The Trouble with Carnality

Romans 8:6-8
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, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

This is perhaps one of the most telling scriptures about the human heart I can think of. This deals w/the issue of carnality, but I don’t believe people really understand where Paul is coming from. He’s speaking of more than what you do, he’s speaking of what’s inside your soul…
Defn. Carnal / Carnality > not spiritual; merely human; temporal; worldly

This is quite interesting because it gives the exact opposite of what it means to be spiritually sound.
Let’s break this thing down:
First off, it says to be carnally minded is death…it DOESN’T say, to do Carnal things…it’s speaking of a mindset…this is something woven into the fibers of your heart.
Now, notice it says the end result is death > now, what else in the Word guarantees death? SIN
Eze. 18: 20 – ‘…the soul that sins shall surely die…’
So we can establish that because we were born into sin, without the rapture, we’re going to die…it may not be tonight or tomorrow, but it will come, and it will come soon.  The same is true for those who walk in carnality.
Where this becomes deceiving is – DEATH ISN’T IMMEDIATELY…yet it is CERTAIN.
Secondly, it reveals the fact Carnality isn’t subject to God’s laws, and Never will be! In other words, you cannot come under the protection of God’s laws with Carnality, sooner or later, it’ll disqualify you.

Example:

Matt. 22: 11 - 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
You see, the King spotted this man…it was over after that! It wasn’t what the man was doing, or saying that disqualified him; it was the fact that he was NOT PROTECTED by the laws of God…no garment, NO INVITATION.
Side note* - God’s laws are not only established to govern your life, they are also there to protect you!

Finally, the most telling is: you cannot please God with a mindset of carnality…so no matter what you do – no matter how holy your intentions are…Carnality keeps you at arms distance from God! Your mind tells you one thing, God’s laws say another…let me explain.
Look at the Life of King Saul…
He had humble beginnings, but his pride became his own undoing.
1 Samuel 18:9 - 9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
His carnal mindset took him down a deadly path:
- He pridefully prepares a sacrifice w/o pastoral supervision…where’s the harm in that?
- He takes spoil from Amalek to give to God…who would argue?
- He chases and accuses his own man…threatens the life of his son…
- He consults a witch…ultimately took his own life
Throughout this man’s life, the decisions he made were totally justified in his own mind!
So are yours. You justify why you watch what you watch on TV, you justify why you talk the way you do; you justify how you treat others, etc…why? You have a carnal mindset and no matter what is told to you – because you don’t see it that way, you won’t change…the problem is, having this mindset will NEVER allow you to be pleasing to God!
- When you wonder why you lack wisdom and revelation in spiritual decisions: carnal
- You question why you’re constantly attacked by the devil: carnal
- You question your frustrations in ministry, or the lack thereof: carnal
2 Corinthians 13:5
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
Here’s the problem…most of us will never HONESTLY examine ourselves, we usually compare ourselves to others