From The Study

This is from a Book that I am Currently Reading

The teaching of Christ is more excellent than all the advice of the saints, and he who has His spirit will find in it a hidden manna. Now, there are many who hear the Gospel often but care little for it because they have not the spirit of Christ. Yet whoever wishes to understand fully the words of Christ must try to pattern his whole life on that of Christ.

What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God? Vanity of vanities and all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone.

(from Thomas a Kempis: The Imitation of Christ, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 1999, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The True Gospel of Christ vs. The False Gospel of Carnal Christianity by L. R. Shelton, Jr.

The Spiritual Man in Romans 8

5 “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.

6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” - Romans 8:5-9

The spiritual man, or true Christian, is vividly contrasted in Romans 8:5-9 with the carnal or fleshly man who minds the things of the flesh (v 5), is in a state of spiritual death (v 6), and is in a state of enmity (active rebellion) against God. Such a person is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be (v 7); and further, he cannot please God (v 8). Therefore he is repugnant to God and abides under His just wrath unless sovereign grace enters and changes him into a new creature in Christ.

“To Be Spiritually Minded Is Life”

Now, in verse 9, the apostle makes a statement that no man can get around or argue against, nor can it be made to mean anything else than what it says- “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Why? Because if indeed a man has been born again, regenerated by the Spirit of God, then he is a spiritual man. God has done something for him and in him-he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The course or bent of his life is changed! For now he has the very life of God dwelling in him!

God tells us in Ezekiel 36:26,27: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Yes, this is something that God does for us and not we ourselves. This is a work that will cause us to desire to walk in the Spirit and seek after godliness, righteousness and true holiness. It is a work of grace from start to finish, and gives God the glory; verse 27 is emphatic-”and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” We will mind the things of the Spirit, by the grace of God.

“To be spiritually minded is life “ (Rom 8:6). This statement is the key to the whole Christian life, and is the reason why the true Christian no longer walks after “the course of this world” (Eph 2:2), but after the Spirit. Our Lord said, “I give unto them eternal life “ (John 10:28; 17:2,3); and “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Yes, this life is the very life of God dwelling in the children of God. Therefore, having the life of God in them, certain things are said about them that are not said of the unregenerate, the unsaved-no matter how religious they may be, or how many professions, rededication’s and experiences they have had. Let us see some of these things in Romans 8 about God’s children.

Romans 8

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Verse 1 teaches that the spiritual man is no longer under condemnation, because he has passed from death unto life; for Christ has utterly wiped out the damning evidences of the broken law which always hung over his head. The Savior took these and nailed them to His cross (Col 2:14), and thereby removed the guilt and penalty of all the sins of all His people before a holy God. Then He cleansed them by faith in His precious blood and provided for them a spotless robe of righteousness, wherein they stand before God perfect in His Son.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Verse 2 says that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ hath made the spiritual man free from the law of sin and death, so he has now been made free from the consequences of sin, which is eternal death. He has become a servant to God, whose fruit is now unto holiness and whose end is everlasting life (Rom 6:22).

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Verse 4 teaches that the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in this spiritual man because he is in Christ, and now able to walk after the Spirit. Like David, he delights himself in the law of God (God’s Word), and his bent of life is to please God and walk in His commandments bringing forth fruit unto holiness.

5 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.

Verse 5 tells us that he is a man who minds the things of the Spirit. His mind is set on the things of God; they delight him most. So he seeks after them in the Word of God, in the fellowship of the saints, in public worship with the people of God, and in his private life of communion with God.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Verse 6 shows that he is a man who possesses the very spiritual life of God, and who is at peace with God because of his union with Christ and his present state of justification. He is no longer in a state of spiritual death, hating God; but he delights in God and cries that the Holy Spirit will work in him “the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19) in progressive sanctification in this life. He desires that his faith might be increased, so he may please God in all things; for he knows that the just shall live by faith and not by sight (Rom 1:17).

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13 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.

Verses 12-13 show that he is not a debtor to the flesh, to live after the flesh; for if he lives after the flesh, the life of God is not in him and he will die. But because the life of God is in him, he desires by the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body, (to put to death the deeds of the fleshly nature), so he will live unto God.

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Verses 14-17 teach that since he is now a child of God, the greatest evidence he has to his soul that this is true is that he acknowledges to be led by the Spirit: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Such a person has received the Spirit of adoption, whereby he cries, “Abba Father.” He knows that God is his Father, this is real to him, for the Holy Spirit bears witness with his spirit that this is so. Therefore, he is an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ. He knows the inward working of the Holy Spirit whereby he has received the firstfruits of his inheritance, so he groans within himself, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of his body (v 23).

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Verses 24-25 show that he knows by experience that he lives in hope-in the hope and joyful expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; who will give him his new body and take him to be with Him where He is forever, in a place of rest and holiness where there will be no more sin.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Verse 28 sets forth the truth: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” The Holy Spirit also teaches the believer that God foreknew him in eternity, that he was included in God’s plan of predestination to be conformed to the image of God’s dear Son. And having predestinated him, God also calls him by His Spirit and justifies him in Christ, and will at the last day glorify him in his blessed Savior forever (vv. 29,30).

Also he knows that Satan, the world, the flesh and even he himself, can lay nothing to his account before God, because it is the triune God Himself who justified him and counted him righteous in Christ. And being one of God’s elect, no charge will ever be brought against him in heaven. Again, he knows that Christ will not condemn him, because He died for him, arose for him, and is at the right hand of God as his Representative, where He ever lives to make intercession for him till He gets him to glory (vv. 33,34). Then to seal the whole transaction of love and grace in Christ for his soul, the spiritual man learns from verses 35-39 that there is absolutely nothing that can separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus his Lord!

The Spiritual Man

Now, it is because of all this which the triune God has worked in this soul by the Holy Spirit, and which was provided for him in the blood and righteousness of Christ, that he is a spiritual man-a man indwelt by the Holy Spirit-and therefore minds the things of the Spirit. He desires to walk in this pathway of righteousness and true holiness; he hates any other way, and desires to show forth the praises of Him who called him out of darkness into the marvelous light of His unchanging grace. This is the bent and trend of his life, and he can say with the apostle Paul: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

But the contrast in Romans 8 is with the man who still minds the things of the flesh, who walks after the flesh, and calls himself a carnal Christian. He knows nothing of these things that make the children of God spiritual, because they can only be spiritually discerned by those whom the Holy Spirit has regenerated, who have been saved by grace, and by faith have entered into that living union with Christ. The question is: Do you and I walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit? There is no middle ground of carnal Christianity, “for to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom 8:6).

My last word and prayer is that God by His Spirit will awaken each one of you who are deceived by this fatal error of “carnal Christianity” before it is too late, that He will deliver you from the wrath to come, that you may be justified by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ-not by the faith that is alone, but by the faith that bears the fruit of good works. For in James 2:17, “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” This is what I have set before you continuously-The gospel of “carnal Christianity” is a gospel that does not lead to works of righteousness and holiness; and the Scriptures speak plainly: “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).

The True Gospel of Christ vs. The False Gospel of Carnal Christianity by L. R. Shelton, Jr.

Carnal versus Spiritual in Romans 8

This radio pastor totally ignored the greater light given us in other parts of God’s Word. Romans 8:5-9: “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 [fleshly minded] is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal [fleshly] 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. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

Now the first thing that can be said about these verses is they do not teach that the apostle is drawing a line between fleshly (carnal) Christians and spiritual Christians. No! He is drawing the line of demarcation between the regenerate and the unregenerate, the wicked and the righteous, the unsaved and the saved, the children of the devil and the children of God!

Many are taught that these verses do teach there are fleshly or carnal Christians, who walk habitually “after the flesh,” and spiritual Christians, who walk habitually “after the Spirit.” No, such teaching is error according to Romans 8:3-4, “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” -for what reason? “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us” And who is the “us”?-Those “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” You see, the righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in the children of God, for this was the reason Christ died and rose again. And I ask again, in whom is this righteousness fulfilled?-Only those who are born again by the Spirit of God and are in the Spirit, walking after the Spirit and not after the flesh!

Again, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh” (Rom 8:5). What does the word “flesh” mean here? The word “flesh” means fallen human nature, human nature as it is before the Spirit of God begins His work in a person. It is man left to himself-born, developing, and growing in life in this world outside the activity of God upon him. He is habitually dominated by the nature with which he was born. This fleshly, or carnal man, is said here to “mind the things of the flesh.” He does not think of them occasionally, but these are the things he minds and thinks of habitually, and the trend or bent of his thinking is toward earthly things. Why? Because they please him most of all. These are the things that give him the greatest satisfaction, and therefore are the things which he seeks after wholeheartedly. So a man who minds the things of the flesh is a man who knows not God and His Christ, whose understanding is darkened, and who is alienated from the life of God. But the trend and bent of the lives of the children of God is after righteousness and holy living, by the grace of God.

Now, Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally minded [or fleshly minded] is death.” What is the apostle telling us here?-that the man who minds fleshly or earthly things as described in verse 5, is in a state of spiritual death. He is not a carnal Christian, going to heaven when he dies because he made a profession of faith and joined a church. No! He is dead in trespasses and sins, and is on his way to hell, to abide under the just wrath of God for ever, unless sovereign grace lays hold of him and makes him a spiritual man. Yes, he is alive physically, but spiritually he is a dead man. He is completely dead to God, so God is not in all his thoughts; he lives as if there were no God. Spiritual death is to be outside the life of God! Therefore, he is in a living death; he is merely existing. That is why he minds the things of the flesh, those worldly things out of which God is shut, and is governed and controlled by his fallen nature. He is shut out from the life of God; and if he dies in that condition, he will to all eternity be shut out from the life of God. Nothing more terrible can be contemplated. That is the meaning of spiritual death.

Notice now what verse 6 says about the spiritual man: He is “spiritually minded,” and has eternal “life and peace.” He is alive unto God. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Now verse 7: “Because the carnal [fleshly] mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” This explains why the mind of the flesh is death: If a man is at enmity against God, that is, in active rebellion against God, he is obviously outside the life of God. This means he is dead spiritually.

I see in these verses positive proof that the apostle is not comparing and contrasting two types of Christians, but rather is comparing and contrasting the non-Christian and the Christian, the child of the wicked one, unsaved and lost, and the child of God who is saved and kept in Christ. You see, a man cannot be at enmity against God and be a Christian at the same time! No, there is no such thing as a “carnal” Christian, for all Christians are spiritual men who have been born of the Spirit, given a new heart and the very nature of God. Thus we see why we cannot build a doctrine like carnal Christianity upon such a passage of Scripture as I Corinthians 3:1-4. God has given greater light in Romans 8:5-9 that no such doctrine exists.

The True Gospel of Christ vs. The False Gospel of Carnal Christianity by L. R. Shelton, Jr.

Two Types of Christians?

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” - I Corinthians 3:1

The sole basis of this false teaching of carnal Christianity is the belief that there are two types of Christians in the world today-carnal and spiritual. A misuse of Paul’s words in I Corinthians 3:1-4 is one of the major factors. We will consider these verses of Scripture in the light of Romans 8:5-9, which set forth the fact that they which walk in the flesh as the course of their life cannot please God (v 8), and are therefore spiritually dead.

The “Carnal Christian” in I Corinthians 3

“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 Cor 3:1-4).

Now first of all, we need to look at these verses as they are set in the context of this entire book of I Corinthians. This letter was written to correct many errors which had sprung up in the church at Corinth, and these errors and sins can be found in 1:11; 5:1; 7:1; 8:1; 11:18; 12:1; and 15:12. The apostle Paul deals with them thoroughly and calls for repentance and searching of heart: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (II Cor 13:5). And after giving them the history of Israel in the wilderness, he warns: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (I Cor 10:12).

Let us consider the immediate context of I Corinthians 3. In the last seven verses of chapter 2, the apostle by the Spirit shows that no man can know the things of God except the Holy Spirit teach him; which He does by comparing spiritual things with spiritual from the Word of God, thereby saving us by the grace of God and giving us the mind of Christ. Notice also in these verses, that Paul calls them “brethren,” and tells them that he could not speak to them as mature, full-grown Christians, but as babes in Christ, who were being fed on milk and not meat. Being babes, they desired the sincere milk of the Word (I Peter 2:2), whereby they were alive unto God, and spiritual. But as they were caught in this error of glorying in men (either Paul, Apollos or Peter-1:12; 3:4,21,22), they were showing their fleshly nature; and he certainly desired to show them their error and bring them to repentance. This was that they would grow into mature, full-grown Christians, and no longer grieve the Holy Spirit who indwelt them (6:19).

Here again we must remind ourselves of the truth that these Corinthian Christians could not make sin the practice and rule of their lives; for if they did, they would show that they were never the children of God, but lost and not knowing Christ (I John 3:9,10). He is speaking to spiritual men in this passage, but rebuking them for walking in this error of glorying in men. How do we know this? Again, by comparing spiritual things with spiritual, as the apostle tells us in verses 9-16 of chapter 2.

An Example

This is why those who teach and preach this false gospel of carnal Christianity completely miss the truth of God’s Word, because they will not and do not compare spiritual things with spiritual. They build a false doctrine upon a few verses of Scripture, ignoring the greater light found elsewhere in the Bible. I know what I’m talking about, for I’ve heard it with my own ears.

Recently as I was returning from a preaching engagement, I heard a radio preacher take I Corinthians 3:1-4 and preach this false carnal Christian doctrine as I had never heard it preached before. In essence this is what he said: “Don’t let anyone deceive you about these verses, for they certainly teach that there are two types of Christians: one who is spiritual, and one who is carnal and walks after the flesh.” He said, “Indeed the carnal Christians are the plague of the church; they make God weep because they will not walk in the Spirit, but they are still Christians and will go to heaven when they die because they have made a profession of faith.”

And he went on to describe these carnal Christians as ones who did not pray, who did not read their Bibles, who partook of the sensual pleasures of the world, who very seldom went to church, who very seldom gave a penny to the work of the Lord, and who were immersed in the world and could not be distinguished from the world! He said the sad part about it was that God was helpless to make them spiritual Christians, because He did not want to cross their free will; that even though they had not bowed to Christ as Lord of their lives, yet He was obligated to take them to heaven when they died because they had trusted Him as their Savior!

As I rode along in my car hearing this false gospel being preached; I wept, because this false prophet was sealing precious souls in their sins, promising them heaven when they in fact were on the road to hell. It was blasphemy, because this kind of so-called salvation brings no glory to God, but rather obligates God to save rebels while they stay in their sins and refuse to bow to His authority as Lord of all.

I began to pray to the Lord to give me strength to cry out against this false doctrine till I die, and set forth God’s true way of salvation that calls for complete surrender of all the keys to all the rooms of our hearts, and a bowing to Jesus Christ as Lord of our life, to break the power of sin.