So...about those ‘carnal babes in Christ’ that I mentioned the other day and promised to get back to you with, the ones Paul calls out in 1 Cor. 3:1-4...let’s talk about them now.

How is it that so many misguided believers today will point to them as a means of ‘explaining’ and yes...even ‘justifying’ their own...ongoing carnal behavior, or that of others in the churches today...and will shrug their shoulders as if it’s not that ‘big of deal’ because they are still ‘saved’ and simply seen as ‘carnal Christians’ or ‘babes in Christ’? That is almost an oxymoron if you want to be honest.

This, you can be sure of...Paul was not ‘cooing’ over these young ‘babes’ like you would a group of preschoolers in the nursery. He was in fact rebuking them for continuing to produce ‘carnal fruit’ like ‘envy, strife, and divisiveness’ (3). And if you read Paul’s second letter, he gives those at Corinth a ‘heads up’ of a warning, letting them know that when he comes to visit, that he ‘fears’ for them if there is no change in their behavior, even listing other ‘evident deeds of the carnal nature...that it will not be a pretty scene (2 Cor. 12:20-21) He’s saying that if there continues to be ‘contentions, jealousies, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, backbiting, gossip, conceit,, fornication and lewdness ‘which they have practiced’...because there has been no repentance among those who have continued to practice sin, that there will be some ‘mourning’.

Look what he tells them though, in his first letter: “I could not even speak to you as spiritual people”...because they were ‘carnal’, which is another way of saying ‘living for/in the flesh’. (3:1). I don’t think we truly appreciate nor understand the severity of their condition. I say ‘severity’, because of other sobering statements we read by Paul and others, in scripture.

You might begin with Romans 8:5-8, where Paul distinguishes the difference between folks who are ‘carnal’ minded and those who are ‘spiritually’ minded, emphasizing the fact that those who remain carnal are ‘hostile towards God, will be unable to fulfill God’s law (of loving others) and will never be able to please God’. And should I toss in vs. 13 where he adds: “If you continue to live according to the flesh...you will die.” So there’s that.

Then, how about what he wrote to the Galatians, listing all these ‘evident deeds of the flesh nature’ which included ‘envy, outbursts of anger, contentions and fornication’, driving home the point that “those who continue to practice such things will NOT...inherit the kingdom of God.” (5:19-21). He makes it clear that IF...one is truly ‘walking in the Spirit...they won’t be fulfilling the lusts of the flesh” (5:16); and we know that those who ‘walk in the Spirit’, or are ‘led by the Spirit...these are the children of God’ (Rom. 8:14).

No wonder we are told by Paul: “Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

It has become all too common place in our circles today to just assume that we will always continue to be ‘saints who sin’...since ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’ and will ‘always sin on this side of heaven’. But no need to worry since we are told: “But your spirit is saved and perfect’...so just try to do better even though it won’t ‘affect your salvation’, as we like to be assured and reminded. How is it that we have failed to grasp the truth found in 2 Cor. 5:17 where “IF...IF...IF...anyone is truly IN Christ...they are a ‘new creation’?

What part about being a ‘new creation’ is so hard to understand? Look how it reads in the Amplified version: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].”

If I pay good money to have my car engine overhauled and ‘made like new’ again, the last thing I want to hear from the mechanic who did the work is him trying to convince me why my car engine still backfires, spews out smoke, leaks oil and still has a ‘knocking sound’ every other time I drive it. Oh...but it doesn’t do it as much as it did before...I brought it in to be overhauled; great! (eye roll).

(Gal. 5:24) And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.

IF you are still...’walking according to the course of this world’...and still ‘conducting yourself according to the ‘lusts of your flesh (nature) and fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind...just as others...is it possible that you could still be ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ and are still being manipulated and controlled by the ‘wicked one’, also referred to as the ‘prince of the power of the air, the same spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience’. That is if Ephesians 2:1-3 and 1 John 5:19 holds any relevant truth. No wonder Paul finished up his second letter to those Corinthians admonishing them to ‘examine themselves ...to see if Jesus was even in them and their faith was genuine’ (2 Cor. 13:5).

I hesitate to share a quote by the well known Hindu leader, Mahatma Gandhi, but one of his most famous quotes about Christianity is often cited as, "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ," expressing admiration for Jesus's teachings but disappointment with the behavior of his followers, particularly their hypocrisy and materialism. He also said, "If it were not for the Christians, I would be a Christian," reflecting how the actions of Christians prevented him from fully embracing the faith.

Sadly...he must have failed to meet the ones who truly loved Jesus...because Jesus made it known that ‘all would know who His followers were...by the genuine ‘love’ they demonstrated towards one another (John 13:34-35). So...forget about Ghandi; what are those around you seeing on a daily basis, your children, your neighbors, your co-workers? This almost sounds a tad serious, does it not to you?