Lesson for June 14, 2026

Our Spiritual Assets

Lesson 14: All Scar Tissue Removed

When a person says “no” often enough and long enough, it builds up a maximum amount of scar tissue on their soul, so that a hardness builds up to block truth. Scar tissue on the soul shuts down Divine Viewpoint Thinking and removes the capacity for happiness. On the inside, mental attitude sins produce self-induced misery, and on the outside the details of life become your master. Reversionism, the condition of a believer who is negative toward Bible doctrine and has stopped growing spiritually, which results in “scar tissue on the soul.” This is failure to follow God’s plan of living the Christian Way of Life.

A reversionist is a believer in perpetual carnality, out of fellowship with God for a prolonged period of time and being controlled by their sin nature. If you are not advancing toward spiritual maturity as a Christian, you are, by default, retreating into reversionism. (Ephesians 4:19)

A reversionist is said to be an enemy of God, an enemy of the Cross, a child of the devil, double-minded, and unstable in all their ways. They do not abide in the teaching of Christ, they delude themselves, they lack faith, they faint in their minds, they are prisoners to sin, they have come short of the grace of God, their souls are tortured, and they are subject to divine discipline.

A reversionist has left their first love, fallen away from their spiritual life, and has become a lukewarm believer. (James 4:4; Philippians 3:18-19; I John 3:10; James 1:8, 4:8; II John 9; James 1:22-24; Romans 7:23; Hebrews 12:3-15; II Peter 2:7-8; Revelation 2)

As a reversionist moves further away from God, their conscience becomes “seared,” their norms and standards revert to human viewpoint, and the “scar tissue on the soul” begins to build. Capacity for life is replaced with the temporary happiness of Satan’s world system: pleasure, money, power, social status, and material possessions. What a person thought was going to bring them lasting happiness brings delusion only. Delusion leads to frustration, discouragement, and even depression. (I Timothy 4:2; II Timothy 3:1-7)

Removal of this “scar tissue” is not easy, but it is possible. Scar tissue can be removed only by the consistent, persistent study and application of Bible doctrine. As a believer utilizes I John 1:9 (confession of known sins) and replaces Human Viewpoint Thinking with Divine Viewpoint Thinking by learning and applying accurate Bible doctrine, the “scar tissue” slowly begins to be removed.

Ephesians 4: The Decline and the Recovery

In Ephesians 4, we find the decline into reversionism and the recovery process. In the first half of the chapter, we see a group of believers living the Christian Way of Life and growing spiritually. It is the “worthy walk” of a believer that is being described by Paul in Ephesians 4:1-16. In Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul describes the slide into reversionism. In Ephesians 4:20-24, Paul gives the recovery process.

In verses 17, Paul warned these believers not to walk as unbelievers (which apparently some were doing), in the futility (vacuum or emptiness) of their mind. In verses 18-19, Paul described the progression from “scar tissue on the soul” (callous) to “blackout of the soul” (darkened in their understanding). Verse 19 describes the next progressive step in reversionism, which is total indulgence to the trends of the sin nature (indecent behavior).

Ephesians 4:20-24, Paul outlines how to recover from reversionism and rid yourself of spiritual scar tissue. Here is a corrected translation:

Verse-by-Verse Exposition

But this is not what you have learned about Christ. Paul gives the recovery process beginning in Ephesians 4:20. First, a believer is to recall the Bible doctrine that they have learned in the past. The Greek word for “learned” indicates a process of study, which is not the same as simply listening to Bible teaching or reading your Bible. The connotation is not to simply learn the doctrine of Christ academically, rather get to know the Person of Christ. In so learning “Christ,” application is made that will cause a believer to live in a different manner than others.

Since you have heard the truth about Him and have been taught by His example as the living Word of God, because the truth resides in the Person of Jesus Christ. In verse 21, the word for “taught” indicates that a pastor-teacher is involved in this learning process and the last phrase is an indication that all Bible doctrine is the thinking of Christ. Therefore, the first step to recovery after Rebound is to make the study and application of Bible doctrine number one priority.

Put away the former manner of living with its Human Viewpoint Thinking, which originates from the sin nature. However, before you can begin this process, you must name your sins to God in accordance with I John 1:9. This is the meaning of verse 22 along with the concept of controlling the sin nature. This is accomplished only under the control of God the Holy Spirit, as we will see in the next verse.

But rather be reinvigorated or renewed in your thinking by means of the filling of the Holy Spirit. In verse 23, we have the resumption of the spiritual life that had previously been abandoned. How do we do this? We do this by renewing our minds, not by attempting to change our behavior, which comes as a result of the renewed mind. The mind of a believer is renewed by the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine. Therefore, a believer in reversionism must renew their mind, not “change their ways.” Right thinking leads to right actions. Removal of scar tissue on the soul takes time and patience—patience with ourselves and with other believers who might be going through this recovery process.

And embrace as yours the new spiritual nature, which after the likeness of God is created as perfect righteousness resulting in a right relationship with God for all eternity. Verse 24 is a great description of building your spiritual life on the right foundation. Rebound, the filling of the Holy Spirit, study and application of God’s Word, and resuming your spiritual life are all contained in the phrase “take as yours the new spiritual nature.” The Greek word for new indicates that it is new in type not new in time. In other words, it is something you already possess. Paul says to remove the old self and replace it with the new self. This is not a reference to salvation, but rather to your spiritual life. In other words, stop being controlled by the sin nature and start being controlled by the Holy Spirit.

This process of transformation takes place first in the mind, in accordance with God’s standards of righteousness. A righteous lifestyle is the execution of the unique Christian life, not the practice of legalism. Another way to explain this is: make your experience in Christ align with your position in Christ.

It is the application of accurate Bible doctrine that will eventually remove scar tissue and lead to a full recovery of the spiritual life. If a believer is to fully recover from reversionism, they must use God’s system: name their sins, make a decision to put God’s Word first, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and teach them. The result will be a renewed mind. (Romans 12:1-2)