Are you carnal or spiritual?

“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 8:6 – 8

God uses Romans chapter 8 for two reasons, (1.) to show His blessings to the redeemed or spiritual and (2.) to show His condemnation to the lost or carnal. God calls the saved spiritual and the condemned lost carnal and this is done for a pacific reason, to separate the sheep and the goats. The image here we need to see is the controlling factor of two sorts of people, the carnal is worldly controlled and the spiritual is Holy Spirit controlled. Paul, in speaking to the church at Corinth called the church membership because of their mind-set and actions “carnal minded”, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” 1 Corinthians 3:3 But remember, this is a church therefore they are actually saved, but they were worldly in their thinking and acting as though they were lost. Therefore, Paul told them in verses 1 – 2 “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.” This is a sad place for a Christian, but even sadder for a church to be “carnal-like”. This is what happens when you stop teaching the meat of the word, you become child-like and can only handle milk. I mostly preach the milk of the word when I’m among lost people with no ability to have spiritual understanding, but how horrible when a church has none, even a counterfeit church. Folks, please just teach the word, as it is, the Holy Spirit will lead and direct your services in the word. Every church needs to remember who controls their church, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Revelation 2:5 Whom do you seek to please, God or people? Paul said in Romans 8:5 a very profound fact for all believers and churches to remember, “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.” Paul also wrote on this subject to the church at Galatia these facts, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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 5:16 – 17 Folks, please understand this, true churches and sound Christians are both spiritual in nature, we both seek to walk in the scriptures, not by man’s commentary of them, but the Holy Spirits teaching to them. The scriptures do not change because you change, they do not change because the world changes, they are eternal just as God is eternal, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.”  Numbers 23:19 – 20 There are four kinds of people in this world, (1.) those who are lost and carnal, (2.) those who are saved and spiritually minded, (3.) those who are saved and carnally minded, and (4.) those who are lost and act as though they are spiritually minded, what group do you and your church fit into? Paul also wrote these profound words, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”  Romans 8:8 Carnally minded people, whether saved or lost will never please God, even if they call themselves “a church”. The only way to please God is to be spiritually minded and walking in the Spirit which is after the truth of the word. “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. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Romans 8:9 - 10