Bump for Rosangela.

Well, to me it's a sin and its source can only be vanity, so her motives can only be sinful. But does she know it? She probably hasn't yet seen things in this light. You don't seem to be sure about this yourself.
Don't you think there are things in our lives that we didn't see as sins for a period but that from a certain moment onward we began to see as sins?
For instance, there was a time in my life I didn't see self-pity as a sin. God brought me to a circumstance which showed me self-pity as part of my character. I had a vague notion it was sinful, but since I was suffering I thought I had the right to indulge it. Today I see it as a sin in a way I didn't see before, but it took me some years to really come to see things in this light.
How would you classify this kind of sin?

I don't think Christ had defects of character that He must correct.

A few paragraphs before the quote you posted, Ellen White says,

"The Lord in His providence brings men where He can test their moral powers and reveal their motives of action, that they may improve what is right in themselves and put away that which is wrong." {4T 84.4}

So, I think in Christ's case God brought Him to trial that He might improve what was right, not that He might put away what was wrong.

Hebrews 5:8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

I'm not so sure using a little makeup is vanity. And self-pity, depending on the form it takes, can be healthy. Paul seemed to write about it regarding himself. "I am the chief of sinners. I am the least of the least." Yes, taken to too far, both makeup and self-pity can be sinful.

Why are we ignorant of certain sinful habits and behaviors? is it because the Holy Spirit has not revealed it to us yet?

R: I don't think Christ had defects of character that He must correct.

MM: It depends on how you define it, right? Jesus grew in grace and in knowledge, which means He matured. He also inherited fallen traits of character, which He did not nurture or turn into character. Like all of us, He inherited things that war against the Spirit and mind of the new man. Jesus also learned new and better ways to do things as He grew and matured in the fruits of the Spirit. For example, He did not remain a child, so He didn't relate to the world around Him as a child. Had He not matured it would have been sinful to relate to the world as a child. But He grew up and changed so He wasn't guilty of sin.

Well, any woman knows how makeup and jewelry enhance the beauty and attract admiration or notice, specially of the opposite sex, and of course this is only for the gratification of vanity. I know, because I was not born a Christian, and I still admire women who know how to use makeup and jewelry with good taste. A little touch can do wonders.


Healthy? Self-pity is never healthy, and it wasn't healthy to me. Self-pity is very different from being conscious of one's lack of intrinsic worth, which is what Paul demonstrated.


No, because our mind is still somewhat clouded and isn't able to apprehend what He is trying to communicate.


?
Immature people are those who exhibit in the adult life the negative traits of children, that is, their selfishness. But Jesus was never selfish, either as a child or as an adult.

Is God really that incapable of getting through to people? Could it be that they are unwilling, rather than unable, to hear His voice because they are too busy doing something else, too dull of hearing, too dull of understanding? "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin." (John 15:22)

Matthew
13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
13:16 But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.


I am referring to the childish things children do which are acceptable for children but not for adults. I am not talking about the selfishness children naturally exhibit. Jesus did the innocent things children do, things which are acceptable for children but not acceptable for adults. In this sense Jesus grew and matured. For example, while assisting Joseph in the shop, Jesus would have done His very best as a child, which would have been perfect for a child but not perfect for an adult.

This is a bit of an unfortunate response. No one is suggesting that a person's ignorance is due to a lack of competence on God's part.

Our minds work in certain ways. It takes time for certain ways of thought to change. When one is accustomed to think in a certain way, it can be very difficult for the mind to think of things in a different way. If we were robots, God could just zap something, and our thought processes would change. But we're not. God has to work with our perceptions such as they are, and make appeals to us that we can understand. Indeed, it's rather amazing that God can make any progress at all.

TE: No one is suggesting that a person's ignorance is due to a lack of competence on God's part.

MM: How long does it take a person to understand what God is trying to communicate to them? Are ingrained habits really the source of one's inability to grasp what God is clearly telling them? Please post inspired statements to support this idea. Thank you.

The following insights do not encourage me to agree with your observations. God does not hold back revealing certain truths because it would be too painful. He lays it out clearly and plainly. There is no room for doubt or confusion. The only question is - This is the way, will ye walk therein?

SC 29
One ray of the glory of God, one gleam of the purity of Christ, penetrating the soul, makes every spot of defilement painfully distinct, and lays bare the deformity and defects of the human character. It makes apparent the unhallowed desires, the infidelity of the heart, the impurity of the lips. The sinner's acts of disloyalty in making void the law of God, are exposed to his sight, and his spirit is stricken and afflicted under the searching influence of the Spirit of God. He loathes himself as he views the pure, spotless character of Christ. {SC 29.1}

Ok, but how would you classify then Peter's prejudice, the use of makeup by that girl, and my self-pity? In other words, things that you didn't see as sins for a time but afterwards came to regard as such?