Lesson Twelve
continued
CARNAL CHRISTIANS
Greek: SARKIKOS -fleshly, natural, human; used scripturally to mean
full depravity of fallen man, sold as a slave and under the control of animal
appetites and evil spirits. This
word is translated “carnal” in the scriptures.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please
God. Romans 8:5-8.
To be carnally minded is
dangerous to the Christian. It is
enmity against (set in opposition to) God. It will cause a person to operate without God’s wisdom
and direction and to make terrible mistakes. A carnal mind operates in its own understanding instead
of in the principles of God. A
person either operates (lives) in the Spirit (of God) or in the flesh. There is no other condition available
to anyone. People who are not born
again live in the flesh. They
cannot live in the Spirit, because they have not received the Spirit of
God. A Christian is supposed to
manifest life in the Spirit, but does not always do so, because the soul of man
(mind, will, and emotions) is not yet totally sanctified. The Christian walk (the
salvation/sanctification process) is severely hindered or set back by walking
in the flesh. Remember that God
gave us a free will. That will
must be submitted to God on a daily basis in order to truly live in the Spirit. The carnal mind of the natural man
always tries to take over. It is a
strong force and originates from a mind that has not been renewed with the Word
of God. The purpose of the born
again experience followed by water baptism and baptism in the Holy Spirit is so
that the believer can walk in the Spirit, understand the Word, and overcome
temptations that would put him in bondage to the world system. We cannot please God unless we walk in
the Spirit, living by faith.
Submitting your will to God daily does not make you a robot. By submitting to God, you give Him
permission to correct you, and to instruct you so that you become the person
you should be.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for
hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of
Apollos; are ye not carnal? I
Corinthians 3:1-4.
Notice some of the behavior
that is described as carnal: envy, strife, and division. These Christians in Corinth were
immature and unable to understand the deeper things of God.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after
the flesh:
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
Casting down imaginations and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
II Corinthians 10:3-5.
There is a struggle involved
in overcoming ungodly fleshly desires and behavior. This scripture says that, even though we are in this human
condition, we do not conduct spiritual warfare according to human methods. We are definitely in a spiritual battle
of good against evil, and this battle must be conducted with spiritual
weapons. So, what are these
spiritual weapons? We know they
are not guns, knives, and fists.
Where is the real battle taking place? This scripture points out that our imaginations (the carnal
mind) are the battle ground. A
stronghold of the enemy is an imagination, a thought, or a belief system that
is in opposition to God that cannot be conquered without the power of God. Suppose you have a thought that you are
going to be killed or severely maimed in a car accident. You can entertain that thought, dwell
on it, until fear takes hold of you.
Even research psychology has proved that fear may cause us to make mistakes
in driving and the result could lead to an accident. Modern terminology calls it a “self-fulfilling
prophecy.” If we know the
Word of God, we know that He will provide His divine protection by giving His
angels charge over us (Psalm 91).
We therefore cast down the thought of destruction in the name of Jesus
by confessing the Word of God about protection, and that Word replaces the fear
with faith. Fear comes from our
adversary the devil. Faith comes
from God. They are opposites. Any time you experience fear, you can
be sure that Satan is trying to steal your peace, your joy, perhaps your health
or prosperity, maybe even your life.
Do not let Satan mess with you.
Learn the principles of the Kingdom of God. Learn His Word.
Put on the armor of God daily.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and
not after Christ. Colossians 2:8.
The philosophy of the day is
humanism. This is a system based
on a lie that says we can be “little gods.” Remember Satan’s tactic with Eve
in the Garden of Eden: he told her she could be like God, knowing good and
evil. By the way, take the story
of the Garden of Eden literally.
You will be able to understand much of the scriptures based on just that
story. The philosophies of the
world have always been in opposition to the Word of God. Philosophies are produced by men who
are attempting to explain God or the universe, but they neglect to ask God to
reveal Himself to them. The mind
of man is finite (limited). The
mind of God, of course, is infinite (unlimited). We cannot expect to know God unless He chooses to reveal
Himself to us.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time
to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer that when we believed.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14.
This scripture says to cast
off the works of darkness. How do
we do this? By knowing and
confessing the Word of God, and by developing your relationship with Jesus
every day. When you live in the
Word, you are not making plans to
fulfill ungodly fleshly desires.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh
reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting. Galatians 6:7-8.
Remember this scripture? You cannot fool God. This is one of the major principles of
the Kingdom of God. This principle
of sowing and reaping is always working, either for you, or against you. We can deceive ourselves, and most of
us still have areas of our souls where the light of God has not yet
reached. We sin knowingly and
unknowingly, and we sin just because we don’t walk in faith. But the Lord said He will forgive us if
we ask. Sometimes because of His
grace, and because He works all things together for our good, and because we
judge ourselves, He softens the reaping.
But we must always be prepared to reap whatever judgment has been
sown. Do not tempt the Lord.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that
ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Galatians 5:17.
Here is a description of the
battle between the flesh and the Spirit.
If you “feed” the flesh with ungodly thinking and behavior,
your flesh will become stronger than your spirit. If you “feed” your spirit with the Word of God,
you will be strengthening your spirit.
Remember that Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God.” (Luke 4:4).
The Word of God is food for your spirit. Jesus also said, “I am the Bread of Life.” (John
6:35). Since He is the Word and
the Bread of Life, you can “eat it” (internalize it).
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies.
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such
like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past,
that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21.
This is quite a list of
fleshly works. They are clearly
spelled out, so there is no doubt about what they are. It is helpful to review the definitions
of all these words.
·
adultery: sexual
activity with a married individual who is not your spouse;
·
fornication: sexual
activity between unmarried persons regardless of gender;
·
uncleanness: foul,
dirty, morally defiled (such as pornography);
·
lasciviousness: lustful,
lewd, lecherous (such as mentally undressing someone);
·
idolatry: making
anything more important than God;
·
witchcraft: black magic
or sorcery (it is also rebellion against God, I Samuel 15:23);
·
hatred: not only violent
dislike or abhorrence, but also the scripture says it is the same as murder (I
John 3:15);
·
variance: dissension or
opposition without intent of reconciliation;
·
emulations: imitation
through jealous rivalry;
·
wrath: violent and
resentful anger; rage, fury;
·
strife: heated, often
violent dissension, bitter conflict, and a struggle between rivals;
·
seditions: conduct or
language inciting to rebellion against the authority of God;
·
heresies: opinions or
doctrines at variance with the Word of God;
·
envyings: discontent and
resentment aroused by thinking about another person’s desirable
possessions or qualities (covetousness);
·
murders and drunkenness
do not need explanation;
·
revelings: uproarious or
rebellious festivities, wild parties, orgies.
Works of the flesh also
include unbelief (Romans 14:23).
If we do not regularly eat the Bread of Life (The Word), then we will
become weak and sickly in the spirit, and will fall into doubt and
unbelief. The last part of the
above scripture states that if you operate or live in these fleshly
behaviors that the principles of the Kingdom of God will not work for you.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if
ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Romans
8:13.
Mortify means “put to
death”. How do we do
that? By crucifying them daily; we
lay them at the cross, apply the blood of Jesus to them, and ask for
forgiveness. We do not suddenly
become perfect in our walk of sanctification. It is a maturing process whereby we continually submit
ourselves to his correction and instruction. However, God sees us as perfect (made complete) in Jesus,
for He calls those things that be not as though they are (Romans 4:17).
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is
of the world. I John 2:15-16.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:
this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. There is
none other commandment greater than these, Mark 12:30-31.
This is very plain. Do not love the things of this world
more than you love God. One test
you can give yourself is to take stock of how you spend your time. Do you spend hours watching TV? Is there a hobby that takes up much of
your free time? If you have a
full-time job, free time is a struggle, but the Lord will help you
organize. Remember that the Lord
requires a tithe of all your income.
Do you think a tithe of your time each day would also please
Him? A tithe of time each day is
144 minutes (rounded up to two and one-half hours). Do you spend that much time for the Lord each day? That tithe of time could include
praying in your understanding, praying in the Spirit, Bible study, and
ministering to others. And it does
not have to be in one chunk of time.
Nowhere in scripture does the Lord say that He requires a tithe of your time. The issue is really, how much do you
want to please Him, and how much and how quickly do you want to mature in
Him? How do we make sure we follow
these “greatest commandments”- to love the Lord first and to treat
our neighbors right? Ask the Lord
to help you develop habits of regular study in the Word, of “praying
without ceasing”, and learning how to conduct spiritual warfare.
We must call regularly upon
God’s grace and mercy when we fall short.
Be prepared to answer the
following questions:
1. What kind of mind is an enemy of God?
2. The carnal mind operates in its own ________ and not in the
principles of God.
3. Who cannot live in the Spirit of God?
4. How do we overcome the flesh and live in the Spirit?
5. What is the difference between the milk and the meat of the
Word of God?
6. What is a “stronghold” of the enemy?
7. Where do the real spiritual battles take place in us?
8. What is the opposite of faith?
9. Define “humanism”.
10. How are philosophies produced?
11. What is one of the major principles of God? (It is either
working for you or against you).
12. How do you make your flesh strong? 13. How do you
make your spirit strong?
14. How does God see the believer?