ROMANS 7:14\u201320<\/b><\/p>\n
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin<\/i><\/p>\n
(Romans 7:14 nkjv)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
In this verse we see a contrast between the law and Paul himself. He contrasts the law as spiritual with himself as carnal. There have been those in evangelical Christianity who have set up a rigid distinction between \u201cspiritual Christians\u201d and \u201ccarnal Christians.\u201d What we see in this verse should give us pause for thought.<\/p>\n
Paul says, \u201cI am carnal.\u201d Remember that Paul is writing this after his conversion\u2014he is using the present tense. Thus, if anyone was ever a carnal Christian it was the apostle Paul. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul declares that he is\u2014at the time he is writing this letter\u2014carnal. That should be a warning for us lest we think that there are Christians today who have transcended carnality beyond what Paul himself achieved.<\/p>\n
The Meaning of Carnality<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
The word carnal<\/i> here is a form of the Greek word sarx<\/i>, which is usually translated \u201cflesh\u201d in the New Testament. Sometimes this word refers to our physical existence, and is a synonym for the Greek word soma<\/i>, meaning \u201cbody.\u201d Sometimes, however, this word refers to our old nature, our sin nature. It refers to the condition of the whole man prior to his conversion.<\/p>\n
The whole man, body and mind, outside of Christ is \u201cflesh.\u201d In Romans 7:14, Paul contrasts \u201cflesh\u201d and \u201cspirit,\u201d and indicates that it is the moral sense of \u201cflesh\u201d that is involved here. The word Spirit<\/i> should be capitalized, because the reference is to the Holy Spirit. The law is spiritual because it comes from the Spirit of God.<\/p>\n
But haven\u2019t Christians been liberated from bondage to sin and from the \u201cflesh\u201d? What Paul means is that even though he has been redeemed and made a new man, he is still afflicted with a principle of indwelling sin. He is still to some degree a creature of the \u201cflesh,\u201d sold under sin.<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Romans 7:14\u201325 describes the inner conflict of the believer. It seems confusing partly because what goes on inside the believer\u2019s heart is confusing and distressing. The more we come to know of God, the more we see our remaining corruption. Paul\u2019s attitude, of grieving over sin and wrestling with it, is that of the truly spiritual person. He is diligently pursuing the new life in Christ, but continues to lament the ongoing ravages of his sin.<\/p>\n
For further study: Genesis 6:1\u20138; 2 Kings 17:1\u201323<\/i><\/p>\n
friday<\/p>\n
july<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ROMANS 7:14\u201320 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:14 nkjv). In this verse we see a contrast between the law and Paul himself. He contrasts the law as spiritual with himself as carnal. There have been those in evangelical Christianity who have set up a … Continue reading “PAUL, THE CARNAL CHRISTIAN”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10961\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}