Eph 986-991 1/22/89; 946ff

DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIAN DEGENERACY

A. Definition.

1. Degeneracy is the decline to false or inferior standards, accompanied by loss of integrity and sinking into the subnormal status of fragmentation and reversionism. Degeneracy is the process of passing from the higher to the lower; to decline progressively.

2. Degeneracy is decline from the superior standards of the protocol plan of God to the inferior standards related to fragmentation, reversionism, and cosmic involvement.

3. There are two categories of degeneracy:

a. Moral degeneracy related to the sin nature trend toward self- righteous arrogance, which is classified as polarized legalism.

b. Immoral degeneracy related to the sin nature trend toward lascivious lawlessness, which is classified as polarized antinomianism.

4. Degeneracy is the loss of integrity resulting in passing from a higher to a lower level of modus operandi and modus vivendi.

B. Biblical Documentation for Degeneracy, Eph 4:22. “With reference to your former lifestyle [as a believer], you yourselves lay aside [rebound] the old man [old sin nature], you who are becoming degenerate on the basis of the lusts of deceit.”

C. The Pattern of Christian Degeneracy: Implosion, Explosion, Reversionism. (See the doctrine of Fragmentation.)

1. Integrity as an engineering term refers to anything in a quality or state of being complete, unmarred and unimpaired in its condition. Integrity means entire. It means the pressure on the inside is equal to the pressure on the outside. In the Christian life we are in a state of integrity inside the operational divine dynasphere. When we succumb to temptation from the sin nature, this breaks the integrity envelop and implosion occurs. The believer in fellowship is protected by the virtue envelop.

2. Implosion means to burst inwardly, hence to sin. We implode by penetrating the inside of our integrity envelop with a greater pressure outside, forcing an inward burst. Therefore, implosion is used to depict the believer succumbing to the pressures of temptation from his old sin nature. Implosion is analogous to self-fragmentation. Implosion is the inward burst which projects its fragments in the direction of the sin nature trend. Implosion, if unchecked by the rebound technique, moves to explosion, an outward burst into the stages of reversionism.

3. Explosion means to burst outwardly or to fragment. Explosion is movement toward one of the trends of the old sin nature, and results in reversion. This is polarized fragmentation. If unchecked by rebound, the believer declines progressively through the eight stages of reversionism. The pin of the grenade is any one of the mental attitude sins.

4. Reversion means to decline in eight stages until you reach complete moral or immoral degeneracy. In reversionism, the believer deteriorates progressively from one stage to another until he is completely degenerate.

a. The trend of the old sin nature toward legalism, when fulfilled through reversionism, leads to moral degeneracy.

b. The trend of the old sin nature toward antinomianism, when fulfilled through reversionism, leads to immoral degeneracy.

c. Degeneracy does not begin until stage five. In stage five, negative volition, you cannot distinguish a believer from an unbeliever in their thinking. In stage seven, scar tissue of the soul, you cannot distinguish the believer from the unbeliever in their modus operandi.

D. Implosion.

1. The synonym for implosion is self-fragmentation.

2. Self-fragmentation means that every believer has an old sin nature and is a walking grenade. When you pull the pin of the grenade it fragments or explodes. Implosion is succumbing to the temptations of the sin nature.

3. The pin of the grenade includes all of the sins of the arrogance complex. When you pull the pin, you frag yourself.

4. Unless self-fragmentation is checked, it leads to polarized fragmentation. Polarized fragmentation is related to the trends of the sin nature.

a. The trend toward self-righteous arrogance, or polarized legalism.

b. The trend toward lascivious lawlessness, or polarized antinomianism.

5. The implosion of self-righteous arrogance is described in many passages.

a. Prov 11:2, “When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor; but with the humble is wisdom.”

b. Prov 16:18, “Arrogance precedes degeneracy, and before a fall, a lifestyle of arrogance.”

c. Prov 29:23, “A person’s arrogance will bring him low, but a lifestyle of humility will attain honor.”

d. Jas 4:6, “He gives greater grace, and this is why the Scripture says, `God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble.’”

e. Jas 3:14-16, “If you have bitter jealousy and inordinate ambition in your right lobe, stop being arrogant and stop lying against the truth. This pseudo-wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and inordinate ambition exists, there is disorder and every evil deed.”

f. 1 Pet 5:5-6, “[Prov 3:34] `God makes war against the arrogant, but He gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, humble yourselves under the powerful hand of God that He may promote you at the proper time.”

E. Explosion.

1. The transition from implosion to explosion.

a. The believer in fellowship with God is protected by a virtue envelop - the operational divine dynasphere.

b. The virtue envelop can only be penetrated when the believer uses his own volition to succumb to the temptations of the sin nature.

c. Once volition originates the sin, implosion occurs, the inward burst that removes the believer from the filling of the Spirit.

d. Once outside the divine dynasphere, the believer moves toward the current trend of his sin nature. The trend can change depending upon the influence of others.

e. The old sin nature has two antithetical trends.

(1) The trend toward self-righteous arrogance, which we call legalism.

(2) The trend toward lascivious-lawlessness, which we call antinomianism.

f. If these trends are unchecked by the use of the rebound technique and other problem solving devices, the believer will move from implosion to explosion.

g. This move is synonymous with going from self-fragmentation to polarized fragmentation.

2. Explosion or fragmentation results from a series of bad decisions from a position of weakness. Explosion is the second step toward Christian degeneracy. Explosion is synonymous with polarized fragmentation.

3. Fragmentation occurs in six categories.

a. Self-fragmentation, synonymous with implosion.

b. Polarized fragmentation.

c. The fragmentation of subjective arrogance in two categories.

(1) Unrealistic expectation is subjective preoccupation with self. You are not loved the way you want to be loved, or treated the way you want to be treated.

(2) Role model arrogance is subjective preoccupation with others.

d. Human relationship fragmentation refers to the problems which occur in Christian fellowship.

e. Emotional fragmentation includes fear, worry, anxiety, hatred, anger, and bitterness.

f. God relationship fragmentation.

(1) The believer becomes a loser through ignorance of the will, plan, and purpose of God.

(2) The believer functions under the principle of man dependence taking precedence over God dependence.

(3) The believer fails to learn the problem solving devices for the protocol plan of God.

(4) The believer fails to understand and apply the unique characteristics of the Church Age.

(5) The believer fails to execute the protocol plan of God through lack of consistency in post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation.

4. Co-terminus with fragmentation and reversionism is involvement in the cosmic system.

F. Legalism Explosion or Moral Degeneracy.

1. The polarized trend toward legalism is characterized by self- righteous arrogance.

a. Self-righteous arrogance is the motivation for judging other people. Antinomianism is the target for the legalist. The antinomian’s sins shock the legalist, so that he insists the antinomian believer was never really saved.

(1) Moral degeneracy judges, slanders, and maligns other believers.

(2) Judgment arrogance of moral degeneracy sets aside God as the judge of the believer and superimposes himself. The problem is that no believer ever knows all the facts.

(3) Judgment arrogance is the function of moral degeneracy. It originates from polarized fragmentation toward the trend toward legalism. It involves itself in all stages of reversionism.

b. Moral degeneracy is the function of judgment. This judgment is motivated by shock; e.g., shock at the sins of lascivious lawlessness. Therefore, the morally degenerate believer parlays that shock into false doctrine, such as salvation and spirituality by works. The attitude of polarized legalism toward antinomianism is the arrogance of assuming the divine prerogative of judgment. This means moral degeneracy has no understanding of freedom.

c. Rom 14:10-13, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it stands written, [Isa 43:25] `As I live,’ says the Lord, `every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall acknowledge the Lord.’ So then each one of us shall give an account of himself to the Lord. Therefore, do not judge one another anymore. But rather, determine this, not to put a stumbling block [obstacle] in a brother’s way.”

(1) If the Lord is judging us constantly, and will judge us in the future, what are believers doing judging other believers?

(2) This judgment of others goes on constantly because of moral degeneracy.

(3) Pastors, parents, and people in authority have the right to judge others, but that is not the subject addressed here.

(4) Moral degeneracy does not leave the matter in the Lord’s hands for judgment.

(5) Moral degeneracy has a predilection for judging others. And such judging is blasphemy because it assumes the prerogative of God in the administration of divine discipline.

(6) Such judging from moral degeneracy brings judgment and divine discipline to the one who is guilty of judging others. This is why moral degeneracy is the most heavily disciplined of all believers.

d. 2 Pet 2:12, “But these [moral degenerates], like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in their destruction also be destroyed.”

e. As the believer continues toward moral degeneracy, he has a predilection for judging others; and this judgment is tantamount to blasphemy. For it assumes the prerogative of God in the administration of divine discipline.

f. Matt 7:1-3, “Stop judging that you be not judged. For in the manner you judge, you will be judged; and by what measure you measure it out to others [verbal sins], it shall be measured back to you. And shy do you look at the speck of dust in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” You receive triple compound discipline:

(1) You are judged and disciplined by God for the mental attitude sin which motivated you to judge someone else.

(2) You are judged and disciplined by God for the verbal sin of slander, gossip, maligning, judging.

(3) You are judged and disciplined by God for the sins which you name or associate with someone else, whether the sins are real or imagined. (4) When you judge others, God removes the discipline from them and transfers it to the one doing the judging, maligning, slandering. If the person who was slandered is innocent, they receive blessing from God.

g. Self-righteous arrogance produces the following categories of legalism.

(1) Salvation by works.

(2) Spirituality by works, personality, taboos, dress, speech, etc.

(3) The vanity of the unique experience.

(4) The emphasis on human achievement rather than on what God has provided.

(5) Morality as a substitution for Christianity.

(6) Blessing from God through human good or dead works.

(7) Blessing from God through human achievement or self- sacrifice rather than grace.

(8) Spirituality through health food, vitamins, good diet.

(9) Spirituality through observing taboos, through mannerisms, dress, personality, speech.

h. Self-righteous arrogance is the motivation, while legalism is the function of pride.

2. Legalism is defined as the pomposity of the energy of the flesh, the blasphemy of substituting Christian works and service for the grace of God, the insolence of replacing grace with works, and the arrogant pretensions of fulfilling of God’s plan through human ability.

3. The ultimate arrogance of legalism is the conceited conclusion that Bible doctrine doesn’t work, and “the plan of God has failed because I have failed.” On the contrary, Bible doctrine explains the failure as well as the means of recovery.

4. Legalism or self-righteous arrogance concludes that the plan of God succeeds or fails on the basis of human works rather than divine provision.

5. Legalism establishes false standards and measures for spiritual success.

6. Legalism seeks to change others by imposing false standards on them. But you cannot change others; you can only change yourself.

7. The polarized trend toward legalism seeks to dominate people, policy, and authority in its periphery. Therefore, the polarized trend toward self-righteous arrogance produces a domineering believer, a bully who assumes that he is never wrong in human interaction.

8. Legalism is irrational, and is never satisfied until everyone in his periphery is a puppet dancing on a string to his tune of legalism.

9. Therefore, it is an easy step to go from polarized legalism to attacking the true grace teaching of the Word of God. Legalism makes two categories of attacks.

a. It attacks the grace subject matter of doctrine.

b. It attacks the grace communication of doctrine.

10. Self-righteous arrogance superimposes false concepts on the teaching of the Word of God and seeks to discredit the pastor who communicates it. Faith plus something added for salvation is a favorite of those in polarized legalism.

a. Tit 3:5, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but on the basis of His mercy by the washing [blotting out of our pre-salvation sins] of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

b. Jn 16:14, “Concerning sin because they do not believe in Me.” Nothing is added to this indictment. Unbelievers are not indicted for lack of works.

c. The Mosaic Law was used by Judaizers who persecuted Paul as a justification for their faith-plus theory. Therefore, Paul taught that salvation was by faith alone, Rom 3:20-22, 28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Jn 3:18.

d. In Lk 14:11, Jesus addressed this issue, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [disciplined], and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

11. The third and final step into moral degeneracy occurs as one moves into the eight stages of reversion. If this decline is unchecked by the rebound technique and the other problem solving devices, the believer with the legalistic trend will solidify in moral degeneracy.

12. Moral degeneracy is always motivated by arrogance. It ignores the principle that you cannot change others; you can only change yourself.

13. Divine omnipotence and human power are mutually exclusive. But moral degeneracy substitutes human ability and energy for the power of the Holy Spirit.

14. Moral degeneracy creates certain heresies.

a. Salvation by works.

b. Spirituality by works, including distorting morality into a system of spirituality.

c. Justifying sinful and evil action through distortion of morality into a system of tyranny.

d. Judging, maligning, slander, gossip; therefore, confusing the Mosaic Law with the Christian way of life.

e. Being anti-dispensational; therefore, confusing the Christian way of life with function in the Mosaic Law.

f. Moral degeneracy justifies Christian activism and civil disobedience under the principle that the means justifies the end.

g. Moral degeneracy seeks to impose on a national entity Christian laws, making all unbelievers criminals.

h. Moral degeneracy does not distinguish between Church and State, between the laws of divine establishment and the protocol plan of God.

15. Moral degeneracy not only advocates salvation by works, but confuses morality with spirituality.

a. Morality is the legal function of the laws of divine establishment, and is designed for believers and unbelievers alike.

b. Morality assumes temporal freedom to both believer and unbeliever. Morality is something the unbeliever can execute in the energy of the flesh. Morality means understanding temporal freedom and its execution.

16. Moral degeneracy does not recognize any category of human freedom. Moral degeneracy rejects temporal freedom for both believer and unbeliever under the laws of divine establishment. Spiritual freedom (residence, function and momentum inside the divine dynasphere) is also rejected.

a. The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life, and therefore, can only be executed by the power of the Spirit. It cannot be executed by morality. Morality is the basis for human freedom. But in the execution of God’s plan we go into something much higher than morality.

b. Anything the unbeliever can do is not a part of the Christian way of life. So while morality is the foundation for freedom, it is not a part of the protocol plan for the Church. The protocol plan produces something far greater than morality through the power of the Holy Spirit, called virtue.

17. Moral degeneracy cannot understand God’s grace or God’s policy, or the power of the Spirit-filled life.

18. Moral degeneracy seeks to establish tyranny over both believer and unbeliever alike, destroying the privacy, property, and life of others. Hence, moral degeneracy fulfills the concept that authority without freedom is tyranny. Moral degeneracy seeks to gain the power and authority to suppress all disagreement. Once moral degenerates gain power, they judge others for not accepting their false standards. 19. Polarized fragmentation leading to moral degeneracy has three basic results.

a. The manufacture of heresy and false doctrine.

b. The judgment of other believers for not accepting their false standards and false doctrine.

c. Using their power to superimpose their false standards and doctrines on others.

20. Moral degeneracy is when a nation begins to decline in the third cycle of discipline. The nation first declines economically because moral degeneracy has no orientation to how the laws of establishment function in an economy and under free enterprise.

21. One of the major problems in moral degeneracy is crossover polarization.

a. Crossover polarization refers to a change in the sin nature’s trend after salvation. For example, you may have been lascivious before salvation, but after salvation, because of association with other legalistic believers, you cross over in your sin nature trend and become a legalist.

b. There are several causes for crossover polarization.

(1) The church environment.

(2) Peer pressure.

(3) The problem of Christian fellowship.

G. Degeneracy and Blackout of the Soul.

1. Christian degeneracy is a state of ignorance as well as a state of experience or practice related to God relationship fragmentation and the blackout of the soul. Eph 4:18, “They have been darkened in their way of thinking, and they have been alienated from the life of God [the protocol plan] because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the scar tissue of their right lobes.” Ignorance of the mystery doctrine of the Church Age is a major factor in combining with fragmentation and reversion to produce Christian degeneracy.

2. Once you reach blackout of the soul, everything you have learned is forgotten. The vacuum in the left lobe draws in so much false doctrine that it completely blots out anything you might have learned that would be helpful.

3. The displacement of the true ideas of doctrine with the false ideas of false doctrine is gradual. You become degenerate gradually.

4. Christian degeneracy and the blackout of the soul is tantamount to God relationship fragmentation. Christian degeneracy is alienation from the protocol plan of God.

H. Historical Degeneracy and Scar Tissue of the Soul.

1. Where you have scar tissue of the soul you have no frame of reference, no memory center, no vocabulary storage, no categorical storage, no conscience that lines up with the Word of God.

2. Blackout of the soul plus scar tissue of the soul equals locked in Christian degeneracy and/or reverse process reversionism.

3. Scar tissue of the soul effects the right lobe of the soul. For believers, scar tissue of the soul results in malfunction of problem solving devices.

4. The mandate regarding scar tissue of the soul is given in 1 Jn 2:15. “Stop loving the cosmic system, or anything that is in the cosmic system. If anyone keeps loving the cosmic system, the love for the Father is not in him.”

5. The divine mandate of scar tissue of the soul as the enemy of evangelism is found in Jn 12:40. “He [Satan] has blinded their eyes [blackout of the soul]; he has hardened their right lobes [scar tissue of the soul], lest they should see with their eyes and perceive by means of the right lobe and receive conversion and I restore them.”

6. In 2 Pet 2:22, the unbeliever inside the cosmic system hears the gospel, shows momentary interest, and then rejects it. He is compared to the dog returning to his own vomit.

7. Scar tissue of the soul has eternal repercussions for the unbeliever. Rom 2:5, “But because of your hardness and unrepentant right lobe, you store up and accumulate wrath, even the manifestation of the just judgment of God.” Unbelievers have the wrath of God stored up in their subconscious mind.

8. The mechanics of scar tissue of the soul related to the unbeliever is described in 2 Thes 2:10-12. “And with every deception of evil for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved. And for this reason, God sends them a deluding influence so that they might believe the lie, in order that they all might be condemned in judgment who do not believe the truth, but take pleasure in wrongdoing.” The deluding influence came from their own bad decisions from a position of weakness.

9. The first generation of Jews developed scar tissue of the soul, Ps 95:8, “Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah.”

a. The Meribah Revolution was a result of a maximum number of Jewish believers in the Exodus generation falling into reversionism. Therefore, their function of the faith-rest drill was superseded by scar tissue of the soul.

b. At Meribah, scar tissue of the soul expressed itself in Ex 17:3. “But the people thirsted there [Meribah] for water, and complained against Moses and said, `Why have you brought us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?’” These people were irrational because of their degeneracy.

c. The provision of water was a matter of logistical grace, and it would be provided to them as losers involved in scar tissue of the soul.

10. There are two great historical examples of scar tissue of the soul.

a. Rom 9:17, “For the Scripture [Ex 9:16] says to Pharaoh, `I have caused you to continue in history in order that I might demonstrate My power by means of you, and that My person might be proclaimed throughout the entire earth.’”

(1) Ex 9:12-16 is the background for this quotation. Ex 9:12, “And the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not listen to them [Moses and Aaron], just as the Lord had predicted to Moses. . . I have established you that I might demonstrate My power by means of you, and that My person may be proclaimed throughout the entire earth.”

(2) In each of the first five plagues, Scripture says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, Ex 7:13. But in the last five plagues, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. This means that the Lord permitted him to stay alive even though he should have died by now through divine discipline. Pharaoh broke the world record for negative volition. God permitted him to say “No!" five more times: Ex 9:12; 10:1,20,27; 11:10; 14:8.

(3) God used to scar tissue of Pharaoh’s soul to demonstrate His power and to evangelize the world. God did not coerce him to say “No."

(4) Human resistance to God’s plan and will always reveals the power of God. When great human resistance exists, it is always followed by worldwide evangelism. Rom 1:20.

(5) Why did God preserve the life of Pharaoh? To demonstrate that divine power is infinitely greater than any human power. Pharaoh had great human power, which he distorted.

(a) All the power of the world was used to hinder the formation of the first client nation to God. Yet God’s power was greater. There is no system of degeneracy that can ever hinder God’s plan. The negative volition of Pharaoh only advanced the plan of God.

(b) The more Pharaoh used his power to resist the will of God, the greater the demonstration of divine power to overcome the world record in scar tissue of the soul.

(d) God kept Pharaoh alive to demonstrate His power. The extension of Pharaoh’s life by divine decree is expressed in the principle, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”

(e) In breaking the record for scar tissue of the soul, Pharaoh provided the means for the evangelization of his own empire and the entire world. Even forty-five years later, Rahab the ex-prostitute testifies that she was saved through the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, Josh 2:10-11.

(f) The greater the expression of Pharaoh’s scar tissue, arrogance, and degeneracy, the greater the expression of God’s power.

(6) Pharaoh had many opportunities to reverse his negative volition: Ex 7:22; 8:15,32; 9:34-35; 10:16-17. Every message of truth and demonstration of divine power was unimpressive to Pharaoh because of scar tissue of the soul and only intensified his negative volition.

(7) Scar tissue of the soul says “No” to God, and every time it does, it strengthens the scar tissue until you have reverse process reversionism and you cannot change your own mind. The only thing that can break through scar tissue is the gospel.

(8) In historic fragmentation both trends of the sin nature are functioning so that there is both great antinomianism and great legalism. Pharaoh was in historical degeneracy. Other examples: Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Philip II of Spain.

(9) Even after God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, he could still have been saved, Ex 9:27. He recognized his status quo of evil, but would not believe in Christ. No one is saved by admitting they have sinned. Ex 10:17-18.

(10) Ps 76:10 was not only fulfilled then, but is fulfilled in every generation. God uses the wrath of man to praise Him. 1 Jn 4:4, “Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.”

(11) God did not create evil in Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s volition created his own degeneracy. From his own free will, he became what he was. God used Pharaoh’s self-made scar tissue of the soul and degeneracy to fulfill His will plan and purpose.

(12) The divine plan in the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was threefold.

(a) Liberation of the Jews from slavery to form the first client nation.

(b) The evangelization of Egypt, Ex 7:3-5.

© The evangelization of the world, Ex 9:16 cf. Rom 9:17. Paul quotes this to prove that the Jews living during the first advent and the first generation of Jews in the Church Age had broken Pharaoh’s record of scar tissue of the soul.

(13) Pharaoh demonstrated that the distorted power of historical degeneracy can never compete with divine power.

b. The Jews during the Incarnation of our Lord broke Pharaoh’s record for scar tissue of the soul!

(1) Rev 1:8, “`I am Alpha and Omega’ says the Lord the God, `who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

(a) Alpha refers to Jesus Christ as eternal God. The deity of Christ is His Alpha glory.

(b) Omega refers to Jesus Christ as the God-man in hypostatic union. The Omega glory of Christ is His uniqueness as the God- man, His saving work on the cross, and award of His third royal patent.

(2) Deut 6:4-6. “Hear, O Israel, Jesus Christ is our God [Alpha glory]; Jesus Christ is unique [Omega glory].” This was the statement of the hypostatic union in the Old Testament. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your right lobe, and with all your soul and with all your power. And these doctrines which I am commanding you today shall be in your right lobe.”

(a) As the God-man in His Omega glory, Jesus Christ controls history. Historical blessing or disaster depends on historical trends, which is determined by attitude toward doctrine.

(b) A reverse pivot of negative believers means a maximum number of believers involved in degeneracy and reversionism. When this occurs you always have a holocaust. Scar tissue of the soul results in holocaust. These tragedies come from human self-determination on the victim’s part.

(3) The Jews accept the Alpha glory of Jesus Christ. They believe there is a God of Israel. But they have rejected the Omega glory of our Lord. They reject the God-man Jesus Christ as the Savior of Israel. They accept the Alpha glory in their left lobe, but reject the Omega glory in their right lobe.

(4) So the world record for negative volition toward the gospel and Jesus Christ resulting in maximum scar tissue of the soul is the Jewish race during the first advent of Christ. This was a combination of historical and religious scar tissue of the soul.

(5) Paul testified to this problem with the Jews in Rom 9:1- 6. “I am communicating doctrine — I am not lying, my conscience bearing joint testimony with me in the Holy Spirit — that I have a great sorrow and constant pain in my right lobe. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to earthly decent, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the Shekinah glory and the covenants and the gift of the Law and the worship and the promises, from whom are the fathers [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob], in fact from whom is the Christ [Omega glory], the one who came in the flesh, ruler over all, eulogized forever. Amen. However, this is not to imply that the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” Being a racial Jew does not make one true Israel. For Israel was founded on regeneration, not just a new racial species.

(6) Rom 11:7-12, “Therefore to what conclusion are we forced? What Israel is constantly seeking [salvation], it did not obtain, but the elect [Jews] have obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it stands written, `The God gave them a spirit of stupor [blackout of the soul plus scar tissue of the soul], eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.’ Also David says [Ps 69:22-23], `Let their table [doctrine - spiritual food] become a snare and a trap, and a stumbling block, and so for a retribution [holocaust] to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever.’ I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? Definitely not! But by their apostasy [religious degeneracy] the salvation message belongs to the Gentiles, in order that they may be stimulated to emulation. Now if their apostasy became the riches of the world and if their failure became the riches of the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment [restoration at Second Advent] be!”

(a) No one will ever break this record of scar tissue of the soul by the Jews.

(b) Negative volition continually stumbles over the rock, Jesus Christ.

© The Jews are in slavery to this principle because of their own negative volition. They “bend their backs forever” as unbelievers in the Lake of Fire. During history they will always suffer as long as they are negative to the gospel.

(7) Why holocausts?

(a) There have been many holocausts against the Jews, at least one each century. It happens all the time because of their blackout and scar tissue of the soul.

(b) The trend toward religious legalism often leads to religious degeneracy. The trend toward antinomianism often leads to historical degeneracy. Historical degeneracy always persecutes religious degeneracy, except where religious degeneracy possesses political or historical power as the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.

© Every time there is a combination of religious degeneracy among the Jews (rejection of Christ) and historical degeneracy in a powerful nation, a holocaust occurs. When enough Jews are in religious degeneracy, and there exists a power on the earth that is in historical degeneracy abusing their power, there will be persecution of the Jews.

(d) During the Church Age, religious degeneracy among the Jews is persecuted by historical degeneracy among the Gentiles. The Jews provide the religious degeneracy. Someone in power provides the historical degeneracy. The two combine to produce a holocaust. Scar tissue with power persecutes scar tissue without power every time.

(e) There are also Gentile holocausts; e.g., what happened to the Russian and Chinese people under communism, and to religious groups who opposed the Roman Catholic Church before the Reformation.

(f) The removal of the Jews becomes the riches of the Gentiles because the Gentiles are now equal with the Jew because they are in union with Christ.

(8) Isaiah predicted the Jewish rejection of Christ during the First Advent. Isa 29:9-14, “Be shocked and amazed. Blind yourselves and be blind. They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not from strong drink. For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep [blackout of the soul plus scar tissue of the soul resulting in reverse process reversionism]; regarding the prophets, He has shut your eyes; and regarding the seers, He has covered your heads. Therefore the entire vision [First Advent] shall be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, `Please read this,’ he will reply, `I cannot understand it.’ Then the book will be given to someone who is illiterate, saying, `Please read this.’ But he will reply, `I can’t understand it.’ Then the Lord said, `Because this people draw near with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but they remove their hearts far from Me, furthermore their respect for Me is the commandments learned by memorizing, therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, doing a magnificent thing [restoration of Israel and fulfillment of unconditional covenants]; and in the meantime the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the intelligence of their intellectuals will vanish.”

(9) See the Doctrine of the Holocaust.

I. Antinomianism or Immoral Degeneracy.

1. Antinomianism or polarized fragmentation toward lascivious lawlessness is characterized by three categories:

a. Pre-degeneracy sexual sinfulness.

b. Pre-degeneracy chemical sinfulness.

c. Pre-degeneracy criminal sinfulness.

2. Sexual fragmentation in explosion, 2 Pet 2:13-14, 18, “Suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong, they count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions. And they carouse, having eyes full of adultery, they never cease from sin; enticing unstable souls, having their right lobe trained in lust, accursed individuals. ...For speaking out arrogant words from the vacuum of their souls, they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error.”

a. This describes believers. It describes polarized antinomianism moving into reversion and becoming involved in immoral degeneracy.

b. If unchecked by rebound, the polarized trend of antinomianism becomes sexual reversionism or immoral degeneracy.

3. Immoral degeneracy is related to polarized fragmentation, Eph 4:19a, “who because they have become calloused, they have given themselves over to licentiousness...”

a. Believers in immoral degeneracy make all the decisions to get there. Yet, believers in immoral degeneracy are always trying to blame someone else, saying it is someone else’s fault. When you blame others, this guarantees no recovery.

b. Licentiousness means unrestrained sex. Debauchery means excessive indulgence in unrestrained sex and sensual pleasure. Licentiousness is only a part of debauchery. Debauchery includes not only unrestrained sex but also unrestrained drunkenness and drug abuse.

c. There are three categories of sexual immorality.

(1) Normal sexual sinfulness.

(a) Mental and overt fornication - voluntary sexual intercourse between two persons not married to each other.

(b) Mental and overt adultery - voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his spouse. Ex 20:14; Deut 5:18; Acts 15:20; 1 Cor 6:18; Col 3:5; 1 Thes 4:3.

(2) Abnormal sexual sins.

(a) Incest - parent and child having sex. Lev 18:6f, 20:14; Deut 27:20; 1 Cor 5:1-7.

(b) Homosexuality - sex between two persons of the same sex. Lev 18:22, 20:13; Rom 1:26f.

(d) Necrophilia - sex with a corpse.

(e) Voyeurism - a person who compulsively engages in the practice of obtaining sexual gratification by watching others engage in sexual intercourse.

(3) Criminal sexual sins.

(a) Rape - any act of sex that is forced upon a person.

(b) Pederasty - sexual intercourse between two males when one is a minor and the other is an adult.

(d) Prostitution - a man or woman who engages in sex for money.

(e) Mutilation.

4. Immoral degeneracy is related to reverse process reversionism, Eph 4:19b, “who have given themselves over to licentiousness resulting in the practice of every kind of immorality with insatiable lust.”

a. Believers in every generation have been involved in immoral sins.

b. Don’t judge your partner who is in immoral degeneracy. You fragment your own life and get into moral degeneracy which is twice as wrong. Moral degeneracy doesn’t want to recover when it reacts to unfaithfulness in a marriage partner.

c. Don’t be bitter, jealous, vindictive, hateful when your husband or wife runs off with someone else. But when you stick your nose into it and judge or criticize, then you get the discipline.

d. You want to blame your partner but never look at yourself as the cause of the problem.

e. Immoral degeneracy is related to “insatiable lust” in three categories:

(1) Lust for power and approbation.

(2) Lust for sex.

(3) Lust for money, wealth, and success.

5. Eph 4:19 is where inordinate ambition ties into immoral degeneracy. Scar tissue of the soul is the motivation for and function of immoral degeneracy. “Who because they have become calloused, they have given themselves over to licentiousness, resulting in the practice of every kind of immorality with insatiable lust.”

6. Rom 13:13, “Let us walk properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.” Notice that sexual sins eventuate in strife and jealousy.

7. The second category under antinomianism is chemical fragmentation, which becomes chemical reversionism and immoral degeneracy. There are two categories of chemical sinfulness and fragmentation.

a. Drunkenness. Drinking is not a sin; being drunk is a sin.

(1) Eph 5:18, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.”

(2) 1 Cor 5:11, “But actually I wrote you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be a fornicator, or greedy, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with him.”

(3) 1 Cor 6:9-11, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous [unbeliever] shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the [unbeliever] fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor transvestite, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” You cannot be one of these and be able to witness effectively for Christ. “And such were some of you; but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified by the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of God.” You can’t witness if you’ve gone back to the old ways.

(4) 1 Cor 11:20, “Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.”

b. Drug addiction. The Greek word PHARMAKEIA means drug addiction. It is found in Gal 5:20 and Rev 21:8. Unbeliever drug addicts will be in the lake of fire. Rev 9:21, “And they [unbelievers] did not change their minds [about Christ] away from their murders, their drug addictions, their sexual immorality, nor their stealings.”

8. Criminal fragmentation in explosion becomes criminal reversionism and immoral degeneracy.

a. Eph 4:28, “He [believer] who stole up to now, from now on stop stealing, but rather work hard, working with your hands doing what is right, that you may have money to share with him who has a need.”

b. Categories of criminality that believers have been involved in include: murder, rape, lying, stealing, kidnapping, blackmail, robbery, burglary, shop-lifting, terrorism, pimping, prostitution, panderers, drug pushers, gang violence, larceny. Yet they have not lost their salvation. Legalists say you can’t do these things and be a Christian, which is not true.

9. An illustration of immoral degeneracy and scar tissue of the soul is given in 2 Chr 36:11-13, “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord his God; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord. Then he also revolted against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against the Lord God of Israel.”

a. In an arrogant self-image Zedekiah thought of himself as a hero who would deliver Israel from the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. But Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t even bothering Israel at this point.

b. Zedekiah was only required by Nebuchadnezzar to take an oath before God that he would be an ally. Yet because he was arrogant and had a hero self-image, he decided to revolt and broke his word.

c. The result of Zedekiah’s scar tissue of the soul was the fifth cycle of discipline to the nation Israel.

3. Observations concerning category two love and immoral degeneracy.

a. The sanctification of category two love is marriage, 1 Thes 4:3-4; Heb 13:4.

b. The glory of category two love is described in the analogy between marriage and the relationship between Christ and the Church, 1 Cor 11:7; Eph 5:25-28.

c. Adultery is the bonified basis for divorce, Mt 5:32; Lk 16:18

d. Adultery and fornication are often used in Scripture as analogies or illustrations of apostasy, Jer 3:8-10; Ezek 16:23-43, 23:24-28; Rev 17:1-5.

e. Promiscuity and fornication is forbidden as part of the protocol plan of God, Eph 5:3; Heb 13:4.

f. Scar tissue of the soul is the status quo of immoral degeneracy, Eph 4:19.

g. Scar tissue of the soul is also motivation for immoral degeneracy.

J. Reversionism and Degeneracy.

1. Reversionism is the actual status of Christian degeneracy. This is true of both moral and immoral degeneracy. The eight stages of reversionism are a breakdown of the various facets of degeneracy.

a. Reaction and distraction. In polarized fragmentation you react to people, situations, and are hypersensitive - the conflict between legalism and antinomianism. Your priorities change and Bible doctrine is no longer one of your priorities.

(1) Reaction from legalism or antinomianism leads to negative volition to Bible doctrine.

(2) Distraction is caused by apathy, indifference, wrong priorities, in which the antinomian believer places sexual lust, chemical lust, criminal lust first in his scale of values; whereas the legalist places crusader arrogance first.

b. The frantic search for happiness. 2 Tim 3:4, “Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

(1) The legalist turns to asceticism, crusading.

(2) The antinomian is living it up, having a party.

(3) Both are looking for power, approbation, success, influence, money, pleasure, sex, every thing that the confused Christian associates with happiness.

c. Operation boomerang. The pursuit of happiness causes bad decisions which only intensify one’s unhappiness. There is no true happiness for the believer apart from execution of the protocol plan of God. Operation boomerang substitutes the frantic search for happiness for learning and using the problem solving devices. The more we search for happiness, the more elusive it becomes.

d. Emotional revolt of the soul. Emotion revolts and takes control of the soul, making the soul a slave to the sin nature. Emotional revolt divorces the believer from reality and substitutes irrationality for application of Bible doctrine and emotional sins for capacity for life. Emotion gives no motivation for using the problem solving devices. Emotion rather than Bible doctrine becomes the criterion for the Christian way of life.

e. Permanent negative volition to doctrine. The believer cannot be distinguished from the unbeliever in his thinking. Permanent negative volition guarantees a progressive decline to degeneracy.

f. Blackout of the soul. Blackout of the soul is tantamount to God relationship fragmentation. Blackout of the soul effects the left lobe of the soul.

g. Scar tissue of the soul. Scar tissue of the soul effects the right lobe of the soul. Blackout of the soul plus scar tissue of the soul almost guarantees the believer will die the sin unto death.

h. Reverse process reversionism. Reverse process reversionism is the final status of degeneracy.

2. The degenerate believer in reverse process reversionism is described as follows:

a. Gal 5:4, “drifting off course from grace.”

b. Heb 12:15, “falling from grace.”

c. 2 Pet 2:7-8, “a tortured soul.”

d. 2 Pet 2:14, “an unstable soul.”

e. Rev 2:4, “having left his first love.”

f. Rev 3:15-16, “lukewarm."

g. 1 Tim 1:19, “shipwrecked."

3. The characteristics of degeneracy or reverse process reversionism are described in Scripture:

a. “The enemy of the cross,” Phil 3:18.

b. “The enemy of God,” James 4:4.

c. “The hater of God,” Jn 15:23.

d. “Double minded,” James 4:8.

e. “Anti (against) Christ,” 1 Jn 2:18, 22.

f. “The disciple of the devil,” 1 Jn 3:8, 10.

4. Moral degeneracy includes several categories of reversionism.

a. Legalistic reversionism, Col 2:16-18; Heb 5:11-6:16.

b. Ascetic reversionism, 1 Tim 4:5.

c. Mental attitude reversionism and locked-in arrogance, 1 Tim 6:4,17.

K. Christian Degeneracy Versus the Protocol Plan of God.

1. Christian degeneracy is contrary to Bible doctrine, and the will, plan and purpose of God. Both moral and immoral degeneracy contradict the teaching of the mystery doctrine of the church age. Eph 4:18-19 cf. 20, “But you have not learned Christ in this manner.”

2. The pattern of degeneracy emphasizes several major problems in Christian experience.

a. The rejection of Bible doctrine with special emphasis on the stages of reversionism. Your attitude toward doctrine when it is being taught is the indicator of your positive or negative volition.

b. You have the wrong priorities in life. Your priorities are in conflict with Bible doctrine.

c. The problem of lust. Power lust, approbation lust, inordinate ambition, social lust, sexual lust, chemical lust, crusader lust, money lust. Whatever the lust, it always takes the focus off Bible doctrine.

d. The problem of creating a hero self-image from the fragmentation of subjective arrogance.

3. Degeneracy is the ultimate tragic flaw and reflects ignorance of the mystery doctrine of the church age.

4. By rejection of Bible doctrine, the degenerate believer has rejected Christ as the ruler and authority of his life. The inconsistency is obvious: he has accepted the authority of Christ for salvation, but rejected the way of life Christ mandates for His royal family. You trust Him for eternal life, but reject Him for temporal life.

5. The correct and accurate teaching of the word of God never encourages degeneracy.

6. The correct and accurate teaching of the word of God rejects both legalism and antinomianism, the two polarized trends of the old sin nature. There is nothing in the Scripture to encourage the function of personal sins, human good, or evil.

7. The status of Christian degeneracy is always the fault of the degenerate believer who makes too many bad decisions from a position of weakness inside the cosmic system. We fragment ourselves.

8. The believer who implodes, explodes, and reverts blames others for his condition and typically never assumes responsibility for his own negative attitudes, volition, decisions, and actions.

9. Inevitably Christian degeneracy blames other Christians, pastors and even God, which is why so many never recover from their degeneracy.

10. By taking the full responsibility for your own apostasy, degeneracy, and cosmic involvement you can use your volition to rebound and get on the road to recovery.

11. Recovery demands consistent function of perception, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. Recovery demands learning and using the problem solving devices of the protocol plan of God.

12. As long as you are alive you can recover from Christian degeneracy.

L. The Warning Against Christian Degeneracy, 2 Jn 7-9.

1. Verse 7, “Because many deceivers have gone out into the world, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and an antichrist.” These deceivers reject the doctrine of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, e.g., Gnosticism.

2. Verse 8, “Look out for yourselves, that you may not lose your momentum which you have accomplished, but that you might receive a full reward.” A full reward is the distribution of escrow blessings for time and eternity.

3. Verse 9, “No one has fellowship with God who keeps advancing out- of-bounds and does not remain on the playing field through the doctrine of Christ. He who resides in it [the divine dynasphere] keeps on having fellowship both with the Father and with the Son.”

a. “Advancing out-of-bounds” is implosion, explosion, reversion. It is to decline progressively into degeneracy.

b. “The doctrine of Christ” is the mystery doctrine of the Church Age.

M. The Four Categories of Post-salvation Sinning Related to Degeneracy.

1. Frequent sinning. This is the status quo of the new believer and of the believer in implosion, explosion and cosmic involvement.

2. Continuous sinning. This is the status quo of the believer in reversionism and Christian degeneracy. This can only be checked by rebound and the use of the other problem solving devices.

3. Sporadic sinning. The believer’s sins are related to either implosion or explosion, but they are checked by the rebound technique. This is the status of the adolescent believer on the verge of spiritual adulthood.

4. Occasional sinning. The status quo of the adult believer, who checks implosion and explosion through rebound, but has full use of the other problem solving devices.

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