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Carnal "Category?"


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#1 Thinker

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Posted 07 June 2012 - 08:52 AM

Are there three types of people: carnal, spiritual and natural, as Dr Chafer believed? I see two categories only: natural and spiritual. What about carnality? A Spiritual man (a saved man) certainly can be guilty of carnality. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, writes this, "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men" (I Corinthians 3:3). He lamented a condition, not a category. The implication seems to be that the Corinthians needed to deal with their carnality. To suggest that there are three categories allows some to make excuses for their carnality. I had a man tell me that he was saved but that he was a "carnal Christian" and probably always would be. (That's almost like saying that someone is an immoral Christian). Excusing oneself from dealing with carnality is foolish and counter to going on to a deeper Christian life. Let's not allow ourselves to fall into that trap! Remember Paul's reminder to the Romans: "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 8:9). Ron Pinkham

#2 Charles Miles

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Posted 11 June 2012 - 10:06 AM

Interesting topic and one that deserves thought and study. I am certainly no Bible scholar, but I do read the Word and always try to read it along with the one who wrote it. Are not all men spiritual beings? I mean at birth are we not all looking into eternity? Our choice is what to do about this situation in which we find ourselves. This body(space suit) enables us to live and function on this beautiful world given to us by God, but actually aren`t we a spiritual being living within this God given body and inhabiting this God given world? I say and ask all this to explain that we should always strive for perfection and to perfectly live in God`s will, knowing all the while that the goal is not attainable for man. This certainly does not mean we should not work towards these goals through the love and grace of God in all of our daily endevours. Jesus said that His blood represented the "New Covanent" and we should drink "all of it". We don`t really know what "ALL OF IT" means to us, but we can know more than we know at the present time, and the Holy Spirit is available to teach us more about what "all of it" actually means as we do our best to walk with the Lord on a daily basis. I am a spiritual being, I am saved by the grace of my Lord and Saviour, I rejoice daily about these things....but yes, I am a man and I do sin. The difference(as I see it) is that I am a new creation and the sin is from without......not from within. I will never be perfect but I will try to do better every day....not because this gives me salvation(I already have that), but by doing better I am better able to reflect the characteristics of the One who loves me so much that He sacrificed Himself for me to remove a sinful nature(the old man).

Sorry to drag this out, but I just felt the need to explain something....don`t know that I did a very good job. But again, I`m a work in progress.