Are There Both Spiritual and Carnal Christians (Pt. 4 & Conclusion)

• Proof #1 - They were people who had been taught the word of God, but were still acting like babes in Christ. They needed milk rather than meat. See also Hebrew 5:11-14.
  
  
• Proof #2 - They had jealously and strife among them. Jealousy has to do with pride. It is not from love. It is for self. Strife is the result of the jealousy and pride. They were treating the church as a place to advance their status, and to become well respected by others. Galatians 5:19-20 calls jealousy and strife deeds of the flesh. So yes, real believers can unfortunately act with jealousy and strife and selfish ambition and pride. Jealousy and strife cause all kinds of problems in the body of Christ. Christian maturity should lead us to reject the party spirit and live for Christ. But they were saying “I am of Paul and I am of Apollos.”
  
  
• Proof #3: They were walking as mere men. The verb walk shows that the pattern of their lives was not good. Paul reveals more of their sin as the letter progresses. It includes tolerating sexual immorality in chapter 5 and taking each other to court in chapter 6. Some were depriving each other of sex in marriage in chapter 7. There was the abuse of the Lord’s supper in chapter 11. There was boasting in spiritual gifts in chapter 12-14. Clearly the Corinthians were acting and thinking carnally in some serious ways. So there is no question that Christians can sin and sin sometimes in terrible ways. Christians can have quite a bit of worldly mentality that persists for a period of time even characterizing an entire church. Let us not pull punches! It was a shame to them. But – and this is important -- let us not overstate how worldly they were nor should we create a category of a Christian which God’s word does not.

We know that they were carnal, but we need to see the whole picture to know the extent and limits of that carnality.The whole picture puts some parameters on their carnality. They had evidence of some Christian fruit.

Consider this mitigating evidence.

• Evidence #1 - By the time of the writing of 1 Corinthians, though not brand new to the faith, they still had only been in the faith for about 5 years from about 51 to 55 A.D. So these were not like some people today who claim to have been saved for some 20 years, but never really followed Christ all those years.
  
  
• Evidence #2 - Paul really did expect more maturity from them even after 5 years. There is a note of astonishment and disappointment that they hadn’t grown more. For example in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 he writes of that church (not more than 3 years after their conversion) that they were growing and established. That shows us what should normally happen after true Christian conversion. Paul did not expect carnality to be an ongoing state of saved people as those who advocate that doctrine say is fairly normal for a large number of Christians. Paul did not think Christian carnality was a normal state.
  
  
• Evidence #3 –The man who engaged in gross acts of sexual sin at Corinth, Paul labeled a “so-called brother” in 5:11 because Paul was not sure he was a believer for that very reason. Because he was carnal, Paul was not sure he was saved. So there was a limit of carnality for a true believer that Paul had in his mind. The more carnal, the less likely to be saved.
  
  
• Evidence #4 - The Corinthians were not carnal through and through. They had gone through some major changes in their lives from their pagan days. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 testified that many of them used to be drunkards, thieves, homosexuals, idolaters, adulterers and the covetous, but they did not practice those lifestyles any more. They had much learning to go through, but they did demonstrate some fruit and their lives had been changed. John Calvin writes about Paul’s meaning here, “He does not mean, … that they were altogether carnal, so as to have not one spark of the Spirit of God but that they had still greatly too much of carnal sense.”
  
  
• Evidence #5– After receiving this strong letter of rebuke (1 Corinthians) we read about a change of mind and heart in 2 Corinthians. That is clear evidence that this church did respond to the word of God though slower than other churches.
  
  
• Evidence #6 – At the end of 2 Corinthians where there was no repentance on the part of a minority in the church, Paul did not consider them to be carnal Christians but likely to be unsaved. He writes in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?” This lets us know that remaining carnal is not an option for a Christian. One may be in some carnality and struggling with it, but that must and will change. If it does not, there is likely no real conversion there. The person is not even in the faith.
  
  
• Lastly, Evidence #7 – Paul directly says there are no carnal Christians in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” That statement harmonizes perfectly with John’s doctrine of the changed life of the true believer. One who is regenerate is changed to some degree. If he is not changed, he is not born-again.

The implications of this doctrine are great. Though we can never render a perfect or final assessment about another person’s salvation, we can and should expect a truly saved person to change in their behavior.

The Corinthian church, however, is a reminder that some saved people grow slower and engaged in ugly carnal acts. We must not be too quick to judge them but look at their overall life over time. Obviously, the more one remains as he was before his profession of faith, the less credible his faith and salvation claim appear to be. For we know that when God saves a man or woman, He changes them truly and not in theory only.

He who is saved will also be sanctified by our Lord. He will grow. Give him and time and teaching and accountability, and the Spiritual man in him will emerge.