can sinful nature, tendencies be changed ?

-

 Yes, according to the sources, sinful nature and tendencies can be changed, though it requires a profound, continuous work involving both divine power and human cooperation.

Here's how the sources explain this transformation:

  • The Nature of the Sinful Condition:

    • Man was originally created perfect, in God's image, with pure thoughts and holy aims, and in harmony with God's law.
    • However, through disobedience (the original transgression), human powers were perverted, and selfishness replaced love, leading to a weakened and corrupted nature. This perverted nature is often referred to as the "carnal mind," which is "enmity against God" and "not subject to the law of God".
    • This "natural inclination" or "sinful nature" is the source from which specific "transgressions" spring.

  • The Possibility of Change – A "New Birth":

    • Man's condition through sin is "preternatural" or "unnatural," requiring a supernatural power to restore him.
    • This transforming power is God's grace in Jesus Christ.
    • Through the "new birth," the heart is renewed by divine grace and brought into harmony with God's law. This implants a "new principle of life" and restores the "lost image of God".
    • The "refining influence of the grace of God changes the natural disposition of man".

  • How the Transformation Occurs (Human Role and Divine Aid):

    • Cooperation with God: While human effort alone is insufficient, man must choose to cooperate with God. God works in us, and we are to "work out" our salvation.
    • Surrender of the Will: The will, which was given over to Satan at the Fall, must be yielded to Christ. This choice to serve God brings divine strength.
    • Daily, Lifelong Effort: Sanctification and character transformation are not "the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime". It requires "constant watchfulness and prayer" and "persevering efforts".
    • Focus on Mind and Heart: The work of transformation begins in the heart, purifying its springs and changing thought patterns. The mind, affections, and all faculties are to be disciplined, trained, and brought into subjection to Christ.
    • Specific Practices: This includes reforming physical habits and controlling appetite and passions, as these significantly impact mental and moral strength.
    • Overcoming Specific Defects: This work involves conquering individual sins and "objectionable traits of character," whether "hereditary or cultivated".
    • Beholding Christ: By studying the life and character of Jesus and meditating on heavenly themes, the mind is transformed, and one becomes "changed into the same image".

  • The Consequences of Not Changing:

    • If sinful habits and traits are not overcome, they will strengthen by indulgence and lead to greater spiritual weakness, moral depravity, and eventually "ruin for this world and for the world to come".
    • Impossibility of Entering Heaven with Unchanged Nature: Heaven is pure and holy, and those with "old tastes, inclinations, idols, ideas, and theories" or who are "carnally minded" would find nothing congenial there. "One spot, one wrinkle, one defect in the character, will forever debar them from heaven".

In conclusion, while humanity inherently possesses a sinful nature due to the Fall, this nature and its accompanying tendencies are not immutable. Through a continuous process of conversion and sanctification, powered by God's grace and human will, individuals can overcome these inherent and cultivated defects, becoming transformed into the likeness of Christ and fitted for a life of holiness and heaven. The sources strongly emphasize that denying one's ability to change by excusing defects as "natural" is a "terrible admission" and a "delusion" that will lead to perdition.

Popular posts from this blog

Wearing Makeup -- Related Quotes from Bible and EGW Writings

-
Image
Wearing Makeup -- Related Quotes from Bible and EGW Writings Lev 19:28 Ye shall not ... print any marks upon you : I am the LORD. Jer 4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting , in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. 1Pet 3:3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 1Pet 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit , which is in the sight of God of great price . 2Ki 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face , and tired her head, and looked out at a window. 1Tim 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel , with shamefa...
Read more

Sabbath Cooking Excuses Investigated

-
Image
Sabbath Cooking Excuses Investigated Copyright 2016 Winelfred G. Pasamba Foreword "God means that testing truth shall be brought to the front, and become a subject of examination and discussion, even if it is through the contempt placed upon it. The minds of the people must be agitated. Every controversy, every reproach, every slander, will be God's means of provoking inquiry, and awakening minds that otherwise would slumber."—Testimonies for the Church 5:453. ChS 159.2 This is a very difficult, very shaking, very testing, very new and controversial (for many who are not oriented) topic and I request the readers not go to Chapter 3 & 4 unless they have read Chapter 1 & 2.  If you go directly to Chapter 3, you probably will be highly uncomfortable if you have no testimony of avoiding cooking on the Sabbath. Readers need utter humility and gratitude-to-God, for this material not to offend them.  Love for God must be more than love for food, love for comfo...
Read more

Cooking on Sabbath for Seventh-day Adventists - Bible, EGW/SOP, Church Documents

-
Image
Cooking on Sabbath for Seventh-day Adventists - Bible, EGW/SOP, Church Documents Bible Manna in Exodus  “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe ; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.”  16:27 (NIV)  Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.   28  Then the  Lord  said to Moses, “ How long will you [ c ]  refuse to keep my commands  and my instructions?   29  Bear in mind that the  Lord  has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. (2025)  https://biblehub.com/exodus/16-23.htm SOP / EGW Those who neglect to prepare for the Sabbath on the sixth day, and who cook food upon the Sabbath, violate the fourth commandment, and are transgressors of God's law . All who are really anxious to ob...
Read more