Message from Scripture: 1/6/2021

 

Our message from Scripture today comes from Rom. 8:6-8. “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, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

We don’t typically hear the word carnal much anymore, so this passage is interesting in the use of the term. What was Paul saying by speaking of people who are carnally minded? The term in Greek is σάρξ (sarx), referring to that which is of the flesh. Here, Paul uses it to imply sinfulness, a propensity to sin, thus the carnal nature, the seat of carnal appetites and desires. It speaks of sinful passions, affections, and desires, whether physical or moral. It is an attitude about life that only considers the here and now, not that which is spiritual, eternal.

Paul says to focus one’s thoughts and lifestyle on our physical passions and desires is death. It was what brought about the process of physical death in the garden (Gen. 3:6), and if continually pursued brings about spiritual death, separation from God and condemnation. Paul reminded the congregation in Corinth, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). To live a worldly lifestyle and then claim spiritual promises is a contradiction in terms!

I can guarantee that to live without input from Scripture, spiritual truths, only results in a carnal mind, no matter what one may claim. Does the carnal programming on TV promote spirituality? Or the barrage of profanity that fills most music today? Has not the world taken a stand against true spirituality? If you want to think spiritually, and live spiritually, then God’s word must be integral to who we are. Spend time in reading God’s word today, thinking about what it says, and incorporating it in your life. This is how we will please God and have assurance in eternity. God bless.

Robert