetite or the fierceness of the conflict between habits of self-indulgence and the determination to be temperate in all things. . . .
“But the worker must not be discouraged by this. . . .
“Remember that you do not work alone. Ministering angels unite in service with every true-hearted son and daughter of God.” MH 173, 174.
If parents were more aware of the great responsibility they carry in the formation of the characters of the children they bring into this world, more could be done to rectify the problems caused by hereditary and cultivate sins in families!
“Children are the lawful prey of the enemy because they are not subjects of grace. They have not experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. The evil angels have access to these children, and some parents are careless and suffer them to work with but little restraint. Parents have a great work to do in this matter by correcting and subduing their children and bringing them to God and claiming His blessing upon them. By faithful and untiring efforts and the blessing of grace entreated of God upon the children, the power of evil angels will be broken, a sanctifying influence is shed upon the children, and the powers of darkness must give back.” CT 118.
Isn’t wonderful to know that God has not left us in this fallen condition, but has provided a way for us to return to the original plan that He had for the human race? The way back to the holiness and happiness of Eden has been provided for us by Jesus’ life on this earth, and then His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Some people feel that there is no difference in Jesus’ humanity and ours. Although He was fully human, He was also fully God. That fact alone should tell us that there are some significant differences in Jesus’ life and ours. But these are the very differences that make it possible for Him to be our Savior and bring us back to the original state of sinlessness that Adam and Eve enjoyed before they fell. Here are some of the differences that mean so much to me, and give me courage and hope that I, too, can be restored to the original purpose for my life.
Notice first of all, in this messianic prophecy, that Jesus’ womb experience was different from ours:
“You brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” Ps. 22:9, 10.
In choosing a mother for His Son, God chose a virtuous woman of faith—a pure virgin, who submitted her will to God and cooperated with Him in every way. There were no sexual experiences in Mary’s life to expose Jesus to sexual urges and feelings while He was in the womb. From the beginning and throughout the pregnancy, Mary was overshadowed and filled by the Holy Spirit, who was the Father of the holy child growing within her.
“’How will this be,’ Mary asked, ‘since I am a virgin?’”
“The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.” Lu. 1:34 35.
The word, “overshadowed” in Greek means, “to envelop with a cloud.” NIV Concordance, Zondervan, 1999. In the Strong’s Concordance, the word means: “To cast a shade upon, to envelop in a haze of brilliancy; to invest with preternatural influence.”
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary states: Preternatural derives from the Latin praeter naturam, which means “beyond nature.”
While we may never know just what happened when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb, there had to be a supernatural element unlike the birth of any other baby.
I think it is significant that the word, “overshadow” is used in the Old Testament concerning the ark of the covenant:
“The priests then brought the ark of the covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the Cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles.” 1 Ki. 8:6, 7. (Emphasis supplied.)
“He made the atonement cover of pure gold. . . .Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. . . .The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them.” Ex. 37:6-9. (Emphasis supplied.)
“The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. . . .Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” Ex. 25:20-22. (Emphases supplied.)
“Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the . . . gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.” Heb. 9:3-5. (Emphasis supplied.)
In a very real way we can say that Jesus came to us from the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. He is our “atonement covering,” and it is through Him that God meets with us and speaks to us .
Jesus did not come into the world in the same way that we do. He was preexistent from eternity before He came to earth, and He was always in perfect harmony with His Father. He brought His perfect character with Him, and the law of God was enshrined in His heart, just as the sacred law of God was contained in the ark of the covenant.
“Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Ps. 40:7, 8. (See also Heb. 10:5-9.) (Emphasis supplied.)
Everything about Jesus’ life on earth was guided by His constant relationship and connection with His Father. Jesus said of Himself, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the Father who sent me.” John 7:16. “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases Him.” John 8:28, 29.
From the eons of eternity, Jesus had been the companion and coworker of God the Father. They did everything together. This did not change when Jesus came to earth as a man. They worked together to save the human race from the fallen condition into which they had plunged. In order to do this, Jesus became a man and experienced everything which we must experience, but without sin because He never broke His connection with His Father for even one moment. Even in Gethsemane and on the cross, His faith in His Father’s love for Him buoyed Him up through those dreadful hours. Thus the life of the Father flowed through His Son, and together they provided salvation for every person who has ever lived or ever will. When Jesus cried on the cross, “It is finished! that cry rang throughout the universe, announcing that the plan of salvation was complete, and Satan’s hold upon the human race was broken for every soul who chooses to establish the same relationship with Jesus that He had with His Father.
Jesus’ whole life was mapped out before He came here to become one with the fallen race. Throughout scripture, the seeker for truth can find the blueprint of Jesus life on earth. Jesus was very aware of this personal blueprint, and lived it out exactly as He was prompted by the Holy Spirit. Thus all throughout His life, the comment is made in scripture, “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled.” John 19:36.
I believe that we, too, have a perfect plan for our lives which was written on our books in heaven before we were even conceived. Notice these words of David:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Ps. 139:13-16.
Unlike Jesus, we have not lived that perfect plan that God has made for us. That is because we did not start out our lives in the Most Holy Place with the law of God in our hearts. But as we connect with Jesus in the Most Holy Place where He is ministering for us now, we can have our books cleansed and our sins and mistakes blotted out by His perfect life. This change must be exemplified in our lives, for if we are truly connected with Him, He will tell us His will day by day, moment by moment, just as His Father did for Him. Before Jesus comes, He wants to have a perfected people who will allow Him to do the same thing for us as His Father did for Him. Then He can say, “It is finished “ for us, too!
“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. The first Adam was created as a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of his sin his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only-begotten Son of God. He 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. He was assailed with temptation in the wilderness as Adam was assailed with temptation in Eden.” 7 BC 1128.
“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. . . .It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin. The incarnation of Christ has ever been, and will ever remain a mystery. That which is revealed, is for us and for our children, but let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human, such an one as ourselves; for it cannot be.” 7 BC 1128, 1129.
In this article I am not trying to answer all the questions that people ask about the subject of how Jesus lived a sinless life in a human body like ours. As Ellen White says, some aspects of it will ever remain a mystery. But this I do know—we need a perfect Savior in order for us to be perfected into His image! He was perfect before He came into this world; His Father, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, overshadowed Him as He made the transition into humanity in the womb, and the Holy Spirit kept Him pure throughout His life on earth. “Holiness is agreement with God (5 T 743),” and He was in agreement with His Father from conception and throughout His life on earth (Lu. 1:35; Heb. 7:26). Even His early childhood was marked with perfection:
“With deep earnestness the mother of Jesus watched the unfolding of His powers, and beheld the impress of perfection upon His character. With delight she sought to encourage that bright, receptive mind. Through the Holy Spirit she received wisdom to cooperate with the heavenly agencies in the development of this child, who could claim only God as His Father.” DA 69. (Emphasis supplied.)
Notice that perfection was upon His character. Since “the thoughts and feelings combined make up the moral character” (5 T 310), this means that His thoughts and feelings were perfect, even as a child. He came here with His heart filled with the law of God, and His holy thoughts and feelings connected with His Father from eternity.
“God’s law reaches the feelings and motives, as well as the outward acts. It reveals the secrets of the heart, flashing light upon things before buried in darkness. God knows every thought, every purpose, every plan, every motive. The books of heaven record the sins that would have been committed had there been opportunity. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing. By His law He measures the character of every man. As the artist transfers to the canvas the features of the face, so the features of each individual character are transferred to the books of heaven. God has a perfect photograph of every man’s character, and this photograph He compares with His law. He reveals to man the defects that mar His life, and calls upon him to repent and turn from sin.” 5 BC 1085.
How can Jesus be “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26, KJV), and yet fully and completely understand our thoughts and feelings? Certainly not by participating in our degenerate impulses and our natural bent toward evil. But there is much pain and suffering that we go through just by being human in a world that is filled with demons and sinful people. Rejection, misunderstanding, lack of love and appreciation, are deeply hurtful to every person, and Jesus suffered these things throughout His life on earth. He also was taxed to the limit of endurance by weariness, hunger, loneliness, physical exhaustion, perplexity, interruptions, sorrow, physical and emotional pain, and all the other stresses which are common to human life on this earth. He felt all these things as much and even more than we experience them, because His divine sensitivities felt suffering more keenly than we do. But He had perfect victory over these human experiences by yielding completely to His Father’s will, and trusting Him for divine help to remain calm, trusting, patient, loving, and full of faith, even in His thoughts and feelings. The victory came from His Father, who infused Christ’s human nature with the perfect character which He had before coming to this earth. And this is the pattern of victory that God
wants to give every one of us if we will cooperate as fully with Him as Jesus did.
“Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s law, and in this He set an example for every human being. The life that He lived in this world we are to live through His power and under His instruction. . . .
“The Saviour took upon Himself the infirmities of humanity and lived a sinless life, that men might have no fear that because of the weakness of human nature they could not overcome. Christ came to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature,’ and His life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit sin.
“The Saviour overcame to show man how he may overcome. All the temptations of Satan, Christ met with the word of God. By trusting in God’s promises, He received power to obey God’s commandments, and the tempter could gain no advantage. To every temptation His answer was, ‘It is written.’ So God has given us His word wherewith to resist evil. Exceeding great and precious promises are ours, that by these we ‘might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ 2 Peter 1:4.” MH 180, 181.
The Bible is written expressly for human beings to tell us what God thinks and feels about everything we experience in life. Since our natural thoughts and feelings come from our hereditary and cultivated reactions to life, we need cleansing from our habits of thinking by learning to walk with Jesus through the power of the Spirit and applying God’s word to all our life experiences.
Some years ago the pastor of the church where I was attending told a story about his childhood. His father was a pastor, and from the time he was a small boy, he loved to go with his dad when he visited the homes of his parishioners. One day a mean dog came rushing out and bit him quite severely on his leg. From that time on, he has been afraid of dogs, and always carries a stick along with him on walks in the neighborhood.
I am sure that all of us remember things that happened to us in childhood that have followed us throughout life. Many of these things caused us to make decisions that were not prompted by the Holy Spirit. Satan loves to start bad habits and bad thinking that he can use to influence us for the rest of our lives. But Jesus wants to cleanse us from these areas of faulty thinking. If we cooperate with Him, He will uproot all these areas where the devil has planted bad seeds in the soil of our hearts.
“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. . . .The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean.” Matt. 15:13-20.
“The work of restoration can never be thorough unless the roots of evil are reached. Again and again the shoots have been clipped, while the root of bitterness has been left to spring up and defile many; but the very depth of the hidden evil must be reached, the moral senses must be judged, and judged again, in the light of the divine presence. The daily life will testify whether the work is genuine.
“. . . .If the tempted soul endures the trying process, and self does not awake to life to feel hurt and abused under the test, that probing knife reveals that the soul is indeed dead to self but alive to God.” 5 BC 1152.
“The tops have been cut down, but the roots have never been eradicated, and they still bear their unholy fruit to poison the judgment, pervert the perceptions, and blind the understanding. . . .When, by thorough confession, you destroy the root of bitterness, you will see light in God’s light. Without this thorough work you will never clear your souls.” LS 326.
You see, Jesus never had these bitter roots coming from childhood. His humanity was infused by divinity from the moment of His conception, and the perfect connection which He had with His Father was never broken. He came from the throne room of heaven—the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary—to cleanse the earthly sanctuary from the sins which had only been figuratively cleansed by the blood of bulls and goats. Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God whose blood would suffice to cleanse the conscience of every son and daughter of Adam who would avail themselves of the power of His perfect life. (See Heb. 9:11-14.)
“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.” 7 BC 927. (Emphasis supplied.)
Personally, I am very excited about the final atonement that Jesus is doing for us right now in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. He wants to blot out every record of our sins in the books of heaven. But He can only do this with our cooperation! So I have learned to ask Him to reveal to me the hidden roots of my sins so I can have them forgiven and blotted out. For example, I recently asked God to show me why I tend to feel angry and hurt when I feel I am not perceived rightly. While in prayer about this, God brought back the memory of my babyhood when I was three months old. I had colic, and so I would scream in pain when my tummy hurt. My mother told me that sometimes my father would shake me and try to get me to stop crying, because he thought I was angry and needed disciplining. Just hearing about it made me feel angry. Years ago the Lord revealed to me that this was the root of anger toward my father. But I have learned that it is also the root of why I feel anger when anyone perceives me wrongly!
Just this last Sabbath, I decided to ask God to cleanse me of this root once and for all. I confessed every sin that came to my mind that fell into this category. I asked God to blot these memories out of my life and out of the books of heaven, and cover with His precious blood. Then I asked Him to cast out the demons who have used this avenue to cause me to sin in this area throughout my life. I prayed and waited for the miracle of grace and peace that I have learned to expect when I pray in this manner. When the blessed peace and joy came from Jesus, I praised His name for making this possible through His perfect life and sacrifice for me, and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary where He is now preparing a people who will meet Him so soon!
I have described this process in other places in my books and articles, because I want to encourage everyone that no matter what your past has been, or your present struggles, Jesus holds out cleansing and victory for you. Nothing in your genes or heredity or past memories and experiences can prevent your complete restoration through the work that Jesus has done, is doing, and will do for you. He loves you with an infinite love, He has paid the infinite price for your life, and He has the complete solution to your every problem. But you must come to Him and receive the restoration that He is longing to give you. He is doing it for others right now, and He can do it for you, too! The door is still open in the Most Holy Place! Come to Him and find the peace and healing that is available to you in His presence.
“Christ is the minister of the true tabernacle, the High Priest of all who believe in Him as a personal Saviour; and His office no other can take. He is the High Priest of the church, and He has a work to do which no other can perform. By His grace He is able to keep every man from transgression.” ST 2/14/1900.
“All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. . . .They are the fruit of His self-sacrifice. The outworking in them of His own character and spirit is His reward, and will be His joy throughout eternity.” DA 624.
“By and by the gates of heaven will be thrown open to admit God’s children. . . .
“Then the redeemed will be welcomed to the home that Jesus is preparing for them. There . . . they will associate with those who have overcome Satan and through divine grace have formed perfect characters. Every sinful tendency, every imperfection, that afflicts them here has been removed by the blood of Christ, and the excellence and brightness of His glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of His character, shines through them. . . .They are without fault before the great white throne, sharing the dignity and the privileges of the angels.” SC 126.
I am looking forward to meeting our precious Savior who loves us more than we can imagine, aren’t you? Let us wash our robes of character (3 T 324) and make them white in the blood of the Lamb!
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY QUOTES
ON THE NATURE OF CHRIST
“Jesus rested on the wisdom and strength of His heavenly Father. . . .
“’The prince of this world cometh,’ said Jesus, ‘and hath nothing in Me.’ John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan’s sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ’s humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. 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. . . .When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours.” DA 123.
“When Jesus came to be baptized, John recognized in Him a purity of character that he had never before perceived in any man. The very atmosphere of His presence was holy and awe-inspiring. . . .Never had he come in contact with a human being from whom there breathed an influence so divine.” DA 110.
“The prophet Isaiah had declared that the Lord would cleanse His people from their iniquities ‘by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.’ The word of the Lord to Israel was, ‘I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.’ Isa. 4:4; 1:25. To sin, wherever found, ‘our God is a consuming fire.’ Heb. 12:29. In all who submit to His power the Spirit of God will consume sin. But if men cling to sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them.” DA 107.
“When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have a different religious experience. They will be given such glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart. The Lord will bless all who will seek humbly and meekly to understand that which is revealed in the Revelation. . . .
“The book of Revelation opens with an injunction to us to understand the instruction that it contains. . . .When we . . . understand what this books means to us, there will be seen among us a great revival.” ML 345.
“In the tabernacle and the temple His [Christ’s] glory dwelt in the holy shekinah above the mercy seat.” COL 288.
“Above the mercy seat dwelt the glory of the Holiest.” MH 437.
“Above the mercy-seat was the shekinah, the manifestation of the divine presence; and from between the cherubim, God made known His will.” PP 349.
At Jesus’ transfiguration, “a bright cloud overshadowed them. . . . they beheld the cloud of glory, brighter than that which went before the tribes of Israel.” DA 425.
“By implanting in their hearts the principles of His word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God. The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers.” COL 414.
“I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son. I gazed on Jesus’ countenance and admired His lovely person. The Father’s person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered Him. I asked Jesus if His Father had a form like Himself. He said He had, but I could not behold it, for said He, ‘If you should once behold the glory of His person, you would cease to exist.’” EW 54.
“While Moses was in the mount, God presented to him, not only the tables of the law, but also the plan of salvation. He saw that the sacrifice of Christ was prefigured by all the types and symbols of the Jewish age. . . .
“The glory reflected in the countenance of Moses illustrates the blessings to be received by God’s commandment-keeping people through the mediation of Christ. It testifies that the closer our communion with God, and the clearer our knowledge of His requirements, the more fully shall we be conformed to the divine image, and the more readily do we become partakers of the divine nature.” PP 330.
At the coming of Christ, “the saints shouted, ‘Glory! Hallelujah!’ Their countenances were lighted up with the glory of God, and they shone with glory as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked could not look upon them for the glory.” EW 286.
“Pray with Moses, ‘Show me Thy glory.’ What is this glory?—the character of God.” TM 499.
“Through trial and persecution the glory—the character—of God is revealed in His chosen ones.” AA 576.
“God’s glory, His character, His merciful kindness and tender love,—that which Moses had pleaded in behalf of Israel,—was to be revealed to all mankind.” PK 313.
“By beholding Christ, by talking of Him, by beholding the loveliness of His character we become changed. Changed from glory to glory. And what is glory? Character,—and he becomes changed from character to character. Thus we see that there is a work of purification that goes on by beholding Jesus.” SD 337.
“Christ Himself was the Lord of the temple. When He should leave it, its glory would depart—that glory once visible in the holy of holies over the mercy seat. . . .
“This was the Shekinah, the visible pavilion of Jehovah.
“It was this glory that was revealed to Isaiah. . . .[Isa. 6:1-8 quoted].” 4 BC 1139.
“[Isa.6:6, 7 quoted.] The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God’s people in the last days. They are privileged to see by faith the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary.” 4 BC 1139.
“Thus when the servant of God is permitted to behold the glory of the God of heaven, as He is unveiled to humanity, and realizes to a slight degree the purity of the Holy One of Israel, he will make startling confessions of the pollution of his soul, rather than proud boasts of his holiness.” 4 BC 1140.
“No one who claims holiness is really holy. Those who are registered as holy in the books of heaven are not aware of the fact, and are the last ones to boast of their own goodness. . . .
“Holiness . . . is an entire surrender of the will to God; it is living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; it is doing the will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in trial, in darkness as well as in the light; it is walking by faith and not by sight; it is relying on God with unquestioning confidence, and resting in His love.
“No one can be omnipotent, but all can cleanse themselves from filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. God requires every soul to be pure and holy. 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. There is in humanity a tendency to suspicious imagining, which circumstances quicken into lively growth. If this trait is indulged, it spoils the character and ruins the soul.
“God requires moral perfection in all. Those who have been given light and opportunities should, as God’s stewards, aim for perfection, and never, never lower the standard of righteousness to accommodate inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Christ took upon Him our human nature, and lived our life, to show us that we may be like Him. . . .We ought to be holy even as God is holy; and when we comprehend the full significance of this statement, and set our heart to do the work of God, to be holy as He is holy, we shall approach the standard set for each individual in Christ Jesus.” The Faith I Live By, p. 140. (Emphasis supplied.)
“Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will.
“The Lord Jesus is making experiments on human hearts through the exhibition of His mercy and abundant grace. He is effecting transformations so amazing that Satan . . . stands viewing them as a fortress impregnable to his sophistries and delusions. They are to him an incomprehensible mystery. . . .
“They were purified in the furnace of affliction. . . .By their own painful experience they learned the evil of sin, its power, its guilt, its woe; and thy look upon it with abhorrence. . . .They love much, because they have been forgiven much. Having been partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they are fitted to be partakers with Him of His glory.
“In their untainted purity and spotless perfection, Christ looks upon His people as the reward of all His suffering, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory—Christ, the great center from which radiates all glory.” The Faith I Live By, p. 142.