The Problem with Carnal Christians

[DevotiontoBible]

As long as you are carnal (if you are carnal), you remain a slave to sin, because your instincts are driving you. Being a Christian, or even being Born Again, does not remove your carnality.

Paul said to be carnal means to be a slave to sin. He also said Christians are no longer slaves to sin. Therefore, Christians are not carnal. There is no such thing as a carnal Christian, according to the Bible. Paul goes on to say in Rom 8:9 that a person who is carnal does not have The Holy Spirit and does not belong to Christ.

 

[mourningdove~]

If all Christians were perfect,

and none were 'carnal'...
then we would not have disagreements...​

this whole thread seems to be
confirmation
that there is carnality amidst Christians...​

The gnostics of the early church,
and later too,
insisted that they had a 'knowledge',
a 'gnosis' that made them immune
to sin,
and what was sin for others,
was not sin for them...​

They thereby condoned all their sins,
and preached that they lacked
carnality, hypocrisy, and sin...​

John preached quite strongly to them,
and pointed out that
'if we (the brethren that John was speaking
to) said we had no sin,
we were thereby lying...​

He told us to 'confess' those sins,
to maintain that purity given to us
at salvation.​

To avoid 'confession' of sin,
some deny sin,
and do not recognize it when it is
obvious to God and many others.​

All of us fail God,
and carnality may be a harsher
term to describe it than they would like...
and perhaps we can make
prettier names for sins
for them,
but they are still sin.​

Adultery is an 'affair'
homosexuality is 'gay'
gossip is sharing,
lying is spin,
and etc...​

God, in the original language of the Bible,
is shown to be far more blunt
than that...​

carnality is meatheadedness...​

Paul called the corinthians to be
meatheads...
I bet they would have preferred
to be called 'little children'...​

it sounds prettier...
but for some reason, God
thought to be a bit more
adamant, and plain, wth
those Corinthians...​

LOL​

It is the truth that sets us free.​

We sometimes may not like what we see ...
what the Spirit of Truth reveals to us ...
but God's purpose in allowing us to see the truth is 'to set us free'.​

He is a Great God ...
The One who desires to deliver us from all bondages ...
that we might truly be free in Christ.​

________​

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'' ​

 

[DevotiontoBible]

1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

Paul says that there are two types of Christians: Carnal, or fleshly Christians, and spiritual Christians.

Paul defines "ye are yet carnal" to be "as" and "walk as" or the NLT "act as". Paul is saying he has to speak to them as if they are unregenerated men. He is not saying they actually are carnal or unregenerated people. Just as there is no such thing as an unregenerated Christian there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.

 

[GodsChild07]

Paul defines "ye are yet carnal" to be "as" and "walk as" or the NLT "act as". Paul is saying he has to speak to them as if they are unregenerated men. He is not saying they actually are carnal or unregenerated people. Just as there is no such thing as an unregenerated Christian there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.

Your interpretation is totally 180 degrees out.

 

[JimfromOhio]

Paul defines "ye are yet carnal" to be "as" and "walk as" or the NLT "act as". Paul is saying he has to speak to them as if they are unregenerated men. He is not saying they actually are carnal or unregenerated people. Just as there is no such thing as an unregenerated Christian there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.

The Word of God (Bible) rebukes in order that we may see our faults. When it comes to "fornication" or other "gray area sins", this is where the conscience of unbelievers is insensitive to sin and carnal Christians are not sure. I have posted earlier in this thread,

Carnal person is a Christian who still has self on the throne (selfishness). Christ is still in there somewhere, running around, but He is not in charge, and the life is still in chaos. There's no Lordship. For a Spiritual Christian, Self is off the throne (self-less), Christ is on it, and the life is all in order.

As Christians, in this world, we are not to engage in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all (Rom. 12:7-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

We will never be perfect but we can be filled. The Greek word for "dwells" is okv (oike), which means "I inhabit." "If Christ is in us, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10). "My temorary body is decaying at the same time, my inner being is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16). It is God's will that we submit to the Holy Spirit and keep on filling (Ephesians 5:18). Like an athlete when training, we should always keep drinking water so that we won't be dehydrated and feeling weak. With that thought in mind, we should always keep filling the Holy Spirit so that we are able to act and react any given situations. "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9).

Christians will use their own "efforts" to do whateve think they are doing is right. This is a carnal concept.

God may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and is cast down by failure is still a carnal man. At best, his fruit will have a worm in it. A. W. Tozer

The carnal approach usually does little more than to alienate the enemy still further from us and, worse than all, it puts us in a position where God cannot help us. The enemy never quite knows how to deal with a humble man; he is so used to dealing with proud, stubborn people that a meek man upsets his timetable. And furthermore, the man of true humility has God fighting on his side--who can win against God? A.W. Tozer

 

[murjahel]

Some Christians are satisfied with a very weak existence.
They want to fill a pew, and hopefully make it to heaven.
If they can occasionally put in an offering, or shake the preacher's hand, they think they have done their job.
They are too much like the man who got up and read the obituary every morning, and if his name was not in it, he went back to bed.

Many Christians have that kind of spiritual existence.
They have no dreams, no high hopes, no active ministry, no ambitions to serve God and defeat the devil.

God wants soldiers, not wimps.
He wants stewards, not bums.
He wants light-bearers, not fireflies.
He wants saints with rivers flowing,
not pew sitters with cisterns -
that are stagnating.
He wants participants, not spectators.
He wants intercessors, not gossips.
He wants doers, not hearers only.

Whenever we get out of line with God's plan for us, we begin to backslide. It is possible to lose one's salvation.

Your name can be removed from the Book of Life.

Revelation 22:19
"...God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life..."

We must continue in relationship with Jesus, to have salvation.

John 8:31
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed..."

The Bible predicts that in the last days, many will backslide.

I Timothy 4:1
"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..."

Backsliders are like a troubled sea.
They are restless, miserable, and unsatisfied.
They substitute sex, wine, drugs, worldly pleasures, etc. for the satisfaction they once had with God.

They cannot escape the guilt they have.
They have no hope for the future.

​

 

[murjahel]

It is obvious from N.T. writings,
that many times
'saints' can let their flesh rule...

it is a shame...
and can lead to total backsliding...

Demas was led astray by carnal desires...
Diotrephes loved pre eminence...
and let that carnal pride lead
him to failure and rebuke...

None of us are perfect...
we all have sinned,
and despite our wonderful salvation,
we still battle the flesh,
and sometimes,
often even,
we see the flesh bring us into
carnality,
i.e.
meatheadedness...

when meatheadedness starts,
we are still saved...
the Lord will convict,
send prophetic messages that will
shine light upon the wound ...

and if we repent,
and do not choose to reject the Lord,
we are restored ...

if we harden our hearts,
choose the fleshly, meatheadedness
over Jesus,
we can lose our salvation...

pointing this out,
is very unpopular...

and leads to many attacks,
many upsets,
and 'meatheadedness'
tries to assert its errancies
into the situation...

sometimes, I tire of being
part of God's illustrated lessons..
LOL
but I will not complain...
for there are blessings that accompany
all the hard parts...​

 

[flaglady]

closed at request of OP