Many people object to the reality of a ‘carnal Christian’, meaning
someone who is regenerate and possesses eternal life, but carnal. The
existence of carnal Christians is a major problem for reformed theology
as we shall see. The rejection of the reality of true Christians who live
carnally is dangerous for reasons we shall conclude with. The
presumption that all Christians will endure and persevere in good works
denies that true Christians can remain in a baby like state of carnality.
This can cause other Christians to doubt another’s salvation, making the
focus salvation instead of discipleship, not helping the believer one bit.
Of course, we do not deny the existence of professing Christians who
have not received eternal life through faith. These people are not carnal
Christians as they are not Christians at all. There maybe many sat in
churches every Sunday morning in this state, one vital reason to
regularly preach the saving words of Jesus Christ. However, the reality
of unsaved professing Christians does not negate the reality of true
Christians who are ‘carnal’. It is our hope this article will encourage and
provoke believers to look to Christ and be led by the Spirit, not the flesh,
onto maturity through His Word.
If ‘carnal Christian’ means a person who is completely devoid of the Holy
Spirit, never sealed or regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians 1:13, Titus 3:5) then it is obvious from Scripture, that person
is not a saved child of God. However, ‘carnal’ in the Bible does not mean
this. ‘Carnal’ (‘men of flesh/fleshly’ NASB – ‘sarkinos’ G4560 ) is described by
Paul to the Corinthians as believers (Paul’s Corinthian audience were
true believers, see 1 Corinthians 1:1-8) who were not spiritual, who were
babies drinking milk and unable to receive solid food (1 Corinthians 3:1-
3). This was demonstrated in their divisions over which men they
followed, a common problem still in the church today. They would not
have been able to receive God’s hidden wisdom as that was only for the
mature (2:6-7). It is important to note they had clearly understood and
received the gospel of salvation otherwise Paul would not be addressing
them as believers, no deep spiritual insight was needed for them to be
saved as they possessed none. Additionally, it is important to note,
many from the Reformed school of thought would say that a carnal
Christian is simply backslidden, and if they were ever truly born again
they will repent and continue in good works. This was certainly not
Paul’s assumption, read 2 Corinthians 12:20-13:2. The Apostle had
spent at least 18 months with the Corinthians, and writing at least his
third letter to them, he was fearful to find the same problems as he
addressed in his first letter, even unrepentant sin, but Paul never
questions their salvation. No matter which way you slice it, there were
carnal Christians in Corinth.
Many other passages in Scripture testify to the reality of carnal
Christians. Another way of describing a carnal Christian is one who has
no works. Some Christians believe that a regenerate Christian will have
works, or they have no evidence they are truly saved. Nowhere does the
Bible teach that there must be discernible evidence in a person’s life or
else they cannot be a child of God. Passages often given as evidence of
the need for evidence of salvation are misinterpreted. An appendix at the
end of the article will address some of these Scriptures. One passage
clearly demonstrating people can be saved without works is 1
Corinthians 3:10-15. This portion of Scripture follows on from Paul’s
teaching about carnal Christians and serves as a warning to them, and
to us all. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 reveals the very real possibility of a
regenerate person having all their works burned up on the day of
judgement. Yes, certain saved individuals will stand before their Saviour,
who paid with His own blood for them, and they will see their life’s work
turned to ashes, and yet they will be saved, though suffering great loss.
God has spoken and He could not be any clearer – there are be some
who will receive eternal life even though they finish their life with only
wood, hay and straw. These are works that have no eternal value. when
their quality is tested, they go up in flames. Who would not weep and
gnash their teeth at such an experience? What happened to the slave
who hid his master’s talent? It was taken from him leaving him with
nothing. 2 Corinthians 5:10 admonishes us, “For we must all appear
before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed
for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good
or bad.”
The writer of Hebrews gives further insight into what prevents Christians
growing into mature disciples. As we have seen in his first letter to the
Corinthians Paul equates babies, immature Christians, with carnal
Christians – fleshly people. Hebrews 5:11-14 states the ‘holy brethren’
(Hebrews 3:1) are babies who need milk and not solid food, as Paul
would say, they are men of flesh/carnal. In this case the evidence of
their carnality (not evidence they are not saved) is they are
inexperienced in the word of righteousness. This is very similar to Paul
telling the Corinthians that wisdom is only for the mature (1 Corinthians
2:6). To be inexperienced in the word of righteousness, to not be people
of God’s Word, means we cannot grow and become mature, remaining
babies, carnal. Hebrews 5:14 goes on to say those who are mature “who
because of practice have their sense trained to discern good and evil.”
When we are experienced in God’s righteous Word, through study and
application, we can discern between good and evil. We might think the
difference between good and evil is obvious to us, but it is only God’s
truth, correctly understood, that can sever between the two (see
Hebrews 4:12). The greatest deception over what is good or evil often
takes place in our own hearts, God’s Word must decide. We see in
Ezekiel 22:26 the priests made no distinction between the holy and the
profane and did not teach the difference between the unclean and the
clean. Large portions of the church are no better. Holiness has become
a dirty word, the church wreaks of the worlds pollution. This has resulted
in Sunday school for all ages, milk for the children, milk for the adults.
How can people who enjoy the world’s wicked entertainment and adopt
the world’s mindset digest God’s righteous Word? “For the flesh
[‘sarx’ G4561 carnality] sets it’s desire against the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:17).
Many Christians are fleshly/carnal, living their lives guided by the flesh
and the world, just as the recipients of the Hebrews letter and those in
Corinth. Here we have more proof of carnal Christians.
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy saying, “If we are faithless, He
remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13). Paul
uses the word ‘we’ indicating the possibility of Himself (see 1 Corinthians
9:27) and Timothy becoming unbelieving, ‘faithless’ G569 ‘apisteo’. The
verb ‘apisteo’ in the New Testament always refers to unbelief, not a lack
of faithfulness (Mark 16:11, 16, Luke 24:11, 41, Acts 28:24, Romans 3:3,
1 Peter 2:7). If some question how could the Apostle Paul lose his faith,
then a greater understanding of the deceitfulness of sin and it’s heart
hardening effect is needed. The message is clear, if we lose faith, God
remains faithful – faithful to what? Himself, His Word. He has told us we
shall never, never perish (John 10:28), He has given His Word that no
created thing, that includes ourselves, can separate us from the love of
God (Romans 8:39). God does not change His mind (1 Samuel 15:29).
Once God has graciously given the free gift of eternal life the moment
someone receives Him, He cannot take it back, or else He would be
denying Himself. God is faithful to His Word. If the loss of faith for a
Christian is not a real possibility, 2 Timothy 2:13 means nothing. Did
John the Baptist lose his faith? He certainly doubted Jesus was the
Messiah after believing and teaching that He was (Luke 7:18-20).
Hymenaeus and Alexander must have had faith to begin with for it to
shipwrecked, a non-existent ship cannot be shipwrecked. If they were
not Christians Paul had no right to deliver them to Satan (1 Corinthians
5:12) to be taught not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:19-20. See also 1
Corinthians 5:5, the man in question is shown to be a believer as he is
contrasted with Gentiles/heathens in verse 1). As briefly mentioned, on
the subject of Christians losing faith, Hebrews 3:12-15 is clear that
‘brethren’, ‘partakers of a heavenly calling’ (3:1, 12) can be hardened by
the deceitfulness of sin, resulting in an evil and unbelieving heart, falling
away from the living God. The warning is to us all. We must respond to
God’s voice and not harden our hearts. A hardened heart eventually
becomes an unbelieving heart. Again, there can be no doubt this
warning is to partakers of a heavenly calling, real Christians.
The warnings to 5 of the 7 churches in Asia, or modern-day Turkey, are
real and are to real Christians. God threatens to make war, remove
lampstands, vomit out and kill with pestilence the Christians who do not
repent. The conclusion is obvious, there will be regenerate people who
will not repent, even to the point of death. The reality of the carnal
Christian is denied by most in the reformed circles of the church as it
disproves the ‘P’ in the Calvinist’s T.U.L.I.P, ‘perseverance of the saints’,
which teaches a true Christian will persevere in faith and good works to
the end, otherwise they were never saved to begin with. We would agree
that once a person receives eternal life it can never be lost or
relinquished, however, the Calvinist understanding of perseverance is
not only that a Christians life is eternally safe, but they will persevere in
good works until the end of their life. As we have seen this goes directly
against the Word of God. A verse often quoted to defend the Calvinist
doctrine of perseverance is Philippians 1:6. W J Seaton uses this verse
to uphold the ‘P’ of the T.U.L.I.P in his book ‘The Five Points Of
Calvinism’ p.21, published by ‘Banner of Truth’. To equate God’s good
work in the Philippian church with some working of keeping their eternal
life, or continuing in good works is implied nowhere in the text. What is in
the text is the Philippians work of participation in the gospel, mentioned
in the preceding verse. Philippians 4:15-16 states the believers in
Philippi were generous givers to the cause of the gospel (1:6).
Philippians 1:7 continues the context from 1:5 highlighting the ‘work’ God
started in the Philippians was their missionary work. Also, the ‘you’ in
these verses is plural, it is the work of the local assembly being referred
to. God started the work by placing believers in the body of Christ, He
sent His Apostle to them, giving them His Word and encouraging them
to give. The work and giving of the Philippians would continue in it’s
profitability and fruit of helping the other churches, the extent of which
shall be revealed in ‘the day of Christ Jesus’, at His judgement seat. To
relate this passage of Scripture to a view which says only true believers
will persevere in good works until the end of their lives, imposes
something on the text that simply is not there.
Those who hold to the understanding that carnal Christians do exist are
often accused of providing a green light for unholy living. The idea being
that if someone is saved regardless of how they live, then what is the
incentive to stop sinning? This is where a clear Scriptural understanding
of loss and rewards before the judgement seat of Christ and the
millennial kingdom are vital. As we have seen from 1 Corinthians 3:12-
15, 2 Corinthians 5:10 etc, the judgement seat of Christ, understood
properly, is more than enough motivation. It encourages the faithful
Christian and provides a serious wake up call to the carnal Christian.
Some may say, “you are just seeking rewards for yourself. Shouldn’t
your love for Christ be enough?” We answer that our love for Christ
should be paramount and be our fuel each day. However, it is often
overlooked that if we love the Lord, we will want to please Him. So, what
pleases Him? Why has He saved us in the first place? John 15:8 tells
us, “By this is My Father glorified, that you bare much fruit,”. Our fruit
glorifies Him! Our fruit, which leads to rewards, is not for our boasting
but for His glory, it is the evidence of His work in our lives. Only works
done according to His will and through the Holy Spirit will bear fruit. We
must submit and follow his lead, allowing Him to work – we are not
puppets, but He is the instigator, leader and provider. Why did God save
us? God saved us “in order that in the ages to come He might show the
surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ.”
(Ephesians 2:7). Every believer will experience the riches of God’s grace
in the ages to come, but as Scripture reveals, the degree we experience
this in His kingdom will depend on our conduct in this age. His grace has
already saved us (Ephesians 2:5, 8), and it is only by His grace,
therefore, that we are even in a position to serve Him, enabling us to
receive His rewards and commendations. It’s all by His grace! But it is
our response to all He has done for us that determines our capacity to
receive more of His riches. 2 Peter 1:5-11 instructs us that if we are
increasing in godly qualities and attributes our “entrance into the eternal
kingdom will be abundantly/richly supplied to you.” This passage has
nothing to do with entering or not entering His kingdom (saved or
unsaved), it has to do with how the believer enters. The fruits listed in 2
Peter 1:5-7 shall be rewarded, this is what our King will be looking for at
the bema (His judgment seat). This harmonizes with 1 Corinthians 3:12-
15 where we are told of our riches enduring through the fire and going
on into eternity, if they are not burned up. Compare this passage also
with Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the faithful slaves being
rewarded with the riches of rulership in accordance with their works. It
will take character to rule and reign in his kingdom, this character seen
in 2 Peter 1:5-7 results a richer entrance into His kingdom. It is wrought
through perseverance under trials (James 1:2-4). We enter the kingdom
of the heavens by grace, we rule in the kingdom of the heavens by
works (Matthew 25:21, Luke 19:17, 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 2:26-27).
The best way to please the One who died and rose again for us is to not
only serve Him now, but also in the ages to come. This can only be
attained through good works in the present age. Think about these
words from the Holy Spirit written by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11. After
discussing our eternal home, he declares, “Therefore [because of these
things], also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent [in this
age or in the age to come] to be pleasing to Him.” The Apostle goes on
to give further explanation of why his ambition is to please his Master,
“For [continuing his reasoning] we must all appear before the judgement
seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the
body, according to what he has done, where good or bad. Therefore,
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men,”. The judgement seat of
Christ is not to judge the eternal destiny of believers, it is to judge the
works (deeds done in the body, good or bad) of believers, and for us to
receive loss or reward. It is to see if our life has produced gold, silver
and precious stones and to hear the sweetest words “well done good
and faithful servant.”. Or, to see our life’s work reduced to a pile of
smoking ashes, experiencing loss, shame and sorrow. It is only a correct
view of these things that provides true Scriptural motivation to break
away from our carnality and desire to serve our King. Ironically, the
Reformed view which says the carnal Christian teaching does not
incentivise to serve, is the view that does not believe that we can suffer
these extreme losses and shame at the bema, because all true
Christians will persevere and have good works at the end of their life –
all will rule and reign. In effect, Reformed theology states – if you are
truly saved you will have rewards and rule in His kingdom because you
will have guaranteed works! God will in a sense force you to do good
works. This view is false and dangerous. As God’s Word explicitly
teaches believers there is a real danger to a lazy, sinful, unfruitful life
and the consequences are eternal and real. A major problem is the
church at large does not teach these things, most mistakenly believe
Christians simply die and go to heaven. Bible teachers will give an
account for their actions and teachings, or lack of them.
We are not to look to our works for assurance of salvation, only to Christ.
If our assurance is based on our works we have no assurance, as it
would be impossible to quantify to the amount or quality of the works
needed to be assured. The penitent thief on the cross had no works, and
from the words of the Saviour to him we cannot doubt his salvation. It is
a tactic of the enemy to rob a believer’s assurance. We can hear echoes
of Satan’s words in the garden, “did God really say?” All through John’s
gospel Jesus tells us it is only through believing in His name that we
have eternal life, and in his first epistle John writes to assure his
audience they possess eternal life through believing in the Son’s Name
(1 John 5:13).
Among the final words in the Bible, spoken by the Alpha and Omega,
are, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward [ G3408 ‘misthos’ wages,
good or bad] is with me, to render to every man according to what he
has done.” (Revelation 22:12). Let us press on, allowing His work in our
lives to glorify His Name on that day.
Appendix
Matthew 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits,” is often cited to
demonstrate there must be evidence in a person’s life that they are a
true Christian. Quite simply, this verse is dealing with false prophets
(“Beware of the false prophets” v.15), it is not teaching that we should be
judging each other’s salvation by works or fruits. The fruit of the false
prophets and false teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3) is their words, not actions,
as often people can act and appear to be living holy lives. False
prophets and false teachers are to be judged by examining if their
prophecies and teaching line up with Scripture.
2 Corinthians 13:5 does not mean examine yourselves to check if you
are really saved or not. Paul never doubted the Corinthians salvation, he
affirmed it calling them ‘babes in Christ’ (1 Corinthians 3:1), and a
‘temple of God’ in whom the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Assurance of eternal life is the desired state for all believers (Romans
5:1, Ephesians 2:8, 1 John 5:13), it would be contradictory for Paul, as
well as John, to affirm their hearers salvation, whilst asking them to
check to see if they are saved or not. Therefore, to be ‘in the faith’ (2
Corinthians 13:5) cannot be talking about being eternally saved. Paul
uses the expression ‘in the faith’ with ‘stand in the faith’ (1 Corinthians
16:13), ‘established in the faith’ (Colossians 2:7) and ‘be sound in the
faith’ (Titus 1:13), all appearing to be statements regarding
sanctification, not justification. As Bob Wilkin points out in the article
https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/test-yourselves-to-see-if-
you-are-in-the-faith/, the three occurrences of the Greek word ‘adokimos’
(disapproved/disqualified) in verses 5, 6 and 7 show that sanctification is
in view. The Apostle himself knew he potentially could be disapproved (1
Corinthians 9:27) yet saved.
James 2:14-26 is maybe the most common passage of Scripture used to
teach that we need works to prove our eternal salvation. It is worth
spending some time examining this text. Again it is vital to note James is
addressing believers, ‘beloved brethren’ (James 1:2, 16, 2:5, 14, 15),
therefore, it would be unwarranted getting them to question their eternal
salvation in James 2, as believers are told to be assured of their eternal
life (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:8, 1 John 5:13). The context shows
James encouraging the brethren to be doers and not only hearers of the
Word. He does not say if you are not a doer you are not saved. He goes
on to warn against partiality, and about being judged by the law of
liberty. Another vital point not to be missed is this passage unequivocally
states that faith cannot save man (2:14), and that man is justified by
works (2:24). Many twist these statements to obscure their clear
declarations. James 2:14 is altered to say, “can this kind of /that faith
save him?” According to Zane Hodges, the Greek text is “can the faith
save him?” Faith having the definite article. Hodges states that the
definite article ‘the’ before faith does not indicate ‘this kind of’ or, ‘that’ as
translations. ‘Faith’ has the definite article in verses 17, 18, 20, 22
(referring to Abraham’s faith), and 26. In these instances ‘kind of’ or,
‘that’ are never used as natural translations, in English the word ‘faith’
naturally appears on it’s own. It follows that should also be the case in
James 2:14, “Can faith save him?” The construction of the question in
the Greek requires a negative response – no. (‘The Epistle of James,
Proven Character Through Testing. Zane C. Hodges, 1994, p.59-60).
However, we know from many clear Scriptures we are saved through
faith alone, so how is this not a contradiction? The answer becomes
clearer when we recognise the meaning of save/salvation in James’
epistle. Repeatedly in the New Testament saved/salvation is in
reference to our physical life being rescued or delivered. The Greek
word ‘sozo’ G4982 usually translated ‘save’, as well referring to eternal life,
often speaks of healing, deliverance from danger, when Peter was
drowning, he shouted “Lord, save me.” Preservation of life is the sense
given in James 1:21, “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and [all] that
remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is
able to save [‘sozo’] your souls [‘psyche’ G5590 ‘life’].” The recipients of
James’ letter were already saved unto eternal life, the ‘saved’ James
talks about in his letter refers to preservation, and possibly quality of, our
lives in this age. The letter ends on the same note, “My brethren, if any
among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know
that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul
from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20). Again,
salvation from physical life and death through persevering in holy living
are in view. When read carefully, salvation/deliverance from suffering
and death, not hell, through righteous living, is the major theme in the
book of James (James 1:3, 12, 15, 21, 22, 25, 26, 2:14, 4:7, 10, 5:11,
12, 15, 16, 19, 20).
In light of this, the question in James 2:14 is asking “can faith alone with
no action in following God’s instruction preserve us?” Clearly, the
answer would be no. God’s commands and instruction do preserve our
life and help us experience a better quality of life. It does not need to be
argued that alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual immorality, violence, anger,
worry, bitterness etc. can lead to disease and death. Many passages in
the book of Proverbs attest to this. Faith does result in eternal life,
however, if we do not add works (following God’s instructions) to our
faith, it will be of no benefit in this life and can even result in death.
Some claim the term ‘faith without works is dead’ mean that faith does
not, or never existed. This is not the case. Here, dead mean inactive, not
working, producing no works. Other passages which use dead in this
way include Luke 15:32, regarding the prodigal son, and Revelation 3:1
regarding the church at Sardis. In both instances, dead does not mean
non-existent. Additionally, something by itself (James 2:17) cannot be
said to be non-existent. Something must exist to be alone.
Regarding that which demons believe, it is not the saving gospel
message, all that is in the text (James 2:19) is they believe “God is one.”
Believing this does not bring eternal life, it is a belief held by Muslims for
example. However, Scripture certainly does indicate in other passages
that demons do know the gospel, but this does not save them as eternal
life through faith is not offered to demons or angels. Christ died for
mankind, not demons or angels.
Abraham’s justification now enters the discussion. James 2:21 and 2:24
is often changed to say man’s justification produces works. This is not
an honest reading of the text, the text put’s it the other way round –
Abraham’s works resulted in justification. People flip this round because
they rightly understand that our legal justification, our righteous standing
before the Father on account of His Son’s death, burial and resurrection
has nothing to do with works. This foundational truth should lead to the
observation that justification by works is not the same justification
assigned to us based solely on Christs’ death, burial and resurrection.
There are two kinds of justification just as there are two kinds of
righteousness, Christs’ righteousness attributed to those who believe in
Him, and the righteous acts of the saints, works (Revelation 19:8).
Genesis 18:19 speaks about doing righteousness. With both justification
and righteousness, there is the unmerited kind, all of Christ and nothing
of ourselves, and the merited kind, that which we must participate in.
Abraham was declared righteous in Genesis 15:6 because he believed
in the Lord – no works. This is the first time in all Scripture the words
‘believe’ and ‘righteous’ occur, it is the beginning and foundation of these
doctrines. This the same as Abraham being legally justified, as we know
this is also only through believing in the Lord. However, James 2:21 tell
us Abraham was justified by works, specifically, when he offered Isaac
as a sacrifice. This occurred in Genesis 22, many years after Abraham
was declared righteous and, therefore justified, in Genesis 15. As James
2:22 states, Abraham’s faith (Genesis 15:6) was perfected, or, brought
to maturity, by his works (Genesis 22:12). James 2:24 goes on to say,
“You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” The
Greek word for ‘alone’ is ‘monos’ G3441 and often means ‘only’, therefore,
verse 24 can also be translated “man is justified by works, and not faith
only.” This is the sense given in Matthew 4:4 where Jesus declares,
“Man shall not live on bread alone [monos].” The bread is real and is
needed for lor life, however, by itself it profits very little, the Word of God
is needed as well as the bread. Likewise, faith, in James 2 is real, it has
led to eternal life, but by itself it is unprofitable in this life and displeasing
to our Master. Faith without works does not jeopardise our entrance into
the kingdom, however, faith without works will not demonstrate the
character required to rule and reign with Christ in His kingdom.