Eph 205 1/26/86; Isr 140 12/5/91
A. Definition.
1. A flawed person is defined as a fragmented person. (See the Doctrine of Fragmentation.)
a. The major flaw of history is arrogance. Satan produced his own flaw.
b. God has a plan for your life. God is perfect and His plan for your life is perfect. Contradictions cannot exist in a perfect plan. Since we are imperfect people, God has provided for our sins and our failures. Any one of us can use his volition and enter into the arrogance complex of sins and see the failures of others but never see our own ever widening flaw.
c. Because we all have a sin nature, every believer is a walking grenade. We all have the potential of using our volition to fragment ourselves. We assassinate our own spiritual lives through the use of our volition related to the arrogance complex of sins. To fragment your life, all your have to do is pull the pin of the grenade of the arrogance complex. The pin of the grenade is the basis for establishing the flaw. You pull the pin of the arrogance complex and you get: jealousy, bitterness, hatred, vindictiveness, implacability, self-pity, egotism, conceit, self- centeredness, revenge motivation and function, malicious, gossip, slander, judging, creating public lies about others, inordinate ambition and competition.
d. Scripture.
(1) Rom 12:3, “For I say through the grace which has been given to me to every man [believer] who is among you, `Stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance beyond what you ought to think; but think in terms of sanity for the purpose of being rational without illusion, as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from doctrine.’”
(2) Jam 3:14-16, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your right lobe, stop being arrogant and stop lying against the truth. This [pseudo] wisdom [intellectual arrogance] is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and inordinate ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil deed.” Evil is produced by believers from a position of being flawed. Evil deeds, like civil disobedience, come from the flaws.
(3) Prov 13:10, “Through arrogance comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive instruction.” You can make decision to stay with doctrine, and you will have faults but you will not have flaws. You will be a vessel of honor, whereas the flawed believer is a vessel of dishonor. (4) Ps 59:12, “On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their arrogance, And on account of curses and lies which they utter.” Sooner or later people recognize the flawed believer and they avoid them or deal with them through problem solving devices.
(5) Prov 11:2, “When arrogance comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”
(6) Prov 16:18, “Arrogance precedes destruction, And before a fall, there is a lifestyle of arrogance.” Your lifestyle always begins with what you think.
(7) Prov 29:23, “A man’s arrogance will bring him low, But a lifestyle of humility will attain honor.”
(8) 1 Pet 5:5-6, “Likewise, you younger men, be subject to your elders [right pastors]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, `For God makes war against the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore, humble yourselves, under the powerful hand of God [Bible doctrine], that He may promote you at the proper time.” If God does not promote you, you are not promoted. God promotes vessels of honor. God promotes prepared believers. God provides for grace oriented believers.
e. Self-fragmentation is a major contradiction to the protocol plan of God. It is being flawed. A good example of this is bitterness.
(1) Heb 12:15, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by it many are polluted.”
(2) Eph 4:31, “All bitterness, both anger [an emotional sin] and wrath [a mental attitude anger often devoid of emotion] both quarreling and slander, must be removed from you, along with all malice.” These are things which produce flaws in you, if used on a continual basis.
f. The fragments of the grenade produce the flaw and this function is related to grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit on a perpetual basis. All fragments of the grenade result in various stages of retrogression in the spiritual life or the function of the vessel of dishonor in a declining spiritual life.
2. There are six ways in which a believer can become flawed.
a. Personal fragmentation, which is related to the arrogance complex of sins.
b. Polarized fragmentation, which is related to the trends of the sin nature—legalism on the one hand and antinomianism on the other hand.
c. Fragmentation related to subjective arrogance. There are two categories of subjective arrogance that cause flawed believers.
(1) Unrealistic expectation is subjective preoccupation with self.
(2) Role model arrogance is subjective preoccupation with others. Role model arrogance is related to peer pressure in whatever the trend of one’s sin nature.
d. Human relationship fragmentation.
(1) Problems related to Christian fellowship.
(2) Problems related to marriage.
e. Emotional fragmentation includes fear, worry, anxiety, anger, hatred, violence, murder, and guilt.
f. God relationship fragmentation, which is failure to understand and use God’s problem solving devices, especially His policy of grace orientation. The believer becomes a loser through ignorance of doctrine relating to the plan and will of God. The believer functions under man- dependence rather than God-dependence. The believer fails to understand, metabolize, and apply the unique characteristics of the Church Age, to execute the protocol plan of God through consistent post-salvation epistemological rehabilitation, and fails to learn and use his portfolio of invisible assets. 2 Tim 3:2-7.
B. Distinction must be made between genetic and environmental handicaps and flaws.
1. Genetic flaws are the weaknesses with which we are born because of the old sin nature in the cell structure of the body. Environmental flaws are those which we acquire.
2. In genetic handicaps and flaws, human volition is simply not involved. In environmental handicaps or flaws, human volition is involved. Genetic flaws often manifest themselves through impulsive actions. However, volition sometimes does become involved with genetic handicaps and flaws under certain pressures.
3. Under spiritual death, people are born with certain flaws or tendencies which become manifest through various pressures or temptations. They often reveal themselves through impulsive actions rather than deliberate actions.
4. Pressure means adversity. Temptation comes from the old sin nature.
5. Most environmental flaws or handicaps are directly related to the deliberate and conscious function of volition related to temptation. For example, drug addiction requires the circumstances of temptation. Therefore, drug addiction is not an inherent flaw, but is the result of temptation. The same is true with homosexuality and murder.
6. Some categories of sin involve both inherent weaknesses in the body plus environmental exploitation of those weaknesses in volitional function; e.g., alcoholism.
7. So three categories of flaws emerge.
a. Flaws inherent in a dormant state and acquired under some circumstance or pressure, called impulsive flaws. They are dormant until the pressure or environment brings them out.
b. Flaws which are inherent or acquired. For example, bitterness can be inherent, acquired by the volition in some circumstance, or both. Most mental attitude sins fall into this category.
c. Flaws which are acquired as a direct result of volition responding to the temptation of the soul. These are called environmental or acquired flaws. They include homosexuality, drug addiction, first degree murder, stealing, and some forms of lying, like pathological lying.
d. Lying can be inherent, environmental, or volitional.
e. Anger can fit into all three categories. Some people are born angry, and so their anger is impulsive. Others acquire anger through resentment of their environment; hence theirs is a deliberate acquired anger. Some combine the two to become sociopathic or psychopathic.
f. There are different kinds of anger because there are different sources of anger, which the Bible recognizes. Some people are born angry, and some acquire it through frustration and arrogance, so that first it is impulsive, then it is developed.
8. While genetics is the source of inherent flaws, temptation is the source of all acquired or environmental flaws.
9. Inherent flaws are there without your consent. Environmental flaws are there with your consent.
a. While human volition can restrain inherent flaws, volition is not the original source of these flaws (with the exception Adam’s volition); spiritual death is the source.
b. In environmental flaws, human volition responds directly to the temptation of the old sin nature.
c. Genetics is the original source of inherent flaws, but they are dormant until pressure brings them out.
B. Biblical Distinction between Inherent and Environmental Flaws.
1. Inherent Flaws, Rom 7:15-25.
a. Verse 15, “I do not know what I am doing.” This is the confusion caused from inherent weaknesses, because they manifest themselves in impulsive behavior; whereas acquired weaknesses come through deliberate behavior involving volition. “For I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very things that I hate.” This is a sign of inherent weaknesses, possibly combined with environmental weaknesses. This also indicates that Paul was properly reared, for his inculcated standards made him realize that he had an inherent weakness.
b. Verse 16, “Now if I keep doing the very things which I do not desire to do, I agree that the law [doctrine] of God is good.” Doctrine is important because it helps you to recognize both inherent and environmental flaws.
c. Verse 17, “But as the case now stands, it is no longer I that am doing it, but sin which indwells me [living in me].” The old sin nature is the source of temptation, but also the source of inherent flaws from birth. Sin lives in a person [inherent flaws] long before a person’s volition develops acquired flaws. Since it takes volition to convert temptation into sin, this verse must refer to inherent sin and flaws.
d. Verse 18, “In fact, I know that nothing good lives in me [inherent or genetic flaws], that is, in my flesh [sinful nature], for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot [I do not have the will to] carry it out.” The inherent sins in some cases are stronger than the will!
e. Verse 19, “For the good that I desire to do I do not do. But the evil that I do not desire to do, this I keep on practicing.” This refers to flaws which are inherent but acquired under certain circumstances. Any pressure that frustrates you or causes you to react with bitterness, hatred, implacability, revenge, or self-pity brings out your inherent flaws. So here is an emphasis on the inherent flaws.
f. Verse 20, “But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish to do, I am no longer the one doing it [it’s not my will that’s involved; this is an inherent tendency, impulsive], but sin living in me does it.” The old sin nature is the source of temptation. But Paul here says inherent flaws are functioning under impulse under certain circumstances which activate them. Sometimes even prosperity can bring out certain flaws, as well as success, failure, romance, ambition, and all kinds of circumstances.
g. Verse 21, “Consequently, I discover this principle, that when I desire to do good, evil is residing with me.” This does not appear to be temptation from the old sin nature so much as the existence of inherent flaws.
h. Verse 22, “For I delight in the law of God in the inner man [soul, the real person].” This is a positive believer who now sees an inherent flaw which comes from any circumstance. Doctrine has provided him with standards which now teach him.
i. Verse 23, “But I see a different principle at work in the members of my body [genetic, inherent weakness and flaw] making war against the doctrine in my mind, resulting in making me a prisoner by means of the law [principle] of inherent sin which is in my body [members].”
(1) As you grow in the knowledge of doctrine, there can arise a tremendous conflict in the soul, not from the temptation of the old sin nature, but from the evil, inherent weakness which is there.
(2) You become a prisoner when impulsive behavior takes the place of deliberate behavior based on lust, which is environmental.
j. Verse 24, “Oh miserable person that I am! Who will rescue me from the body of this spiritual death?” Genetic handicaps are different from genetic flaws, as referred to here. Genetic handicaps are such things as physical malformities.
k. Verse 25, “But grace belongs to God because of Jesus Christ our Lord!” God in His grace knows we have inherent flaws, environmental flaws, in addition to sins we accumulate. There is a solution related to two factors: preventative suffering related to spiritual self-esteem. Paul now drops Koine and goes to Attic greek. “Therefore, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God; but on the other hand, with my flesh I am a slave to the principle of inherent sin.” The old sin nature is not only the source of temptation, but it is the source of the genetic flaws with which we are born. Spiritual death means more than having an old sin nature; it means we have inherent weaknesses.
2. Environmental, Acquired, and Volitional Flaws, Rom 1:22-32.
a. Verse 22, “Although they claim to be wise [arrogance acquired as an environmental flaw], they became fools.” The quickest way to become a fool is to cultivate arrogance.
b. Verse 23, “And they exchange the glory of incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man: birds, quadrupeds, reptiles.” This refers to ancient world religious idolatry.
c. Verse 24, “Therefore, because of the lusts in their right lobes [environmental flaws come from lust, then volition], God delivered them over to their sexual degeneracy that their bodies might be dishonored [degraded, destroyed] among themselves.”
(1) Inherently, there are three categories of libido and sex drive: low, normal and high.
(2) This verse anticipates verses 26-27, which uses homosexuality as the illustration. But any other acquired flaw could have been used, such as alcoholism. However, homosexuality was a problem in Rome at the time Paul wrote, so he uses it as the illustration.
d. Verse 25, “They traded the doctrine of God for a lie; they both worshipped and served the creature [Satan as the author of the cosmic system] rather than the Creator [Lord Jesus Christ] who is forever praised. Amen.”
e. Verse 26, “Because of this [for this reason], God delivered them over to degenerate passions, for even their women became lesbians.” This passage says homosexuality is acquired, not inherent.
f. Verse 27, “And in the same manner also [that is, through the function of their volition], human males abandoned the natural sexual function with the woman and were inflamed with lusts [acquired flaws], males with homosexual males accomplishing the perverted act and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their perversions.”
(1) The sow and reap principle of Gal 6:7 applies here.
(2) What is the due penalty? AIDS may be construed as punishment under the law of volitional responsibility, and at the same time it could be considered as punitive preventative suffering, punishing the guilty and warning the innocent.
(3) Note that homosexuality is an environmental flaw in this passage, involving a deliberate action of human volition which is acquired environmentally. “Inflamed lusts” does not refer to an inherent flaw.
(4) Genetic flaws are impulsive, while environmental flaws are deliberate.
(5) In this context, the sins and flaws are environmental, the result of negative volition toward God and the deliberate development of resultant degeneracy under the law of volitional responsibility.
g. Verse 28, “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He delivered them over to a depraved [degenerate] mind to do those things which are not proper.” This is a degenerate mind which is cultivated and developed in an environment.
h. Verse 29 is a list of only environmental flaws: “being filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, depravity, full of envy, murder, strife [troublemakers], deceit [the habit of lying], malice,”
i. Verse 30, “slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [where it all starts],”
j. Verse 31, “thoughtless [insensitive], faithless [untrustworthy], heartless [without natural affection], ruthless [implacable];”
k. Verse 32, “and although they know the commandment [requirement, regulation] of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these very things [becomes a habit], but they also approve others who practice them.”
(1) This is the key to environmental flaws or acts of volition related to sin. The old sin nature is the source of temptation, while volition is the source of sin.
(2) The basic difference between inherent and environmental flaws is volition. Volition is not involved in inherent genetic flaws, but is always involved in environmental flaws.
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