Carnal Life Or Christian Service

The sermon title suggests that we have a choice. One writer once said "the choices that we make today will determine the availability of choices we will have on tomorrow. If we squander academically today, then our choices will be limited, if we squander athletically today, then our choices will be slim on tomorrow, if spiritually today we don’t take accept Jesus as our personal Saviour, then on tomorrow, Hell will be our only choice.(if the Lord calls us home) Joshua helps us deal with choices, for he says as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. In our text today, Paul is in Ephesus, and he heard that there were some problems in Corinth. Isn’t it strange that good news doesn’t travel real fast, but bad news can get to the next town before it has even been completed. Paul heard from Pastor Apollos, and the congregation, that there were problems in the Corinthian church. This letter of First Corinthians can be addressed in this way. (1) Division, (2) Diseases of Immorality, (3) Doctrine, (4) Defense of the Doctrine. Today we want to lift about the divisions that did exist.

The first point Paul deals with is A. The Natural Man.

Natural Man

a. This is a person who does not know Christ

b. This person does not see the importance of church, nor giving time, talents, nor the tithe to God.

It is very difficult to get a man to be Christlike, when they don’t even believe. The natural man in verse 14-15, Paul says can’t even comprehend or properly judge what the believer is doing. For example to the natural man he does not see the need to give to the church. The natural man does not understand why the position of the pastor(not the person) should be reverenced. The word of God teaches us that the man of God is worth double honor.

The second man he deals with is the Spiritual man

a. The spiritual man is where we all are striving to be.

b. The spiritual man sees things as Christ would see them, and have a better understanding. The natural man would get even while the spiritual man would forgive. Therefore he can’t properly judge each situation because he/she has no spiritual knowledge.

This is the easy way to put it natural vs. spiritual, but Paul breaks it down even deeper. He uses the greek word sokrikos which means "flesh" for carnal.

In chapter three he opens and deals with the carnal Christian. There are two Latin and French words carna which means sensual. There are two words carna and vale, which mean farewell to the flesh. This is where Fat Tuesday and the big celebration of sin, where one would get drunk, over eat, smoke, just whatever thay wanted to do to satisfy the flesh before Lent. It is also from these two wards carna vale that we get our word carnival from. In the church we sometimes let our flesh go wild by gossiping, lying, cheating, backbiting, pushing one another down, not loving one another. When we see these things there is a carnival going on. We don’t have to pay an entrance fee to ride the ferris wheels, roller coasters, bumper cars, watching the clowns or playing games because we have a carnival going on in church. Paul says that there was a canival going on in Corinth. He explains two other types of men.

C. Carnally Weak

These are Christians who are young in the faith, yet they are still being led by the flesh. Paul says I wanted to feed you with solid food, but you can only handle milk.

D. Carnally Wicked

These are Christians who know what the word of God says but constantly keep things going ALL of the time.

But I’m glad in verse sixteen of the second chapter Paul says we need to have the mind of Christ. If we have the mind of Christ, then we can live in this world and make it. The word of God says Let this mind be in you which is also in CHrist Jesus. When we have the mind of Christ we learn to love, we learn to forgive, we learn how to keep the peace, We learn to have patience (hooping) We learn to have joy, for weeping may endure for a night, but joy, I said joy, joy! will come in the morning. The choice is yours today, For you can have silver and gold, but I’ll take! I’ll take! I’ll take! Jesus for mine.