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Question

• A personal friend has deeply offended you. But, rather than deal with your friend directly about the issue for fear of opening up a can of worms, you stay silent.

• What are the possible ramifications of your silence?

• What if the issue is between you and Christ and you stay silent?

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This Weeki. Explore the Anthropology

developed by Augustine which guides our thinking on the healing of the conscience.

ii. Summarize and integrate the previous lessons in this series as we prepare to apply the material to our lives.

LessonPlan

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This Week

iii. Examine the issues that could keep us from dealing with defenses.

iv. Commit ourselves to recognizing and dealing with defense mechanisms as a matter of our sanctification.

LessonPlan

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

a. Human nature in accordance with what God intended can only be understood in light of Biblical revelation. Any other attempt to define or classify it would invariably lead one to error because man is a spiritual being.

b. Anthropology (the study of man) for Augustine was based on the truth that humanity was created in the image of God. He affirmed the absolute unity and the spiritual, immortal nature of the human soul.

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

c. He believed that it is the nature of mankind to need consciously to tap into the presence of God within the human soul in order to understand as fully as possible what it most truly means to be human. 

d. The fundamental problem for the individual person, the soul, is his selfish preoccupation with self at the expense of a caring involvement in human relationships, but to Augustine such concentration is always self-defeating.

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

e. Augustine taught that if we make ourselves the center point of our own identity, the result will be an impoverished view of self, and one that is exaggerated and irresponsible.

f. According to Augustine the soul has three functions: being, understanding, and loving, corresponding to three faculties: intellectual memory, intelligence, and will.

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

g. The primary emphasis is given to the will, which relates to the function of love. The will of a human person is free, but unless and until the will is humbled in acquiescence to Christ it is restless. John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. KJV

h. This restlessness in life prompts the soul to search for meaning, and ultimately for God. "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."                              

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

i. One of the best-known consequences of the anthropology of Augustine is his notion of interiority. This means a search of the heart, of the interior of self, of the life and consciousness of a person. Prov 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. KJV

j. Augustine saw that the task of the believer lies in his progressive self-abnegation as he grows in the love of God and of neighbor. In a sense, to save one's soul means abandoning all morbid preoccupation with self by immersion in self-effacing love. Matthew 10.39 "He who would save his soul must lose it."             

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

k. Augustine accepted a fallen and flawed human nature that was without hope if it did not have the grace of God. True freedom is achieved only through a long process by which the knowledge/conscience and will of an individual are healed by the grace of God.  2 Cor 7:1

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. KJV

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

l. Though the natural man is flawed, nonetheless, we can make progress. The heart can be transformed through love, and the mind can open to the workings of grace and the conscience can be healed. Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. KJV

m. In summary, to paraphrase Augustine, man without Christ will never know love and can never have peace because by design of our Creator he is incomplete. The sinful soul and its painful conscience requires forgiveness and redemption for healing.

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

n. As long as the believer is relying upon defense mechanisms to protect the self and to avoid dealing with issues of the conscience, he is veering away from the only true hope he has for ultimate healing.

o. That hope for ultimate healing, as Augustine taught, is availed through appropriating by grace given, the love of Christ that we have to enjoy in this life and to allow it alone to sustain us. Rom 8:35-39

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I. Anthropology of Augustine

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. KJV

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II. Brining it All Togethera. Man is first and foremost an immaterial,

spiritual being. The soul (psuche) is the repository of the immaterial part and serves the executive function of the being. Within the soul we find the mind, the will, and the emotions.

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II. Brining it All Togetherb. The soul is also the repository of the

conscience. The conscience is that part of the soul designed by God for the purpose of knowing right from wrong. It is given to every human being from birth and may be modified by experience of living. Rom 1:18-19

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. KJV

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II. Brining it All Togetherc. The conscience may be overactive, in which

case it presents hypersensitivity and a false guilt for imagined wrongdoing to the soul.

d. The conscience may also be hardened when the individual routinely neglects the warning that an offense has occurred. Once hardened, the individual loses sensitivity to the fact that he has committed wrong and he will persist in his erroneous ways. 1 Tim 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; KJV

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II. Brining it All Togethere. The purpose of the conscience, as

designed by God is to alert the wrongdoer that an offense against God has occurred and this warning sign is presented by an overwhelming sense of guilt when an act is committed. Ps 32:3-4

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. KJV

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II. Brining it All Togetherf. In addition to guilt, the conscience floods

the guilty one with the emotion of shame. The person who experiences shame desires to isolate himself or to hide from God and others. Shame, when left unattended will drive the guilty party into despair.

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II. Brining it All Togetherg. Man is created as a social being and so,

in a normally functioning conscience, this overpowering feeling of shame and isolation is designed to create a strong motivation to be restored to fellowship with God and man. Gen 3:7

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. KJV

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II. Brining it All Togetherh. In order to facilitate this reconciliation

between God and man, the wrongdoer who is separated from his society and God will also experience a profound sense of remorse. This is a genuine emotion of sadness for having perpetrated an immoral act.

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II. Brining it All Togetheri. The design purpose of remorse is to bring

the guilty party to the point at which he is motivated and enabled to completely clear himself in the offensive matter. 2 Cor 7:11

For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. KJV

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II. Brining it All Togetherj. To be cleared in a matter involves full

confession with no excuses and is accompanied by a willingness to accept whatever punishment or consequence is required.

k. Repentance naturally follows remorse in the sequence. In repentance, one is highly motivated to do everything in his power to avoid a further occurrence of the transgression for which he repents. It is a turning away from the path which leads to the sin.

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II. Brining it All Togetherl. Apart from hardening, which interferes with

the normal operation of the conscience, a second psychological device that works in the natural man against the conscience to prevent its operation is what we call defense mechanisms.

m. The purpose of defense mechanisms is to protect the self and to limit the effect of the conscience by protecting the wound from further harm, but at the same time, it serves as a blockage which prevents or hinders the light of Christ from penetrating and healing the wound.

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II. Brining it All Togethern. The one who allows defense

mechanisms to operate is choosing to act upon their fears and or hostility against others in order to protect themselves, rather than to lay their burdens and concerns before Jesus' feet, and to trust Him to deal with them. Matt 11:28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. KJV

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III. The Decision a. Defense mechanisms are the work of the

flesh; they indicate absorption with self, they are evidence of the presence of sin, and they must be put off.

b. Defense mechanisms are self-defeating because they keep our eyes on the problem, and off of the solution which is provided by Christ.

c. Relying on defense mechanisms for protection is actually rooted in a distrust of God. It is saying within the heart that God can’t or won’t protect me, so I must protect myself.

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III. The Decision d. Defense mechanisms also keep us from

entering into situations that God has designed specifically for us to build character and to ensure our sanctification.

e. It is vital for us to accept personal responsibility for our own ungodly and hateful reactions (in our heart) for what was done to us. When prompted by the Holy Spirit, if we choose to dodge that responsibility, then healing of the wound will not take place.

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III. The Decision f. The first step is to recognize that defense

mechanisms operate in the sin nature. So in order to recognize the presence of the sin nature, we must examine ourselves.

g. Once we recognize that defense mechanisms are in operation we must actively choose to align our hearts and minds with the Spirit. This is an exercise of the conscious will.

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III. The Decision h. This is a critical step in the inner healing

process and requires the breaking through of defense mechanisms so that the Holy Spirit can heal the wounds. This is an act of the will, a decision to make one’s self-available for healing. This is a process.

a. Our sanctification is a process by which we deal with those thoughts, words, and deeds and experiences that emanate from the flesh. We do not have the option of ignoring that which the Holy Spirit brings to our conscious mind. Christ will heal us.

b. What is the Holy Spirit prompting you to lay open before Christ, who will ultimately set you free from these matters of conscience?

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IV. Application