Christians Must Not Return to Carnality

​At first glance, the word carnality may seem unique but the word is defined as relating to bodily pleasures and appetites, temporal pleasures, or a worldly mindset.  When a person gives their heart and life to God as a Christian they have no reason to go back to the world (the sinful nature).  The sinful nature of mankind is at war with the spirit of every believer of Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:17).  Since Christians belong to Jesus Christ, they should not join themselves to anyone or anything else that reflects sin (1 Corinthians 6:15-17).  When a person is truly a Christian there is more than just a confession of the mouth that makes them in right standing with God.  There is a lifestyle that God expects to be followed to honor Him and give Him glory and praise.  Every person that has given their life to Jesus Christ does not belong to themselves but to God because they have been bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Being the temple of the Holy Ghost requires a person to be holy and clean reflecting the changes made by the Spirit of God that now presides within that person.  Returning to carnality is in direct opposition to God and His standard of living (James 4:4).  Christians cannot be friends with the sinful nature that is birthed within every person since the fall of mankind through Adam in Genesis.  The spiritual enemies of Christians seek to make merchandise off them (2 Peter 2:3).  This makes a mockery of God due to the humiliation of those who declare to belong to Him but choose to serve the sinful nature.  God delivered Lot from the destruction of a sinful area because he was a just man in God’s eyes (2 Peter 2:7-8).  Lot’s wife had a different outcome because she turned to look back at Sodom and Gomorrha which cost her everything (Genesis 19:26).  She disobeyed in looking back not only with her eyes but with her heart desiring something within the sinful area she was not ready to give up yet.  Christians cannot look back, much less turn back, to the world in a desire to return to the sin, corruption, or temptation it contains.  To truly live a Christian life is to submit and obey God in everything He commands (John 14:15).  To return to carnality is like a dog returning to his vomit (2 Peter 2:22).  There is nothing of the sinful nature to go back to but the falsities of the enemy make even the worst previous experience seem so pleasant through deception.  Every person will give an account for their sins and the life they chose to live (Ezekiel 18:19).  There is hope present when a sinner repents of sin (decides to confess and turn away), does what is right, and obeys the Word of God (Ezekiel 18:21).  Sin is not held against anyone that follows this method of repentance and forgiveness (Ezekiel 18:22).  If a Christian turns away from God and backs toward sin, as a lifestyle, their sin is held against them (Ezekiel 18:24).  Christians must stay focused on God and not return to carnality no matter the cost.  How does a person stay focused on God and not return to sin?  They have their mind renewed by the Word of God every day (Romans 12:2).  Christians must have the mind of Christ and not return to the sinful nature or the world that they were delivered from.  For more information about Abundant Grace Church visit agcsparta.org.