Sermons on - Carnally Minded is Death

Eric Aboadwe
July 25, 2017 ·

TO BE CARNALLY MINDED IS DEATH

Let us continue our Bible reading and study from Romans where it is written:

“For those who live according to the FLESH set their MINDS on the things of the FLESH, but those who live according to the SPIRIT, the things of the SPIRIT. For to be CARNALLY MINDED is death, but to be SPIRITUALLY MINDED is life and peace” (Romans 8:5-6).

When a Christian is CARNALLY MINDED, what happens is that he will always be a SINNER. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and so any MIND that is CANAL is very far away from Him. In actually fact the CARNAL thoughts of the FLESH has no business with God. This is the reason why the Apostle Paul said that “So then, those who are in the FLESH cannot PLEASE God” (Romans 8:8).

When a person is CARNALLY MINDED, he becomes self-centered instead of being Christ-centered. Such a person is absorbed in what his FLESH does more than living by FAITH in what CHRIST has done for him. For this reason, many Christians whose “MINDS” are fully occupied by the FLESHLY thoughts are always SINNERS, and they offer the Prayers of Repentance because their FLESH could not do what the Law says.

For those who always attempt to use their FLESH to obey God’s holy LAW, God has the following to say to them, “Can the Ethiopian CHANGE his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are ACCUSTOMED to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23). God spoke these words to SINNERS and the CARNALLY MINDED people who think that they can be RIGHTEOUS by the acts of their FLESH.

Here God is asking if someone think he can you “CHANGE” his sinful NATURE. He is saying that just as “the Ethiopian” cannot “CHANGE his skin” nobody can “CHANGE” himself to become RIGHTEOUS. The “CHANGE” can only be possible if the person accept the fact that he is the “clay” and God is the “Potter.”

However, since many Christians have made themselves “potters” by trying to shape themselves through the deeds of the LAW, God cannot do anything for them. God is waiting to see if they can CHANCE themselves. But if they fail, then it is hell for them. Therefore a Christian should not attempt to “CHANGE” his sinful nature through the deeds of the FLESH because it will NOT produce any results.

When God says that “Then may you also do good who are ACCUSTOMED to do evil,” He is saying that how can human beings who are born “evil” do “good?” The words “may you also do good who are ACCUSTOMED to do evil,” means that it has become the habitual practice (custom) of human beings to commit SIN, so how can they do good? In other words God is saying that, “If the Ethiopian cannot CHANGE his skin or the leopard its spots, you are also born SINNER, therefore if you think you can change yourself, then do it and let’s see!”

JESUS our Saviour also spoke in the New Testament about the fact that human beings cannot do anything to change themselves. He said, “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? (Matthew 12:34). Here JESUS is saying that how can Adam and his descendants who ate the “fruit of sin” presented to them by the Devil change their sinful NATURE?

Only God is “Holy” and “Righteous,” but human beings are NOT until their soul and spirit becomes born again of His “water” and the “Spirit.” But their FLESH is condemned to “return” back to the “dust” (Genesis 3:19) and it has been ordained for it to get rotten with a stinking stench (bad smell).

We must know that after the FALL OF MAN, the human FLESH became altered in corruption, and it started producing toilet, urine, sweat, flatulence (stench gas) and many other bad odours which are unpleasant. It is the production of the FLESH, but the highest output of the human FLESH is SIN, and its wages is death (Romans 6:23).

When your FLESH obeys the holy Law, does it cease from producing the sweat, flatulence (stench gas), urine and the toilet? Why is it that a change in attitude does not CHANGE your flesh to return to its original state? This is the reason why the Apostle Paul said that, “For I know that in me (that is, in my FLESH) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to PERFORM what is good I DO NOT FIND” (Romans 7:18).

The Apostle Paul was also trying to find how to “PERFORM” good with his “FLESH” but he said that he could not “FIND” it (meaning it didn't work out as he was expecting). This is the reason why Paul is saying in our Scripture reading that “to be CARNALLY MINDED is death.” It is God’s utmost desire and will is to give “life” to SINNERS. But unless they do away with “CARNAL” mindedness, God cannot give them “life.”

This is the reason why God said in Isaiah that, “Let the wicked forsake his WAY,, and the UNRIGHTEOUS MAN his THOUGHTS; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have MERCY on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly PARDON” (Isaiah 55:6-7). When God says that “the wicked” must “forsake his WAY,” it means SINNERS must forsake their own ways such as obeying the Law, the Prayers of Repentance, and the Gradual Sanctification theory by which they are attempting to purify themselves.

Also When God says the “UNRIGHTEOUS MAN” should forsake “his THOUGHTS,” He is talking about the “CARNAL” THOUGHTS which in itself is a stumbling block which prevent SINNERS from receiving the remission of their SINS through the water and the blood of CHRIST.

All human beings are born SINNERS, but in order for them to receive the blessing of FORGIVENESS, God is saying that the “UNRIGHTEOUS MAN” must forsake his “THOUGHTS” of the FLESH else he cannot become RIGHTEOUS. Therefore when an “UNRIGHTEOUS MAN” forsake his thoughts as God is saying in Isaiah, then he becomes A RIGHTEOUS person through the finished work of JESUS CHRIST.

BLESSED are those who are not CARNALLY MINDED.


Eric Aboadwe
July 26, 2017 ·

TO BE CARNALLY MINDED IS DEATH (Part 2)

Our Scripture reading today is taken from the Book of Isaiah. It says:

“Let the wicked forsake his WAY,, and the UNRIGHTEOUS MAN his THOUGHTS; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have MERCY on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly PARDON” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

We must also understand the fact that God cannot show His “MERCY” to those who do not want to “forsake” their CARNAL “THOUGHTS.” That’s why God is saying in the Scripture passage above that first of all the “UNRIGHTEOUS MAN” should forsake his “WAY” and “THOUGHTS,” and secondly he must “return to the LORD, and He will have MERCY on him.”

So unless these two things are done, a SINNER cannot be born again, and he cannot be “abundantly PARDON”. This is God’s requirements for the remission of SINS. Therefore a Christian who has NOT been “abundantly PARDON” (FORGIVEN) will continue to ask for FORGIVENESS every day.

God purposed in Himself even before the foundation of the world that He will give His blessing of being “abundantly PARDON” to SINNERS in order to qualify them to receive “the gift of the Holy Spirit (Act 2:38). When a person does not have the Holy Spirit, it is enough proof that he is living in CARNALITY, and he has no forsaken His fleshly WAYS and THOUGHTS as God requires in our Scripture reading.

God cannot pardon such people “abundantly” because of their CARNAL “THOUGHTS” which is an enmity against Him. Being CARNALLY minded resist God’s love, His grace, goodness, mercy, compassion, and kindness. In fact it actually resist the work of the “Spirit.”

Also when it says that “Let him return to the LORD,” it means that a SINNER must return to JESUS CHRIST through the GENUINE GOSPEL. However to “return to the LORD,” one must forsake the man-made gospel of FALSEHOOD and “return” to the TRUE GOSPEL of the re-creation of mankind in God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS.

God is more than willing to show mercy and kindness to the “UNRIGHTEOUS MAN” in order to make him RIGHTEOUS. But when a person is holding onto his FLESHLY thoughts, even when God says that He has “abundantly PARDON” him of all his SINS, the person will still focus on his FLESH which commits SINS. And so he keeps on telling God to FORGIVE him through the Prayers of Repentance.

This is the CARNAL thoughts which makes people think that their SINS have not been taken away by JESUS CHRIST. It makes them think that their SINS are still there and not FORGIVEN completely. This is how the CARNAL MIND produces “DEATH” by rejecting God’s free gift of the REMISSION of SINS.

Satan knowing this has blindfolded many Christians from knowing how wrongful their CARNAL thoughts are, and he doesn't want them to see the Light of Truth. Therefore he has chained many Christians to be “locked up” in their CARNAL thoughts only to face judgment.

If our Lord tells us that Satan came to “steal, to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10), and the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans that “to be CARNALLY MINDED is death,” it means that Satan leads people to live in CARNALITY so that he will succeed in his plot to kill the descendants of Adam by leading them to their destruction.

However if you have been “abundantly PARDON” through the water and the blood of CHRIST, the Word of God says that, “But you are NOT in the FLESH but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:9). We must pay close attention to this passage very well. It says that when a person is “in the Spirit,” then he is no more “in the FLESH.”

This is because when a person is truly born again of the water and the Spirit of CHRIST, the Word of God which is “the two-edged sword” of the “Spirit,” works in the believer by “Piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the THOUGHTS and intents of the HEART” (Hebrews 4:12).

The passage above means that the Word of God (JESUS CHRIST) through the “Holy Spirit” makes your “soul” and “spirit” RIGHTEOUS, and it divides your “soul” and “spirit” from the SINFUL FLESH. This is why after a person is born again, he is “sealed” with the “Holy Spirit” of promise as a “guarantee” of his salvation (Ephesians 1:13). This is what being born again is all about.

Therefore when the Apostle Paul says that “But you are NOT in the FLESH but in the Spirit,” it is because your “soul” and “spirit” has been “sealed” with the “Holy Spirit.” In other words you are inside the “Holy Spirit.” This is why you can NEVER be a SINNER again. It is Gods “eternal purpose” for you in CHRIST (Ephesians 3:11). And this is why the believer in the “Spirit” cannot be a SINNER.

But some Christians also have the illusion that they are SPIRITUAL when they fast and pray for 40 days and 40 nights. Some actually refer to fasting and prayers as “Being in the spirit.” Some will say “I am in spirit” (which is an idiomatic expression for their fasting and prayers). However fasting for long periods does not mean a Christian is SPIRITUAL. If a SINNER who is not yet redeemed thinks that he is SPIRITUAL just because of his fasting and prayers, then this kind of SPIRITUALITY is in Satan’s domain.

In God’s domain, you are SPIRITUAL when you are truly born again of the WATER BAPTISM and the SPIRIT of JESUS (John 3:5), and you walk by FAITH. Food absenteeism is not SPIRITUALITY. You can only be SPIRITUAL when you are positioned in CHRIST through the “Holy Spirit.” This is why the Apostle Paul says, “That CHRIST may dwell in your heart through FAITH” (Ephesians 3:17).

FAITH is a spiritual entity. Therefore if the Apostle Paul says in Hebrews that without FAITH, it is “impossible to PLEASE God” (Hebrews 11:6), and then he says in Romans that “those who are in the FLESH cannot PLEASE God” (Romans 8:8), it means that those who are in the “FLESH” do not have the spiritual “FAITH” in God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS fulfilled by JESUS which seals them with the “Holy Spirit.”

BLESSED are those who have the SPIRITUAL FAITH!



Eric Aboadwe
July 27, 2017 ·

ARE YOU NOW BEING MADE PERFECT BY THE FLESH?

Our Scripture reading today is taken from Galatians where the Apostle Paul wrote by the Spirit of God saying:

“This only I want to learn from you; Did you RECEIVE the Spirit by the WORKS of the LAW, or by hearing of FAITH? Are you so foolish? Having BEGUN in the Spirit, are you now BEING MADE PERFECT by the FLESH?” (Galatians 3:2-3).

We thank God for His Word of Life given to us today through the account of Galatians. This Word is telling us that the moment a believer attempts to be “justified by the WORKS of the LAW,” God says that he is walking in the “FLESH” and not by “FAITH.” This is because the “WORKS of the LAW” is an effort by someone to conduct his “FLESH” in hypocrisy for people to know that he is not like the rest of other human beings who commit SIN.

The Galatians were like that, and countless Christians across almost all denominations today are also like that. Actually the Galatian believers “BEGUN” well in the “Spirit” because they believed in the BAPTISM OF CHRIST which fulfilled “all RIGHTEOUSNESS.” That’s why Paul told them that, “For as many of you were BAPTIZED into CHRIST have put on CHRIST” (Galatians 3:27).

But even though the Galatians “BEGUN” well by believing that they DID NOTHING by themselves to get SAVED, and that it was all by God’s GRACE (unmerited favour) which they RECEIVED through the accomplishment of the water, the blood, and the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST, their FAITH became corrupted later. Somewhere along the line, Satan started pushing them into “the WORKS of the LAW” so that they will be condemned.

Let us not forget that right from the beginning of creation, it was Satan who PUSHED our ancestor Adam and Even to eat “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17) which stands for the LAW. And he succeeded in KILLING Adam and Eve spiritually by feeding them with “the knowledge of good and evil” to become SINNERS.

Satan is very smart and cunning, and he knows how to make human beings “NAKED” (SINFUL) when they follow his lies. That’s why Adam told God, “I heard your voice and I was AFRAID because I was NAKED; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). This is what Satan the Devil did to Adam and Eve, and he continues to do the same thing to Christians of today.

This “Serpent of Old, called the Devil” (Revelation 12:9) has been trying to do everything possible to PUSH even the born again Saints to return back to “the Works of the LAW” so that he can “KILL” them for the last time through the LAW. We must not forget the words which Paul spoke by the Spirit when he said, “for the LETTER (Law) KILLS, but the Spirit gives LIFE” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Satan is an expert in using the LAW to “KILL” human beings. On the other hand, God uses the “GRACE and TRUTH in CHRIST” (John 1:17) to give “LIFE” to SINNERS through the water and blood of JESUS. Therefore we need to watch out because Satan does not give up on us, and his desire is for us to “SET ASIDE the GRACE of God,” so that he will “KILL” us.

The Apostle Paul came to know the cunning ways of Satan in using the LAW to “KILL” human beings, therefore he used himself as an example for the Galatians by telling them, “I do not SET ASIDE the GRACE of God; for if RIGHTEOUSNESS comes through the LAW, then CHRIST died in vain” (Galatians 2:21). These words were written and spoken by a man who was a “great scholar” in the LAW.

But Paul finally came to the realization that the only way to escape from SIN and JUDGMENT is by receiving the “GRACE” of JESUS through FAITH in His water and blood. However it is very sad that until this day many Christian do not know this. They read the letters of Paul, but their FAITH is different from him. Paul NEVER preached about “The Prayers of Repentance” or “The Gradual Sanctification Theory.”

But Satan started bringing these things to the Galatian Church through “Circumcision” and “back to the LAW.” The fact that Paul told the Galatians “Are you so foolish?” shows clearly that the Devil was trying to fool them. We must be wise spiritually, and we must not give the Devil any chance to fool us by making us think that our FLESH must become RIGHTEOUS.

Satan knows that this is absolutely impossible, but he still try to PUSH people to work hard on that in ignorance. Satan makes people “LABOR” in the LAW until they become exhausted and die in the end. But JESUS told us, “Come to Me, all you who LABOR and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST” (Matthew 11:28). Therefore let us be “full of eyes” because Satan has a plan of bringing us “Back to the LAW” so that he will DENY us of the “REST” which we have in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.

This is the reason why the Apostle Paul told the Galatians, “Having BEGUN in the Spirit, are you now BEING MADE PERFECT by the FLESH?” Let us pay attention here. The words “BEING MADE PERFECT by the FLESH” is a gradual process whereby a believer attempts to reach holiness and righteousness by his own acts of the FLESH through the LAW.

Also when Paul says that “if RIGHTEOUSNESS comes through the LAW, then CHRIST died in vain,” It means that anybody who attempt to establish his own RIGHTEOUSNESS through the LAW will render the “sufferings” and the “sacrifice” of JESUS in “vain.” It will mean that JESUS did a Cos 90 (Zero) work. But God will judge those who do that and send them to hell.

The Devil has worked tirelessly by using so many methods to bring Christianity to where it stands today in the darkness of SIN. It is very pathetic to see the Christian FAITH become heretical. However we must PRAY for them and do everything possible to SHARE the gospel with them

BLESSED are those who have seen the LIGHT!

Eric Aboadwe
ericaboadwe@hotmail.com
www.nlmbookcafe.com/blog/eric
GHANA



Eric Aboadwe
July 28, 2017 ·

GREAT LESSON FROM ELIJAH’S MOUNTAIN CARMEL VICTORY (Part 1)

We will still take our Scripture reading from Galatians. But God wants to teach us a SPIRITUAL lesson of FAITH through the story of Elijah in line with our reading from Galatians which says:

“This only I want to learn from you; Did you RECEIVE the Spirit by the WORKS of the LAW, or by hearing of FAITH? Are you so foolish? Having BEGUN in the Spirit, are you now BEING MADE PERFECT by the FLESH?” (Galatians 3:2-3).

The moment we became born again of the water and the Spirit of CHRIST, our life of faith “BEGUN in the Spirit,” and we must CONTINUE in the “Spirit” and END our faith in the same “Spirit” and NOT in the FLESH. After receiving the GRACE of God which is in CHRIST, it set us completely FREE from SIN. Due to this FREEDOM we are able to STOP certain bad behaviors automatically due to the heavenly “REST” given to us by JESUS even though we all have area of WEAKNESSES in the FLESH.

As a result of this, some people often forget that it is JESUS who made them RIGHTEOUS, and as time passes by, they quickly forget who they are in CHRIST, and they begin to build up their own self-righteousness according to their deeds of the FLESH through the “LAW.”

This is what happened to the Galatians, and it is very dangerous. We must be very cautious about this. If a born again Saint boast of his own righteousness, God will BREAK that “filthy garments” of righteousness away by exposing his WEAKNESSES so that he will not rely on his own acts of the FLESH but rather on His RIGHTEOUSNESS.

God does this so that we will give all the glory to JESUS alone who fulfilled “all RIGHTEOUSNESS” for us. This is shown even in the Old Testament, and we can find it in the story of Elijah the Prophet whose WEAKNESS was exposed after BEGINNING by the “Spirit” and ENDING UP in self-centredness of the FLESH.

After the “Mountain Carmel” victory, the Bible says that Elijah killed all the 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:19-40). But Elijah soon forgot that it wasn't by his own POWER or the STRENGTH of his FLESH but rather by God’s own providence of GRACE which gave him the VICTORY to overcome the “Prophets of Baal.”

And in other to teach Elijah a great lesson, God exposed the WEAKNESS of Elijah for him to know that he is nothing without His GRACE. The Almighty God taught Elijah a great lesson by exposing his WEAKNESS and how vulnerable and fragile he is without Him. I want us to take a look at this biblical account of Elijah which teaches us SPIRITUAL lessons of FAITH.

Brothers and Sisters, we are nothing without the GRACE of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Elijah was a great Prophet of God who “BEGUN” the Mountain Carmel VICTORY by the “Spirit” when the Bible says he “built an altar in the NAME of the LORD” and offered a bull as a “burnt sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:32-33). He did these things as he was led by God’s “Spirit.”

This act of Elijah reveals his SPIRITUAL FAITH in the sacrificial work of JESUS in the future. That’s why it says that he “built an altar in the NAME of the LORD.” Let us note that the words “the NAME of the LORD” mentioned here refers to JESUS CHRIST who was the “shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1).

And as a result of this SPIRITUAL FAITH of Elijah, the Bible says that he prayed “at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice” (1 Kings 18:36), and then, “the FIRE of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the stench” (1 Kings 18:38). This is the POWER of GOD manifested by Elijah’s SPIRITUAL FAITH in the sacrificial work of JESUS CHRIST who came by water and blood to atone for our SINS (1 John 5:6).

After this incidence, the Bible tells us that Elijah executed (kill) all the Prophets of Baal in the same POWER of the Almighty God. Therefore it is written, “And Elijah said to them, “Seize the Prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there” (1 Kings 18:40).

However, what happens after this incidence of Elijah’s Mountain Carmel VICTORY will shock you. The Bible actually tells us that after Elijah killed the “prophets of Ball,” Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah has done and how he has “executed all the prophets with the sword.” And upon hearing this, Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make YOUR LIFE as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time” (1 Kings 19:2).

When Elijah the great Prophet of God heard these words of Jezebel, the Scripture says that Elijah “Arose and RAN for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that HE MIGHT DIE, and said, “It is enough Now, LORD, take my life, for I AM NOT BETTER THAN MY FATHERS” (1 Kings 19:3-4).

From the Words above, we can see that even though Elijah “BEGUN” well by the “Spirit” he didn't continue the VICTORY by the “Spirit” but he ENDED UP in the self-centredness of his FLESH. And this is the reason why the Scripture says that he “RAN for his life.” But is it not surprising that a man who killed “450 prophets of Baal” was AFRAID of a single woman called Jezebel? However this happened because Elijah lost FOCUS of his SPIRITUAL FAITH in God and he started looking at things according to the FLESH.

God therefore wanted Elijah to know that he is nothing without His GRACE. But due to the fact that Elijah was relying on his FLESH, God exposed his WEAKNESSES and taught him that it wasn't by his own POWER or STRENGTH which brought the miraculous “FIRE of the LORD,” and neither was it by his own ability to kill the “Prophets of Baal.” Therefore Elijah realized his own WEAKNESS and confessed, “It is enough Now, LORD, take my life, for I AM NOT BETTER THAN MY FATHERS.”

I want you to pay attention here as a Christian! If you think Elijah was a super-human being who was “BETTER” than us, then you must listen to his own words above. He confessed that he was not “BETTER” than Adam, Abel, Set, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all the fore-fathers of FAITH. This is the reason why the Apostle James said that, “Elijah was a MAN with a NATURE like ours” (James 4:17).

If the Bible therefore says that Elijah was a man with “a NATURE like ours” it means Elijah was also having a SINFUL NATURE, and he also committed SINS. Therefore he was offering animal sacrifices daily for the SINS which he committed out of his WEAKNESSES. But despite his WEAKNESSES, he still sought the face of the LORD, and he believed in the ONE-TIME sacrifice of JESUS which will give “eternal life” to the human race through His “water and the Spirit” (1 John 3:5).

Therefore what God is teaching us through this account of Elijah is that, “Having BEGUN in the Spirit,” we should not think that we can be “MADE PERFECT by the FLESH.” Elijah “BEGUN” by the “Spirit” but he lost SPIRITUAL concentration, and he ENDED UP focusing his attention on his “FLESH.”

This is what God is teaching us through the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians that we should not FOCUS on the deeds of our “FLESH” but we must live and walk in the “Spirit” by FAITH. It is JESUS who gave us the VICTORY not our FLESH.

Our study continues.....

BLESSED are those who “BEGUN” their FAITH in the “Spirit” and FINISH in the “Spirit.”