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| 3. Fundamental Integration -> Hermeneutics -> 1. Law of Identity |
Four Laws of the Natural Sound Mind which Rational Beings Affirm
One may rightfully inquire as to why this subject would be included in the subject of Hermeneutics. It is because this is the primary basis of all thinking. Without an understanding of these principles of "knowing" of the natural mind, we really have no understanding of the mechanisms which govern and through which all spiritual forces work in our minds to affect the rational thinking given to us as little children. These principles are as Paul said, "the law of my mind."
By Laws, we mean fixed principles of mental "knowing." As young children, there is a "knowing" within our minds that tells us something is bad or something is good. Young children after a certain age are modest around people unless they are taught by example that nakedness is acceptable. We "know" many things within ourselves without anyone teaching us.
The Bible relates to behaving according to this compendium of instinctive "knowing" within young children, as a requirement for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. And these things "known," we call rules or laws within our minds relating to the world around us. One might call them "instinctive." All children know these "things" without anyone teaching them. A "knowing" of these rules of relating to the world stays with us throughout life; unless we deliberately, by an act of our will, reject them in turning to willing our self gratification, whether done deliberately or by default of circumstances (as the little child learning nakedness).
The Bible calls this "rejecting the love of truth...... God sends them strong delusion.....that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess 2:10-12 "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; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." 1 Tim 4:1-3
To have a real understanding of Hermeneutics, not just have KNOWLEDGE of rules, we shall discuss four laws (instinctual "knowings") of the mind in detail. We shall then be able to understand the WHY of proper thinking and Hermeneutics. You will then have some UNDERSTANDING (Prov. 4:7 and Job 28:28) also of why they are important for mental health and fellowship with God Himself.
1. Law of Identity
LAW OF IDENTITY. Demands Authoritative Reference to Reality. What is yours??
THE LAW OF IDENTITY IS DETERMINATIVE FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE; it guides the direction of the person's use of the other Three Laws.
AND YOUR IDENTITY IS DETERMINED BY YOUR RIGHT-OF-CHOICE.
The second law of Consistent Comparisons, also called Law of Non-contradiction, helps preserve the persons identity to Christ and adherence to the third and greatest law in all things. Of course, IF a person's free choice is not to identity to obedience to Christ, means his mind will not conform to this second law or the third law and he will be mentally blinded in satan's world system.
Third law of Excluded Middle or Exclusive Truth is the most violated and attacked by satan. This law is where he directs his greatest deceptions and strategms. This law must be destroyed from all men's minds before he can exault himself as a god among all mankind.
The fourth law, the Law of sufficiency, confirms the necessity of obedience to Christ in all things.
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Please Note: In this discussion of Four God Given, INSTINCUAL LAWS PERCEIVING REALITY, we have ranked them in importance due to the frequency of violation of individuals and the disasters resulting. However, the First and most important principle is The Law of Identity. Because it is this law which determines the whole course of the person's life of death (they are already dead, separated from God). This Law determines all the person's choices, like, dislikes, and emotions. The Law of Identity is determinative; it guides the direction of the person's use of the other Three Laws.
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Two Types of "Christians," immediately apparent, and easily identified:
(1) Those people who choose to reject self (their sinful selfish flesh nature "identity"), called repentance, and follow Christ only and ever, commiting (KJV calls believing), have chosen the total identity of Christ Himself as their Lord and Master. This means they put Truth and self-denying Love of Truth (Christ Himself) first and foremost in all their motives. In such denial of sinful self, they know they cannot know or please their Creator apart from Him revealing the minutiae of His Will to their minds through His Holy Spirit. Also, they instinctively know, also through the Holy Spirit guiding them, they must devote themselves to the next Two Laws given by God to man; The Law of Non-Contradition, and the Law of Exclusive Truth (Excluded Middle). These people are on the clear path of living by faith, the Mind of Christ, indwelling them. They may be clearly identified as those who exhibit a Love of Truth above all else. The fruit of the Spirit, God's Love.
(2) Contrast this with people, thinking they are Christians, who had decided at some point in their life to devote their minds, emotions, and wills to trust God to save them to Heaven, trust a presumed unconditional promise, and devote their minds to decide what is right and wrong to please their Savior thereafter, according to His written Word.
These people we call the Dispensational "grace" regardless in this website. Please notice, there is no real repentance or committing by these people, therefore, no real spiritual modicum of understanding in any manner. They think they are eternally saved by their own momentary mental notations. They are totally trusting in themselves (their trust, their thinking) to get a presumed promise by their presumed Savior. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not actually their focus of identity. It is themselves. They even teach that Christ's Lordship is not necessary for their salvation. They love their remarkable ignorance of scriptures.
Sadly, these people do not display a selfless Love of Truth above all else, nor any Love of Truth at all, in reality. All things, whether "what the Bible says" (their written guide book), or whatever information they hear, is filtered through their presumed "self-endorsed" guided intellectual application to the existing literature and scholars of the world of "Christianity" (?) to understand their only guide book, their Bible.
Additionally, they filter all information this same way, through their previously self-affirmed understandings of any details. They only believe, or immediately reject, any information if it conforms or not to this previous self-affirmation of all things. Their typical immediate reaction to anything new is, "I can't believe that, or I'll have to see what the commentaries say, etc."
And this type of mental reasoning to even reading a child-simple and clear scripture, they had never considered before. "I'll have to consult my Commentaries and/or our pastor or whoever." Inductive examination of any concepts, according to what the Bible says, or inductive examination of any concept, seems entirely beyond their means of personal apprehension. Like they are blind to any such apprehension of anything.2 See footnote.
Please Notice ! ! This second group of self-professing Christians are actually no different than any of the lost in the world. They are totally doing their own thing, Just as anyone else, regardless of their chosen path in life. One can easily discern that their means of thinking is totally deductive thinking (satan's and demon thinging). They may be very successful in the world doing deductive thinking, but in God's Kingdom only inductive thinking is acceptable.
Starting out in life as little children.
As children or anyone, we seek out a reference for living. If a little child cannot accept a cruel parent as an authority, they will try to seek someone or something else. As adults we may turn to any of a myriad of choices, but always as an authoritative reference by which we structure reality for ourselves. As an important rule, children tend to become like their authority figure. If they are cruel and abusive, the children tend to be cruel and abusive as adults, and even more so if they despised and hated this abusive authority figure. The more emotional focus is on their authority figure the more focus they carry with them throughout life, regardless of the type of emotion. This law of identity can operate as an overpowering emotional focus, or as a deliberate choice out from either real affection for a figure or from disgusting rejection of the authority figure.
Future Determined. Success or failure determined Our starting focus, engendered by our parents, results in either the happiness and success in our lives or the sadness and failure that results. These outcomes directly result from our starting identity, our focus, we have chosen deliberately or by default emotionally, as our compass to reality. We will either see life as: (1) an opportunity for happiness and as an opportunity to use our talents to be successful and have pleasant relationships with others (the helpers); or (2) we will look up with submissiveness to all people believing that we will always be failures, and always feel more comfortable following authoritative figures (the several victim types); or (3) we will look upon all people as those from whom we can get anything we wish if we are just cunning enough, after all we are more superior and more capable than others who go by their feelings. These are the superior intellectual, self worshippers (Narcissists), among us, who think they have a right to dictate to others at all times.
Whether you wish to admit this or not, your life is largely fashioned after one of these above self identities, learned when we were quite young.
Change Possible. Change of identity is always possible, both ways. What is your identity? We cannot avoid a choice. We all have a choice imposed upon us, either by default of emotional trauma or by conscious choice. And we can also change our choice of focus at any time. But we will never be able to change our focus with its control of us, unless we first totally realize and reject the focus which has dominated us from childhood. We must realize our present identity and deliberately make ourselves focus on another identity of our deliberate choice. This is the only way a personality can change, either for the better or worse.
Here are two illustrations, one for the better, the second for the worse.
First, Better: A continuous life of backsliding after the new birth-- or-- actually experiencing the new birth itself can only occur after the person consciously realizes and repudiates his identity and turns deliberately from his identity to another identity focus to practice a different way of Life, guided by our Lord. Understanding this is important. A deliberate focus of identity by our free choice determines our destiny. "Choose you this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15). "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13). "Believe (a command, meaning continuously, Pres, act, indic, "commit" yourself) for the result of (eis) the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Whosoever is believing (committing)continuously (present active indicative) shall not perish" (John 3:16).
Now if these plain scriptures do not say man has a choice in some manner, then God is being deceitful in His Greek Word. See Appendices , Calvinist and Arminian Differences, and Critique of Calvinism.
Second, Worse: A life dedicated to seeking his Lord's pleasure and finding and living only according to the pure Word of His scriptures, is suddenly reversed by a preacher whose wife is revealed as a openly practicing Lesbian and refuses to live decently with her pastor husband. In fact, she demands that she brings her lesbian sisters to stay with them in their house, etc. The pastor feels he must divorce this wife as being a defiant unbeliever. To their tremendously great discredit, afterward, his so-called Fundamental denomination removes his membership and no one in this Fundamental denomination will have anything to do with him. "He is a divorced pastor," they say.
In great bitterness, this pastor then endeavoring to continue with God (but unfortunately thinks he needs denominational associations, so he joins the Southern Baptist Convention) rejects those doctrines of Fundamentalism and becomes a brother with the Ecumenical professors in teaching "tolerance" in doctrinal differences and began questioning the verbal inspiration of the Bible, and so forth. His was a deliberate decision born out of bitterness, warned against in Hebrews 10. He is now on the road to apostasy while continuing in the ministry, and leading others to follow him. Requires Free Choice.
God is Love and the Holy Spirit never makes anyone do anything. Love always allows free-choice to its object of Love even after new birth. He cannot deny Himself. "If we are believing not, yet He is abiding faithful: He cannot deny Himself (Love) 2 Tim 2:13 He allowed even His own angels of Heaven Free Choice to rebel against Him. They are destined to Hell. This Free Choice is not a matter of works it is a matter of heart choice, freely allowed by God.
He cannot not act in Love. "The God is Love" (1 John 4:8 and 16). [[ Does not say, "The God is the Love," meaning they are totally equivalent in Greek. He has other Attributes ]] Love never forces or coerces against a person's choices, even if their choice is made in ignorance. Love never acts by subterfuge and deception as those of darkness do. Love suffers long, gentle, and easily entreated, bears all things, even our free choices, 1 Cor 13
Despite the fact that "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pet 3:9). Yet we know that "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt 25:41). God cannot violate man's free choice, even though he doesn't want them to perish. He cannot act out of anything but Love. This means free choice at all times.
Those who claim that God is not just, or say that He cannot be a God of Love in sending people to Hell, do not understand what selfless God Love is. To them the Love of God is a warm fuzzy feeling that they experience around their pets or some sensual love object of theirs. This is not the Selfless and Longsuffering Love of God. It is a selfish human love which would secure the presence of its love object by lying, dishonesty, stealing, or killing regardless. God cannot do this. He cannot act contrary to His Principles of Existence, His Character, His Love which must allow Free Choice, ever and always.1 See footnote.
The New Age "grace" preachers say that the "grace" of God (His unmerited favor of Love) would not send anyone to Hell who had at one time believed on Him and had obtained a full knowledge of Him and then turned his back and became a reprobate unbeliever, denying the Lord who bought him. Hebr 6:1-8 Their concept of God's Love is also that of a human selfish sensual and emotional love, saying that if God does not take anyone who once did believe in the past to Heaven He would not be fulfilling His promise, nor showing Love and not being Truthful.
They do not know the scriptures that say our commitment is into Him (not an unconditional promise), and that Love and Truth are unselfish (not partial) and Holy (must reject sin). God's love is very conditional. Any Dispensational "grace" regardless teachers that say that God's love is unconditional are liars and deny the scriptures, according to 1 John 2:4. Also, the OT was given to us as examples, 1 Cor 10:11. What happened to the Jews, that disobeyed and received their lost rejection promised in Deut 28 for disobedience.
They don't comprehend:
(1) understanding the Love of a Principled Creator, Who cannot deny Himself, His Holiness and Justice and Righteousness and Longsuffering Love of Free Choice. And
(2) His promise is to them who are believing (present tense) in (eis, for the result of) HIM, not a promise. Eternal life throughout the scriptures is said to be in Him, believing in (into) Him. The promise is to all that are believing in Him. As His Principle of Free Choice supports, eternal life is never promised to those having once believed regardless of present unbelief,.. And certainly believing in Him brings salvation, not believing His promises.
Their Dispensational teachings and doctrines to justify their notions of the "grace" of God, regardless of anything else, is not the "grace" of God as taught in the scriptures but an obvious human conception of love of God, justified by doctrines of men, and not of the scriptures.
The Apostles, early church leaders after them, and those of the Reformation and beyond, taught the eternal security of the one who is believing in Him, not eternal security regardless. Even Calvin and Arminius agreed on the need of the saints' perseverance to the end of their lives. The New Age doctorates have come into a perverse false knowledge of "grace" in these last days.
"That whosoever is believing in (eis, into, for the result and purpose of ) Him should not perish, but is having eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever is believing in (eis, into, for the result and purpose of) Him should not perish, but is having everlasting life" (John 3:15-16). "To him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever is believing in (eis, into, for the result and purpose of ) Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43).
If the person dies in His unbelieving, he shall perish just as anyone else in that state (Ezek 33:17-20). God must be Just, "To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him of faith of Jesus" (not his own faith), Rom 3:26. "My sheep are hearing my voice, and I am knowing them, and they are following ME: And I am giving unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28). "He that is believing on (eis, for result or purpose of) Him is not being condemned: but he that is believing not is condemned now (perfect present indicative.) already, because he hath not believed now (perfect present indicative) in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). Nothing here about promises. See Section, New Testament Greek, entitled "Actionsarts," relating to scriptures on salvation.
REACTIONS !! Your choice of identity determines your reactions.
What is that by which you establish reality for yourself? This is your personal reference to know what reality is or is not. After you have deliberately consciously or unconsciously chosen this reality reference for yourself (there is no escaping this choice), you now have a compass to orient yourself to what is real, what is truth, what is reliable. This is why rational beings may find many different and varied meanings to the same event or consideration. Individually, they have accepted any of many varied choices of a reality compass.
Emotionally, people think and react according to their previously accepted identity. If your identity focus has been parents who were upright in the community and with great honesty and integrity, you will be offended by anyone that would imply that in any of your dealings you have been less than honest and justified in your behavior. This in the face of the facts that you have acted totally criminally. You will find "self," your identity, totally justifies for all your actions as totally honest. This same type person (same identity focus) will emotionally justify any wrong behavior of a brother or sister upon the same basis. "We are honest trustworthy people, how dare......" This is called "denial" and has long been known by everyone as a defense mechanism for centuries.
This very defense mechanism called "DENIAL" is what makes it so difficult for anyone to critically examine their previously accepted biases and beliefs, and thereby chose another identity focus, more relating to truth and reality.
This, of course, is not from any psychological cause as a psychiatrist would say, but because the person has allowed demons to blind him to facts and make him a practicing self seving liar. This is, as Paul stated in 2 Tim 2:25, because they have no "repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth."
Without accepting the conviction by the Holy Spirit of the fearful Holiness of God, and our own unHoliness, no man will ever turn from himself in repentance to become a true Christian. Without a real fear of God, no man will become a repenting and committing Christian. He will continue in Denial of God, and remain under the control of demons. A pastor or anyone will never understand that he is actually intellectually and emotionally incapable of even comprehending or understanding God. His focus of identity, all the Bible School false doctrines, are a "mental block" by denial of God, caused by demon blindness from accepting demon lies, false doctrines.
This is why Paul so wisely told Timothy, "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Tim 2:25-26).
This scripture, says that to overcome their defense of identity (which man calls denial), it will take an act of God Himself. The are snared by the devil. Also, note that those who are not continually opposing themselves after their new-birth, constantly critically looking to Truth itself, are opening themselves to the devil. This constant opposition to self is the mark of meekness and humility in a person as a disciple of Christ. A cock-sure self-assertive preacher is in great spiritual danger, if not already deceived and snared by demons.
The sad state of most people who have chosen to accept doctrines by which they have established their identity, (as I am a Dispensationalist) is that they have given place to deception of the enemy. And why Paul told Timothy,
"Take heed to thyself, and unto the doctrine, continue in them,for in so doing this, thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee" (1 Tim 4:16). Now, denial will help them defend themselves from any change. They would lose face, self identity. And what would be worse to them is, they would have to "repent." God has allowed this because He will not violate their free choice. They are responsible for accepting the deception, whether by ignorance or not. This is the allowed environment, the play ground, of teaching demons. God's Love nature of Free-Choice, must allow this. God grants them repentance. Who will accept it. The Dispensationalists believe that "repentance" is totally unnecessary in a person's life for salvation or understanding.
Understanding. Your Free Choice of "scripture identity" gives understanding
The real Christian takes only his Bible and Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit (mind of Christ) as this authoritative reference, regardless of his previous focus of identity.
"For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he." Prov 23:7 And with the many Bible translations today, a real Christian must eventually choose between taking a Bible translated from the Byzantine text or the Alexandrian Wescott and Hort text. There is no other alternative despite the defensive lies of Alexandrian text proponents. They do not and rationally cannot complement each other as some would tell you.
According to the Law of Consistent Comparisons as well as the Law of Excluded Middle given later, they cannot both be correct nor be complements to one another. One must decide which text is from the original autographs of Greek and Hebrew, after learning the history of origin and the characters involved of each. It is not a matter of translation, it is a question of the original text, regardless of all the red-herring polemics about translations. The issue is, there are two basic Greek and Hebrew texts. Which is correct? Always look for the devil in the details of history and scriptural purity in any question. It is the same here.
Additionally, it is futile for a real Christian to expect a non-Christian (with a different identity focus), or some particular Denomination or other cult (with a diffrent identity focus) to find the same meaning in any scripture that he does. The non-Christian does not hold the scripturs nor any thinking called Truth of the scriptures as a reliable reference of reality or he would be a Christian, and, therefore, interprets it entirely according to his private identity compass to reality. "No prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20). Only the indwelling mind of Christ can read His scriptures with understanding. This is basic to Interpretation.
Using invalid lazy deductive reasoning, an unregenerate person, or a Denominational or Dispensational, looks at the Bible with all their Assumption Fallacies of deductive circular reasoning by which they navigate through the world. Therefore, the scriptures are foolishness to them, nor can they understand them, 1 Cor 2:14, unless they would stop and question themselves, (their identity) seeking Truth (2 Tim 2:25 and Heb 11:6). The very act of doing this is called "repentance" (2 Tim. 2:25).
Entire Christianity. Affected by accepting doctrines taught as their identity. In fact, the Christian community (denominations) seldom question themselves, seeking Truth, either. They substitute doctrines memorized as their compass to reality, and interpret the scriptures accordingly. These first memorized doctrines are nothing more than accepted bias or prejudices thereafter. They were never individually arrived at by rational inferences derived from the scriptures themselves, as described in this article. They were gullibly memorized as the "orthodox " and accredited way to "understand" the scriptures.
Most learned these doctrines from the most "appealing" teaching nearest to them after conversion, which was little more than an accident of proximity to them at the time. Few have really critically examined if these varied doctrines which they have dutifully accepted are derived by valid rational means from the scriptures. In fact, in order to now do this, after having first accepted and habituated themselves into their present personal identity (as well as denomination), they would have to mentally understand and suspend their identity to examine the scriptures completely refusing their previously accepted biases.
Few are able to mentally and emotionally do this. Their "denial" mechanism, previously explained (demon rights to blind, because they have not sought Truth as their only guide), will have to be thoroughly rejected by themselves. This is, as Paul stated in 2 Tim 2:25, "repentance to the acknowledging of the Truth." Unfortunately, very few preachers or teachers will allow this to themselves, despite their preaching about repentance. They have thier "identity" and will defend it to death. In regard to this, must read entire section on Hermeneutics, particularly, Law of Exclusive Truth.
A little leaven, affects all the bread. The pastor and teachers, not necessarily the same, will always be spreading their uncritically accepted biases and the laymen, also, are content to base their lives on whatever doctrines they hear, without first being very critical, searching the scriptures for the truth themselves. The laymen, simply continue in whatever denomination or sect they find themselves, leaving the Bible to those who study it. And usually, if they go to another group, the move is based on some self-centered emotional reasons. So what is their real compass or identity? Makes one wonder if it is not a self-serving one, of whatever focus.
So the final question is, are these people, pastors and laymen alike, really Christians at all, in any form. They "deny" any opposing of themselves at all times, to inductively examine their beliefs, or any thing about themselves. They are totally deductive thinkers, demon thinkers, concerning all concepts of the Bible. So the question is, is what they have chosen as their idenity, that of a Christian who is devoted to Truth of God only first and foremost ? ?
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