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Take The Personal Spiritual Heart Examination: Part 1: Introduction to The Christian's New Heart Part 2: "The Promise of a New Heart" Part 3: The 13M Spiritual Heart Examination Part 5: The Whole-Hearted Christian _______________________ by Frank Allnutt The 13M Spiritual Heart Examination This self-examination will generally follow my 13M Spiritual Heart Examination, a thirteen-part diagnostic model that I have developed for use by teachers and counselors. It will guide you to consider the six biblical perspectives of a person: the positional, relational, ontological, conditional, functional, and behavioral. Don’t let those words scare you; I provide you with easy to grasp definitions, supplemented by my simply-drawn illustrations that speak volumes at a glance. Note: The positional, relational, and ontological issues related to Adam-Hearted Man and the Christ-Hearted Man are discussed in book one of my Advanced Studies, The Christian’s New Heart. I build on those by exploring the conditional, functional, and behavioral perspectives in my second Advanced Study, The Ways of the Heart, generally following the outline of the 13M Spiritual Heart Examination:
1. Mode of Heart
Figure 2-1: Adamic man is separated from God because of sin
Personhood is unique self that is created by God in His image. Personhood in Adamic Man, while corrupted by sin inherited from Adam, nonetheless possesses the godlike features of selfhood, individuality, sense of morality, and perpetuity. Because he possesses the ability of self-expression, he has a strong creative or achieving drive. He is able, within the limitations of his fallen state of being and unregenerate spiritual heart condition, to make intellectual moral discernment between good and evil (but not spiritual discernment) because God writes His law on the heart or conscience of every person (Romans 2:14, 15). But, as we will see further on, Adamic Man has limited ability to do good, as God recognizes good, and is predisposed to yield to sinful motivations. He is also capable of feeling and expressing erotic love and brotherly love, but not godly love (agape), for this is a spiritual gift given only to believers (1 Corinthians 13). And while his natural spirit life is everlasting, it lacks the regenerate, Christ-like qualities and features of the Christian’s new life in Christ Jesus. 2. Maturity The world generally views maturity in developed degrees of self-sufficiency, self-discipline, knowledge and wisdom, skills and abilities, and sociocultural conformity. Part of conformity is meeting a variety of standards or expectations of one’s peer group. While those standards vary greatly from group to group, in the United States we have seen moral standards, in particular, swing like a pendulum from conservatism to liberalism over the past several decades. Some social scientists call this phenomenon “relativism.” The Bible calls it “sin.” What is widely considered morally acceptable by many people today—lying, sexual relations outside of marriage, homosexuality, drug use, gambling, and many other addictions—were considered immoral by most people a few decades ago. Some Adamic people might strive for moral or spiritual maturity through many varieties of humanistic religions and philosophies, but they cannot truly mature spiritually because they have unregenerate spiritual hearts—spiritually dead hearts that are separated from God, and are therefore incapable of true spiritual growth or development. God refers to such a heart as a “heart of stone” (Ezekiel 36:26). 3. Mind set In scriptural terms, a person’s dominating mental focus is referred to as “mind set” (Colossians 3:2). What is the mind set of Adamic Man? Ask people what is foremost on their mind and you will probably receive a different answer from each of them. However, in the case of generic Adamic Man, we will consider what the Bible reveals about his dominating thoughts. Not surprisingly, they are rooted in his basic needs. All people are born with the motivation to survive—to meet their biological, emotional, and social needs and desires. Among those are the desires to feel good about oneself, to be free, and to create and achieve. How to satisfy those desires naturally occupy the Adamic person’s mind. He has a self-centered mind set. 4. Me or Self All of us, at some time in our life, ponder these four familiar philosophical questions:
The search for identity Adamic people do not know who they are. That is not to say they have no concept of self; indeed, they have conjured up many theories. Some Adamic people go throughout life searching for their “true self” and to attain “self-realization.” Most seek to develop self-identity according to their own whims. Quite often this is a self-flattering and fanciful self-image that they use in an attempt to bolster their self-esteem and to impress others. Self-concepts are commonly based on physical appearance and ability, intelligence, career, wealth, possessions, social status, and so on. Those who are more introspect attempt to “get in touch with their true inner selves” through a plethora of philosophies, pop psychology, and metaphysical, mystical, and humanistic religious tenets. Few consult the Bible, and when they do, most reject its teachings about the natural person—that he is a fallen creature, separated from God, controlled by sin, and is destined for hell. That is not how Adamic people wish to view themselves. They endlessly look for confirmation that they are someone greater and better off than they really are. Many Adamic people believe humans are no more than a highly evolved animal species. And there are a number of interesting extremes: Some find satisfaction in believing they are reincarnated animals or persons of great physical beauty, talent, fame, or influence; a few even believe they are super intelligent extraterrestrial beings in human bodies. It comes down to this: Adamic Man tends to regard as truth and reality what he wants to be truth and reality. Such practice makes a person highly vulnerable to self-deception. The natural person is an “old man” “in Adam” Adamic Man’s depraved heart
Though Adamic Man has a depraved heart, he is not totally depraved, for he is naturally endowed with moral discernment, and can conduct himself with common morality. This is because God has written His moral law on the hearts of all people (Romans 2:15). Adamic Man’s behavior might conform to “the letter of the law,” but cannot fulfill “the spirit of the law,” because that can only be accomplished by the Christian who exercises his spiritual gift of love to obey God. 5. Meaning of Existence Closely tied to the concept of self is the concept of one’s worth or significance as a human being. This is commonly called “self-esteem.” For many people, self-esteem is based upon their fanciful and faulty concept of self-identity. But true significance of existence hinges on real identity. The Bible has much to say about the meaning and value of an individual. However, Adamic people reject God and the truth that He loves them, the truth about who they are, the truth of the meaning of their existence, the truth of their spiritual relationships, and the truth of their destiny. Scripture indicates that Adamic people are total failures in God’s view, that all their achievements have no standing with Him in terms of acceptance, and that the only thing they are “worthy” of is death (eternal separation from God)—on the basis of who they are (sinners) and for what they do (sin). Some people accuse God of heartlessly condemning to death all who do not believe in Him and worship Him. But it should be understood that nonbelievers were never spiritually alive in the first place: They were born spiritually dead and separated from God because of the sin-nature they inherited from Adam, along with the actual sins they began committing at a very early age. One thing even God cannot do is to kill someone who is already dead! Meaning of existence for nonbelievers is not pleasant to ponder: They are without God in this mortal life, and they will spend time everlasting separated from Him, existing in the realm of darkness. That can be changed, of course, but only through receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 6. Mission in Life For many Adamic people the need to develop desirable self-identity and self-esteem is the underlying, if not the primary and overt, focus of their personal “mission statement” in life. And the best way to accomplish that mission, in the Adamic way of thinking, is through self-effort: self-appeasement, self-aggrandizement, and self-sufficiency—lusting after wealth, romantic love, fame, security, power, and so on. However, Adamic people, like it or not, must depend on others in getting their needs and desires met. So they resort to manipulating or controlling others toward that end. Some are pathetic people-pleasers who strive to earn other people’s admiration, acceptance, and assistance. Understandably, they find themselves in a rat-race system of status- and performance-based acceptance and rejection. The quest for freedom Adamic people’s quest for self-sufficiency is a quest for independence—freedom. It is the outgrowth of a self-deifying attitude like the one expressed in this 19th Century English poem: It matters not how strait the gate, Henley’s poem is unmitigated flesh, unabashedly flaunting arrogance and fantasy. It’s a philosophy that developed long ago in the heart of Satan, was passed on to Adam, and ever since has been bred into the hearts of all Adamic people. The Apostle Paul tells us that the unsaved are “in the flesh”—have evil-principled human nature—and that “nothing good dwells in the flesh” (Romans 7:18): “For the mind set on the flesh is death...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; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:6-8). The mind of Adamic Man is set against God—either because he chooses to not believe in God or wrongly perceives that God is a threat to his freedom. Given that, it is understandable that Adamic Man “has a stubborn and rebellious heart” toward God (Jeremiah 5:23), turns away from God (Deuteronomy 30:17), rages against God (Proverbs 19:3), resists the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), and seeks after idols (Ezekiel 20:16). Jesus said: “‘For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man’” (Mark 7:21-23). Paul wrote to the Galatians that, “the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these....” (Galatians 5:19-21). And to Timothy he wrote, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power, and avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). The quest to be number one—to be in control, to admire self, and to be admired and supported by others—is no less than a fleshly quest for self-glorification and, ironically, to attain godlikeness. 7. Masters Spiritual relationships, in some ways, are like biological relationships. You were biologically born into a family in which you had grandparents, and perhaps siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Because Adamic Man inherited Adam’s sin-nature, he is “dead to” or separated from God, God’s love, God’s kingdom, and God’s grace.
Figure 2-2: Adamic man is naturally born in bondage to spiritual masters
8. Manner of Living Adamic Man walks (lives or behaves) in the ways of the old man species of human being (Figure 2-3).
Figure 2-3: Adamic Man walks in the ways of his inherited spiritual masters Here are some common characteristics of his life-style:
Adamic Man functions psychosomatically—out of soul and body, which are animated by the Adamic life in his spirit. He is “in the flesh” and so “live[s] in the lust of [the] flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3). Because he is of the darkness and is in the flesh, he walks in the “ways of darkness” (Proverbs 2:13) and the flesh, which the Bible describes as “slippery ways” (Jeremiah 23:13), “unstable” ways (James 1:8), “crooked” ways (Psalm 125:5), and “perverse” ways (Proverbs 14:2). Since “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), the Adamic person’s ways, even if good in appearance, are conceived out of the flesh. “And those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). The Adamic person’s ways have no standing with God, and regardless of how good they might appear to be, he cannot attain self-righteousness or earn God’s pardon from the death penalty under His law. Adam’s disobedience changed his human nature from innocent to sinful. But after the fall, human nature would never again be changed by man’s behavior. Ignorant of this truth, the Adamic person strives to change his ways of reasoning and behaving in order to improve who he is and to become self-sufficient and free. But try as he does, he cannot change who he is (a sinner) through knowledge, attitude, behavior, wealth and possessions, social status, or by any number of other “good works,” means or methods. In his futile efforts to achieve freedom through self-sufficiency, the Adamic person strives to control self, others, circumstances, and his environment. His way is to accept and reward those who help him get his needs and desires met, and to reject and even punish those who do not. In the end, he always looks out for self. It is his “earthly, natural [literally, soulish], demonic” nature to have “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in [his] heart” (James 3:14, 15).
Adamic Man is enslaved to Satan All Adamic people inherit Adam’s enslaving relationship with Satan. There is widespread misunderstanding that all human beings are God’s children. It is true that God created each of us in His image, which means we were of His kind—unique spirit beings (Acts 17:28). Though He created your personhood in His image, He placed it into a human-procreated, sin-corrupted, man organism which consisted of an embryonic body, spirit and soul. In this way you immediately took on Adam’s sinful likeness and Satan became your spiritual father and master (you were not of his seed, but a product of his evil works in and through the life of Adam). First John 3:10 distinguishes between the “children of God” and the “children of the devil.” Paul writes that, “It is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants” (Romans 9:8). A number of scriptures identity Satan as the spiritual father of Adamic Man. In the book of Acts, Paul calls Elymas the magician, who opposed the gospel, a “son of the devil.” Jesus went to some length to explain the relationship between Satan and sinners. The book of John records some of what He had to say on the subject. It is summed up in His statement to the descendants of Adam: “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). If you are not a Christian, Satan is your master. He holds you in bondage (Luke 13:16; 2 Corinthians 4:4), possesses you, controls you, deceives you (Revelation 20:7, 8), ensnares you (1 Timothy 3:7), and perhaps terrorizes you (1 Samuel 16:14). Because you are a child of Satan, you are destined to receive everlasting punishment with him (Matthew 25:41); Revelation 20:10, 15). Satan is not an evil counterpart to God. Originally named Lucifer, he was created by God as the chief of angels. When he fell from heaven, God changed his name to Satan, which means “adversary.” While Scripture does not go into much detail, indications are that Lucifer was replaced in his heavenly position by the archangel Michael. Though Satan is regarded as the “god of this world,” he has limited power and authority, and remains subject to the sovereignty of God, Given all of this, Satan is then the evil counterpart to Michael, not God. Other than being spirit beings, there is little in common between Satan and God. Satan does not possess God’s unique attributes such as omnipotence (all powerful), omnipresence (ever and everywhere present), and omniscience (all-knowing). Because Satan is not omnipresent like God, he can only be in one place at a time. With more than six billion people in the world, Satan sends his demons to tempt, torment, and deceive the vast majority of them, though it is reasonable to assume he singles out certain individuals to personally attack. Adamic Man walks in the ways of Satan Paul reminded the Ephesian believers that, prior to their salvation and redemption, they “followed the ways of...the ruler of the kingdom of the air [Satan]” (Ephesians 2:2, NIV). Jesus told a group of nonbelievers: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:44a; see Figure 2-4).
Figure 2-4: Adamic Man walks in the ways of Satan Adamic people obey the desires of Satan by listening to his lies (most often indirectly) and adopting his sinful ways in attempting to get their needs and desires met. Here is a short list of some of the ways in which Adamic people emulate Satan: They hate, lie, bear false witness, accuse, criticize, judge, covet, intimidate, coerce, blackmail, tempt, and doubt. They are prideful, arrogant, vengeful, controlling, self-glorifying, greedy, ambitious.... The list could go on and on. Two other examples are important to mention. The first can be found in the story of Ananias, who lied to the Holy Spirit about his embezzlement of the proceeds from a real estate sale he brokered: “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?’” (Acts 5:3). This verse shows that Satan used his evil powers to manipulate Ananias’s thoughts, feelings, and desires, which led him to lie to the Holy Spirit. The second example is that of Judas Iscariat. Just as Satan filled the heart of Ananias to sin, “Satan entered into Judas” and enticed him to betray Jesus (Luke 22:3-6). Just as Satan put evil thoughts into the minds of Ananias and Judas, he puts evil thoughts into the minds of Adamic people. Jesus said of Satan, “there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Some Adamic people consciously and openly worship Satan as their god. Some even claim to receive supernatural power from him. Through this power they hope to gain greater control over themselves, others, and their environment. And the more control they have, the more self-sufficient they hope to become in their quest for self-glorification and godlikeness. They walk in the footsteps of Adam, down a slippery slope of deception. More and more Adamic people are turning to worship Satan as we near the return of Jesus. During the reign of Antichrist—a period of about 42 months preceding Christ’s second coming —all Adamic people will openly worship Satan and the Antichrist: “And the dragon [Satan] gave him [Antichrist] his power and his throne and great authority...and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast [Antichrist]; and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?...And it was given to him [Antichrist] to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb [Jesus] who has been slain” (Excerpts from Revelation 13). Adamic Man’s ways are not God’s ways Paul, in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus, characterized their life-style prior to becoming Christians: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the rulers of the kingdom of the air, of the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:1-3, NIV). Just as God placed two choices before Adam—the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—He places two choices before the Adamic person: By faith, and through God’s grace, to become a new-hearted, new creature in Christ, or to remain a condemned old man in Adam. (See Ezekiel 36:27, 27.) In terms of functioning, the Adamic person must continually choose between two moral options: Good or evil. If he pursues good, he does so out of the limited capabilities of his darkened old heart and limited resources of the flesh. But his ways, even if good in appearance, are rooted in his sin-nature and flesh, and are not truly God’s ways. "I, the Lord,” says God, “search the heart” (Jeremiah 17:10). Through searching the heart, “He knows the secrets of the heart,” (Psalm 44:21). And because He knows the secrets of the heart, He says to Adamic people: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). 9. Motivational Principles
In Paul’s testimony in Romans 7, he writes from a Christian perspective of himself before his salvation, “I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin” (Romans 7:14; see also Romans 7:6). Further in his testimony he speaks of having been “a prisoner of the law [meaning principle] of sin” (Romans 7:23b). There are eight Hebrew and Greek terms commonly translated as “sin” in our English bibles. Collectively, they mean failure, falling short, error, iniquity, transgression, trespass, lawlessness, and unrighteousness. A common error is to give this broad collection of meanings to “sin” wherever it appears in Scripture. But this grossly overloads the intended meaning of any particular Hebrew or Greek term that is translated “sin.” And this has exaggerated the concept of sin into something akin to the evil, intelligent power referred to as “the dark side of the Force” in the Star Wars movies. In order to avoid such errors, it is helpful to view Adamic Man, in the context of sin, from the six biblical perspectives:
Sin came into existence in heaven in Lucifer’s heart (Isaiah 14:13). “Sin entered into the world [in Adam’s heart], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men” (Romans 5:12). Sin became the moral essence of Adam’s life as a consequence of his disobedience to God. Adam’s descendants inherit his spiritually dead or natural life, as well as its sinful moral essence or nature. Adamic Man walks in the ways of sin Adamic Man is predisposed, by enslavement to sin, to walk in sinful ways (Figure 2-5). Paul writes to believers, “You formerly were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live” (Ephesians 2:2, NIV). Adamic Man is totally depraved ontologically, but is not totally depraved in a functional/behavioral sense, because God has written His moral law on the heart or in the conscience of all people (Romans 2:14, 15). Though a nonbeliever might live a “morally upstanding life,” his “good works” nevertheless amount to “fruit for death” in God’s sight (Romans 7:5).
Figure 2-5: Adamic Man walks in the ways of sin
10. Monarchies
Adam and Eve became slaves to Satan’s monarchy—his evil world order—and all their descendants were born with this enslaving relationship. Paul tells us that the unsaved are prisoners of sin in Satan’s world order (Galatians 3:22-24). In referring to Christians’ relationship with the world before they were saved, Paul writes that we “were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world” (Galatians 4:3). Though Paul does not explain what he means by the “elemental things” of the world, the elemental things of any “order” (organization or system) include its leadership, organizational structure, members, objectives, and ways or methods of achieving those objectives. Scripture names Satan as the “ruler of this world” (John 14:30, 16:11), and “the god of this world,” and tells us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Ephesians 6:12 describes the hierarchy of Satan’s world order as having “rulers...powers...world forces,” which include demons and all natural people. (See the organizational schematic in Figure 2-6.)
Figure 2-6: The Adam-Hearted man is a slave of Satan’s world order Satan’s world order has one objective: To establish the Devil as Lord in the eyes of the world. His strategy for achieving this is: (1) keep natural man enslaved to himself; (2) tempt Christians into complicity with himself, sin, the world order, and to ignore or disobey the will of God; and, (3) persecute and kill all who oppose him and who worship God and God alone, in heart and deed. Adamic Man walks in the ways of the world order Paul reminded the believers in Ephesus that, as nonbelievers, “you formerly walked according to the course [or ways] of this world” (Ephesians 2:1-3). As Adamic-hearted people, we walked in the immoral and rebellious ways of the world (Figure 2-7). We were “sons of disobedience.” In summary, Paul draws our attention to three important points to consider: First, that the world is ordered or organized: It is a system and has organizational structure. Second, he mentions that to walk in the ways of the world is to walk in the ways of its leader, the “prince of the power of the air,” who is Satan, leader of the rebellion against God and His people. Third, he mentions walking according to the course or ways of the world.
11. Managing Principles
Adamic Man is enslaved to God’s law This relationship exists because God is sovereign, and it is through His law that He exercises sovereignty over Adamic Man, and judges and condemns him for his sinfulness. But that is not the way God prefers to relate with man. Dead by default Adamic Man is under the authority of God’s law, which defines sin, judges sin and sinfulness, and condemns the unsaved who are guilty of sin. The prophet Isaiah says to sinners: “Your iniquities [actual sins] have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you” (Isaiah 59:2). And Paul wrote to the Ephesians that, before their salvation, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). The law arouses sinful passions Romans 7:5 tells Christians that, “For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.” Those “at work” “sinful passions” are many and varied. One of the most common among them is the passion to be self-sufficient. Adamic Man wants to be totally free—self-sufficient, even independent of God. When he is confronted by God’s law he sees it as demanding, restrictive, and punitive, and this threatens his sense of freedom. When his freedom is threatened, his sinful passion for self-sufficiency is all the more aroused, and this only intensifies his rebellion against God and His law. His rebelliousness is acted out through the very sinful behavior that is prohibited by God’s law—and quite often by man’s own laws (Figure 2-8). Rebelliousness and lawlessness Adamic people function in the dynamic of sin, which is sinful behavior—lawlessness. Some strive against sin, others cope with sin, and still others revel in sin. The latter willfully sin in open rebellion against God and His law. Many attempt to deal with sin by simply deleting the word from their vocabulary. They reject God’s law and in its place establish their own permissive laws, behavioral standards and expectations of self and others. Adamic Man can ignore God’s law, but the law will not ignore him! He will eventually stand before the judgment seat; he cannot escape from God’s law or abolish it. Jesus said, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law” (Matthew 5:18. See also Revelation 20:11-15). The demands of God’s law Adamic Man is incapable of keeping God’s law. By violating a single point (or letter) of the law, he violates all the law (James 2:10), and is therefore subject to the condemnation of God’s law. The Bible states that, prior to salvation, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The American judicial system allows for certain mitigating factors in prosecution that could qualify the accused for a reduced penalty or even acquittal. Those mitigating factors might include a crime of passion, poor family background lack of education and opportunity, and so forth. But such mitigating factors are not recognized by God’s law. The Adamic person is enslaved to God’s law, and must ultimately answer to its authority for even the slighted infraction. He cannot escape the law’s judgment and condemnation through “good works” or any other means, outside of forgiveness and salvation through Christ. 12. Messages and Memories As a result of walking in the flesh, the Adamic person’s soul is filled with “messages” received through life’s experiences. Some messages deal with truth and reality, others convey lies, deceptions, and fantasies. It is from this constant input of information that the Adamic person develops a flesh-distorted belief and value system about himself, others, the temporal world, the spiritual realms, and God Himself (Figure 2-9). Consequently, he is confused about who he is, and so he attempts to develop self-identity out of his flesh and the world in which he lives. Being unaware of God’s intended purpose and meaning in his life, he concocts his own concepts, and strives to realize them through self-determination out of self-sufficiency.
As Adam-Hearted Man walks in the flesh, his soul receives messages from life’s experiences, Satan, sin, the world, and the law. Those messages are stored in the memory bank of his soul in the form of beliefs and values that affect the emotions, desires and intentions.
Memories, and adjusting to life’s experiences 13. Manifestations Because Adamic Man cannot see himself with spiritual eyes, his self-concept is based on his beliefs about who he is, and his beliefs are based on remembered messages received from walking in the flesh. If his memories, beliefs, and values convey a favorable concept of self, he strives to live up to that image and even to enhance it. If those messages convey an unacceptable image, he strives to develop a more favorable image. In either case, the Adamic person fabricates a concept of self based upon life’s messages about worldly importance placed on physical appearance and prowess, intellect and education, career, relationships, social and economic status, and so on. His self-concept, from man’s perspective, can be favorable or unfavorable, successful or unsuccessful, which translate into a pseudo-identity that can be “bad” or “good,” and self-esteem that is “low” or “high.” Psychiatry labels a person with “bad” self-identity and “low” self-esteem as being “maladjusted,” “negatively-programmed,” or “negatively-conditioned”; and a person with “good” self-identity and “high” self-esteem as being “well-adjusted,” “positively-programmed” or “positively-conditioned.” A “negatively-conditioned” Adamic person may, through therapy, become “positively conditioned.” However, he still has a serious spiritual heart problem: He is spiritually dead and is separated from God. Psychology, of course, is not spiritually oriented. Satisfying needs and desires Adamic Man must choose methods for getting his needs and desires met. Those methods are either “good works” or actual sins. “Works,” of course, are the fruit of one’s labor. And “good works” performed by Adamic Man are manifest works, or works that look “good” at first glance, but which are actually conceived out of a fleshly heart. Such “good works” might correspond to the letter of the law, but the Adamic person cannot comply with them in the spirit of the law, which is grace or godly love in action. And this is because his unregenerate heart is devoid of godly love. Through performing “good works,” a person might be characterized by others as being moral, upstanding, righteous, or even of having a good heart. But make no mistake about it, the “good works” of the Adamic person are counterfeit, illegitimate, “dead works,” because they are born out of a fleshly heart and are not of the Spirit of God. Such works have no power to change the nature of a person. And because they are illegitimate and of the flesh, they cannot please God (Romans 8:8). Because the flesh is opposed to the Spirit, manifest works, no matter how good in outward appearance, are considered by God to be “fruit for death” (Romans 7:5. See Figure 2-10). Under the law of God, the “wages” the Adamic person earns and deserves through manifest works is “death” (Romans 6:23).
His life-style and accomplishments, no matter how good in appearance, are “dead works” which can only produce “fruit for death” in God’s sight. Adamic Man, whether he blatantly sins in open rebellion toward God, or attempts to become self-righteous through manifest works under the law, is fighting for a lost cause. Those other “things like these” include pridefulness, arrogance, bitterness, anxiety, vengefulness, and all other forms of sinfulness; the list is surely endless. Not only do such sins further defile the heart with sin-debt and foster sinful behavior, they can psychosomatically cause or worsen virtually all physical health problems, not the least of which are heart disease, high blood pressure, digestive difficulties, obesity, diabetes, impotency, and others. Quite clearly, Adamic Man has severe character and personality flaws that are born out of his unregenerate heart, “old spirit” of sin-motivation, and through walking in the flesh. The Adamic person is destined to spend everlasting life in hell From God’s perspective, Adamic people are total failures (1 Peter 5:5, 6) and will not truly prosper (Deuteronomy 28:29). They are descendants of Adam, and therefore “sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:3). Their ways are self-destructive ways (2 Peter 2:2) that are the “ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). God’s Word is quite clear on the matter: They will be punished for their sinful ways, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). All of us were spiritually “stillborn” because we inherited Adam’s spiritually dead life. And all of us will experience physical death. When the body of a believer reaches the condition it can no longer sustain a functional relationship with the spiritual heart, the heart is separated from the body. This is physical death. Paul describes physically dead Christians as being “asleep” or “dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-16). When Christ returns, those who are “dead in Christ” will be given resurrection or glorified bodies like His. Those who are alive at the time of His return will have their bodies changed from perishable to imperishable in the likeness of His glorified state (1 Corinthians 15:50-55). Revelation 20 tells us that the unsaved will be judged and condemned for their sins and sinful nature. Their spiritual hearts will experience everlasting existence in hell (Matthew 23:33; Mark 3:29; John 3:16, 18, 36; Hebrews 9:27; Jude 5-7; Revelation 20:11-15). The Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes makes this observation on the dire fate of non-believers: “The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead...the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished...” (Ecclesiastes 9:3-6). Go to Part 4: The Whole-Hearted Christian |
