It is a widely used word! Every Christian at some time or other has used this word -- for other Christians, of course. So much so that this subject has produced more heat than light in the Christendom.

Carnality has been equated with every conceivable thing, (from using an expensive soap to keeping mustaches, and from keeping a dog up to walking through a certain street) all confusing and ridiculous. This word has become the best weapon to let down other believers. If you don't agree with some of his activities just label him as "Carnal" and you will get a lot of sympathetic ears (and gossiping mouth too) to spread your 'discovery' like a wildfire! Apparently, this subject has become so subjective that a pastor speaking objectively on this matter will himself be labeled Carnal or at least immature. The reason are obvious: many people do not care to use the Bible as the text when they speaks on this subject. Instead they rely on their feelings, prejudices, background, and 'inner voice' (which usually becomes intense when they see an opponent!), to decide what Carnality is! It is my aim in this article to examine what Carnality is according to the Bible, examine its symptoms, and then line up the remedy (from the Bible itself!)

The word Carnal in the Bible means 'fleshly' or a person who walks according to the desires of the flesh. Flesh in such contexts refers to the Adamic or old sin nature. This old nature remains with us even after our salvation, and is removed only at our death. Inside us our old and new natures fight each other to gain control over us (Galatians 5:17). If the old sin Nature (or flesh) wins, it will dictate us how to walk. At this point we become fleshly or Carnal, because we are under the control of our flesh (ie our old sin nature). Hence, Biblically speaking, a person becomes carnal when he controlled by the old sin nature (or the flesh).

Having defined carnality, we will study the symptoms of Carnality. It is amazing how people mix up their prejudices with a Bible doctrine, to come up with ludicrous ideas about Carnality. Recently a balanced and mature believer related an incident to me. A speech was scheduled for him during a missions tour. A little while before the meeting the pastor sensed some talcum powder on this brother's face. (He had applied it innocently, to avoid the sweat !). Immediately that pastor canceled the programme, labeling this believer as "Carnal"! Pitiful, isn't it ? But such incidents are common in Christendom. To avoid such foolishness in our judgement, we must rely on the word of God alone to study the symptoms of Carnality. We will base our study on I Corinthians 3:1-3 which is an important passage on this topic.

I need not tell you that Carnality was a serious problem in the Corinthian Church. The Scripture says (1 Cor. 3:1) that Paul could not speak to the Corinthians as spiritual because they were Carnal. It is a strong word indicating that they were completely under the control of their Old Natures. Then he mentions the first symptom of Carnality : they were babes in Christ ! It means non-growth is the first symptom of Carnality. Imagine a person 20 years old, but lying in cradle and crying for bottlefeed ! This is the spiritual condition of the Carnal Corinthians. They cannot absorb deeper Biblical truths ! So childishness in spiritual matters is the first symptom of Carnality.

The second symptom is named as envying in verse 3:5. Envying means to grudge others good fortune, success or qualities. This means it is a symptom of Carnality when a believer cannot stand the prosperity of another believer. If the latter progresses materially, the Carnal believer will label him a show-off. If they grow in spiritual life, the carnal believer will label them as show offs. In short, the carnal believer grudges against the good of everyone else. [you should not wonder if you happened to see him in your Church too ! They are cosmopolitan from nature ! ]

The third symptom is strife ( verse 3:3). This is the obvious result of envy. If you do not like someone's prosperity and success (Materially as well as spiritually), strife is inevitable. Such people do not NEED a subject for quarreling. They themselves will INVENT one! They help to multiply Churches (by division, that is), inform others about Church activities (because they dislikes remaining silent), and drive new believers away (because these new believers never expected strife among Christians).

The fourth symptom is walking like men (verse 3:3), It means a Carnal believer imitates the unregenerate mankind, in strife, envy, and conduct. Boasting about one's spiritual affiliation is the fifth symptom (verse 3:4-5). It is a common practice to boast about one's denomination, affiliation and spiritual lineage but it is merely another symptom of carnality.

The REMEDY is given Galatians 5:16. "Walk in The Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh". It means that if we walk in the fellowship (or filling) of the Holy spirit, we will cease to be Carnal! The method involves confession of sins using 1 John 1:9. Every time we recognize a sin in our life, we must confess it immediately. We will be forgiven and the fellowship (filling) of the Holy Spirit will be restored to us.

So Biblically saying the symptoms of Carnality are: Childishness, Envy, Strife, spiritual pride and a walk like nonregenrate mankind. Let us be careful to continually monitor our life and beat carnality by the filling of the Holy Spirit.