SEPTEMBER 7 for to be carnally minded is death; but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). What does it mean to be “carnally minded”? What does it mean to be “spiritually minded”? To be “carnally minded” is not watching too much television, or being too interested in sports, etc., as most Christians think. Actually, those things have absolutely nothing to do with what Paul is addressing here. Being “carnally minded” is placing one’s faith in something other than Christ and the Cross. That sums up what the Apostle is here saying. There are two wills contrasted in Verses 5 through 8: the will of the carnal nature and the Will of God. The carnal will, being independent of God’s Will, is hostile to it and cannot be otherwise. All who are governed by the carnal will cannot, so long as they are thus governed, please God, let them be ever so religious, moral, cultivated, or noble. It is not that God takes no pleasure in noble actions, but that He cannot take pleasure in and accept worship and meritorious actions designed to purchase His favor which are prompted by the carnal mind. Hence, he rejected Cain’s worship and offerings. All who are controlled by the carnal will set their affections upon gratifying it. The opposite is true in the case of those controlled by the Divine Will. The one control ends in death; the other, in life. Cain offered a sacrifice which God can never accept, because it was the labor of his own hands. Regrettably, the far greater majority of modern Believers are attempting to do the same. That is what the Holy Spirit is referring to here by being “carnally minded.” Our Faith must be exclusively in Christ and the Cross, otherwise, it is that which is not of the Lord, no matter how noble or righteous it might, on the surface, seem to be. Any way other than the Cross leads to failure, sin, disobedience, and spiritual death. To be “spiritually minded” is to follow the pattern laid down by the Lord, which is “Christ and Him Crucified.” Being “spiritually minded” is what one must be to successfully “walk after the Spirit.” Let us say it again: It simply means placing one’s Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, excluding all else, and not allowing anything to take the place of the Cross. Modern Christians have some understanding of the Cross regarding Salvation, but almost none as it regards Sanctification. As a result, spiritual failure all too often characterizes most modern Believers, even those who try extra hard not to fail. It is because of a “carnal mind.” When one is “spiritually minded,” he has “life and peace,” which is the way it ought to be, and which is the way it can be. Swaggart, J. (2005). The Expositors Word For Every Day (569). Baton Rouge, LA: World Evangelism Press.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 11:19:16 +0000
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