CHARACTERISTICS OF A CARNAL CHRISTIAN
A carnal Christian is one in whom the flesh is in control. These are believers who have a regenerated spirit (they are born again), but there has been no life transformation in their soul:
Rom 12:1-2
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
KJV
Instead of overcoming the flesh, the world and the enemy by the authority and power of God, carnal Christians have themselves been overtaken. In the carnal Christian, the flesh rules, the world has a hold on them and the enemy has acquired an entrance. (The flesh, by the way, is Satan’s workshop – his realm of operation.) If we can learn to overcome the flesh by God’s Spirit, we put Satan out of work.
Some of the characteristics of a carnal Christian are independence, self-confidence and self reliance. (Much of the following description is taken from Watchman Nee’s The Spiritual Man.) A carnal Christian often makes himself the center of attraction and values self-will above God’s will. He is a soulish Christian, which means his self-life rules. He can do righteous deeds and do them well; however, Scripture tells us that any food deed that the flesh does is an abomination in the sight of God.
Luke 16:15
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
KJV
A carnal Christian is ruled by self-centeredness, self-glory, self-exultation, self-love, self-pity and self-importance, self-ambition and pride. Everything he does, he does for show and to gain something for himself, even if it’s just the praise of men.
Isa 29:13
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
KJV
These things are done for the love of self, not for God or His glory. In the Old Testament, Saul, Solomon, Lot and Uzziah would be considered carnal Christians.
Ezek 18:24
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
KJV
A lack of love shows a denial of Christ’s character.
Further marks of identification are: Carnal Christians are often talkative and flippant, always making themselves the center of attraction. They tend to use many words and look upon themselves as more advanced than others. As a result, they are often faultfinders. Working for the Lord is of the utmost importance to them; however, they feel that everything must be done in a hurry. They do not wait on the Lord for His direction and His answers. They walk by sight, not faith. They often are uncommonly gifted, have great talents and majestic personalities. The also may have large spiritual vocabularies. They are usually ambitious and want to attain glory for themselves. They seek spiritual discernment in light of worldly wisdom rather than depending upon the Holy Spirit to lead them. But, again, they do all of this to dwell upon their own superiority, rather than reaching out to others.
Many carnal believers try to satisfy their curiosity by studying; there is this great quest to become “doctor”. They believe that knowing “mentally” is the same as possessing “experientially.” Thus, they are often double minded. They have great acquired knowledge, but very little Spirit-related knowledge. It’s important to be aware that increased spiritual head-knowledge can often become a trap. It can often strengthen our carnality, deceiving us into thinking we are spiritual. The danger of this is that because God’s Spirit is suppressed, the soulish and bodily realm will rule, allowing the power of darkness to also get advantage. God designed the sanctification process to remove all hindrances such as these, so that the Holy Spirit can control and direct us. Remember, sanctification is simply the process of restoring the image of Christ in each of us (salvation of the soul).
Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
KJV
It is difficult for us to know who is carnal and who is spiritual, God and the person knows. However, our lives and our actions will tell the real story. Our lives will either show forth “the fruit of the Spirit” manifested by our spiritual nature, or display “rotten fruit” showing forth our carnality. These are the ones that will not inherit the kingdom of God.
A carnal Christian is one in whom the flesh is in control. These are believers who have a regenerated spirit (they are born again), but there has been no life transformation in their soul:
Rom 12:1-2
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
KJV
Instead of overcoming the flesh, the world and the enemy by the authority and power of God, carnal Christians have themselves been overtaken. In the carnal Christian, the flesh rules, the world has a hold on them and the enemy has acquired an entrance. (The flesh, by the way, is Satan’s workshop – his realm of operation.) If we can learn to overcome the flesh by God’s Spirit, we put Satan out of work.
Some of the characteristics of a carnal Christian are independence, self-confidence and self reliance. (Much of the following description is taken from Watchman Nee’s The Spiritual Man.) A carnal Christian often makes himself the center of attraction and values self-will above God’s will. He is a soulish Christian, which means his self-life rules. He can do righteous deeds and do them well; however, Scripture tells us that any food deed that the flesh does is an abomination in the sight of God.
Luke 16:15
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
KJV
A carnal Christian is ruled by self-centeredness, self-glory, self-exultation, self-love, self-pity and self-importance, self-ambition and pride. Everything he does, he does for show and to gain something for himself, even if it’s just the praise of men.
Isa 29:13
13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
KJV
These things are done for the love of self, not for God or His glory. In the Old Testament, Saul, Solomon, Lot and Uzziah would be considered carnal Christians.
Ezek 18:24
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
KJV
A lack of love shows a denial of Christ’s character.
Further marks of identification are: Carnal Christians are often talkative and flippant, always making themselves the center of attraction. They tend to use many words and look upon themselves as more advanced than others. As a result, they are often faultfinders. Working for the Lord is of the utmost importance to them; however, they feel that everything must be done in a hurry. They do not wait on the Lord for His direction and His answers. They walk by sight, not faith. They often are uncommonly gifted, have great talents and majestic personalities. The also may have large spiritual vocabularies. They are usually ambitious and want to attain glory for themselves. They seek spiritual discernment in light of worldly wisdom rather than depending upon the Holy Spirit to lead them. But, again, they do all of this to dwell upon their own superiority, rather than reaching out to others.
Many carnal believers try to satisfy their curiosity by studying; there is this great quest to become “doctor”. They believe that knowing “mentally” is the same as possessing “experientially.” Thus, they are often double minded. They have great acquired knowledge, but very little Spirit-related knowledge. It’s important to be aware that increased spiritual head-knowledge can often become a trap. It can often strengthen our carnality, deceiving us into thinking we are spiritual. The danger of this is that because God’s Spirit is suppressed, the soulish and bodily realm will rule, allowing the power of darkness to also get advantage. God designed the sanctification process to remove all hindrances such as these, so that the Holy Spirit can control and direct us. Remember, sanctification is simply the process of restoring the image of Christ in each of us (salvation of the soul).
Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
KJV
It is difficult for us to know who is carnal and who is spiritual, God and the person knows. However, our lives and our actions will tell the real story. Our lives will either show forth “the fruit of the Spirit” manifested by our spiritual nature, or display “rotten fruit” showing forth our carnality. These are the ones that will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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