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Sin resides in the mind, so in order to destroy it, the mind must be changed. One must be born again. This is where Jesus Christ comes in. Quoting from Ellen White:
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Sin resides in the mind?

Romans 7:18, 20, 23.
18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no mor3e I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
In His love

James S

Well, you folks get on a clip so fast, by the time I get a look; you’ve gone a couple of pages here.

Tom, you know I agree wholeheartedly about the revelation of God’s character. But that is half the story. The other half is how that character of God can become ours, and that is what Christ is about. There are two sides in a relationship. There is the “Faith” of the Son and the “Love” of the Father. We must know the Son of God in order to discover “Faith”. Without faith, the love of the Father will find no entry.

So I agree with Will and Thomas that there are two sides, and we must know both the Father and his Son. It is by knowing the Son that we become sons of the Father.

We have shared lots on the love of the Father. We ought to discuss some on the Faith of the Son.

Rom 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier “of him that is of the faith of Jesus”.

The meaning of this text has been highly altered in most translations.
"him that is of the faith of Jesus". Let us think about that.

See, before I even get to put up a little post; another page flipped.

Yes James, your point is good. The answer to the flesh is in the realization of ‘faith’. What does it mean to be a Son?

Think about this folks. I have to go now. Working on a number of other posts and time is late. I’ll see how far you get by the time I get a chance to get back here.

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By Will: If its not one or the other, it must include both. I don't see that in Tom's post's, so I will come and defend the fact that Christ's work was to redeem mankind, not show us some far off person in another galaxy, and how good He is, we know that from John 3:16, John 16:27,1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16. I need to know "Will I be forgiven, Will I be saved, What must I do to be saved".

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Hi Will, If one really knew God like Jesus knew Him those questions would be answered. Jesus answered all of them by revealing God.

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By James: Sin resides in the mind? Romans 7:18, 20, 23.
18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no mor3e I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
In His love

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Hi James, I think what Tom is saying is that sin is integral to our human nature. Jesus taught that if we hate our brother then we have in essence murdered Him. Also if we lust in our minds we have committed adultery. The word “flesh” is in Romans is in reference to the human nature which is just as much a sick mind as it is a sick body.

In Christ, scott

Hi Scott,
Jesus answered them by dying for us, being resurrected, ascending to heaven, and promised us to come again and take us with Him, to a literal physical place called heaven, and if you can believe that, and accept by faith what He has done, and desire to be made new old things passed away, and trust Him enough to ask for forgiveness, and give praise, you are saved. Its not a 1 sided issue, as you and Tom believe.
If you don't believe in Jesus Christ, and focus on the Father who sent Him, then that would be completely opposed to what Christ said "No man comes to the Father but by Me".
Jesus came to earth to destroy the works of the devil,redeem all of humanity "For God so loved the world" and to reconcile us to the Father. Jesus was sent by the Father, and if you have seen Jesus you have seen the Father.
Christ came to take away our sins, it wasn't solely about revealing the Father. In fact the entire Bible is about Christ, about a Savior for the human race, about a solution to a problem with rewards, about the plan of salvation where the Father sends His only Son, who came in the Fathers name.
I dont agree with Tom's assessment, this is about the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. If you leave Christ out, you have a huge problem. Jesus said "Without me ye can do nothing".
God Bless,
WIll

What does it mean to be born again?

Is it simply saying "I now believe" ? I realize that's rather the popular definition, but is it the Biblical definition-- or is it a narrowing the truth down to a dead skelaton.

What did Jesus mean when He said:
"Matt 15:8 This people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
15:9 In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.


Also didn't Peter BELIEVE?
He's the one that said "YOU ARE the Son of God!"
yet, Jesus says "When you are converted..... (Luke 22:32)



To be born again MEANS TO BE CONVERTED.
And what does it mean to be CONVERTED?

To be born again means "to be a new creature in Christ"

"1 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.


Eze. 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do [them].

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The way the Spirit of Prophecy put it is that the whole purpose of Christ's mission was to reveal the Father, in order that man might be set right with God. She referenced John 17, where Jesus told us that life eternal is to know God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent.

Jesus said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that if the Father had come, and the Son remained in heaven, the history of His life would have been the same.

The way we know the Father is through the Son. Jesus said, "No man knows the Son, except the Father, and no man knows the Son, except the Father, and he to whom the Father reveals Him." So when we know God, we really know the Father, whom the Son revealed.

Jesus' job was to reveal the Father, not Himself. In the John 17 passage He said, "I have manifest thy glory." The glory of God is His character. Again He said, "I have declared Thy name." The name in Scripture represents the character.

I like the formulation of this which Ty Gibson gives:

1.Misperception of God's character.
2.Distrust of God.
3.Disobedience.
4.Guild and condemnation (which comes from sin).

This is the order that he presents man's problems. The root cause is the misperception of God's character (1, which leads to 2, 3, and 4). To fix man's problem, the root cause, 1, must be taken care of. This agrees with EGW's assertion, and Jesus' own words in John 17, that the whole purpose of His mission was to reveal God.

Notice she says that the revelation of God sets us right with Him. "Set right" is another term for "justifies." By faith we apprehend the truth about God which Jesus Christ is revealing. We are reconciled by the blood of the cross, and not we only, but "things in heaven" as well.

The passage from the Desire of Ages explains the process of salvation well. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. The sinner is drawn to God in repentance. The law is written in the heart.


Tom

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whomsoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

The Father decision to send his Son to save men, to die for the remission of their sins, to die in order they might live again.

The Son came to reveal the Father, to live the life of love, for God is love, and die as the ultimate sacrifice unselfish love can ever made. In this way, those who come to know the Father by this revelation would have eternal life.

In His love

James S

Tom

Noone is contesting that Jesus came to show us who God is. There is really no need to further assert that. What you instead ought to do (considering the position you have taken) is to show us why Jesus did NOT come to save us from our sins by His blood.

1Jo 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
1Jo 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1Jo 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Jo 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jo 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.