For someone who believes this, you seem to spend in inordinate amount of time not doing so. I've seen you agree with me on concepts involving God's character, such as how seeing God as He is motivates us to follow Him, demonstrates the falsehood of the enemy's claims, etc.



There's a dearth of understanding of this. Why not help people out and do posts which explain these concepts?



There is a connection. I don't like the LGT emphasis, but if you consider the emphasis of Jones, Prescott, and Waggoner, I like that emphasis very much. So did Ellen White.

Jones started his 1895 sermons regarding Christ's taking our fallen nature by explaining Christ did so in order to reveal God to us. Now *that* (the revelation of God) is certainly pertinent to the perfecting of character, and is focusing on that which impacts the spiritual and moral natures.

Waggoner had the same idea:



Ellen White wrote the following of Prescott's sermon "The Word Became Flesh"



The interesting thing about this endorsement is that the theme of Prescott's sermon was that Christ took our sinful flesh and how important that is to us. Ellen White, in endorsing the sermon, explained "It was shown that perfect obedience to all the commandments of God is essential for the salvation of souls. Obedience to the laws of God's kingdom reveals the divine in the human, sanctifying the character."

So that Christ took our sinful flesh is certainly relevant as far as the formation of character is concerned, from Ellen White's perspective.

Not really. My questions were designed to draw out your thinking. (You'll notice these were questions, not assertions).



I still don't know the answer to my question. What do you think "the working of the great law of heredity, which is shown in the results of His earthly ancestors" means?

Rosangela, I get the impression from reading your posts that you believe the human nature Jesus had while here in the flesh differs significantly from ours in that He didn't have to recognize or resist hereditary sinful inclinations (tendencies, propensities), that all of the temptations He overcame originated outside of Him, that not once was He ever tempted from within like we are, and that the reason He had a human nature so significantly different than ours is due to the fact having such a nature makes one guilty, that it inherently corrupts and contaminates, and as such it would have disqualified Jesus from serving as our Savior and Substitute.

Is this what you believe?

She has said in the past that she believes Jesus' temptations only came from outside, as suggestions from Satan I think. Also I believe she's said that the only difficulty Christ had overcoming them had to do with trickery. (i.e., the essence of the temptations was Satan's trying to trick Christ, and His difficulty was in not being tricked).

I'm butting in here in case I'm remembering wrong, she can clarify.

Yes, Mike, this is what I believe. Ellen White equates temptations from within (as opposed to temptations from without) with inward corruption, inward sin, indwelling sin, a deceitful heart, none of which I believe Christ possessed. An outward temptation does not necessarily contaminate, but an inward temptation already arises from contamination, and that's why it's already a sin.

What a warning to keep the grace of Christ ever in their heart, to battle with inward corruptions and outward temptations! {CC 197.2}

They should mourn over their inclination to sin, over the danger they are in from inward corruption and from outward temptation. They should be afraid because they have so feeble a sense of the sinfulness of sin, and so little idea of what constitutes sin. {YI, February 15, 1894 par. 3}

But she is now in danger through inward corruption and outward temptation. Satan is playing the game of life for her soul, and he has every advantage for winning the game. {5T 507.2}

As long as life shall last, there is need of guarding the affections and the passions with a firm purpose. There is inward corruption, there are outward temptations, and wherever the work of God shall be advanced, Satan plans so to arrange circumstances that temptation shall come with overpowering force upon the soul. {RY 178.5}

What a lesson for all who desire to save their souls to watch unto prayer continually! What a warning to keep the grace of Christ ever in their heart, to battle with inward corruptions and outward temptations! -- 2BC 1031,1032. {RY 182.1}

You are in danger from corruption within and temptation without. There are evil habits and traits of character which are constantly inclining you to selfishness and weakness of principle. {RH, January 20, 1885 par. 3}

In the battle with inward corruptions and outward temptations, even the wise and powerful Solomon was vanquished. {RH, February 22, 1906 par. 2}

In the battle with inward sin and outward temptation, even the wise and powerful Solomon was vanquished. {PK 82.2}

When piety is left out of the heart, the people of God separate from the source of their strength, and pride, vanity, extravagance, and display follow. There are idols within and idols without; but God sends the Holy Spirit as the reprover of sin, that his people may be warned of their apostasy, and rebuked for their backsliding. {NPU Gleaner, April 21, 1909 par. 5}

whatever tends to draw the mind from the love of Jesus, whether it be the deceitful heart within or an ensnaring world without, is of Satan, and will bring darkness and death. {ST, June 5, 1884 par. 9}

In what consisted the strength of the assault made upon Adam, which caused his fall? It was not his indwelling sin; for God made Adam after His own character, pure and upright. There were no corrupt principles in the first Adam, no corrupt propensities of tendencies to evil. {16MR 86.2}

Christ desires nothing so much as to redeem His heritage from the dominion of Satan. But before we are delivered from Satan's power without, we must be delivered from his power within. The Lord permits trials in order that we may be cleansed from earthliness, from selfishness, from harsh, unchristlike traits of character. {COL 174.3}

If a temptation from within corrupted, how could she make the statements like the ones speaking of the 144,000 standing before God without a mediator?

I'm not sure about whether Christ's imputed righteousness will cease to be applied to us at that time. However, Ellen White says clearly that sinful tendencies can be transformed and cut off from the soul. If this work will ever be completely accomplished in someone, it is in the 144,000.

Then you must think one of the following two things?

1.We don't receive an temptations from the flesh that are passed genetically (i.e., no hereditary inclinations to sin which can tempt us).

2.We do receive hereditary inclinations to sin, but these can be "cut off from the soul," which must mean that they no longer tempt us.

So, if 2 is the case, you must believe that the 144,000 cannot be tempted from within. Logically, I assume you also believe that as we progress in our walk with Christ that temptations become easier and easier, since the difficult inward ones get rooted out.

Regarding the righteousness of Christ, there's a work which Christ does in the sanctuary, which involves mediating for this inward corruption you speak of. Since Christ stops His mediating work, there must not be any inward corruption to mediate for.

My option is #2.

I differ with you that the really difficult temptations are the inward ones. Some of the temptations of the last days (the greatest ones of all times) are the “strong, almost overmastering delusion” of Satan’s impersonation of Christ, the miracle-working power of demons, the pressure to transgress the fourth commandment, the mental distress caused by Satan to make God's children renounce their trust in God. As far as I know, none of these has to do with inward corruptions.

Regarding the righteousness of Christ, was it applied to God's children in OT times, before the inauguration of the heavenly sanctuary? It seems this was the case, so I don't see any problem if the same happens after Christ's mediation in the heavenly sanctuary ceases. However, maybe there isn't a need for it.

Which have been your hardest temptations?



Ellen White speaks of the prayers of the saints being purified by the mediation of Christ because they pass through corrupt channels, so the implication is that it's needed. If what corrupts were a sinful nature, then it's difficult to see how Christ could stop. So we can conclude that a sinful nature does not corrupt, since the sinful nature won't go away.

Your suggestion appears to be that being tempted from within is what corrupts, so we must get to the point to where we are no longer tempted from within. Don't know if you're familiar with this American slang, but "Good luck with that!"

Going on with your idea, what happens if your theology is wrong, and one really is tempted from within simply because of having a sinful nature? It seems there's a danger here in misinterpreting temptations from within as sin, and wanting to have cut away from one's being something which cannot be cut away.