Arrogance Complex Of Sins, Part 2. Barriers To The Faith Rest Life.

09-17-25 Barriers To The Faith Rest Life: Arrogance Complex Of Sins Part 2

I. Opening Protocol: Preparation for Doctrinal Study

A. Individual Spiritual Preparation

1.   **Rebound and Cleansing:**The necessity of applying 1 John 1:9to ensure the filling of the Holy Spirit.

        1 John 1:9- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

2.   **Mental Focus:**The importance of casting anxieties upon the Lord to eliminate distractions and concentrate on the Word of God.

        1 Peter 5:7- "Casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you."

B. Pastoral Opening Prayer

3.   Thanksgiving for God's mercy, grace, and the truth of His Word.

4.   Petition for the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of the congregation to receive the teaching.

5.   A request to teach with both the authority of the Word and the grace it imparts.

II. The Faith-Rest Life: The Execution of the Pre-Designed Plan of God (PPOG)

A. From a "Drill" to a "Life"

1.   The "Faith-Rest Drill" is God's designed means for stabilizing a believer in adversity. It is a foundational tool, especially for new believers.

2.   The ultimate objective is to graduate from a situational "drill" to a continuous "Faith-Rest Life."

3.   **Doctrinal Synthesis:**The "Faith-Rest Life" is presented as synonymous with the execution of the Pre-Designed Plan of God (PPOG). It is the practical "how-to" for living out God's plan.

B. The Three Prerequisite Spiritual Skills

4.   **Rebound:**Mastery of 1 John 1:9to maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit.

5.   **Doctrinal Intake:**The consistent perception, metabolization, and application of Bible doctrine. This is our spiritual food and provides spiritual muscle.

6.   **Execution of the PPOG:**This is the application of the first two skills, which is the Faith-Rest Life itself.

III. Review of the Faith-Rest Drill Mechanics

A. Step One: Claiming a Divine Promise

1.   **Principle:**In times of tribulation, claiming a specific promise from God's Word stabilizes the soul and brings thoughts under control.

2.   **Primary Example:**Romans 8:28

        Romans 8:28- "For God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose."

3.   **Application:**The goal is to make this a daily reality, not just a crisis-management technique.

B. Step Two: Forming Doctrinal Rationales

4.   **Principle:**The initial promise provides stability, but it will not sustain you. The next step is to use metabolized doctrine to re-explain to yourself why the promise is true.

5.   Biblical Model: The Apostle Paul in Romans 8

o  Following the promise of Romans 8:28, Paul begins to build a case, essentially commenting to himself on the certainty of the promise.

o  **Exegetical Context:**The believers in Rome were facing extreme persecution under Emperor Nero. They were being used as human torches to light the streets. Paul's words in Romans 8 were not written during a time of minor trials but of intense, life-threatening suffering.

o  Paul's Doctrinal Rationales:

§ God's Foreknowledge: He knew all about you in eternity past.

§ God's Plan: He has a specific plan for your life.

§ God's Election: He chose you for privilege.

§ God's Glorification: He will glorify you in the future.

C. The Doctrinal Conclusion: The Point of Absolute Victory

·     **Principle:**The process of building doctrinal rationales leads to an unshakable conviction and spiritual victory.

·     Paul's Conclusion in Romans 8:

o  After reasoning through God's sovereign plan, Paul declares, "I am persuaded [convinced] that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus."

o  This conclusion transcends circumstances (Nero, government, worldly evil).

o  Living in this state of doctrinal conviction is the essence of true victory in the Christian life.

IV. The Arrogance Complex of Sins: The Great Saboteur of the PPOG

A. Working Definition of Arrogance

"Self-importance elevated above the authority of God and his word."

B. The Nature of a "Complex"

1.   It is not a single sin but a "spider web" of interconnected sins that branch out from the root of arrogance.

2.   It works in tandem with the Emotional Complex of Sins.

C. The Supreme Danger of Arrogance

3.   **Thesis:**Nothing will remove a believer from the PPOG faster than the Arrogance and Emotional Complexes of Sin.

4.   **Comparison:**It is far easier to recover from overt sins (immorality, drunkenness, adultery) and get back into fellowship than it is to recover from the advanced stages of arrogance.

D. The Subtle Progression of Arrogance

5.   It begins subtly and can be difficult to recognize. It does not start at the end stages of "blackout of the soul" or "scar tissue on the soul," which require prolonged, willful, negative volition toward Bible doctrine.

6.   **The Seed:**It begins with an inflated self-estimate, leading to self-absorption, self-justification, and self-deception.

7.   **The Sprout:**This leads to Independence from Grace, where the believer attempts to live the Christian life by human ability rather than divine provision.

V. The Cosmic System: The Battlefield for the Believer's Soul

A. The Two Operating Systems for the Believer

1.   If a believer is not operating in the PPOG, they are by default operating in the Cosmic System (Satan's plan).

2.   The goal is to maximize time in the PPOG and minimize time in the Cosmic System. This requires keeping short accounts with God through confession.

3.   Unconfessed sin breaks the filling of the Spirit, and any action performed outside of fellowship is void of divine good.

B. The Two Extremes to Avoid: Legalism and Antinomianism

4.   **Legalism (Cosmic Two):**The error of trying to earn or maintain God's favor by keeping the law. Fundamentally defined as self-righteousness. This manifests as living by a list of do's and don'ts, taboos, and is often tied to the fear of losing one's salvation.

5.   **Antinomianism (Cosmic One):**The error of rejecting God's moral standards altogether under the guise of grace. Fundamentally defined as self-orientationor preoccupation with self. This leads to self-indulgence and overt sin.

C. The Correct Biblical View: The Balance of Grace

6.   Grace frees the believer from the penalty of the law, not from the principle of righteous living.

7.   We are saved by grace through faith, and this very grace instructs us to live holy, sensible, and godly lives.

        Titus 2:11-12: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age.

8.   This establishes the balance: grace is not a license for lawlessness.

VI. Antinomianism: The Arrogance of Cosmic One

A. Definition

1.   Antinomianism means "against the law."

2.   It is the false teaching that, because of grace, Christians are under no moral or ethical obligation. It twists freedom in Christ into a license to live however one wants without regard for God's commands.

B. Theological Error: Confusing Salvation and Sanctification

3.   **Salvation:**A one-time, positional, and irreversible event.

4.   **Christian Living (Experiential Sanctification):**A daily process of walking in the Spirit.

5.   Confusing these two leads to the Cosmic Two error of legalism (believing you must work to keep your salvation). However, a misunderstanding of grace leads to the Cosmic One error of antinomianism.

C. A Danger for Grace-Oriented Believers

6.   **Exegetical Note:**This is a particular danger for believers who understand grace. The speaker references R.B. Thieme Jr.'s teaching that some would deliberately commit acts of sin simply to "prove" their freedom, which is a direct manifestation of the arrogance complex.

D. Scriptural Rebuttal of Antinomianism

7.   **Romans 6:1-2:**Paul directly confronts this mindset: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?"

8.   **Romans 6:3-4:**Our baptism into Christ signifies a death to the old life so that we "might walk in newness of life."

9.   Galatians 5:13:"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."

10. **Jude 4:**The next passage to be examined to further expose this error.

E. The Consequences of an Antinomian Lifestyle

11. **Clarification on Eternal Security:**A believer absolutely cannot lose their salvation. All sins—past, present, and future—have been paid for at the cross.

12. The Dangers:

o  While salvation is secure, a believer can miss out on the plan of God for their life.

o  Living "against the law" leads to a life under constant divine discipline.

§ **Exegetical Note:**Divine discipline is not God's judgment but His mercy and grace, designed to lead the believer back to His plan.

o  Persistent carnality can lead to the "sin unto death," where God takes the believer home prematurely.

o  This results in being a "loser" at the Bema Seat of Christ.

§ **Clarification:**This term is not meant to be insulting but doctrinally precise. It refers to the forfeiture of eternal rewards held in escrow for believers who execute the plan of God while filled with the Spirit.

·     **The Principle of Volition:**God does not force any believer to walk in His plan. Each individual must use their own volition to choose it.

VII. Deeper Analysis of the Cosmic System

A. Cosmic One: Self-Orientation and Sinful License

1.   Scriptural Basis:

        1 John 2:16: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, it is not from the Father, it is from the world.

2.   **Definition:**A preoccupation with self and a functional independence from God.

3.   **Root:**Arrogance, the original sin of Satan ("I will...").

4.   **Characteristics:**Self-importance, rejection of divine authority, and the pursuit of personal gratification.

5.   **Manifestations:**This mindset expresses itself through pride, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, self-pity, and implacability(an inability to be satisfied or reconciled). It is the fast track to a life of destructive sinful behavior.

B. Cosmic Two: Legalism and Anti-God Hostility

6.   Scriptural Basis:

        Romans 8:7: Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so.

Romans 8:8: and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

7.   **Deeper Definition:**Cosmic Two is not merely self-righteousness; at its core, it is an anti-God orientation characterized by hatred and hostility towards God, His truth (doctrine), and those who represent His truth.

8.   The Paradox of Legalism:

o  Legalists often appear to be the most zealous "for God," but their motivation is a hatred of God's policy of grace.

o  They exhibit aggressive antagonism to grace, reject sound doctrine, and persecute believers who stand for truth.

·     Biblical Illustration: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

o  The Pharisee operates in Cosmic Two. He boasts of his works ("I tithe... I do this...") and looks for God's approval based on his performance.

o  This attitude is not love for God but love for self. In reality, the Pharisee hates God's system of grace and mercy.

o  This is exemplified by Paul's pre-conversion life as a Pharisee who, while "blameless" regarding the law, was murdering Christians out of self-righteous hatred for God's true plan.

·     Key Verse for Cosmic Two:

        1 John 2:9, 11: The one who says that he is in the light and yet hates his brother or sister is in darkness until now... but the one who hates his brother or sister is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. This connects legalistic hatred to the "blackout of the soul."

VIII. Lust Patterns: The Sin Nature's Area of Weakness

A. **Definition:**A lust pattern is a strong, driving desire (epithumia) that originates from the sin nature's specific area of weakness. It is not limited to sexual desire.

* Examples: Revenge lust, criminal lust, cruelty lust, materialism, ego lust.

B. Exegetical Point on Epithumia (Strong Desire):

1.   Context determines a word's meaning. The analogy of the word "trunk" (car, tree, luggage) illustrates this principle.

2.   Luke 22:15(approx.): Jesus uses epithumia in a positive sense: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you."

3.   Galatians 5:16: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire (epithumia) of the flesh. Here it is used in a negative sense.

C. Personal Application and Identification:

4.   Every believer has a different area of weakness and will be drawn into the cosmic system in a unique way.

5.   It is critical to recognize one's own tendencies (e.g., toward Cosmic One or Cosmic Two, specific lusts like ego or revenge) in order to guard against them.

D. Key Verses on Lust:

6.   James 1:14-15: But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin...

7.   1 John 2:16: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world.

IX. The Progression of Sin and the Divine Solution

A. The Progression:

1.   **Temptation:**A desire appears in the mind. **Crucial Doctrine:**Temptation itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted in all ways, yet without sin.

2.   **Sin:**Occurs at the point of mental consent. When you dwell on the thought, you have committed sin in your heart ("As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"). The sin does not have to be overt; it can be mental or verbal.

B. The Divine Solution (The 3 R's):

3.   **Rebound:**Immediately confess the known sin to God (1 John 1:9) to be restored to fellowship. Do not allow guilt or condemnation to linger.

4.   **Recovery of the Filling of the Spirit:**Rebound results in being filled with the Holy Spirit again.

5.   **Renewing the Mind:**Get right back to Bible doctrine. This metabolizes truth and weakens the pull of the lust pattern.

        Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind... This is a constant, ongoing action.

X. The Advanced Stages of Spiritual Decline: Blackout and Scar Tissue

A. Introduction to the Decline (from Ephesians 4)

1.   Key Passage:

        Ephesians 4:17-19: So I say this and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorancethat is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

2.   Analysis of the Believer's Decline:

o  The passage describes a believer walking in the "futility of their minds."

o  This leads to being "darkened in their understanding" and "excluded from the life of God" (i.e., out of fellowship and the operational plan of God).

o  Three Key Stages of Hardness are identified in the text:

§ Ignorance(of doctrine)

§ Hardness of Heart(resisting doctrine)

§ Callousness(scar tissue on the soul, becoming insensitive to God's truth)

B. Blackout of the Soul: The State of Spiritual Darkness

·     Definition and Cause:

o  A state of spiritual darkness where the believer's soul is blinded to the truth.

o  It is caused by a period of prolonged, willful, volitional rejection of Bible doctrine.

·     **Analogy:**Just as a human body can only survive for a limited time without food, a believer cannot survive spiritually for long without the intake of Bible doctrine.

·     **Characteristics:**The soul becomes dominated by human viewpoint and emotional subjectivity, replacing divine viewpoint.

C. Scar Tissue of the Soul: The Hardening of the Soul

·     Definition and Development:

o  The hardening or callusing of the soul, resulting from a prolonged blackout of the souland the continual rejection of truth.

o  **Exegetical Example: Pharaoh.**Pharaoh hardened his own heart five times before the scripture states that God hardened his heart.

o  The conscience becomes seared and insensitive to divine norms and standards.

·     Theological Illustration from Cardiology: Myocardial Infarction (MI)

o  **Medical Explanation:**An MI (heart attack) occurs when a coronary artery is blocked, causing tissue death (infarction).

o  **The Principle of "Time is Muscle":**If blood flow is not restored quickly, the muscle dies and can never regenerate.

o  **The Spiritual Parallel: Dead Tissue Cannot Conduct Electricity.**Dead cardiac tissue (scar) can no longer conduct the heart's electrical signals. **Application to the Soul:**Scar tissue on the soul is like this dead cardiac tissue. It is an area that can no longer receive "signals" (divine viewpoint) from God. Something has died there.

·     Scriptural Support for Scar Tissue:

        1 Timothy 4:2"By means of the hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron."

o  This directly speaks to the concept of scar tissue on the soul: hardened, inflexible, and insensitive tissue that no longer functions properly.

D. The Path to Recovery

·     It is very difficult, though not impossible, for people in this state to come back to God.

·     The essential ingredient for recovery is humility, often requiring a person to "hit rock bottom."

·     When a person has reached this stage of callousness, you cannot simply quote Scripture or doctrine to them, as it is not being received.

E. The Chronological Progression of Spiritual Decline

·     Negative Volition leads to...

·     Blackout of the Soul, which leads to...

·     Scar Tissue of the Soul, which leads to...

·     Reversionism, which results in...

·     Slavery to the Sin Nature.

XI. Case Study: The Arrogance Complex in King Saul (1 Samuel 15-18)

A. The Scriptural Context

1.   1 Samuel 15: The Root of Disobedience

o  **Event:**God commands Saul to completely destroy Amalek. Saul disobeys by sparing King Agag and the choice livestock.

o  Samuel's Rebuke:"To obey is better than sacrifice."

o  **Doctrinal Principles:**Partial obedience is total disobedience; rationalizing sin with religious activity is arrogance.

·     1 Samuel 16: The Divine Shift

o  **Event:**David is anointed as the next king.

o  **Key Verse:**1 Samuel 16:7"...man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

o  **Doctrinal Principle:**God chooses leaders based on their heart condition, not their external appearance.

·     1 Samuel 17: The Missed Opportunity

o  **Event:**David defeats Goliath.

o  **Audience Contribution/Principle:**It was Saul's responsibility as king to fight Goliath. Because Saul was negative toward God, he missed his opportunity. When you miss an opportunity from God, He has already prepared someone else to take it. This is why Saul's life went "down, down, down" from that point.

·     1 Samuel 18: The Eruption of Arrogance

o  **Event:**The women of Israel sing, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands."

o  Saul's Reaction:"Then Saul became very angry, for this lyric displeased him." This is the starting point of the visible manifestation of his arrogance complex.

XII. Conclusion and Future Direction

A. The Purpose of the Study

1.   The purpose of studying these negative doctrines is not for condemnation or guilt.

2.   It is to identify the primary barriers that prevent a believer from living the faith-rest life: Arroganceand the Emotional Complex of Sins.

B. Future Study Plan

3.   After completing the study on the emotional complex, the teaching will return to Romans 8.

4.   The purpose will be to review the doctrine of the faith-rest life and bring out additional principles.

C. Closing Prayer

5.   **Thanksgiving:**For the time of study, for God's Word, and for the plan He has for each believer's life.

6.   **Petition:**That believers would be invigorated and know what to watch out for in their spiritual lives, enabling them to execute God's plan more effectively.

7.   **Focus:**A prayer to keep hearts and minds focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. Occupation with Christis the surest way to be kept from arrogance and the emotional complex of sins.

8.   **Blessing:**A request for God's blessing and favor upon each person, according to His will. In Jesus' name. Amen.