The Grace of Confession, Part 17
04-22-26 grace of confession 17
High-Detail Theological Outline (Strictly Chronological)
Content creation date of this outline: 2026-04-22 19:00:51
Opening remarks and context
Greeting: “Good evening.”
Recording note:
Jokes: “this is being recorded for quality and control purposes. No, I am just kidding.”
Clarifies that the sermon is being recorded.
Speaker identification:
Name: James Ramiri (spelled: R A M as in Michael I E R I).
Reason for stating name: disseminates a large amount of doctrine daily via a post titled “Strength for Today.”
Access to “Strength for Today” content
Availability on Facebook:
Public posts; no need to friend request to view.
All doctrinal materials on social media are public—“no obstacles,” “no barriers.”
Distribution methods:
Sent every morning to about 35 people.
Channels: text, Facebook Messenger, email.
Has not sent via regular mail; no one has requested it, though he “might” or “would possibly.”
Clarifies: some people do get it through email (“Two people actually”).
Purpose and spiritual value:
“A good source of inspiration in the morning and a good source of doctrine.”
Enables daily output of Bible doctrine—considered foundational for what God has done in his life.
Invitation: “If you want to look me up, feel free.”
Transition to worship posture and confession practice
Announced moment of silent prayer:
Purpose explained for newcomers:
Opportunity to be filled with the Spirit.
Opportunity to “rebound,” i.e., to confess any known sin in our lives.
Prayer (corporate)
Thanksgiving for the day and the opportunity to gather around and study God’s Word.
Petition for the Holy Spirit:
To speak, illuminate, open hearts, and teach.
Petition for the speaker:
To speak with the authority and power that God’s Word deserves.
To speak with the grace that God’s Word teaches.
Closing: “in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Slides and teaching format notes
Announcement on slides:
Using “some new slides” tonight.
No QR code.
Will return to slides that will end the series on “the grace of confession.”
Experimentation with format:
Incorporating typed versions of his typical handwritten materials and extra weekly content.
Aim: find new ways via technology to make preparation/delivery easier.
“We’ll see how it goes.”
Plan for tonight’s start:
Begin with a brief review from last week.
Textual turn and review anchor
Direction to turn to Ephesians 2.
Reference to last week’s handout:
Not necessary to have; not planning to cover all of it.
Doctrinal topic from last week:
“The grace apparatus for perception” (GAP):
Attribution: coined by Colonel R. B. Thieme (pronounced “Theme”).
Purpose of term: a grace-bestowed reality at regeneration enabling believers to understand spiritual things.
Anthropology/pre-regeneration:
“When we were soulish and we didn’t have this new spirit, we were not able to understand spiritual things.”
Emphasis on grace:
“Always grace, always grace. Everything in God deals with us is in grace; it’s freely given.”
Functional definition:
An “apparatus for perception”—divine provision that makes spiritual comprehension possible post-regeneration.
Forward look:
“We’re going to talk more about that tonight.”
Scripture reading and soteriological frame: Ephesians 2:1, 5 (with mention of 2:8–9)
Ephesians 2:1 quoted: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
Ephesians 2:5 quoted (with his interjection): “‘Even when we were dead in our transgressions,’ made us alive together with Christ,” with the Pauline parenthesis, “by grace you have been saved.”
The “salvation in a box” verses:
Ephesians 2:8–9 quoted: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Theological contrast established:
Total depravity/total inability pre-salvation:
“You were dead in your trespasses and sins… not a little bit—completely, absolutely unable to save yourself, unable to please God, unable to respond to God in any way.”
Regeneration:
“He made you alive.”
Frames forthcoming discussion on “new creature/new creation/new spirit.”
Scripture turn: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Direction: “we can actually turn now … 2 Corinthians 5:17.”
Tie to last week’s doctrinal list:
Among the “forty things that are done at salvation” at the moment of belief:
“You are a new creation; you are a new creature.”
Pedagogical emphasis for tonight:
Minimizing focus on the mechanics.
Emphasis on application:
What is different now?
Why is it true?
What does it mean for me now that this is a reality?
Connection to 16-week “grace of confession” series and Q&A origin
Background:
Originated from questions about 1 John 1:9.
Observation:
He “didn’t realize how many people weren’t on board with rebound.”
Assertion:
“It’s essential.”
Opening assertion on essentiality of “rebound”
Attribution: “Pastor Theme [R.B. Thieme Jr.] used to always teach…”
Repeated class point:
Most Christians are in the predesigned plan of God only once—at salvation—then sin, do not know how to regain the filling of the Spirit, fail to reenter fellowship, live under divine discipline, operate only in the “good” area of the sin nature, and some die the sin unto death.
Key pastoral concern:
Understanding rebound is essential to avoid prolonged carnality and discipline.
The question arising in the series: If all sins have been forgiven, why must we confess them?
Teacher’s move: “I back up” to address the larger theological context.
Unlimited atonement and imputation presented
2 Corinthians 5:16–17 referenced as “really good unlimited atonement passages.”
Doctrine of imputation:
All sins—past, present, future—for every member of the human race were judged at the cross and imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Escalated rhetorical question:
If all sins are forgiven, why must anyone be saved? Why believe?
Judgment standard clarified:
No member of humanity will go to hell because of their sins per se; final judgment is according to works.
Believers’ works: evaluated for power source—flesh vs. Spirit; fleshly works are burned.
Unbelievers’ works: evaluated against perfection; God’s standard is perfect righteousness.
Only God can give perfect righteousness; thus the necessity of salvation.
Application of atonement benefit:
Though all sins were judged at the cross for all humanity, application to the individual occurs by faith in Jesus Christ.
Return to the confession question
Objection repeated: If all sins are forgiven and judged at the cross, why must I confess (name and cite) them?
Two-part answer introduced:
1) Because the Bible commands it.
2) Ephesians 5:18 commands “be filled with the Spirit … do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Theological point: A command implies non-automaticity; therefore, filling is not automatic and can be lost.
Distinction asserted: Indwelling vs. filling of the Spirit.
Indwelling is not lost.
Filling is commanded, hence can be forfeited and must be recovered.
Post-salvation sin and the function of confession
Statement: After salvation we still commit acts of personal sin.
1 John 1:9 quoted/paraphrased: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Defined as non-meritorious confession: naming and citing sins; agreeing with God (homologeō).
Judicial reference: Confession “refers back to the court case”—the cross—where God’s justice and righteousness were satisfied.
Point of contact with God: God’s justice (not merely His love).
God loves even those who will be in the lake of fire, but God is also just; whatever God’s righteousness demands, God’s justice executes.
Return to 2 Corinthians 5:17 in immediate context
2 Corinthians 5:17 quoted: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Instruction: Understand v. 17 in light of vv. 14–16.
2 Corinthians 5:14–15 summarized: “Christ died for all … that those who live might live for Him.”
2 Corinthians 5:16 quoted/summarized: “We recognize no one according to the flesh.”
Frame-of-reference shift: From human viewpoint (flesh) to union-with-Christ viewpoint.
“New creation” is a comprehensive new identity and realm of existence, not merely internal, isolated change.
Union with Christ as the controlling phrase: “in Christ”
Positional truth emphasized.
1 Corinthians 12:13 cited/quoted: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
Doctrinal point: This baptism is not experiential or progressive; it is instantaneous and absolute at salvation.
Therefore, whatever “new creation” means, it is true of every believer, at the moment of salvation, independent of spiritual growth.
Category integrity: Do not mix categories—salvation vs. experiential sanctification.
Word study: “new creation” (kainē ktisis)
Greek terms:
New = kainos (qualitatively new, new in kind), not neos (new in time).
ktisis = creation.
Theological implication:
God did not renovate or refresh the old; He introduced an entirely different order.
When God creates, He provides everything required for that creation’s purpose.
Application: As new creations, believers have been provided all divine assets necessary to live the life to which God calls them—but must learn and appropriate them.
Pastoral correction against “self-help Christianity”
Common error after salvation: treating the Christian life as moral renovation or self-help—“stop drinking, stop smoking, stop swearing,” etc.
Result: When failures persist, some doubt the reality of salvation or give up.
Doctrinal correction:
“You cannot live the Christian life” in the flesh; you were not designed to.
You must learn the “new way” of the new creature and the divine power system God has given.
Mechanism for progress:
Rebound (confession) to regain the filling of the Spirit.
Walk and operate in the new way of life by God’s power.
God changes from within under the filling of the Holy Spirit through Bible doctrine; outward life follows.
Diagnostic maxim:
Anything an unbeliever can do cannot constitute the spiritual life; the spiritual life is defined by power source (Spirit), not merely external reform.
Creation language scope for ktisis (allusions)
Romans 1:20 alluded to: creation of the world.
Revelation 21:1 alluded to: new heavens and new earth.
Implication: “New creation” is strong, creative-power language—only God can accomplish it; not self-improvement.
Theological question raised: Regenerated or brand new?
Caution: Do not add mechanics Scripture does not specify; avoid minutiae.
Key term emphasized: Capacity
At regeneration/new creation, believers receive new capacity they did not have before:
Capacity to receive spiritual information (previously “soulish” only; spiritual things were foolishness).
Now spiritual truth “makes sense.”
Scriptural balance: Both regeneration and creation motifs
Ephesians 2:1 (regeneration): “You were dead” and were made alive.
Ephesians 2:15 (new creation): “Created … one new man.”
Doctrinal synthesis (repeated for recording):
At salvation, God performs a supernatural work that is both life-giving and creative, resulting in a new spiritual identity in union with Christ.
Emphasis on the result (new identity and capacity), not on speculative mechanics.
Exegesis of 2 Corinthians 5:17 continued
“Old things passed away”:
Aorist tense: completed action at a moment in time (salvation).
Refers to old identity in Adam, old frame of reference (v. 16 “according to the flesh”), old relationship to God (separation).
Clarification: This does not mean the sin nature is removed.
Galatians 5 (chapter-level): Ongoing flesh–Spirit conflict.
Romans 7 (chapter-level): Paul’s struggle—“the things I want to do, I don’t… Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?”
Resolution and Romans 8:1 quoted: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
New post-salvation dynamic: a real internal war that did not exist before salvation.
Distinctions reaffirmed:
Positional: Old things gone.
Experiential: Growth still required; believer is not instantly mature.
How growth occurs (forward link to “the glory of God’s grace” series focus)
Now, by grace, the believer has capacity to grow (which was impossible before).
Means of growth:
The filling of the Spirit.
Perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine.
“Behold, new things have come”:
Perfect tense: completed action with ongoing results (continuing realities from the moment of salvation).
Quick recap insertion (class interaction acknowledged)
Positionally: the old is gone; new has come.
Reapplication of earlier question:
If all sins are forgiven for all humanity, why doesn’t everyone go to heaven?
Answer restated: Because forgiveness must be applied through faith in Christ; benefits are not automatically imputed without belief.
Application emphasis on permanence and identity
The application is faith in Jesus Christ.
The perfect tense in “behold, new things have come” signifies a completed action with ongoing results.
Doctrinal point: This new reality is permanent; the new identity continues; the results continue to operate in the believer’s life.
Pastoral exhortation:
No matter where you go, what you do, how you fail, or even if you “mess up and ruin your entire life” after salvation, your identity never changes. Nothing changes.
Guilt vs. shame (pastoral application; reference to a recent post)
Distinction:
Guilt: “You did something wrong.” Objective.
Shame: It becomes your identity. Subjective.
Illustration: Garden of Eden
They hid from God because they were afraid.
Fear rooted in wrongdoing; shame says, “I am not worthy to approach God… to come back to God. Doesn’t God want me back? Look what I’ve done.”
Shame keeps people from seeking God.
Christ’s work regarding shame:
Jesus Christ bore the shame on the cross; He “disregarded the shame.”
Pastoral conclusion: There is no cause for shame in the Christian life, no matter what you have done.
Positional truth: Positionally, nothing changes for you when you sin or fall short; your identity remains permanent.
Reiteration of the key text phrase:
“Old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Christian life is learning to walk and operate in those new things now, not focusing on old failures.
Practical exhortation on focus and discouragement
If you stay focused on past failures (“look what I did,” “I messed up,” “I failed”), you will be “broke, busted, and disgusted,” ready to give up.
Command: Focus on the new things — “Behold, new things have come.”
New reality; new identity continues; results continue to operate in the believer’s life.
What is the “new creation” in practical terms?
New position in Christ.
New identity: You are now a child of God.
New capacity: To understand spiritual truth.
New relationship: Reconciled to God.
Scripture reference: 2 Corinthians 5:18–21 (thematic emphasis)
Emphasis: The importance is not how God did it, but what reconciliation now enables.
Theological note: Many divine actions in Scripture exceed human comprehension.
Illustration: Parting of the Red Sea
We cannot conceive how God did it; science attempts to explain it (e.g., low water levels, wind), but it remains beyond human conception.
Concrete imagery: “You can’t go out to the ocean, go to Misquamicut Beach, and just picture the ocean parting so you could walk across.”
Hermeneutical principle: Scripture gives principles to put into practice, not for endless speculation on mechanics.
Faith as the activation mechanism
All these things are activated by faith; they must be “mixed with faith.”
Confession application:
Do you believe “God is faithful and just to forgive … and to cleanse from all unrighteousness”?
If you do not believe, it will not become a lived reality.
Salvation and post-salvation faith
At salvation: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
After salvation: Believe the Word of God, Bible doctrine.
Mix doctrine with faith, under the filling of the Spirit, producing wisdom.
Word study: epignosis/epinosis — doctrinal truth metabolized and fully comprehended, leading to application and transformation.
Key teaching emphasis (doctrinal precision)
The new creation is not about whether something you received was “recreated or revived.”
Recognition: Something now exists and functions in you that did not function before.
Pre-salvation incapacity:
Scripture reference: 1 Corinthians 2:14
A natural person does not accept the things of God; “they are foolishness to him,” and “he cannot understand them,” because they are spiritually discerned.
A person could hear truth but not receive it; could think but not think divine viewpoint.
Post-salvation capacity:
Capacity for spiritual perception.
Ability to utilize the grace apparatus for perception (GAP).
Ability to “metabolize doctrine.”
Doctrinal tie-in:
The new creation directly connects to spiritual comprehension, fellowship with God, and execution of the predesigned plan of God.
Final doctrinal conclusion on this portion
The new creation is not about behavioral perfection.
It is about positional transformation that grants capacity for a completely different kind of life.
Simplified restatement:
“God did not just change your life. He changed what you are in Christ, and that changes what makes the spiritual life possible.”
Guardrail against common misunderstanding:
Error: Equating “new creation” with “no more struggle with sin,” “automatic spirituality,” “instant maturity.”
Pastoral warning: This error leads to confusion and discouragement.
Correct understanding:
The new creation gives you the ability to live the spiritual life; it does not remove the need to grow in it.
Transition comment on slides/technical flow
Indicates returning to previous slides; references “code” and slide decks.
Anecdotal aside: Seamless switch to a different slideshow was “a step of faith.”
Light audience banter captured.
Return to the Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP)
Navigational note: Locating where the series left off (“somewhere around 70” among 94 slides from the past 3–4 weeks).
Foundational text for regeneration of the human spirit (review from last week):
1 Corinthians 2:12–13 quoted/summarized:
“Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God… so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”
“We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”
Teaching notes:
Explaining spiritual truths by spiritual words; interpreting spiritual truths by spiritual means.
There is now a different capacity to understand the things of God.
Opening autobiographical testimony: health milestones and doctrinal return
Context: “Picture it now.”
Timeline markers:
“Next month May or around now in May” marks two years without medicines, psychiatrists.
Initial tapering off medicines began in May (two years before 2026-04-22).
“Last March” was the time to renew FMLA; chose a “step of faith” by not renewing due to observed divine work.
“This March now is one year” without FMLA in place (as of March 2026).
Theological assertion:
“There is no magic formula… no secret… no mysticism.”
The operative cause is “the filling of the Spirit and the perception, metabolization, application of Bible doctrine.”
Anticipated opposition:
“Haters will come out of the woodwork.”
Strategy: initially told no one to avoid interference; conviction “inside my soul” that “God was leading me.”
Medical caveat and professional illustration
Explicit caveat:
“I am not advocating anybody to come off medicines… Some people need their medicines.”
Cardiology illustration from work:
If a stent is placed, patients “better take the blood thinners… or that stent is going to close.”
Purpose of testimony:
Not to counsel discontinuation of meds but “to tell you what God can do… when you do things God’s way… operate in this new creation.”
Workplace interaction: gratitude vs. pride
Colleagues of twenty years respond: “You should be proud of yourself.”
Teacher’s response: “No, I am thankful… about what God did.”
Colleague’s skepticism: “That’s not God… You are the one that did it.”
Doctrinal pivot to spiritual perception and unbelief:
1 Corinthians 2:14 cited and applied (quoted above).
Application:
Unbelievers “do not have the capacity” to understand divine work; “cut them some slack… don’t get hard on them.”
Clarification of timeline misconception:
Critique of the idea that the teacher “just woke up” after “two to four medications” and FMLA, and was “miraculously delivered” without process.
Evaluation: inability to “see the power of God” evidences unregenerate blindness; aphorism: “None so blind as those that will not see.”
Word study and cross-reference on the “natural person”
Greek term: psychikos (pronounced su-kē-kos) = “natural” person without the Spirit.
Cross-reference: Jude 19 noted (“natural/psychikos” persons who cause divisions, “not having the Spirit”).
Clarification: “does not accept” = personal rejection (volitional refusal).
Distinction: Not a lack of intelligence.
Unbelievers can comprehend the Bible “intellectually” as literature, yet it “means nothing” without the Spirit.
Regeneration and the “receiver”:
New creature receives a new “spirit” that functions as a receiver for spiritual things.
Pneumatology: filling of the Spirit in study and grace mechanics
Necessity: “You have to be filled with the Spirit when you are studying Bible doctrine.”
Common grace and the gospel:
Common grace—Holy Spirit makes the gospel understandable to all.
Efficacious grace:
When volition believes (“slightly more than none” faith), the Holy Spirit “makes that effective for salvation.”
Post-salvation learning:
Hearing spiritual information under the filling of the Spirit.
Volition responds (“mixed with faith”).
Metabolization: conversion from gnosis (knowledge) to epignosis/epinosis (full knowledge/wisdom).
Transfer location: “right lobe of your soul” (frame of reference: vocabulary, norms, and standards).
Result: Doctrine applied to life pressures and situations.
Limitation for the natural person:
Cannot undergo this process.
Personal experience with inadequate human systems
Self-help and therapy:
Tried cognitive behavioral therapy and “all of these different things”; “nothing ever helped me.”
Required divine remedy:
Return to fellowship with God; assurance of salvation maintained, yet lived “the most miserable life.”
Candid reference to “decade long battle with suicidal ideation.”
Transition marker to current study segment
Acknowledgement of prior material: “skip through some of this… all last week.”
Cue from “David”: turning to slide/page “seventy five.”
Scripture: Ephesians 1:17–18 cited and prayed
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling… the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
Pastoral application:
Regularly prays this for people; pattern from the apostle Paul.
Series transition: from “grace of confession” to “glory of God’s grace”
Thesis: We must recognize “we have already been given everything necessary,” “all spiritual blessings… laid… before the foundation of the world.”
Illustration: “If I said I had a million dollars for you… you’d want to know how to get that.”
Parallel: Divine blessings exist; question is “How do we get them?”
Capacity theme:
Must “learn how” and “develop the capacity to grow to maturity.”
God does not grant beyond capacity to receive.
Pauline pastoral intent:
Prayer for wisdom; revelation of inheritance; understanding of what believers “already have in Christ.”
Discipleship basics for new believers:
Learn the character and nature of God.
Learn identity doctrines resultant from salvation.
Pneumatology and instruction under the Spirit
Danger:
“A believer can have gnosis in the mind and still fall apart under pressure.”
The filling of the Holy Spirit as “the power system” and “the true teacher.”
John 14:26 cited:
“The Helper, the Holy Spirit… He will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said.”
Imperative:
“Keep short accounts with God” (confession) to stay filled with the Spirit (commanded).
Without filling: outside “the pre-designed plan of God” and operating in “the cosmic system.”
Divine discipline framework
Example:
“We’ve seen in David’s life” the consequences of extended carnality.
Discipline nature:
Not punitive judgment for sin; loving parental correction to restore fellowship.
Progressive:
Begins with warning.
Escalates in severity.
Can culminate in “the sin unto death.”
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:10–12 on Spirit-revealed knowledge
“For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.”
“Who among people knows the thoughts of a person except the spirit of the person… so also the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
“We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that you may know the things freely given to us by God.”
Emphasis:
Purpose clause: “so that you may know things freely given… already.”
Means: God’s Spirit; Bible doctrine under the filling of the Spirit.
Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP): design and requirements
Assertions:
The believer must be filled with the Spirit; carnality shuts down perception.
GAP is not automatic; dependent on spiritual condition; hence rebound (confession) is vital.
Ecclesiology:
“God has ordained the pastor-teacher as the communicator of Bible doctrine.”
Doctrine must be taught accurately.
Volition and attitude:
Positive volition, humility, and teachability are required—no shortcuts.
Authority structure:
God designed a system of authority and communication.
Results:
Spiritual growth and stability.
Doctrine resident in the soul; divine viewpoint thinking; stability and confidence; spiritual momentum.
Execution of the faith-rest drill; passing momentum testing; glorifying God by displaying His grace.
Contrast:
Not by emotional experiences or human effort.
Growth only by consistent intake, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine under the filling of the Spirit (“like a broken record”).
Pastoral counseling observation
People often seek “experience,” “quick fix,” “one particular book.”
Teacher’s response:
Offers the same doctrinal process used in his life—no shortcuts, no quick-fix emotionalism.
Pastoral attributions and personal doctrinal recovery
Discovery of Pastor Robert (Bob) McLaughlin:
Began listening to his teachings.
Search context:
Was looking for teachings by “Colonel Thieme” (R. B. Thieme Jr.), his pastor in the 1990s; found McLaughlin instead.
Repentance defined:
“Changed my mind” regarding life apart from God’s will.
Rebound (confession), return to fellowship, and start Romans 12:2 “renewing my mind.”
Investment:
“First year was a thousand hours” of teaching intake; nearing another thousand within “another month.”
Daily practice:
“Every single day” intake from pastor-teacher.
Ecclesiastical counsel:
“You’ll never grow… till you find” the pastor-teacher God has assigned to teach you Bible doctrine.
Self-study alone (“read three chapters a day”) is not how God designed the system.
Personal eagerness:
Post-teaching routine: “back to listening to my pastor… I can’t get enough of it.”
No external ministrations:
“No one prayed over me during this time.”
Six months back in doctrine before coming to the current church; conviction to be part of a local assembly.
Local assembly conviction and preparatory writing
During the six-month period:
Writing notebooks and sermons.
Wife’s observation: not attending church, yet writing sermons.
Teacher’s assurance:
Confidence that “God was going to do something,” a “miraculous work,” which he testifies God has done.
Formal definition repeated and emphasized: Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP)
Definition (twice emphasized):
“The grace system by which God the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God taught by a prepared pastor-teacher and transfers it to the believer’s heart, where it becomes metabolized doctrine that can be applied to life, producing spiritual growth and glorifying God.”
Scripture: Romans 12:2 and renewal mechanics
Teacher’s favorite verse; taught since the 1990s.
Program mention: “Renewed Minds Resilient Lives” (future prison ministry vision).
CBT caveat:
Claim: “They stole cognitive behavioral therapy from the Bible—they just took God out of it.”
Quotation and exegesis:
“Do not be conformed to this world” = Don’t let the world force you into its mold.
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Grammar: “Transformed” is passive voice in Greek—believer receives the action; transformation is by God’s power.
Greek word: metamorphoō (“metamorphou”), analogy: caterpillar to butterfly (immature to mature form).
Mechanism:
Filling of the Spirit plus perception, metabolization of doctrine causes growth—no longer “children tossed to and fro.”
Purpose:
“So that you may prove what the will of God is, which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Key proposition:
Transformation occurs when divine viewpoint replaces human viewpoint.
Scripture and doctrine: stability under testing
James 1:2–4 quoted:
“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”
“Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Application to forthcoming study:
Transition to “glory of God’s grace” includes “testing and momentum testing.”
Stages of spiritual adulthood:
Spiritual self-esteem.
Spiritual autonomy.
Spiritual maturity.
Momentum tests:
With perceived doctrine and Spirit filling, doctrine is “ready to apply.”
Warning at each PMA stage (Perception, Metabolization, Application of Bible Doctrine):
Failure points:
Fail to perceive (no intake).
Fail to metabolize (hear but “do not accept” by faith).
Opening clarification of pastoral role and audience responsibility
The pastor’s job is to communicate doctrine, not to force belief, argue, or prove it true.
Believer-priest principle:
Every believer is a priest who represents himself/herself before God.
You have the right to accept or reject what is taught.
Metabolization and usability of doctrine:
Once you have metabolized doctrine, it becomes usable in your soul.
Failure can still occur at the application phase.
Transition to testing as the arena of application
Trials introduced as the proving ground of doctrine:
“Consider it all joy.”
Various categories of testing:
People testing
Thought testing
System testing
Disaster testing
Distinction between divine discipline and doctrinal testing:
These tests are not divine discipline.
God will not allow testing beyond your ability to bear.
God brings an appropriate test matched to your capacity.
There will be a way to pass by applying learned doctrine.
Encouragement regarding failure:
Do not be discouraged if you fail a test.
God is gracious; He allows you to retake tests “over again and over again.”
Clarification on the nature of testing
Not a memorization quiz:
The testing is not about recalling verses on command, but about real-life situations.
Purpose of providential circumstances:
God uses situations to give you opportunity to apply what you know.
The Ten Problem-Solving Devices (as taught in this ministry) become critical:
Illustrative question under people testing:
Will you get bitter or angry when mistreated?
Or will you operate in impersonal, unconditional love?
Growth under pressure
Application produces growth:
As tests come, if you do not fall apart under pressure and you apply doctrine, you grow.
Analogy: Gym/weightlifting
You don’t start at 500 lbs; you begin light and, through repetition and exercise, get stronger.
The same process occurs in the soul and spiritual life:
Repeated doctrinal application strengthens spiritual capacity.
Response to failure:
When you fall short, “rebound” (recover), pick up the pieces, and move on.
Do not get discouraged; God is gracious.
Scripture: James and the joy of testing (reiterated)
Reason to consider trials joy:
Passing tests and growing leads to blessing.
Blessing mechanics and categories:
Spiritual maturity unlocks blessings ordained in eternity past.
Distinction from logistical grace:
Logistical grace = God’s provision of all needs to every believer.
The blessings in view are above logistical grace:
Described biblically as “exceeding and abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
These exceed even our prayer requests and expectations.
Therefore, James’ exhortation to joy is warranted.
Transition toward conclusion and preview of next week
Acknowledges being “on a roll,” but will end soon.
Intends to finish this subject next week without adding new topics.
Homework assignment for the congregation:
Write down and study: 2 Corinthians 10:3–5.
“We’re not going to read it now … but we’ll go over it next week.”
Has extensive notes and may type them up for distribution.
Closing Scripture reading and exposition
Ephesians 4:13–14 read and expounded:
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God … to a mature man … to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people and by the craftiness of deceitful scheming.”
Doctrinal implications:
The goal is maturity: conformity to Christ’s fullness.
Stability replaces childish instability:
No longer tossed by doctrinal winds, human trickery, or deceitful scheming.
Doctrine of stages of spiritual maturity
Stages named and ordered:
Spiritual Self-Esteem (first stage; the “giant leap” per Pastor Bob’s terminology).
Spiritual Autonomy.
Spiritual Maturity.
Pastoral attribution:
“The giant leap” is “as Pastor Bob calls it.”
Pastoral caution on attitude:
We study these stages not for arrogance or self-evaluation to boast, but for clarity on the path and goals.
Purpose of pursuing the stages:
To cease being children (Eph 4:14).
To stand under pressures and trials without collapsing.
To avoid distraction by novelty or trends and remain anchored in Bible doctrine.
Exhortation to put down an anchor in doctrinal consistency
Anchor imagery:
As you live this life and grow, you “put your anchor down.”
Stability and solidity come with continued intake and application.
Pastoral boundary-setting and ministry structure:
The pastor cannot serve as an “on-retainer” personal explainer or “Bible Answer Man.”
There are believers who “pay the price”—they “buy the truth and do not sell it” (Prov 23:23 allusion).
They take in doctrine every single week; the pastor strives to make teaching accessible.
Tape ministry history and rationale for free teaching:
Recollection of Pastor Tim’s tape ministry and Pastor Bob’s tape ministry.
Pastor-teachers should not sell teachings:
There must be no obstacle, barrier, or excuse preventing people from reaching spiritual maturity.
Positive volition and divine provision
If you have positive volition:
God will put a communicator in your life to teach you the necessary doctrine to reach maturity.
If you lack positive volition:
It will not happen for you anyway.
Once God provides:
You must put your anchor down and submit to the process.
Submission to pastoral authority defined
What submission is not:
It is not the pastor running your life or telling you what to do.
What submission is:
Willing, disciplined intake of teaching under your pastor-teacher’s authority regarding doctrine.
Pastoral love demonstrated:
“I teach, I study, and I teach and I study and I teach.”
Christ’s pastoral mandate to Peter applied:
Jesus: “Do you love me? … Feed my sheep.”
The pastor’s role is to feed; he cannot make anyone eat.
Metabolization analogy expanded (nutrition/digestion)
Metabolization of doctrine compared to digestion:
Intake → extraction of nutrients → usable energy.
Personal responsibility:
You cannot digest someone else’s food.
You must personally take in doctrine consistently for spiritual nourishment.
Time management, priorities, and daily intake
Candid claim:
“No one can tell me they don’t have time every day.”
People do the things they want; don’t make excuses.
Encouraged benchmarks:
Not everyone needs to do 20 hours per week like the pastor.
A reasonable benchmark: about an hour a day.
Regarding posts the pastor sends out:
They often take 10–20 minutes to read like a devotional.
Prayer and Word rhythm:
From 1 to 3 hours depending on how the Spirit leads (as discussed with attendees).
Recipients often forward the posts to others.
The content is clear and understandable (attendee feedback).
The series is titled “Strength for Today.”
Warning against disconnect:
If you receive but do not read or practice, a disconnect results.
Some people remain without deliverance because they are not consistent in application and intake.
Extended analogy: Long-term consistency (weightlifting and wrestling background)
Personal story:
A friend began weightlifting with the pastor in youth but failed to remain consistent.
Over years, the pastor continued and transformed; the friend repeatedly desired results without consistency.
Principle:
No magic—just consistent practice over time transforms the body.
Parallel to doctrine:
Over time, consistent doctrinal intake will transform and renew the mind and change one’s life (cf. Romans 12:2 implied).
Congregational practice and testimony (interaction with attendees)
They discuss the written posts because they are “so beautiful.”
Starting the day in the Word:
Mornings vary in timing, but beginning with the Word is vital.
Without it, the day is harder; therefore, they prioritize it.
Acknowledgment that everyone has responsibilities, but priorities reveal commitments.
Final logistical wrap-up and call to close in prayer
The pastor decides to close the recording.
Request to David to close in prayer.
Closing prayer by David (key themes)
Thanksgiving for the opportunity to learn the Word as brothers and sisters.
Echo of Jesus’ mandate: “If you love me … feed my sheep.”
Affirmation that church is where we feed our “spiritual stomachs” with the Word of God.
Petition:
That each person will take the information and live for eternity.
To fulfill the “new man” life—strong, spiritual, victorious.
Warning: If you don’t live in the new man with the Word, you will fail (implied).
Requests:
For knowledge, truth, and power.
For mercies and protection on the way home.
For a unique blessing to return and learn more next time.
Amen.
Scripture References in the Precise Order Mentioned (with key phrases and notes)
1) 1 John 1:9
Quoted: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Use: Rebound/confession restores fellowship and filling.
2) Ephesians 2:1
Quoted: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”
Use: Total inability pre-salvation; sets regeneration frame.
3) Ephesians 2:5
Quoted (in part): “‘Even when we were dead in our transgressions,’ made us alive together with Christ,” with the parenthesis, “by grace you have been saved.”
4) Ephesians 2:8–9
Quoted: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves; it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
5) 2 Corinthians 5:17
Quoted: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Use: New creation identity and capacity.
6) 2 Corinthians 5:14–16
Summarized/quoted: “Christ died for all … that those who live might live for Him.” “We recognize no one according to the flesh.”
Use: Context for v. 17; viewpoint shift from flesh to union-with-Christ.
7) 1 Corinthians 12:13
Quoted/paraphrased: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body … and were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
Use: Positional baptism by the Spirit; instantaneous at salvation.
8) Romans 1:20 (alluded)
Use: “Creation” usage of ktisis—creative power language.
9) Revelation 21:1 (alluded)
Use: “New heavens and new earth” usage of ktisis.
10) Ephesians 2:15 (paraphrased)
“Created … one new man.”
Use: New creation language alongside regeneration.
11) Galatians 5 (chapter-level reference)
Use: Ongoing flesh–Spirit conflict.
12) Romans 7 (chapter-level reference)
Quoted/paraphrased: “The things I want to do, I don’t … Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? … Thank God through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Use: Apostle Paul’s experiential struggle evidences indwelling sin post-salvation.
13) Romans 8:1
Quoted: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Use: Positional security despite ongoing struggle.
14) 2 Corinthians 5:18–21 (referenced thematically)
Use: Reconciliation’s practical implications.
15) 1 Corinthians 2:14
Quoted: “A natural person does not accept the things of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Use: Pre-salvation incapacity; explains unbeliever misunderstanding.
16) Jude 19 (cross-referenced)
“Psychikos” persons, “not having the Spirit.”
Use: Confirms “natural person” category.
17) 1 Corinthians 2:12–13
Quoted/summarized: “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit … so that we may know the things freely given to us by God… not in words taught by human wisdom, but… by the Spirit… combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”
Use: GAP mechanics; Spirit as teacher.
18) Ephesians 1:17–18
Quoted/summarized: Prayer for “a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him… eyes of your heart enlightened… hope of His calling… riches of the glory of His inheritance.”
Use: Paul’s prayer model for believer enlightenment.
19) John 14:26
Quoted: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit… He will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have said.”
Use: Spirit as Teacher and Remembrancer.
20) 1 Corinthians 2:10–12
Quoted: “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit… the Spirit searches… the depths of God… We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit… so that you may know the things freely given…”
Use: Spirit-revealed knowledge and purpose.
21) Romans 12:2
Quoted: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… so that you may prove what the will of God is…”
Greek: metamorphoō (metamorphou), passive voice noted.
Use: Mind renewal as mechanism of transformation.
22) James 1:2–4
Quoted: “Consider it all joy… when you encounter various trials… testing of your faith produces endurance… that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Use: Testing produces endurance and maturity.
23) Ephesians 5:18
Quoted: “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Use: Command proves filling is non-automatic; distinguishes filling from indwelling.
24) Colossians 2:13 (later cited in second outline stream)
Quoted/paraphrased: “When you were dead in your transgressions… He made you alive… having forgiven us all our transgressions.”
Greek note: Aorist participle “having forgiven” (charisamenos) precedes main verb “He made alive” (synezōopoiēsen)—forgiveness precedes regeneration.
25) Ephesians 4:13–14
Quoted: “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God… to a mature man… As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…”
Use: Aim of maturity and stability.
26) 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (assigned as homework; not read)
To be covered next week in detail.
27) John 21:15–17 (alluded)
“Do you love me? … feed my sheep.”
Use: Pastoral mandate to feed the flock.
28) Proverbs 23:23 (alluded)
“Buy the truth and do not sell it.”
Use: Exhortation to value and consistently intake doctrine.
Definitions, Word Studies, and Original Language Notes (as given)
Rebound:
Naming and citing sins to God (1 John 1:9), a non-meritorious act restoring the filling of the Spirit and fellowship.
Indwelling vs. Filling of the Spirit:
Indwelling: Permanent presence of the Spirit in the believer from salvation.
Filling: Variable experiential control by the Spirit; commanded (Ephesians 5:18); can be lost and recovered via confession.
Homologeō (confess):
To agree with God regarding sin; aligns with the judicial satisfaction at the cross.
Kainos vs. Neos:
Kainos: New in kind/quality; qualitatively different.
Neos: New in time/recent.
2 Corinthians 5:17 uses kainē (feminine of kainos) with ktisis—“new creation” of a different order.
Ktisis:
Creation; used of original creation (Romans 1:20) and eschatological new creation (Revelation 21:1), underscoring God’s creative power.
Tense notes on 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Old things passed away” (aorist): Completed once-for-all action at salvation.
“New things have come” (perfect): Completed action with continuing results.
Psychikos (1 Corinthians 2:14; Jude 19):
“Natural” person without the Spirit; lacks capacity to receive spiritual truth.
Not an intelligence deficit; a spiritual incapacity.
Aorist participle (Colossians 2:13 “having forgiven”):
In Greek syntax, aorist participles typically denote action antecedent to the main verb; thus forgiveness precedes “made alive.”
Metamorphoō (Romans 12:2):
Greek for “be transformed”; passive voice—God performs the transforming as mind is renewed.
GAP (Grace Apparatus for Perception):
Multiple phrasings given; formal definition emphasized:
“The grace system by which God the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God taught by a prepared pastor-teacher and transfers it to the believer’s heart, where it becomes metabolized doctrine that can be applied to life, producing spiritual growth and glorifying God.”
Doctrinal Points (as delivered, in flow)
Soteriology:
Salvation by grace through faith, not by works (Eph 2:8–9).
Eternal security: Salvation is permanent; no sin can annul it.
Unlimited atonement: All sins judged at the cross and imputed to Christ; benefits applied by faith.
Final judgment is according to works; standard is perfect righteousness, which only God gives.
Anthropology/Hamartiology:
Pre-salvation: spiritually dead, total inability to save or please God (Eph 2:1).
Believers retain a sin nature; personal sins occur post-salvation; flesh–Spirit conflict (Gal 5), Romans 7 struggle.
Pneumatology:
Permanent indwelling of the Spirit at salvation.
Filling of the Spirit is commanded, non-automatic, can be forfeited by sin, recovered by confession (1 John 1:9).
Spirit as Teacher (John 14:26); reveals freely given things (1 Cor 2:10–12).
Common grace and efficacious grace in salvation; post-salvation learning requires filling.
Positional Truth and Union with Christ:
Baptized by the Spirit into one body (1 Cor 12:13).
New creation identity: absolute and comprehensive positional change at salvation (2 Cor 5:17).
Sanctification and Fellowship:
Rebound (confession) restores fellowship and filling, enabling learning and execution of the predesigned plan of God.
Growth mechanics: Filling of the Spirit + Perception, Metabolization, Application of Bible doctrine (PMA).
Transformation by mind renewal (Rom 12:2) replaces human viewpoint with divine viewpoint.
Justice and Righteousness of God:
Point of contact is God’s justice executing what God’s righteousness demands; love is not the adjudicative contact point.
Confession appeals to satisfied justice at the cross.
New Creation Capacity:
Qualitative newness (kainos) bestows capacity to perceive and apply spiritual truth—something absent pre-salvation.
Testing and Maturity:
Trials (James 1:2–4) designed for growth; not divine discipline.
God matches tests to capacity; provides a way to pass (1 Cor 10:13 alluded).
Spiritual adulthood stages: Spiritual Self-Esteem (“giant leap,” Pastor Bob), Spiritual Autonomy, Spiritual Maturity.
Stability goal (Eph 4:13–14): no longer children tossed by every wind of doctrine.
Ecclesiology and Authority:
God ordained the pastor-teacher for accurate doctrinal communication.
Submit to pastoral authority in the sense of teachability; not life micromanagement.
Positive volition required; God provides a communicator when volition is positive.
Free dissemination of doctrine (tape ministry precedent) to remove barriers.
Applications, Illustrations, and Analogies (in flow)
Practice of silent confession before study to ensure filling of the Spirit and teachability.
Immediate confession upon sinning to restore fellowship and continue executing God’s plan.
Consistent intake of Bible doctrine (e.g., daily “Strength for Today”) as foundational to growth.
Pastoral critique: “Self-help Christianity” focused on externals; spiritual life is about power source (Spirit) and doctrine.
Red Sea illustration: focus on principles and practice, not speculative mechanics.
Faith activation: Doctrine must be “mixed with faith” to become a lived reality.
Medical caveat and stent illustration: Do not analogize spiritual principles to reckless medical choices; use prescribed means.
Workplace conversation: Gratitude to God vs. pride; unbeliever incapacity explained via 1 Cor 2:14.
Weightlifting/gym analogy: Gradual strength through repetition mirrors doctrinal application under testing.
Digestion/metabolization analogy: You must personally “digest” doctrine for it to become usable.
Anchor imagery: Put your anchor down in doctrine for stability.
Long-term consistency story: Friend who desired results without consistency; transformation requires time and steady practice.
Attributions to Other Pastors (as mentioned)
Colonel R. B. Thieme Jr. (“Pastor Theme”):
“Grace Apparatus for Perception” (GAP).
Rebound essentiality; warning that many remain out of fellowship.
Pastor Robert (Bob) McLaughlin:
Current teacher whose materials the speaker adopted; calls first stage “the giant leap.”
Pastor Tim:
Referenced regarding tape ministry history.
Administrative/Chronological Notes (as stated)
The sermon outline is generated based on a recording dated 2026-04-22 19:00:51.
The pastor states this is the seventeenth week teaching on the grace of confession.
Slide usage:
Newly formatted slides drawn from typed versions of handwritten notes.
Plans to return to slides concluding the “grace of confession” series.
Timeline references within testimony:
Medicine taper began in May (two years prior to 2026-04-22).
“This March now is one year” without FMLA as of March 2026.
Homework assigned:
2 Corinthians 10:3–5 to be covered next week.