Chapter # 8 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7
July 10, 2007
Lincolnton, N.C.

• I. The Key Reason for Death.
  • A. Where there is antagonism toward God, there is Death.
    • 1. The fundamental mechanism of Life is Peace.
    • 2. The fundamental mechanism of Death is Conflict.
    • 3. Antagonism toward God is the driving force of conflict.
    • 4. Cooperation with God is the driving force of peace.
  • B. The fundamental issue of antagonism toward God is the lack of submission to the Law of God.
    • 1. The driving force of insubordination to the Law of God is "the 'mind' of the flesh".
    • 2. The insubordination is not wilfully deliberate; it is inescapably 'knee-jerk'.
      • a. Paul clearly declared that "the carnal mind" cannot be subject to the Law of God.
      • b. The reason for such impossibility is the absolute commitment to the methodology of "life" that involves self-love.
        • 1) When pushed, Jesus said that "all of the Law and the Prophets" hang upon the commands to "love God" and "love thy neighbor" (Matthew 22:39).
        • 2) If "the Law of God" is succinctly summarized in terms of "other-Love", then the "mind set upon the flesh" cannot submit to it because it's fundamental method of life is to put oneself first.
    • 3. The conundrum here is this: the threat of death is only of value to a person who is sufficiently self-interested to be moved by it; yet, to be moved by self-interest is to be dominated by Sin. Even the Gospel's promise of eternal life finds its appeal in the issue of self-interest.
  • C. The root of "the 'mind' of the flesh" is unbelief.
    • 1. There are only two reasons why anyone does anything.
      • a. There is the "love" reason: for whatever reason, something is considered sufficiently valuable to dominate one's choices.
      • b. There is the "faith" reason: for whatever cause, something is "believed" to be sufficiently true to guide one's choices about the "pursuit" of the "beloved".
    • 2. Paul declared unequivocally that "Sin" sponsors "unbelief" by means of "deceit" (7:11).
      • a. This has to mean that if a person was "undeceived" he would be free of the dominion of Sin.
      • b. That raises the most crucial question: how is it that "deceit" is persuasive?
        • 1) In the first place, "deceit" has to do with the reality of information being inserted into an already-on-going "love/belief system" that already has its foundations laid and its superstructure in place. No one "thinks" in a vacuum of love or belief. By the time "thinking" is possible, certain issues have already been put into place and those things are being reinforced daily.
        • 2) This "already-in-place" system is the direct result of what is often called "the nature of a thing", "creation pre-programming", or "instinct" -- the way a thing has been designed to function. John the Baptizer and Jesus both addressed this issue head-on: John accused his audience of being "vipers"; and Jesus pointedly said, "You can't hear Me because you are not 'of my sheep'." Thus, the most necessary issue is "regeneration" so that there is a "change of essential nature". Being "born again" is not some light-weight, "fluff" doctrine; it is the essential method of coming into being as a "natural" child of God.
        • 3) Information is always evaluated according to the standards that are already in place. Few, if any, concepts slip by unnoticed for the way they "fit" into the developing system.
      • c. However, there is another reality that enters the picture: lack of attention. Deceit thrives where there is no competition and competition is often simply not allowed to even enter. People quickly learn to "shut off" the information flow.