There is no excuse for any to retain selfishness. {GCB, October 1, 1899 par. 5}

None of us need excuse our hasty temper, our misshapen characters, our selfishness, envy, jealousy, or any impurity of soul, body, or spirit. God has called us to glory and virtue. We are to obey the call. {RH, April 24, 1900 par. 4}

Why, then, do so many insist people who experience conversion retain certain selfish traits and tendencies and ignorantly act them out in cherished thoughts and feelings, words and deeds?

What do you mean by - coexist? How so? When believers are consciously walking in the Spirit and in the mind of the new man - Does the old man mind act out on its own? Does it have thoughts and feelings of its own? Does it speak and act out unholy deeds on its own? If so, are believers accountable? Does God count them guilty of sinning?

What do you mean by - the propensities to sin are in the old man carnal mind? Do believers retain sinful propensities after they experience conversion in God's appointed way? If so, does God count them guilty of sinning? What about the following inspired insight:

We must realize that through belief in him it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity. Christ is the sin-bearer; John pointed the people to him, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." {RH, April 24, 1900 par. 6}

"He that lacketh these things is blind, and can not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." This is a description of a professed Christian who lives a life of sin. He grieves the Lord Jesus, and puts him to open shame because he manifests a character after the similitude of Satan. He retains the same objectionable traits of character that he had before he claimed to have received Christ. Indulging his corrupt tendencies, he forgets to be a doer of the Word. He does not eat the flesh nor drink the blood of the Son of God. He does not practice Christ's words nor do his works. {RH, May 1, 1900 par. 2}

We are to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. Then we shall be men and women of faith and prayer and power. There is a great work to be done. The heart must be faithfully sentineled, else pride and rebellion will bear rule within. Evils without will awaken evils within, and the soul will wander in its own homemade fog, all the time charging upon some one else the result of its own unchristian course of action. {RH, May 1, 1900 par. 6}

By manifesting Christlike love we present to the world the credentials that God sent his Son to this earth to save the human race. It is our privilege so fully to partake of the divine nature that we may be one with Christ as he is one with the Father. When this is so, Christ can confess us before God and before the heavenly angels. {RH, May 1, 1900 par. 8}

The Lord Jesus came to earth that he might recreate the image of God in man. He says to the repenting sinner, "A new heart will I give you." "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." He who abides in Christ, and has Christ abiding in his heart by faith, cannot retain the same unlovely traits of character as were made manifest in his life before he had a connection with Christ. Christ came to save men from their sins, not in their sins. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." "We then as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." {ST, August 21, 1893 par. 2}

Christ came to the world that we might become new creatures, created after the similitude of his own character; that we might have purity like the purity of God, have perfection like his perfection. In the work of regeneration, the original loveliness begins to be restored. The attributes of the character of Christ are imparted to the soul, and the image of the divine begins to shine forth. "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." It is plainly declared that a change takes place in the character of the human agent. {ST, August 21, 1893 par. 3}

Those who retain the grosser traits of character, who continue to reveal human defects in their words and disposition, bear testimony that they are not eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God. {SD 299.5}

But if our words and actions are unChristlike; if the spirit we cherish is not helpful; if we retain the old, unsavory traits of character . . . we are as salt which has lost its savor--good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden underfoot as valueless. {TDG 201.4}

Students, God will help you; but you must not think that you can retain the unchristlike traits of character that you naturally possess. {GH, June 1, 1904 par. 16}

If you do these things, you do well.

///

I'm glad you approve. BTW, that is standard SDA doctrine, which you argue against.

Unfortunately that is not what you were saying, as is clear in the quote below:


As you can see, you were just uttering empty ideas like "Our very flesh He has saved at an infinite cost" and "the atonement of Christ ... is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health."

But Jesus said if WE do something, i.e. "eat his flesh and drink his blood", HE will save us. In other words, there is NO magical connection between the cross about 2,000 years ago and your flesh, as you supposed. Rather, you must know the truth and do it, period.

///

Hmmmmm. A couple of things:
1. Check the source of your citation.
2. You still don't understand at-one-ment.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by His mercy He saves us.

Jesus cannot apply the benefits of His blood (atonement) for believers who retain any of their selfish, objectionable traits of character.

He who abides in Christ, and has Christ abiding in his heart by faith, cannot retain the same unlovely traits of character as were made manifest in his life before he had a connection with Christ. Christ came to save men from their sins, not in their sins. {ST, August 21, 1893 par. 2}

But while God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ's righteousness while practicing known sins or neglecting known duties. God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul. {FW 100.1}

There is no excuse for any to retain selfishness. {GCB, October 1, 1899 par. 5}

None of us need excuse our hasty temper, our misshapen characters, our selfishness, envy, jealousy, or any impurity of soul, body, or spirit. God has called us to glory and virtue. We are to obey the call. {RH, April 24, 1900 par. 4}

If you have become estranged and have failed to be Bible Christians, be converted; for the character you bear in probationary time will be the character you will have at the coming of Christ. If you would be a saint in heaven, you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. {AH 16.2}

Each soul inherits certain un-Christlike traits of character. It is the grand and noble work of a lifetime to keep under control these tendencies to wrong. It is the little things that cross our path that are likely to cause us to lose our power of self-control. {CTr 170.6}

We cannot, with our unconverted traits of character, drift into heaven. {CTr 214.3}

The word of God often comes in collision with man's hereditary and cultivated traits of character and his habits of life. But the good-ground hearer, in receiving the word, accepts all its conditions and requirements. His habits, customs, and practices are brought into submission to God's word. {COL 60.3}

The leaven hidden in the flour works invisibly to bring the whole mass under its leavening process; so the leaven of truth works secretly, silently, steadily, to transform the soul. The natural inclinations are softened and subdued. New thoughts, new feelings, new motives, are implanted. A new standard of character is set up--the life of Christ. The mind is changed; the faculties are roused to action in new lines. Man is not endowed with new faculties, but the faculties he has are sanctified. The conscience is awakened. We are endowed with traits of character that enable us to do service for God. {COL 98.3}

Fear lest your will shall not be held in subjection to Christ's will, lest your hereditary and cultivated traits of character shall control your life. {COL 161.1}

Under [Christ's] constraining discipline, do old traits of character, not in conformity to the will of God, pass away and the opposite take their place? "A new heart also will I give you." [Ezekiel 36:26.] Have all things become new through your conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ? {CE 148.2}

Regeneration is the only path by which we can enter the city of God. It is narrow, and the gate by which we enter is strait; but along it we are to lead men and women and children, teaching them that, in order to be saved, they must have a new heart and a new spirit. The old, hereditary traits of character must be overcome. The natural desires of the soul must be changed. All deception, all falsifying, all evilspeaking, must be put away. The new life, which makes men and women Christlike, is to be lived. {CCh 59.3}

Besetting sins must be battled with and overcome. Objectionable traits of character, whether hereditary or cultivated, must be compared with the great rule of righteousness, and then conquered in the strength of Christ. Day by day, hour by hour, a vigorous work of self-denial and of sanctification must go on within; then the works will bear witness that Jesus is abiding in the heart by faith. {CT 449.1}

A man may seem to receive the truth, but if he does not overcome his un-Christlike traits of character, these thorns grow and strengthen, killing the precious graces of the Spirit. The thorns in the heart must be uprooted and cast out, for good and evil cannot grow in the heart at the same time. Unsanctified human inclinations and desires must be cut away from the life as hindrances to Christian growth. {Ev 347.2}

Natural and hereditary traits of character will be transformed. The indwelling of His Spirit will enable them to reveal Christ's likeness, and in proportion to the purity of their piety will be the success of their work. {AG 263.3}

Every one who accepts the present truth should make the fullest possible surrender of himself to God. He should fall upon the Rock, and be broken. Old habits, hereditary and cultivated traits of character, must all be broken up; we must yield ourselves to be moulded by the divine Spirit if we would become vessels unto honor. Do not seek to conform the truth to your peculiarities and imperfections. But as the Comforter shall come, and reprove you of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, be careful lest you resist the Spirit, and be left in darkness. Be willing to see your errors and yield up your self-will. Submit yourself to God, that he may work in you to will and to do according to his good pleasure. {GW92 311.2}

If you would be a saint in heaven you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. Defects of character must be repented of and overcome through the grace of Christ, and a symmetrical character must be formed while in this probationary state, that we may be fitted for the mansions above. {LDE 295.1}

The religion of Christ is not what many think it is, nor what their lives represent it to be. The love of God in the soul will have a direct influence upon the life, and will call the intellect and the affections into active, healthful exercise. The child of God will not rest satisfied until he is clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and sustained by His life-giving power. When he sees a weakness in his character, it is not enough to confess it again and again; he must go to work with determination and energy to overcome his defects by building up opposite traits of character. He will not shun this work because it is difficult. Untiring energy is required of the Christian; but he is not obliged to work in his own strength; divine power awaits his demand. Everyone who is sincerely striving for the victory over self will appropriate the promise, "My grace is sufficient for thee" {LHU 367.5}

Some have strong traits of character, that will need to be constantly repressed. If kept under the control of the Spirit of God, these traits will be a blessing; but if not, they will prove a curse. {ML 316.4}