Some have inquired recently about what it means to have a carnal mind. As we address this vital area, the following illustration is an excellent place to start.

The story is told of Handley Page, a pioneer in aviation, who once landed in an isolated area during his travels. Unknown to him, a rat got aboard the plane there. On the next leg of the flight, Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. Suspecting it was a rodent, his heart began to pound as he visualized the severe damage that could be done to the fragile mechanisms that controlled his plane and the difficulty of repairs because of the lack of skilled labor and materials in the area.

What could he do? He remembered hearing that a rat cannot survive at high altitudes, so he pulled back on the stick. The airplane climbed higher and higher until Page found it challenging to breathe. He listened intently and finally sighed with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination, he found the rat lying dead behind the cockpit!

Often we, God’s children, are plagued by sin that gnaws at our life simply because we are living at too low a spiritual level. To see sin defeated in our lives requires that we move up—away from the world—to a higher level where the things of this world cannot survive.¹ What’s the point of this story relative to this podcast? Well, you’ve got to get rid of the rats of carnal mindedness. We have to move up into the heights of God’s thinking. What is Carnal Minded and How Do You Grow Out of It? That’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This week’s call is:

We must make it our determined purpose to grow in God in order to avoid the debilitating death of carnality. In order to walk in life and peace, in order to enjoy the smile of heaven, we must come to terms with what it takes to live a godly Christlike life.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: What did you do to keep from allowing this world’s thinking, which is passing away, to change where you were headed in God?  Please leave your comments in the comments section.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Podcast Notes

What Does It Mean to Be Carnal Minded?

Romans 8:6 (KJV) — 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Definition of the Day: Carnal Minded

• What does ‘carnal-minded‘ mean?
• Right off the bat, we should define terms, and with that thought, here’s the definition of the day.
• The term ‘carnal-minded’ means the mindset of the flesh.
• That’s how the Greek reads it, but that’s still a little bit blind to us, so let’s break it down further.
• What does it mean to have a mindset?
• A mindset is a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.
• ‘Habitual’ means constant, regular, or usual.
• So, if you habitually respond to situations with an ‘after the flesh’ response, and that’s your usual response, then you are in a carnal state or carnally minded.
• Now with that definition in tow, there’s a second concept relative to the carnal mind that we need to grasp, and that is that does it mean to be in the flesh?

What Does It Mean to Be In the Flesh?

Galatians 5:19–21 (KJV) — 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these…

• Is the flesh the body?
• You know we hear the term ‘be in the Spirit‘ or ‘be in the flesh.’
• And, so with that thought, here’s the question of the day.
• The question is simply ‘what is the flesh?’
• The flesh is the sinful physical nature of a person often understood as the seat of sin and rebellion to God.
• The flesh is not the body.
• The flesh is a nature ingrained in the body.
• The flesh came into being when Adam sinned.
• It was passed on since Adam from generation to generation via the seed of the man.

An Example of the Sin Nature at Work

• When one of my children, who at the tender age of two, told a lie.
• Two years old now.
• She told this lie outstandingly well.
• I was shocked, really.
• That little one told that lie just as straight as you could tell it.
• Where did she gain that ability?
• Who did she learn the fine art of lying from?
• She didn’t glean that from her Mom or Dad, neither of us are liars.
• That lie my daughter told was by the sin nature resident in her members — her body.
• Now, right there at the tender age of two, she didn’t know that what she did was wrong.
• A child only becomes responsible for their actions and in need of Jesus saving grace when they reach the age of accountability.

Jesus Did Not Have the Sin Nature

• The sin nature passed through the male is the reason why Jesus had to be virgin-born or without the seed of a man.
• Jesus did not have the sin nature in His flesh.
• The sin nature leads to death.
• But, then again, neither did Adam before he sinned.

1 Corinthians 15:45 (ESV) — 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

• Man is a tri-part creation, you understand.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJV) — 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Man is spirit; he is also soul, and also body.
• The spirit is not the soul, and the soul is not the body.
• They are all separate and divisible parts.
• The sin nature or ‘the flesh,’ as the Bible calls it, is in the body.

Paul and the Sin Nature in Romans Seven

• Paul was an Apostle of God, a born again man.
• Yet, he problems with the Sin nature.
• Listen to his report.

Romans 7:15–20 (ESV) — 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

• Are you hearing Paul? — ‘the sin that dwells in me.’
• He said it twice in this passage.
• Paul is not talking about the sin that dwells in his spirit — he is a born again new creation in Christ.
• He is referencing the sin nature at work in his body.

The Flesh and Being Carnal Minded: Tying It All Up

• So, let’s tie all of this up into a beautiful neat bow.
• When a born again child of God yields, gives into, gives place to, the sin nature at work in his body so that it becomes a mindset, a habitual response that is the Bible definition of being carnal-minded.
• On the other end of the spectrum, when a born again child of God yields, gives into, gives place to, the spirit nature at work in his heart so that it becomes a mindset, a habitual response that is the Bible definition of being spiritually-minded.

Strife: An Example of a Carnal Minded Response

• Now, let’s look at some practical examples.
• Let’s look at a carnal-minded response.
• Take, for example, the all too common area of ‘strife.’
• So first, the Word of God warns us about this operating in strife as a mindset.
• Some folks are always fighting; they are always striving over sometimes the smallest matters.
• What does God’s Word say about strife?

Galatians 5:19–21 (KJV) — 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.

• Strife is a work of the flesh.
• The Bible says it is plain as day.
• So now, here is an example of some believers engaging in this work of the flesh, and it’s right in your Bible.

1 Corinthians 1:10–12 (ESV) — 10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

The Corinthians: Quarreling Over Ministers

• The Corinthian church was in strife over which minister of the gospel to attach themselves to.
• They were quarreling.
• The Greek word translated ‘quarrel’ in the ESV means strife, bitter conflict, often heated violent dissension.
• They were so heated over this issue of which minister they were to follow that it caused divisions in the church.
• The Corinthians were not united.
• They had bitter, almost violent heated dissension over this matter.
• Now, look at the Greek word ‘follow’ in this passage.
• You know, “I follow Paul, I follow Cephas, etc.’
• One-quarter of the Corinthian church wanted to attach themselves to Paul; another twenty-five percent wanted to hook-up with Peter. Yet, another faction in the Corinthian church wanted to be yoked to Apollos.
• I say faction because that’s what it was.
• The last twenty-five percent didn’t want to be yoked to any minister. They preferred to by-pass God’s ministerial gifts to the church and only have Jesus over them.
• The arguing and quarreling over who they should follow reached intense levels.
• So much so, that Paul had to address the strife, they had gotten into.
• Here’s what he said to this bunch of strife infected church-goers.

A Carnal Minded Christian Is a Baby Christian

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 (NKJV) — 1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 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; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

• Paul called this strife-filled dissension the Corinthians engaged in carnal behavior.
• Do you want to know what carnal is? — Paul tells you what it is — it’s continual yielding to the works of the flesh.
• Do you remember what we just read out of Galatians?

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings

• So, you see these Holy Spirit-filled believers instead of tapping into their born again human spirits where the love of God abides, instead chose to tap into their old life when they don’t know God.
• They tapped into the sin nature resident in their flesh.
• The most vital thing to these Corinthian believers wasn’t the spiritual issue they were trying to address.
• What was important was who ‘won the fight.’

Winning Is Not More Important than Loving

• Winning was more critical than loving.
• Because the person who loves let’s the other guy win if it means staying in peace.
• Love, let’s the other guy have his way.

1 Corinthians 10:24 (AMP) — 24 Let no one then seek his own good and advantage and profit, but [rather] each one of the other [let him seek the welfare of his neighbor].

• Here’s another Corinthian passage.

1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV) — 14 Let all that you do be done in love.

• The conversation these Corinthian followers of Jesus should have had was a conversation dipped in love.

2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV) — 11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

• And with that thought, here’s the quote of the day.

Peace, then, should not be our goal; love is. Love is the hard gritty work; love is the way of the cross that produces peace.²

• Walking in love is being spiritually-minded.
• Ordering your life according to the fruit of the recreated born again human spirit is being spirit minded.

Galatians 5:22–24 (ESV) — 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

• So in review, carnal-minded believers are those who yield to the works of the flesh via the sin nature at work in their bodies.
• Carnal folk yield to the flesh.
• They give the sinful nature the right of way.
• Spirit minded believers are those who have grown in God and control the works of the flesh instead of choosing to yield to the fruit of the spirit.

How to Grow Out of Carnal Mindedness

• The word ‘grow’ is the keyword here.
• Those who are carnal-minded are in a babyhood stage of development.
• Now, when we’re talking baby Christians, we’re not referring to how long a person has been saved.
• You can be saved 40 years and still be a baby Christian.
• Length of years can have little to do with spiritual maturity.
• Some have been saved a long time — thank God for that — but they have never grown in some areas.
• We have to grow and develop your way out of carnality.
• You can’t cast out a carnal mind.
• No, you can’t even go to the altar and have hands laid on you so you won’t have a carnal mind.
• You can’t pray a carnal mind away, not even with intense seasons of prayer.
• You have to grow and develop yourself spiritually.
• Now praying and waiting on God will aid your spiritual life, but it’s not how you grow.
• There is only one primary way for a believer in Jesus to grow.

1 Peter 2:2 (NKJV) — 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

• Babies need milk to develop appropriately.
  • Milk contains lots of nutrients that are essential for growing babies and children. These include:
  • Calcium, needed for strong bones and teeth.
  • Protein for growth and energy.
  • Vitamin A, for eyesight and immune function.
  • Vitamin B12, for the production of healthy cells.
  • Iodine, to regulate the metabolism.
  • Magnesium for muscle function.
  • Phosphorus, for energy release.
  • Milk is high in calories, which helps to fuel your baby’s rapid growth and development. Breast-milk also contains essential fatty acids called DHAs, which have been linked to brain function and higher IQ.³
• Spiritual babies need milk also.
• They need the milk of God’s Word.

What Is the Milk of God’s Word?

Hebrews 5:12 (AMP) — 12 For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.

• I know a little bit about babies and milk — I had four beautiful children.
• None of my one-month-old children started out eating steak.
• They couldn’t handle — it would have messed them all up.
• It’s the same with the Bible.
• There are Bible areas that are designated as milk.
• The Scriptures are particular about what these areas are.

Hebrews 5:13–6:1a (ESV) — 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. 1a Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity,

• Let’s stop right there: did you hear the words’ elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity?’
• So, there are ‘elementary doctrines of Christ.’
• The Greek word ‘elementary’ is the word ‘arche,’ and it means ‘the beginning.’
• In context, you translate this word as this thought’ elementary aspect, simple truth.’ ⁴
• ‘Elementary aspect’ — ‘simple’ — those words all boil down to milk.
• So, this list and the Bible lists them, and we are going to read them, constitute the milk of God’s Word that babes in Christ should feed on.

Hebrews 5:13–6:1b (ESV) — 1b not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,

• Here’s the list, starting in Hebrews 6:1.
  • Repentance from dead works.
  • Faith toward God.
  • Baptisms.
  • Laying on of Hands.
  • Resurrection from the Dead.
  • Eternal Judgment.
• Six fundamental doctrines of Christ.
• Or we could say it this way, six ‘milk’ areas of God’s Word.

The Word of God Is the Key to Growth

• This Word of God is what helps you grow.
• When you approach God’s Word, think about it in this way: the Word of God is ‘spirit’ food for your spirit, man.
• Think of Bible reading as a time of eating.
• You don’t just read your Bible to be devotional.
• Nor, do you read it to be close to God.
• You read it to feed your spirit man so it can grow and fulfill all the will of God.
• One area of growth comes from overcoming fleshly impulses.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

• So, before you came to know Jesus as your Savior, you were a lost sinner.
• How did you live?
• Ephesians 2:3 says that you lived by the passions of your flesh.
• Now call to remembrance the list of the works of the flesh from Galatians five.
• We’ve already referenced it a couple of times in this podcast.
• Those works of the flesh are how you lived outside of Christ.
• You were involved in adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, and reveling.
• If we were to take a photograph of your life, these works of the flesh are what it would look like.
• Now you are in Christ.
• How do you overcome it?
• By feeding yourself on the Word of God until you are strong enough to say ‘no to your flesh.’
• You feed your spirit man, you renew your mind with God’s Word, until your spirit man gains the upper hand.
• This process, whereby you can master the flesh, is called in the Bible, self-control.
• Ah, self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit, do you remember that from Galatians 5:22?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

• God deposited self-control into your spirit the day you said yes to Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV) — 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

• If you are reading the King James Version of the Bible, it will say ‘sound mind’ instead of self-control.
• But, self-control is the actual translation.
• And, self-control is a sound mind because you have fed upon the Word of God and grown to such an extent that you recognize the works of the flesh when they try to rise and you boldly say no to your flesh controlling it when it desires to rise.
• If you can do that, you are NOT what the Bible calls carnal minded.
• You guys have a great God week in Jesus’ Name.

#S3:034: How to Overcome Racism in the Church [Podcast]

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