Paul Was NOT Calling Us into Carnal Mindedness

By Brother R Michel Lankford

At first glance, a person might look at the title of this lesson and think to himself, well that’s a completely obvious and unnecessary statement. Of course the apostle Paul was not calling us into carnal mindedness. Paul was warning us NOT to be carnal minded. I agree. Paul was exhorting Christians not to be carnal minded, but instead to have our minds controlled by the spirit. Paul’s desire, and his position is obvious even to the most marginal Bible reader.
The problem is that the majority of modern-day Christianity accidentally and unintentionally teaches that Paul does indeed require us to be carnal minded in order to be ‘Christian.’ Before you decide to throw away this paper as being ridiculous, I challenge you to keep reading, because I will explain my position biblically. Let’s look very carefully at how Paul himself describes carnal mindedness. As it is written:

Romans 8:5-8 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)

Please keep in mind that these are Paul’s own words, which he wrote under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. So now let us look very carefully at how Paul himself describes the carnal mind:
1. The carnal mind has its focus and attention on pleasing the flesh and the sinful nature (V. 5).
2. The carnal mind which is set on satisfying the desires of the flesh and sinful nature leads into death (a.k.a. eternal separation from God, v. 6).
3. According to what God said through Paul, the carnal mind is hostile against God, (v.7)
4. According to what God said through Paul, the carnal mind DOES NOT SUBMIT itself to God’s Law, (v.7). So not submitting ourselves to God’s Law is a principle characteristic of being carnal minded, according to Paul.
5. The carnal mind cannot submit itself to God’s law (v.7).
6. The person who fulfills these characteristics of carnal mindedness CANNOT please God, (v.8).
So according to Paul himself under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Paul openly declares that if we refuse to subject ourselves to God’s Laws, it is an aspect of being carnal minded, and in such a situation we cannot please God.
So according to Paul himself under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Paul openly declares that if we refuse to subject ourselves to God’s Laws, it is an aspect of being carnal minded, and in such a situation we cannot please God.
Remember, Paul the apostle’s letter to the Romans was written around 56 to 57 A.D. That is about 24 years after the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. Now, here’s a pop quiz. Was the apostle Paul advising that being carnal minded was a good idea or a bad idea? Was he saying that being carnal minded was a good thing or a bad thing? Romans 8:5-8 creates a serious dilemma for modern-day Christianity.
Here’s why I’m saying what I’m saying. Most modern-day theologians passionately believe and fiercely preach that since Jesus Christ died on the cross, we are not subject to honoring God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions any longer. Some thoroughly misguided theologians will even go so far as to teach the ludicrous idea that if someone does try to honor, respect, and obey God’s Commandments just as Jesus did, that this is somehow the equivalent of denying that what Jesus Christ did through his death and resurrection is sufficient. So some will actually accuse people who try to obey what God commanded, and people who try to copy what Jesus did as though they were guilty of denying Jesus Christ. The ironic part is that most people will use misinterpretations of Paul’s writings and teachings exclusively to support this insanely ridiculous position.
Interestingly, Paul is the only biblical writer which people can use even to suggest that we are no longer obligated to subject ourselves to God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions because we are under grace in Christ. No other biblical writer even comes close to suggesting such a thing. The bigger problem is that IF Paul indeed was teaching us that we should not subject ourselves to God’s Law any longer because we are under grace, then by his own definition he would be teaching us to be carnal minded, which leads to death and not life. I do not believe as so many preach, that the apostle Paul was teaching us to abandon God’s Laws Commandments and Instructions, because that is the principle definition of carnal mindedness. I do not believe that Paul would encourage any form carnal mindedness at all. The apostle Paul was clearly not teaching us to abandon, or not to subject ourselves to God’s Law as so many erroneously believe and teach today.

Brother Michel Lankford