Carnality

Romans – A Treatise
Chapter Eight
THE TRAGEDY OF CARNALITY

Scripture Reading: verses 5-9

FOR THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE FLESH DO MIND THE THINGS OF THE FLESH; BUT THEY THAT ARE AFTER THE SPIRIT THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT. FOR TO BE CARNALLY MINDED IS DEATH; BUT TO BE SPIRITUALLY MINDED IS LIFE AND PEACE. BECAUSE THE CARNAL MIND IS ENMITY AGAINST GOD: FOR IT IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE LAW OF GOD, NEITHER INDEED CAN BE. SO THEN THEY THAT ARE IN THE FLESH CANNOT PLEASE GOD. 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.

The great issue now before the court is the two-fold identity of the pardoned sinner. First, it is his identity in the flesh; and secondly, his identity in the Spirit. In other words, this complex being, who is the true believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, is still partaker of the old creation as well the new. He still has an evil nature as well as being partaker of the divine nature. He still maintains the characteristics of his federal head, Adam, while at the same time characterized by the moral graces of his new Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, Paul now indicates the absolute incompatibility of flesh and Spirit. The complex being who is the Christian, must determine for himself what his line of conduct will be. Will he submit to natural instincts according to the flesh, tending toward evil, or will he submit to a new nature, the leading of the Holy Spirit along the line of life, which he has in and through the Lord Jesus? He must do one or the other.

They are incompatible. They cannot be reconciled. “They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”¹ If, as Christians, we willingly allow ourselves to be occupied with fleshly desire and conduct, we shall be led into evil, but if we submit to the leading and control of the Holy Spirit, we shall be occupied mentally and spiritually with the things of the Spirit, not relating to the interests of self, but of the Lord Jesus. So Paul says: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” The mind of the flesh tends toward death.

Some have read into this the meaning that a true believer may lose salvation through failure. That is not in question in this passage. Paul is speaking of two lines of conduct; one is flesh, the other Spirit. The flesh has its logical conclusion in death; the Spirit in life and peace. The unbeliever is the person who, without compromise, devotes his time to the flesh, and he reaps its wages in full: death, both physical and spiritual. However, as true believers we should not think that with impunity we can have to do with sin. The line of the flesh tends toward death. He who sows to the flesh from the flesh reaps corruption, though by God’s grace the true believer will be preserved from reaching the final consummation of eternal death. On the other hand, if we continue with carnality, serving the lusts of the flesh, we can be sure that in one way or another the corruption of death will beset our pathway.

Consider this illustration: A fine Christian young man had a lovely Christian home and he bore a bright testimony to the Lord. However, he succumbed to the temptation of Satan and allowed himself to indulge in the lusts of the flesh. He allowed himself to associate too freely with women. It all seemed innocent enough and no gross immorality was involved. But the result of disaster was inevitable and soon the disintegrating forces began to play havoc with his life and home. The tragedy soon destroyed the harmony of domestic happiness; sorrow and disappointment soon destroyed his testimony. That young man, who undoubtedly was a Christian, found the truth of the statement, “to be carnally minded is death.” A contrite heart before God will certainly mean that he will never be in a lost eternity. He belongs to Christ, and the mercy of God recovered him to happy communion with his Savior, but the death stamp of destruction left its mark on his life and home.

“To be spiritually minded is life and peace.”² If we want to live in the full enthusiasm and success of Christian blessing, and to have the peace of Christ presiding in our hearts, we must not minister to our selfish lusts and desires.

We must follow the Spirit, submiting ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and be willing to go the Lord’s way, not our own. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”³ This takes it to its logical issue. The unregenerate man who is in the flesh cannot please God. It is a warning to the Christian not to allow himself to act like an unbeliever, for he cannot then be in a position to please his Lord. If we act along the line of carnality, pleasing self, obeying the lusts of the flesh, gratifying the lust of the eye, coveting the things we admire, following the pride of life, seeking to exalt self, then we will be following the line of death, disappointment, destruction, heartaches, and sorrow will ensue. Thinking and living along carnal lines is in direct opposition to the will of God, and this ought to challenge every Christian heart.

How cheering to read the ninth verse: “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.” Here the severe line of demarkation between the Christian and unbeliever is drawn. We are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. That is consequent on the fact that the Spirit of God dwells in the heart of the true believer, and if anyone have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His. One is either a believer or an unbeliever. Either the Spirit of God dwells in us, or we do not belong to the Lord at all. We better make it amply evident to ourselves and those around us that we belong to Christ, and this can only be done by allowing the Spirit of God to lead us according to the will of God, and not by gratifying self and going along the road of least resistance, obeying the lusts of the flesh.

Footnotes:
¹ “For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” In his book, Romans in the Greek New Testament, page 130, Kenneth S. Wuest wrote: “The Greek from which this verse comes, may be translated literally thus: ‘For those who are habitually dominated by the flesh put their mind on the things of the flesh.’ Wuest also noted that “the word ‘mind’ carries with it the thought of ‘deliberately setting the mind upon a certain thing.’” From this, it is clear that “walking after the flesh” means deliberately shutting out from the mind all other considerations except those related to animal, bodily, social and temporal needs and desires. In such a definition appears the true reason why the flesh is called “sinful.” It is not because of inherent or natural contamination, but it is due to domination of the flesh by a mind at enmity with God. Therefore the apostle says that “sin dwelleth in the flesh,” because the soul by which sin is provoked has its temporary lodging in the flesh, which is doomed indeed to death, not however, on its own account, but on account of sin. Once the stubborn soul of man, the inner man himself, as distinguished from the flesh, has become reconciled to God through faith and obedience to the Gospel of Christ, and has received the Holy Spirit of promise, such a person is then endowed with a whole new set of values. He is born again. Thus the man walks “in newness of life,” as Paul had already stated in Romans 6:4. This transformation from the old state to the new one is here identified as “minding the things of the Spirit;” but Paul also identified the same condition as that of permitting the mind of Christ to be in the believer (Phil. 2:5f). A legitimate deduction from this is that to possess a measure of God’s Spirit and to possess the mind of Jesus Christ are one and the same thing.
² The “mind” that Paul had in view is the rebellious and perverse spirit of man’s inner self; and the meaning is not primarily that physical death is caused by such mind (though, of course, it can cause that also), but that a state of death derives from and automatically accompanies such a mind, a condition called death “in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). In a simplistic view, man’s entire trouble lies in his inmost mind. Who is in charge there? If the inner throne is occupied by Satan, sin and death reign. If Christ is on the throne, life and peace reign.
³This verse should be understood in the light of certain basic facts. There is a seat of authority within every person; it is the essential “I” whose choices and decisions determine destiny. Not merely the body, but also the intelligence itself, are both subject to this essence of the person, which is the monitor of the complete life of the individual. This inner throne of personal authority was designed by the Creator for his own occupancy, and is so created that the “I” itself cannot occupy it; although it is possible for the “I” to dethrone God and turn the occupancy of the throne over to Satan. This is what Adam did in Eden. This means that every life is under the authority of God or that of Satan. Man was so created that it is impossible for man himself to be the captain of his soul, his very nature requiring that the ultimate authority of his life shall belong to either one of two masters, and only two, God or Satan. Thus, when Paul spoke of the “mind of the flesh” in this verse as being at enmity with God, he referred to the mind of one who has put the Lord off the inner throne of his life. It is true that Satan deceives people into the vanity of believing that they might indeed get rid of God and “live their own lives;” but it is a delusion, for in the very act of refusing God the adoration that is rightfully his, the person becomes automatically a de facto servant of the devil; and the inevitable result of such an exchange of masters is that the very highest human faculties (as well as all others), including the intelligence itself, are incapable of serving God as long as such a condition exists. This intelligence subordinated to Satan instead of God Paul called “the mind of the flesh,” because such a mind no longer has any regard or concern for eternal things and is occupied completely with the earthly life of flesh. Therefore, how utterly wrong and totally incredible is the delusion that any such thing as total hereditary depravity was taught by Paul in this verse. Here Paul’s teaching corresponds exactly with that of Jesus regarding two masters (Matt. 6:24). If one decides to serve one, he cannot serve the other; but in the teaching both of Paul and Jesus, the question of the soul’s right to decide is never for an instant doubted. The impossibility of serving the other master cannot derive from any inborn condition, but it must always be viewed as the consequence of the soul’s decision to serve one or the other, that option being the only one that God has given people. The right of decision is never removed from man, no matter what his sins are; and therefore the “mind of the flesh” is morally accountable to God. Every Gospel invitation, and even the great invitation of Jesus (Matt. 11:29, 30) are grounded in the principle that even the wickedest of people have the right of decision if they elect to exercise it. The doctrines of depravity and inability cited above are inimical to the Word of God, being not founded in the teachings of Christ or his apostles, but derived from the speculations of people. Christ’s teaching with regard to little children and His word that “unto such belongeth the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:14) is a denial of human theories of total depravity, etc.