1 Corinthians 3:3
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
One of the hardest things a pastor must deal with is dealing with carnal people who portray themselves as spiritual but are divisive and cause much strife. Paul deals with this type of person and teaches us that the only reason a person causes envy, strife, and division is because they are walking as men.
A church is never to be filled with strife. Strife is defined as angry and bitter disagreement. Sadly, carnal people often bring strife into the church, which brings the drama of the world into the church. Satan would like nothing more than to fill the church with worldly drama caused by strife through carnal believers. He knows that he can run off many unsaved people and baby believers if he can get God’s people to live a carnal life because the carnal life always brings strife and division with it. Let me give some advice on avoiding this horrible sin that will adversely affect the deliverance of the Gospel to the lost world.
First, you are not to act like the world. The world wants to fight. The world says angry things. The world is filled with strife. Why would you want to bring what the world does into the church? There is NO place for strife in the church. Just because you are flesh does not mean you have to live like flesh. Just because you live in the world does not mean you have to bring the world into your church or home. Following the world's model to respond causes strife is a carnal mindset.
Second, you choose how you respond. The Spirit-filled person never responds by how the carnal person acts. Rather, the spiritual person responds by how the Holy Spirit would want them to respond. People who say they just can't help themselves are lying because God makes it clear that you choose whether or not to do right. You can choose to respond properly if you want to, and you can choose to respond carnally if you so choose.
Third, the believer is not to walk as man, but they are to walk as Jesus walked. You never see Jesus bringing strife and division, but you see Him leaving a place better than when He entered that place. You are walking as man because you are not yielded to the Holy Spirit. The anger and strife of the world is what those who walk as men cause. If you chose not to walk as a man but to walk as Christ would walk, you would avoid causing strife and division in your church.
Fourth, the damage that strife and division cause is eternal. People will stop attending church because they don't want to be in a place where there is drama. People come to church to get away from the drama of the world. There will be many people in Hell because of believers who chose to walk as men, and their carnal walk brought strife into the church. I would hate to think that my carnal walk has caused someone to go to Hell.
The answer to this problem is to crucify the flesh and walk in the Spirit. You see, the carnal walk means I am living of the flesh, but the spiritual walk means I am walking of the Spirit. We cannot control whether others are carnal, but we can control whether we are carnal. Let me challenge you to stop walking as man and become spiritual by yielding to the Holy Spirit, and you will never be the cause of strife and division.
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