ST Feb 13, 1893 (or ST Dec 15, 1914)
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.… Out of harmony with the nature of God, unyielding to the claims of his law, naught but destruction was before the human race. Since the divine law is as changeless as the character of God, there could be no hope for man unless some way could be devised whereby his transgression might be pardoned, his nature renewed, and his spirit restored to reflect the image of God. Divine love had conceived such a plan.
Rev 3:14 – 18
14) “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
15) “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
16) “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth.
17) “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–
18) “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
2T 177
You have a formal religion, but have not a special sense of your weakness, your corruption, and your vileness by nature.
Rom 7:7
…I would not have known sin except through the law.
ST July 7, 1890
As man sees the sinfulness of his nature in the light of the law, he will realize his great need of a Saviour.
Nature: Dictionary definitions
Nature: the innate or essential qualities or components of a thing.
Nature: the inherent and innate disposition or character of a person or animal. Thus the expression “human nature” is used in reference to the general and inherent character or disposition of mankind.
Nature: the inherent dominating principle or impulse in man by which action or character is determined, directed or controlled. Sometimes personified as in: “His selfish nature controlled him like a tyrant.”
Eph 2:1– 3
1) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3) among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.*
*Weymouth:
“and were in our original state deserving of anger like all the others”
*Knox:
“with God’s displeasure for our birthright, like other men”
*NEB:
in our natural condition we, like the rest, lay under the dreadful judgment of God.”
RH Sept 17, 1895
Human nature is depraved, and is justly condemned by a holy God.
Rom 5:19
…by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners…
Letter 165, 1901
All sin is selfishness.
YI Dec 9, 1897
All selfishness is condemned by the law of God…
HS 138, 139
Selfishness is inwrought in our very being. It has come to us as an inheritance…
4T 496
In the human heart there is natural selfishness…
HP 163
…our hearts are naturally depraved…
5 BC 1138
Selfishness which dwells in the natural heart… strengthens by self-serving…
CS 24
Selfishness is the essence of depravity…
AG 258
…we must remember that our hearts are naturally depraved…
Conclusion:
RH Sept. 17, 1895
Human nature is depraved and is justly condemned by a holy God.
1MCP 272
Selfishness… its existence is… the cause of human guilt…
1 John 3:4
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4 (KJV)
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
7BC 951
“Sin is the transgression of the law.” This is the only definition of sin. Without the law there can be no transgression. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” The standard of righteousness is exceeding broad, prohibiting every evil thing (MS 27, 1899).
Deut 5:24
And you said: “Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.
SC 60
But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love. 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.
RH Jan 6, 1891
Men are selfish by nature. They act from impulse, without reference to the will of God. Their own will is their criterion.
ST March 11, 1897
The law of God condemns all selfishness, and is at variance with all evil-thinking and evil-speaking.
Note:
We have here all three levels of the sin problem.
1) “evil-speaking” –which is sin at the level of our behavior (i.e. our words and actions)
2) “evil-thinking” –which is sin at the level of our character (i.e. our thoughts and feelings)
3) “selfishness” –which is sin at the level of our very nature (i.e. our motives and desires which are determined by the fundamental principle or spirit which governs our whole being)
HS 138, 139
Selfishness is inwrought in our very being. It has come to us as an inheritance…
ST April 8, 1886
…the inborn evil of the natural heart.
RH Nov 29, 1887
From the cross to the crown there is earnest work to be done. There is wrestling with inbred sin; there is warfare against outward wrong.
6BC 1058
He [Paul] no longer saw himself as righteous, but condemned by the law in thought, in spirit, and in deeds.
Note:
Here again we have all three levels of the sin problem.
1) “condemned by the law…in deeds” –which was sin at the level of his behavior (i.e. in the realm of his words and actions)
2) “condemned by the law in thought” –which was sin at the level of his character (i.e. in the realm of his thoughts and feelings)
3) “condemned by the law… in spirit” –which was sin at the level of his very nature (i.e. in the realm of his motives and desires which could not be other than condemnable, being controlled by the antagonistic principle or spirit of selfishness)
6BC 1058
…condemned by the law … in spirit…
Spirit: Dictionary definitions:
Spirit: the active or essential principle or power operating in a person
Spirit: the essential nature of something, that which constitutes the pervading principle of anything
Spirit: a particular disposition pervading or animating a person, a special attitude of mind characterizing a person
Note:
Being partakers of Satan’s spirit –the spirit of selfishness, we are thereby partakers of his nature as well, for whatever spirit governs and motivates us, directly determines what our nature will be. Therefore, when in the persons of our first parents, humanity became a partaker of the spirit of Satan; humanity became a partaker of the satanic nature as well.
ST Feb 13, 1893
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.
John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Rom 6:12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
ML 52
If you will battle against selfish human nature, you will go forward steadily in the work of overcoming hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong.
CT 20
There are hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil that must be overcome. Appetite and passion must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. There is no end to the warfare this side of eternity. But while there are constant battles to fight, there are also precious victories to gain; and the triumph over self and sin is of more value than the mind can estimate.
RH Nov 29, 1887
From the cross to the crown there is earnest work to be done. There is wrestling with inbred sin; there is warfare against outward wrong.
2SM 33
When human beings receive holy flesh, they will not remain on the earth, but will be taken to heaven. While sin is forgiven in this life, its results are not now wholly removed. It is at His coming that Christ is to “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Phil. 3:21)….
ST March 23, 1888
We cannot say, “I am sinless,” till this vile body is changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body.
Phil 3:6
Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness, which is in the law, blameless.
Romans 8:7
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
SC 58
It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment without the renewing power of Christ. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions. By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on?
2 Cor 13:5
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified.
Romans 8:7
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
Rom 7:14
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
SC 61
…if the love of God dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our purposes, our actions, will be in harmony with the will of God as expressed in the precepts of His holy law.
Matthew 23:27
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.
Luke 10:27
So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’, and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
COL 97, 98
True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. It springs from the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is right–because right doing is pleasing to God.
ST May 9, 1900
No unconverted person, in his natural state of depravity, loves Christ. A love of Jesus is the first result of conversion.
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
FW 31
The soul must first be convicted of sin before the sinner will feel a desire to come to Christ. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). “I had not known sin, but by the law” (Romans 7:7). When the commandment came home to Saul’s conscience, sin revived, and he died. He saw himself condemned by the law of God. The sinner cannot be convinced of his guilt unless he understands what constitutes sin.
Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
PP 309
The tenth commandment strikes at the very root of all sins, prohibiting the selfish desire, from which springs the sinful act.
ST Aug 21, 1884
We are sinful by nature, and so are commanded to be zealous and repent.
Heb 10:16, 17
16) “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.
17) then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
RH Nov 29, 1887
From the cross to the crown there is earnest work to be done. There is wrestling with inbred sin; there is warfare against outward wrong.
EW 17
We all went under the tree and sat down to look at the glory of the place… We tried to call up our greatest trials, but they looked so small compared with the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory that surrounded us that we could not speak them out, and we all cried out, “Alleluia, heaven is cheap enough!” and we touched our glorious harps and made heaven’s arches ring.