In SDA theology Christ desired and lusted to sin but did not yield to His temptation to sin....

[quote=teresaq]



do we give the impression we believe this? apparently we do.
in light of that should we be more careful?

The first point that I want to look at is on pg. 59 (FACE TO FACE *). “Why did Jesus say, ‘I seek not mine own will’ (John 5:30), and ‘I come down from heaven, not to do mine own will’ (John 7:38)? Why would it be necessary to say this if His own will was faultless and pure, and holy? But if His own will and His own inclinations were tending toward the negative, then it would make sense for Him to ask that His Father’s will be done.” Please realize that Priebe is here saying that Jesus’ will was NOT “faultless, pure and holy” and also that “His own will and His own inclinations were tending toward the negative.” He is also interpreting John 5 & 6 to be saying that Jesus’ “will” was different than His Father’s. There are two parts to this that I want to examine: His “will” and His “inclination”.

Priebe says, “His own will was tending toward the negative.” I just want to compare this to three Spirit of Prophecy quotes.

“The WILL, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service.” DA-668.

“The time of the Passover was drawing near, and again Jesus turned toward Jerusalem. In His heart was the peace of PERFECT ONENESS WITH THE Father’s WILL, and with eager steps He pressed on toward the place of sacrifice.” DA-547. “...perfect ones with the Father’s WILL”. Can Priebe’s statements and this quote be made to harmonize?

The last quote may be the best one for this comparison, because it is from the chapter in Desire of Ages, which is a commentary on John 5, which Priebe uses to say that Jesus’ will was contrary to His Father’s and that “His own will was tending toward the negative.” In Desire of Ages, pg. 208 she says, “Jesus repelled the charge of blasphemy. My authority, He said, for doing the work of which you accuse Me, is that I am the Son of God, one with Him in nature, in WILL, and in purpose.” In the very discourse where Jesus is claiming His oneness with God, (“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:18.), and where Ellen White says He is “one with Him in WILL”, Priebe is saying “His will was tending toward the negative”, and contrary to His Father’s. I find this incredible! Please read those chapters for yourself – John 5 and “Bethesaida and the Sanhedrin” and decide for yourself. On pg. 210 of Desire of Ages, she says, “The humble Nazarene asserts His real nobility. He rises above humanity, throws off the guise of sin and shame, and stands revealed, the Honored of the angels, the Son of God, One with the Creator of the universe. His hearers are spellbound. No man has ever spoken words like His, or borne himself with such a kingly majesty. His utterances are clear and plain, fully declaring His mission, and the duty of the world.”

And as an answer to the often asked questions, “Why did Jesus say ‘I seek not mine own will’?” First, He was trying to make them understand that everything He did was from God the Father – Whom they claimed to acknowledge as their supreme Ruler – (Jesus, they didn’t acknowledge), and that in rejecting Him, they were truly rejecting God. “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.” John 5:23. A similar statement is found in one of the very next chapters of John’s Gospel, where He says, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.” John 7:16. Again He was trying to make them understand that in rejecting His “doctrine”, they were in reality, rejecting God’s doctrine. No on would ever say that Jesus was here saying His “doctrine” was different from His Fathers’. Secondly, Jesus was showing an EXAMPE of submission and surrender to God, just as He was baptized as an example. Please read pgs. 208 and 209 of Desire of Ages. She gives a very strong illustration of this. And in the midst it says, “He (Jesus) said, ‘I DELIGHT to do Thy WILL....” (Psalms 40:8).

The Bible says God’s will is, “This is the WILL of God even your sanctification.” 1 Thes. 4:3. IF Jesus’ will was different from God’s, what would this mean? Ellen White says, “From His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others.” DA-70. “Jesus alone could read this secret. Yet He did not expose him. Jesus hungered for his soul. He felt for him such a burden as for Jerusalem when He wept over the doomed city. His heart was crying, ‘How can I give thee up’?” I believe it can be equally said of Jesus: “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.”

The other part of the quote that I want to look at concerns His “inclinations”. “His own INCLINATION was tending toward the negative”, Priebe says in FACE TO FACE, pg. 59. In BC-1128, Ellen White says, “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.” Please read this quote over and over and let every word have its proper bearing, and then compare both quotes very carefully. There is no way that these quotes can be made to harmonize. The subject of our “inclinations” deserves further study, but I won’t spend time on that in this paper.

The next quote I want to look at is on FACE to FACE, pg. 60. Here he says “He knew what it was like to want to go wrong. He knew what it was like to feel the temptation to rebel against God, and that temptation arose within His nature.” There are also two points in this quote that I want to examine. First, “He knew what it was like to WANT to go wrong”. Please realize that he is saying Jesus knew by experience. I again want to compare a few Ellen White quotes with this statement. The first is from 1888 Materials pg. 538. “...as we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ we have a power and a strength that is imparted unto us, and we will not WANT to sin.” “...we will not WANT to sin”. Again, I believe there is no way these two quotes can be made to harmonize. Here are a few more to consider. “Never before had there been a being upon the earth who hated sin with so perfect a hatred as did Christ.” 1SM-254. “...Never lived there another who so hated evil.” ED-79. Try to think of anything you have a “perfect” hatred for and then ask yourself if you “want” to do it. In 7BC-927, she says, “...the refined sensibilities of His holy nature rendered contact with evil unspeakably painful to Him.” Can you imagine “wanting” to do something that in just witnessing it you find “unspeakably painful”? She also says, “...as the sinless one His nature recoiled from evil.” SC-93, 94.

Please allow me to make one illustration. To me, one of the most sickening things I can think of is child sexual abuse. If there is anything I “hate with a perfect hatred”, “recoil” from, find “unspeakably painful”, it is this. I believe with all my heart that never in a million years would I for one second “WANT” to do this.

The second part of that quote I want to look at says, “He knew what it was like to feel the temptation to rebel against God, AND THAT TEMPTATION, AROSE FROM WITHIN HIS NATURE.” FACE to FACE, pg. 60. In Mount of Blessings, pg. 116, it says, “Temptation is enticement to sin, and this does not proceed from God, but from #1) from Satan and #2) from the evil of our own hearts.” I find Priebe’s quote very disturbing in the light of this quote. Now coming from a different aspect is this quote, “The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from WITHIN.” AA-551. Once again I find a serious conflict between what Ellen White says and what Priebe says.

On pg. 59, Priebe says, “Are not our problems basically self and pride and the desire that come from our fallen nature? Do we not fall most often because of the inner desire that lead us astray? If Jesus did not have any of these, could it really be true that He was tempted in all points as we are?” This quote is absolutely incredible! And I thank God that he chose the specific words that he did – SELF and PRIDE.

Please compare his statement with the following six quotes:

1). “So utterly was Christ emptied of SELF that He made no plans for Himself.”
DA-208.
2). “The drunkard is despised and is told that his sin will exclude him from
heaven; while PRIDE, selfishness, and covetousness too often go unrebuked.
But these are sins that are especially offense to God; for they are contrary
to the benevolence of His character, to that unselfish love which is the
very atmosphere of the unfallen universe.” SC-30.
3). “The divine love ruling in the heart EXTERMINATES PRIDE and selfishness.”
5T-168.
4). “Human nature is ever struggling for expression, ready for contest; but he
who learns of Christ is EMPTIED of SELF, of PRIDE, of love of supremacy,
and there is silence in the soul.” MB-15.
5). “PRIDE, ambition, deceit, hatred, selfishness, must be cleansed from the
heart.” 5T-175.
6). “It was the PRIDE and ambition cherished in the heart of Satan that
banished him from heaven. These evils are deeply rooted in our fallen
nature, and if not REMOVED they will overshadow every good and noble
quality and bring forth envy and strife as their baleful fruits.” 5T-242.

There is one more very important point which must be examined. It concerns what Christ inherited by nature. Priebe is very correct in opposing the New Theology teaching that Christ came with an unfallen nature or the nature of Adam before the fall. But in doing this he makes some very grave mistakes. On pg. 55, he says, “If Jesus’ life is to have any meaning as an example for us, then it is crucial that He inherit just what I inherit.” In his own book, Priebe says, “We do inherit BADNESS, weakness, and CORRUPTION from Adam.” Pg. 27. Again Priebe says on pg. 55, “...it is, crucial that He inherit just what I inherit.” Ellen White says,”...Because of sin his (Adam’s) posterity was BORN with PROPENSITIES OF DISOBEDIENCE. But Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God...not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity.” BC-1128. Ellen White clearly teaches WE INHERIT evil propensities, in the same paragraph she contrasts Christ with us and she says He did not inherit evil propensities.” On pg. 54, he says, “The crucial point is that a sinful propensity is permitted to develop from our INHERITED bent to evil. Jesus never developed such sinful propensities.” And on pg. 55, is the sentence, “If Jesus’ life is to have any meaning as an example for us, then it is CRUCIAL that He inherit JUST what I inherit.” Please reread those last two quotes very closely. Priebe is clearly and openly teaching that Jesus Christ had a bent to evil. Please give this point some very serious thought and study. How you stand on it is absolutely critical. Remember, “He is the Pattern Man.” 7BC-970.