Posted on 11/15/2010 4:35:09 PM PST by Cvengr
DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIAN DEGENERACY
Eph 986-991 1/22/89; 946ff
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 & 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 & 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/dead works.
(7) Blessing from God through human achievement or self-sacrifice rather than grace.
(8) Spirituality through health food, vitamins,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 legalism tune.
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.
CONT"D See DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIAN DEGENERACY II & III (soon to be posted.
First of 3 chapters of the same topic.
These are tied into a number of other doctrines, which are pertinent to the Christian way of life being made manifest by many current events.
This is being shared, mainly, because many American believers well discern many antichristian policies having been established by national authorities. When believers are able to influence the election of our representatives, there also will be a temptation to crusade for righteousness in politics. This also can lead to legalism in an unbelieving society or antinomianism in a wealthy society.
While many of these doctrines were at one time well developed in many American denominations from our founding fathers to post WWII era, many younger believers have never been exposed to them in our politics.
These notes are provided for academic discourse and amplification through fellowship and faith in Christ.
Other associated doctrines taught by the same pastor include: Doctrine of the Five Cycles of Discipline Doctrine of Arrogance Doctrine of Reversionism Doctrine of Rebound Doctrine of the Client-Nation Doctrine of Operation Footstool
The doctrines tend to be non-denominational, Bible Study topics, consistent with dispensational theology from Dallas Theological Seminary in the 50's -70s.
As with all Bible Study, first perform after confessing sins to God through faith in Christ, returning to fellowship with Him in all things. For further study, always work through your local pastor-teacher for even more direct guidance which God has provided in His system to communicate His Word to the believer.
God Bless. The other 2 volumes of this doctrine will be posted shortly.
Nice judgment. I don’t see any need for it.
I don’t find him to be heretical, but I have found his studies to provide considerable insight, building upon many sound doctrines throughout Church History, but always through faith in Christ.
There is quite a bit of insight available from these studies, but like always, only through faith in Christ.
God Bless.
So when do you think God gives life to the soul?
Thieme didn’t base his theology upon political beliefs, but he didn’t mind pointing out how many popular political perspectives didn’t fully agree with the consequences of thinking through faith in Christ by rigorously applying Bible doctrine in all our thinking.
Have you studied his position on the origin of life and the Scripture he has used to develop that position? If you like, I can post it, so one can form a better position, than reliance upon wikipedia.
Greetings,
One of Thieme Jr’s small books (The Origin of Human Life) covering the subject:-
http://dictionaryofdoctrine.com/Dictionary-Contents.html
One thorough critique of this teaching:-
http://www.4shared.com/dir/1780756/6441dbb/sharing.html
on page 963, of RB Thieme Jr Files.pdf
Thanks for the links.
I didn’t know they existed.
I’ll give them a review.
Whether you want me to call him a heretic or false teacher, it means the same to me. We are commanded to judge and to warn. How much false doctrine is acceptable? It is not enough to believe in Jesus if that Jesus or Christ is not the Christ that is proclaimed in Scripture and traditional Christianity. Can anything good come from a poison well? I have found his teachings to be a propagation of Nestorianism. There are so many things wrong with his teachings that it is hard to know where to start. Anyone that has actually studied Scriptures and church history can easily refute him. It is only the uneducated in Christianity who do not know the false prophets from true ones. The irony of his work on degeneracy is that he denies original sin, which fits his Nestorian apostasy.
If you would like to review his classes on the Old Sin Nature, I can post some of those notes. His guidance hardly refutes the existence of the Old Sin Nature.
I’ve never met an honest student of systematic theology who found him to be heretical, but I have encountered many a legalist, who have substituted academics for spiritual growth through faith in studies of His Word, become frustrated with the basics of Bible doctrine which are manifest in his studies.
There might indeed be some more advanced doctrinal studies which may be built upon, which Thieme more than readily accepted, but he also remained dogmatic on the basics as many a believer lapse from past scarred thinking, rather than remaining in faith through Christ throughout all testing.
Thieme is one of the better rigorous indwelt teachers of the Word and we are blessed with access to his work, but like all doctrine, as he would stress, it must first be understood through faith in Christ, and not simply by religious academic indoctrination.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.