Carnally Minded

Words from the spiritually wise regarding the carnality of sectarianism, brought to you by the apostle Paul:

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)  

Paul was speaking to the church of Corinth. They had heard the gospel, believed in Christ as Redeemer, and then disassembled themselves from under his headship, following this fellow and that, giving credit to messengers and forgetting the One that sent them. Hero worship starts this way, when we spend our admiration on the person that has spoken life to our spirit; there is a tendency to give that person far more credit then they deserve, and sometimes, the admired one, soaks up the lavish tribute, like a thirsty sponge; next they start behaving as though they ought to be put on a pedestal and greatly praised. This is how carnality works, dear reader, and we are all prone to being buffed and polished to the point of feeling a sense of personal pride and grandeur. Egomaniacs look for and lust after constant approval, and behave in childish ways to grab all the attention they can get. 

The apostle Paul points out to the Corinthians, that they were mere carnal men, willing to call other men their leaders. Sheep always want a shepherd, and sometimes little lambs don't realize they are being misled, or that they have attached themselves to other sheep, and often times to wolves in sheep's clothing, otherwise known as hirelings. To be plain, there is One Good Shepherd, and as a Christian, I refuse to be labelled a Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Calvinist, Reformer ... or any mix and match therein. Doctrine is a belief or set of beliefs taught by a church, political party, or other groups. When I read The Bible, it is very clear to me that it teaches Christ crucified for the sins of the world. It teaches that God is the Sovereign, and it is his voice I must listen for and heed. The black and white of scripture makes it simple and easy for readers to comprehend what God commands and what he forbids ... we are not to idol worship, and that includes making other human beings gods we applaud, follow, and bow down to. 

And that is what I am seeing, lots of scraping and curtsying before carnal men that do not know or love God: they love themselves at the expense of their devotees, and they lap up attention as their energy source, draining their adorers of their spiritual life force. 

Money, sex, stealing property, poison, war, vying for positions of power, murder, bowing to man made gods and to Lucifer, tariffs to tax and break the backs of the people ... when we hear men speak of these things, we know that the kingdom of heaven is far from their minds and hearts. They are carnal, and dear one, we must ensure that we do not feel inclined to think and feel and be as they are: we must look to our Saviour and recall that it is the spirit within that matters most, and not the body that houses the soul. 

Paul was speaking to the Corinthians, and I know he was speaking to us too, warning us to get off of being breast or bottle fed milk, and to grow spiritually into men and women that put all our faith, our God given faith, into the Saviour, our providential mainstay. 

My hope is that the body of Christ becomes a unified force, spreading the gospel for the salvation of souls. While the worldling's display their carnality, my prayer is that all Christian's are seen and heard as precisely that, Christians that follow the Good Shepherd, leading us into his green pastures, where every lamb is called by name. 

Isaiah 43:11

You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour. 

John 10:1-6

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which he spoke to them. 

Dear reader, do you understand the things Jesus spoke to the lost and wandering sheep? Will you, go back into the fold, and follow, the Good Shepherd?