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I Cor. 3 : 14; 3 : I. /^ET us look, for a moment, at Paul's j^ use of these words, — natural^ carnal and spiritual. * By natural he means, man as he is by nature, before a work of grace is wrought in his heart and life. The natural man is man dead in trespasses and in sins. The word has in it the idea of incapacity. The natural man cannot comprehend spiritual truth. The case of Nicodemus is an illus- tration in point. Though a man of decided religious opinions ; of social and ecclesi- astical position ; sincere in his belief and earnest in his search for truth, he was abso- lutely incapable of the reception of Divine % Carnal and Spiritual Christians, a things. " How can these things be ?** he asked. He was blind and could not see. And if the natural man may be illustrated by one who lacks sight, the carnal man may be described as one who voluntarily shuts his eyes lest he might see. The natural man is incapable of seeing Divine things ; the carnal man is unwilling. The one cannot see ; the other will not see. Paul, elsewhere, tells us what the carnal is. *' For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh." " To be carnally minded is death." " The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The carnal, then, is that which has moral affinity for earthly things. It minds the things of the flesh. It puts self at the centre of its being, and ever seeks to please the self principle. Its liking for things earthly is seen not only in open violation of God's law, but in a '^ preference of litera- ture, or art, or work, or home, to God's will as such." But disguise as we may, it can- ^..■^ #^ 4 Carnal and Spiritual Ckristians, ^ not mind the things of the Spirit because it will not. By spiritual is meant, man as taught by the Spirit of God. A spiritual man is one born from above by God's Spirit, — a man in whom is the Spirit of Christ, and who, therefore, is capable of seeing Divine things, and understanding spiritual truth. But more is necessary to distinguish him from the carnal man. For, let us not for- get that Paul's carnal man may be a Christian. That is the force of his reason- ing in the present chapter. He is writing to the " saints " at Corinth. But among those saints there were many who were carnally minded. And the difference be- tween the carnal Christian and the spirit- ual Christian is this : the one, though saved and trusting Christ for pardon, allows himself to be influenced and guided largely by the self-life, while the other pleases not himself in anything, but always yields to the Spirit's influence. The spiritual man is as sensitive to the Holy Spirit's presence 'r ■ ,> • Carnal and Spiritual Christians, 6 and touch as is the camera plate to the images towards which it is directed, — as plastic to the hand of God as clay to the hand of the potter. He walks in the Spirit, and in no wise fulfils the lust of the flesh. ■ ?:-:':','' '"■'"^■'^'^ 'f":';" Here, then, is the difference between these two types of Christians : the one minds the things of the flesh, the other the things of the Spirit ; the one consults the self mind, the other the mind of Christ. Both are born again ; both are capable of understanding spiritual truth ; but the one wants as much of the earth as possible before going home to heaven, while the other wants as much of heaven as possible, on earth. ^ • And have you not met these two types of Christians ? Have you not met men who impressed you more with their car- nality, than their spirituality ? And yet they are professing Christians, and never question their acceptance with Christ ! But they mind earthly things. And as a 6 Carnal and Spiritual Christians. mirror reflects the objects toward which it is directed, so do the walk and conversation of these men reveal the objects on which their hearts are set. Their speech and manner of life is all worldly. And have you not met men of the other type also ? Ten minutes in their presence reveals their attitude to things spiritual, — Christ is mirrored in their faces. Their whole con- duct impresses you as being Christlike. Now, it is the carnal Christian that Paul is concerned about. He is a most disap- pointing Christian — disappointing to the God who redeemed him, and the Church of which he is a member. Paul says : " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spirityal, but as unto carnal, even unto babes in Christ." , ■^^- I.— A Few Marked Characteristics OF THE Carnal State. I. // is a state of prolonged babyhood. — '* And I, brethren, could not speak unto ( ^ Carnal and spiritual Christians. T you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even unto babes in Christ." There were those in the Church at Corinth whom Paul fed with milk and not with meat, for they were not able to bear it They had been Christians for years, and yet they lived and walked like those young in the faith. Nor was this condition of things confined to the Church at Corinth. He has the same complaint to make against the Christians to whom the Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed. He says : " For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God ; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. For everyone that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a babe." Alas ! are there not too many in the Christian Church to-day in the same con- dition ? Are there not many who make their salvation an end in itself, and who 8 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, rest content with pardon and a hope of heaven — the mere milk of the Word ? Mr. Aitken, the father of the Rev. Hay Aitken, the mission preacher, tells of how his preaching was once blessed to the con- version of one man in a certain town. Some twelve years after he again visited the same place. The man sought an inter- view with him, and told him how his dis- course was the means of his conversion twelve years before. " And where are you now ?" said Mr. Aitken. '' Oh ! " said he, " being justified by faith, I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." " Tut, tut, you ought to have been beyond thjit long ago '' was the pointed reply. He was only a babe in Christ when he ought to have been a full grown man. Now, childhood at the proper time is the most beautiful and attractive thing possi- ble, but childhood when there should be manhood is cause for anxiety and sorrow. No mother desires her child to remain a child. She desires to see the little one ^; Carnal and Spiritual Christians, ^ * 9 grow out of a state of sickly infancy into a strong and robust manhood. And so God longs to see His children grow in " wisdom and in stature'' until they arrive at the measure of the stature of perfect men in Christ. Nothing less than this will please our Heavenly Father. And the explana- tion of the feeble, sickly state in which so many Christians live, the reason there is so little earnest pursuit after holiness, so little fruitfulness in the Christian life, so little living to bless others, and so little of the power of the Spirit on Church work is to be found here : Most Christians are content with being saved from sin's consequences, and not from sin's power, are content to be babes in Christ and to live in the carnal state. Oh, that we might exhort one another jdaily to go on to perfection. Think what anxiety and sorrow you must cause your Heavenly Father. He desires your growth in grace, and grieves over your failure to grow. He grieves because of the disease which is hindering your •v; . 10 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, growth, and of which He longs to heal you. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of men the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." Would you know the things He hath prepared for you ? Then, cease to live in a state of babyhood, and go on to the measure of the stature of perfect men in Christ. Strong meat — God's good things— are for the perfect. - , - - 2. It is a state of weakness and failure in the presence of temptation. — The carnal man is frequently being defeated in the struggle against sin. Sin is getting the upper hand. He is not strong to resist the assaults of the evil one, and to walk in the ways of holiness. The Apostle has two charges to bring against the Corinthian Christians — there were envyings and strifes among them. And are not these marks of carnality rampant in our Churches to-day ? Is there not much envy remaining in many ? Are i ,r - . Carnal and Spiritual Christians. not some living as though the love of Christ had never been shed abroad in their hearts ? Now, wherever there is an en- vious spirit, it is a mark of carnality. I care not where it is seen it is carnal. A minister may preach with the weight of Paul, and with the eloquence of ApoUos, but if he envy the success of another brother in the ministry he is carnal. A person may sing with the sweetness of the nightingale, but if he be envious of the gifts of another he is carnal. It matters not the sphere in which one is working, if he envy another because God is using that one more abundantly than himself, he is carnal. Among the many words which find no place in the Christian's vocabulary, envy is one. Among the many sins which the child of God puts off at conversion, just as the tree throws off its dead leaves, envy is one of the first. That the poor, unsaved man should envy the riches, power and worldly prosperity of his neigh- bor is bad enough ; but that a child of 12 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, God should envy the gifts and superior spiritual talents of his brother in Christ, is more than carnal ; it is devilish. And yet how much of ii is seen in Churches. Why is there not more harmony in choirs ? Why is there so much bad feel- ing between members of the different organ- izations ? Is it not the spirit of envy has insinuated itself into this forbidden terri^ tory, and is not its existence among the members of Christ's flock an evidence of the carnal state ? Envy would be unknown to Christ's Church if men walked not after the flesh but after the Spirit. And it will be unknown when we all come to see that we are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and that all our powers are gifts from Christ to be used for His glory. And is there not in the Church, to day, as there was in the Church at Corinth, much strife and contention ? This ought not to be : this would not be if we were walking after the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. Surely strife and contention .'^Vf^-' Carnal and Spiritual Christians. 18 and divisions are the fruits of the flesh. "But now ye put off all these, anger, wrath, malice." Christians should love one another. It is a test of our disciple- ship. " He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? " Love must think lovingly, and speak lovingly, and act lovingly. The spirit that utters an un- loving word or prompts an unloving act, is not from above, it is from beneath. It is the image which reveals the earthward re- lation of the soul. It is a mark of the carnal mind. 3. It is a state where the spirit of world- liness predominates. — And is there any worldliness in the Church to-day ? Is not the Church honey-combed with it ? See how mem sacrifice everything to the in- crease of riches. Witness their mad rush after luxury, pleasure and worldly honor. And what is all this but the carnal ? When Christian men seek with the same eagerness and with the same motive what 14 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, the worlc^ seeks what shall we say ? There appeared some time ago in one of our magazines an article by the Attorney- General of Nova Scotia, entitled "A Material Age/' in which the writer makes the same charge against the present Chris- tian civilization that I now make against the Church when I speak of its worldli- ness. He speaks of it as being " conspic- uously materialistic/' Then he makes some very serious charges against the Church. He says : " But who, looking down upon an average congregation, can fail to recognize that while some of them are giving vent to their religious aspira- tions, viewed in the aggregate, they con- stitute a collection of worldlings whose thoughts are linked inexcusably to the world, and all that pertains thereto.'* Is he not right? Are not many more con- cerned with temporal welfare than spiritual advancement ? More anxious to get on in the world than get on in the Kingdom. As an illustration of hi$ argument on the ih ^^^mm Carnal and Spiritual Chriscians, 16 < }: tendencies of the age, he says, "What magazine would accept a well-written article on the spiritual life as against one equally well written containing latest in- formation from the Klondike ? And how* many men, Christian men, would attend a little gathering met to discuss spiritual topics in preference to a great celebration in honor of a statesman, or to celebrate a , military victory?" Again, is he not right in his estimate of the average professing Christian ? And why this state of affairs ? : Why would an article dealing with tem- poral things be accepted in preference to one dealing with spiritual things ? Why is the item of news about the latest sensa- tion first sought and first read ? Why do people persistently absent themselves from prayer-meetings ? How is it some never enter our week-evening meetings on the plea of the pressure of business, and yet are able to find time to spend many an evening at some social function? Is it /^ 1« Carnal and Spiritual Christians. not because those who err in the ways mentioned are still living after the flesh, notwithstanding their profession of a spiritual walk ? First things will be put first. If a man place first in importance the spiritual he will place first in im- portance the feeding of the spiritual. Where the treasure is there will the heart be also. How is it with you? Have you ceased to love the world and the things that are in it ? Is Christ first in your thoughts ?, What about your love of pleasure ? Your love of money? Which concerns you most : getting rich in this world's goods, or getting rich in faith? Which joy is more desired : the joy of worldly pleasure, or the joy of the Christian life? Tell me : If the world and Christians drink at the same fountain to satisfy the same desire, is there not something wrong? Is it not an evidence of the carnal state in those Christians? Carnal and Spiritual Christians. 17 II. — The Spiritual State, and How TO Enter It. , ; * > I trust many of you are now asking yourselves, how the carnal may be got nd of, and how you may begin a life that will be more pleasing to God. > ^ . I shall endeavor to answer those ques- I tions as simply as I can. I know many ^ Christians are longing for a something not yet experienced. They believe there is an all-pleasing life, and they want to live it ; a triumphant life, and they want to know it. They believe Jesus Christ lives at God's right hand, to do more for them than has yet been accomplished in their lives. And so they cry out : O wretched men that we are, who shall deliver us from the body of this death } I. The first thing which you tvill have to realize is that an all-pleasing life is possible. Jhere is a carnal life. This we have just seen. It is a life which is not pleasing to God, a life with which God is not satisfied. mm 18 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, There must then be a spiritual life. Do, dear Christian friends, believe this. O, how I wish God's children would read and appropriate the grand message of the eighth chapter of the Romans. It rings throughout with the possibility of the spiritual. " The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." " That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." " To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." "If Christ be iii you, the body is dead because of sin ; but the Spirit is life, because of righteousness." " For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God." Now do not these passages teach us the reality and possi- bility of a life in the Spirit ? And do we not hear in them the song of victory ? Yes, there is a spiritual life, a life of holi- ness, peace and power. Do believe and accept this truth. One of the conditions #> Carnal and Spiritual Christians. 19 ' of entering upon any new blessing, is be- lief in its reality. And many of God's dear children know the blessedness of life in the Spirit. They live a holy life, and they believe it possible to him who abides in Jesus Christ. Cut off from Him they can do nothing. But united to Him they have strength for all things. And to those of you who imagine it is impossible to live so as to please God from day to day, let me say, the explanation is found here, you are leaning upon the arm of flesh. Ask your- self this question : Can God make me a spiritual Christian ? Can He mould me and fashion me as He wills ? You see when you put it in this way it becomes a question not of your ability to live a spiritual life, but of God's ability to make His grace abound toward you. And, now, will you not say : O, God, I do believe Thou can'st make me live a holy, consis- tent, all-pleasing Christian life. I believe Thou dost not give me an impossible com- mand when Thou dost say : " Walk in the ■ J 20 Carnal and Spiritual Christians. Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh." All things are possible to him who believes and trusts God. Lord, I believe. 2. The second thing to learn is^ that you are living in the sphere of the carnal. Do not fear to make this confession. *' He that covereth his sins shall not prosper." Is it not strange that those who talk most of impossible attainments, and too high standards, are first to resent the charge of carnality? Yet so it is. Even hint in conversation with a man, it matters not how notorious for wrong-doing he may be, that he is in the carnal state, and he will be highly offended. Tell him that the reason why some Church members go to places of amusement night after night in preference to the place of prayer and re- ligious worship, is because they are carnal and go there to foster the carnal, and you will see how indignant he will be. And so it is a hard thing to bring home to our hearts this needful lesson. But let us not fear to confess our sins. Let us humble . Carnal and Spiritual Christians, 21 ourselves before God. Let us be honest with ourselves, and honest with God. Have any of those to whom I speak, been living in sin ? Have you been unloving and unkind ? Have you been brought into captivity by anger, envy and worldliness ? Have you denied Christ ? Have you re- fused to take up the cross for Him ? And have you followed the voice of the flesh, and refused to follow the leading of the Good Shepherd ? Then Paul would say to you : " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto, carnal, even unto babes in Christ." 3 And now let me answer this ques- tion : How can one pass out of the sphere of the carnal into the spiritual ? The answer is : it is done by an act of faith. God wants to make you a spiritual Christian, will you trust Him to do it? He will give your such an abundance of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus as will make you free from the law of sin and death ; but He will have you trust Him for it. It is yours to trust M Cafnal and Spiritual Christians. - ^ ■ ■; God to make you a spiritual Christian ; it is His to do it. Nothing is impossible with God. What He bids you do He will empower you to do. When you trust Him, the responsibility is with God, and the glory belongs to Him. If God bids you step out on the stormy waves of a hitherto impossible walk, it is yours to obey and trust Him ; it is His to keep you from sinking. What God demands of you is that you trust Him to save you from sin's power, just as you trusted Him to save you from sin's guilt. In no sense is salvation from the guilt of sin your work ; and in no sense is salvation from the power and pol- lution of sin your work. You diX^ Justified by faith in Christ Jesus ; and you are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus And as at the Cross you trusted Him for forgive- ness, so all along the path of life you must trust Him for grace upon grace by which to live a holy life. 4. And, now, one other question : Is this Carnal and Scriptural Chfisttans. S8 change instantaneous ? Can one pass from the carnal to the spiritual in a moment of time ? 1 reply, you may, by a definite act of faith, enter the sphere of the spiritual in a moment of time. How long does it take one to lift his eyes from the earth to the sky ? It is done in a moment. And how long does it take one to turn away from earthly things to heavenly things ? To cease to make self the pivot of one's life and to accept Christ as the pivot of one's life ? It is the work of a moment. How long does it take to adjust a mirror so as to reflect the heavenly or the earthly as you may desire? A second of time. Even so the Holy Spirit, if you will sur- render yourself to His power, will turn your thoughts this very moment to Jesus Christ, and make you a spiritual Christian. He will even now fill you with Himself. And He will so work in you the Spirit of Christ that men will see His image reflec- ted in your face. , And, now, you are at the parting of t1 LXL — ^^ST-viJ-W^,. W?1W^ 24 Carnal and Spiritual Christians, ways; one road will lead you to misery, and failure and death, while the other will lead ymi to joy and triumph and glory ; which will you choose ? You have your choice of two lives ; one is weak and sickly, the other is strong; and robust ; one is pro- longed babyhood, the other is spiritual nrianhood ; whifh will you choose ? You may reflect two images the, earthly or the heavenly, two states the carnal or the ^iritu^al, which shall it be ? Do say : O liord Jesus by faith I take Thee as my Saviour from the love of the carnaL I trust Thee to work in me Thine own mind. 1 take Thee as my Holiness, my Peace, my Joy, my All. Come into my heart and life and do Thine own work there. Atnen. M .■.*3s ',r*;^} v %'-•: ^ w y2s> PM w% ^^^^^..^.^ .^^j..:^^, ..^:..£^^^^.:-^^^f.^:.^ ..i^..: , .... ...^.:£ -^ ■