AA 339
…selfishness is the spirit of Satan.
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. 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.
4T 224
…love is the spirit of God.
RH Aug 12, 1884
Love to God and man must be an inwrought principle in the soul; for there is no other way that the Christian can become a “partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
HS 138, 139
Selfishness is inwrought in our very being. It has come to us as an inheritance…
Rev 3:17
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
Matthew 5:21, 22
21) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.
22) But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Matthew 5:27, 28
27) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28) But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
MB 79
Their spirit and motives and methods were the opposite of His. While they claimed to be very jealous for the honor of the law, self-glory was the real object which they sought; and Christ would make it manifest to them that the lover of self is a transgressor of the law.
MB 79
But the principles cherished by the Pharisees are such as are characteristic of humanity in all ages. The spirit of Pharisaism is the spirit of human nature; and as the Saviour showed the contrast between His own spirit and methods and those of the rabbis, His teaching is equally applicable to the people of all time.
BEcho Feb 12, 1894
Selfishness exists everywhere, in hearts where it is least suspected. It is this curse of selfishness, in the various phases in which it is manifested, that makes so many joyless Christians. God has entrusted to them means to be used in building up his kingdom; but they are not using his gifts to his glory. They are not working in harmony with Christ; they are lovers of self more than lovers of God and his word. This is why there is often contention in the church, until fault-finding, envy, jealousy, and strife for the supremacy become the native element. Inordinate self-love lies at the foundation of so much contention in the churches.
EV 633
There is nothing that so much retards and cripples the work in its various branches as jealousy and suspicion and evil surmisings. These reveal that disunion prevails among the workers for God. Selfishness is the root of all evil. (Letter 113a, 1897)
Matthew 23:27
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
COL 392
The lover of self is a transgressor of the law. This Jesus desired to reveal to the young man, and He gave him a test that would make manifest the selfishness of his heart. He showed him the plague spot in his character. The young man desired no further enlightenment. He had cherished an idol in the soul; the world was his god. He professed to have kept the commandments, but he was destitute of the principle, which is the very spirit and life of them all. He did not possess true love for God or man. This want was the want of everything that would qualify him to enter the kingdom of heaven. In his love of self and worldly gain he was out of harmony with the principles of heaven.
10MR 55, 56
Whenever the time and attention are absorbed in self-gratification, the law of God is broken. No one has a right to live only for self. The mind should never be confined in the narrow chambers of self. God has given us a broader sphere of action. The life is to be inspired by deeper, truer motives. A true, noble life is characterized by thoughtful attention to the needs of others. The love of Christ in the soul is a constant wellspring of joy, ever flowing forth to others
1SM 320
The commandments of God are comprehensive and far reaching; in a few words they unfold the whole duty of man. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength…. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:30, 31). In these words the length and breadth, the depth and height, of the law of God is comprehended; for Paul declares, “Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). The only definition we find in the Bible for sin is that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). The Word of God declares, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “There is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom. 3: 12). Many are deceived concerning the condition of their hearts. They do not realize that the natural heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. They wrap themselves about with their own righteousness, and are satisfied in reaching their own human standard of character; but how fatally they fail when they do not reach the divine standard, and of themselves they cannot meet the requirements of God.
ST Nov 5, 1894
Unaided humanity may struggle with all its power,… but the question to ask is, What have been the results? Jesus answers, “Without me ye can do nothing.” When all the wisdom of the schools, all the accumulations of human ability, are brought to bear upon those who are dead in trespasses and sins, they avail nothing for the reformation of character. Human selfishness remains in all its depravity.
Jer 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
1 John 3:15
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
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.
ST Nov 3, 1890
The command from Heaven is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” When the force of this requirement is understood, the conscience is convicted, the sinner is condemned.
Gal 3:24
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
GC 468
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. Without the law, men have no just conception of the purity and holiness of God or of their own guilt and uncleanness. They have no true conviction of sin and feel no need of repentance. Not seeing their lost condition as violators of God’s law, they do not realize their need of the atoning blood of Christ. The hope of salvation is accepted without a radical change of heart or reformation of life. Thus superficial conversions abound, and multitudes are joined to the church who have never been united to Christ.
ST Nov 3, 1890
Where there is a true conception of the spirituality and holiness of the divine law, the sinner is under condemnation, and his sins stand arrayed before him in their true character… He sees that what we speak with our tongue, what we do with our hands, what we exhibit in our outer life, is but a very small part of what goes to make up our character. The law penetrates to the thoughts and intents of the heart… God’s law registers all hidden evil.
ST Nov 3, 1890
God reveals Christ to the sinner, and he beholds him dying upon Calvary for the sin of his creature. He then understands how he is condemned by the law of God, for the Spirit works upon his conscience, enforcing the claim of the broken law. He is then given the opportunity of defying the law, of rejecting the Saviour, or of yielding to its claims, and receiving Christ as his Redeemer. God will not compel the service of any man, but he reveals to him his obligation, unfolds to him the requirements of his holy law, and sets before him the result of his choice-to obey and live, or to disobey and perish.
19MR 59
If you do not examine yourself searchingly in the light reflected from the cross of Christ revealed in His Word, self-love will prompt you to have a much better opinion of yourself than is either just, true, or safe. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” (Prov. 28:26). And yet we are naturally inclined to this trust in the goodness of our desperately wicked hearts.
1 Tim 1:15
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
DA 83
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
John 3:3–5
3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4) Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5) Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
DA 172
Jesus continued: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil, and “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.”[1 JOB 14:4.] No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”[2 ROM. 8:7; MATT. 15:19.] The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law, is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.
ST March 9, 1882
In his words to Nicodemus, Christ explained the nature and importance of true conversion. He solemnly declares, “Except a man be born again,” —unless he receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life— “he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He must no longer remain in subjection to the power of sin. He is no longer to be a willing subject to the enemy of Christ. He is to become an heir of God by faith, a son of God by adoption.
Matthew 5:20
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
OHC 214
No man receives holiness as a birthright, or as a gift from any other human being. Holiness is the gift of God through Christ. Those who receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His spiritual children, born again, renewed in righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed. With clearer vision they behold eternal realities. They are adopted into God’s family, and they become conformed to His likeness, changed by His Spirit from glory to glory. From cherishing supreme love for self, they come to cherish supreme love for God and for Christ….
SC 17
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.
GC 468
In the new birth the heart is brought into harmony with God, as it is brought into accord with His law. When this mighty change has taken place in the sinner, he has passed from death unto life, from sin unto holiness, from transgression and rebellion to obedience and loyalty. The old life of alienation from God has ended; the new life of reconciliation, of faith and love, has begun.
6BC 1075
The new birth is a rare experience in this age of the world. This is the reason why there are so many perplexities in the churches. Many, so many, who assume the name of Christ are unsanctified and unholy. They have been baptized, but they were buried alive. Self did not die, and therefore they did not rise to newness of life in Christ (MS 148, 1897).
2 Cor 5:17 (KJV)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Gal 5:16, 17
16) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
DA 678
…the grace of God subdues the selfishness inherent in the natural heart.
1 Cor 9:27 (KJV)
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Romans 6:12
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters…
1 Cor 15:31
…I die daily.
Rom 7:18
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.
AA 561
At every advance step in our Christian experience our repentance will deepen. We shall know that our sufficiency is in Christ alone and shall make the apostle’s confession our own: “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Romans 7:18; Galatians 6:14)
ST Aug 21, 1884
We are sinful by nature and so are commanded to be zealous and repent.
AA 561
None of the apostles and prophets ever claimed to be without sin. Men who have lived the nearest to God, men who would sacrifice life itself rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God has honored with divine light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ.
Rev 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
RH Sept 4, 1883
“Be zealous and repent,” is the admonition of Jesus to the Laodicean church. There is something to repent of. Worldly-mindedness, selfishness, and covetousness have been eating out their spiritual life. While they flatter themselves that they are rich, and increased with goods, and in need of nothing, Christ declares them to be “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
RH April 1, 1890
The Church is presented as standing in a self-satisfied, pleased, proud, independent position, ignorant of her destitution and wretchedness. By her attitude she says, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” How many who claim to be keeping the commandments of God are in this position to-day! The charge against the Church is, “Thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot.” But while many may be satisfied with their lukewarm condition, the Lord is far from pleased, and declares that unless you are zealous and repent, he will spue you out of his mouth. But he warns you, he entreats you. He says, “Thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
ST Aug 21, 1884
We are sinful by nature, and so are commanded to be zealous and repent.
YI June 5, 1902
The nearer we come to Jesus, and the more clearly we discern the purity of his character, the more clearly shall we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the less shall we feel like exalting ourselves. Those whom Heaven recognizes as holy ones are the last to parade their own goodness. Men who have lived near to God, men who would sacrifice life itself rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God has honored with divine light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their own nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ. So will it be with all who behold the Saviour.
2 Cor 10:12
For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
FW 53, 54
The true follower of Christ will make no boastful claims to holiness. It is by the law of God that the sinner is convicted. He sees his own sinfulness in contrast with the perfect righteousness, which it enjoins, and this leads him to humility and repentance. He becomes reconciled to God through the blood of Christ, and as he continues to walk with Him he will be gaining a clearer sense of the holiness of God’s character and the far-reaching nature of His requirements. He will see more clearly his own defects and will feel the need of continual repentance and faith in the blood of Christ. He who bears with him a continual sense of the presence of Christ cannot indulge self-confidence or self-righteousness. None of the prophets or apostles made proud boasts of holiness. The nearer they came to perfection of character, the less worthy and righteous they viewed themselves. But those who have the least sense of the perfection of Jesus, those whose eyes are least directed to Him, are the ones who make the strongest claim to perfection.
7BC 959
“And repent.” The life we live is to be one of continual repentance and humility. We need to repent constantly, that we may be constantly victorious. When we have true humility, we have victory.
Romans 3:23
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
SL 81
Those who have genuine love for God will manifest an earnest desire to know His will and to do it… But he who is truly seeking for holiness of heart and life delights in the law of God, and mourns only that he falls so far short of meeting its requirements.
COL 315
God requires perfection of His children. His law is a transcript of His own character, and it is the standard of all character. This infinite standard is presented to all that there may be no mistake in regard to the kind of people whom God will have to compose His kingdom. The life of Christ on earth was a perfect expression of God’s law…
6T 60
…the life of Christ reveals an infinitely perfect character.
3SM 186
The character of Christ is an infinitely perfect character, and He must be lifted up, He must be brought prominently into view, for He is the power, the might, the sanctification and righteousness of all who believe in Him.
MB 55
Jesus proceeded to show His hearers what it means to keep the commandments of God—that it is a reproduction in themselves of the character of Christ. For in Him, God was daily made manifest before them.
MB 49
The divine beauty of the character of Christ, of whom the noblest and most gentle among men are but a faint reflection; of whom Solomon by the Spirit of inspiration wrote, He is “the chiefest among ten thousand, … yea, He is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:10-16); of whom David, seeing Him in prophetic vision, said, “Thou art fairer than the children of men” (Psalm 45:2); Jesus, the express image of the Father’s person, the effulgence of His glory; the self-denying Redeemer, throughout His pilgrimage of love on earth, was a living representation of the character of the law of God.
1SM 344
The religious services, the prayers, the praise, the penitent confession of sin ascend from true believers as incense to the heavenly sanctuary, but passing through the corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by blood, they can never be of value with God. They ascend not in spotless purity, and unless the Intercessor, who is at God’s right hand, presents and purifies all by His righteousness, it is not acceptable to God. All incense from earthly tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the blood of Christ. He holds before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He gathers into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of His people, and with these He puts His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ’s propitiation, the incense comes up before God wholly and entirely acceptable. Then gracious answers are returned. Oh, that all may see that everything in obedience, in penitence, in praise and thanksgiving, must be placed upon the glowing fire of the righteousness of Christ. The fragrance of this righteousness ascends like a cloud around the mercy seat.
Exodus 28:36–38
36) You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37) And you shall put it on a blue cord that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban.
38) So it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
5T 48
Are you in Christ? Not if you do not acknowledge yourselves erring, helpless, condemned sinners.
3SM 195, 196
Jesus loves His children, even if they err. They belong to Jesus and we are to treat them as the purchase of the blood of Jesus Christ. Any unreasonable course pursued toward them is written in the books as against Jesus Christ. He keeps His eye upon them, and when they do their best, calling upon God for his help, be assured the service will be accepted, although imperfect. Jesus is perfect. Christ’s righteousness is imputed unto them, and He will say, “Take away the filthy garments from him and clothe him with change of raiment.” Jesus makes up for our unavoidable deficiencies.
Psalm 16:2
O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You”
PUR June 5, 1902
We are not to look within for evidence of our acceptance with God. We shall find nothing there but that which will discourage us. Our only hope is in looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In Him there is everything to inspire us with hope, with faith, with courage. He is our righteousness, our consolation, our rejoicing. Those who look within for comfort will become weary and disappointed. But relying on Christ’s merits, we shall find rest and peace and joy. He saves to the uttermost all who come to God by Him.