Living After the Spirit, Not the Flesh

Okay my friends, this is what it all comes down to, when it is all said and done: You are either carnally minded or you are spiritually minded. And here is why that is the bottom line: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:5-7). There it is, to be carnally minded is death, and that means spiritual death, or separation from God. The carnal mind is, as the scripture states, in opposition [enmity] to God. And here is the real proof of the pudding, so to speak: The ONLY way that ANYONE can be spiritually minded is to first receive the Spirit of God and then FOLLOW AFTER IT! (Jn. 16:13; Rom. 8:14; I Jn. 2:27). And where do you suppose that the HOLY Spirit will lead you? INTO HOLINESS of course. And let's simplify that a bit, so that no one is left to define holiness by the modern Christian standard, which is to say we have to still have sin. No, holiness is just that; it is holiness, and that means being without sin. No? Then what about this? "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and HOPE to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you AT the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But AS HE which hath called you is holy, so be YE holy in all manner of conversation [lifestyle]; Because it is written, Be YE holy; for I AM HOLY. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear" (I Pet. 1:13-17). So according to the scripture, our holiness, which of course is by, in, and through Jesus; is LIKE UNTO God's holiness, becasue it IS God's holiness. And I can tell you without refute that God's holiness is not a FORM of holiness, but rather it is TRUE holiness; meaning HE is without sin. Christianity has everyone thinking that our righteousness or holiness, whichever way you prefer to say it, is ALL IN HIM, but WE are still sinners. Ohhh how that seems to magnify Jesus, doesn't it? Well, it may SEEM to magnify Jesus, but all that kind of thinking and teaching does is make another bull or goat of Jesus, which bulls and goats' blood NEVER really took away sin (Heb. 10:4). And of course it subtly calls God a sinner. Any way you choose to carve out that Christian idol my friend, it is still an idol that tells you you are a "sinner saved by grace," and that you have "eternal security." And that Christian idol will keep you carnally minded if you abide in its environment.

Truly there is no way to have the "mind of the Spirit," or the mind of Christ," while continuing in sin. The apostle Paul addressed this very issue like this: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:1,2). There is the very dagger that runs through the heart of the whole Christian gospel, because the bottom line of the traditions and doctrines of Christianity is that you stay in sin. And like I said above, that is supposed to magnify Jesus, or cause "grace to abound." But it is a lie, and it is death; because it is the carnal mind and the spirit of this world that the carnal mind listens to (I Jn. 4:5). You simply cannot understand the truth of God by his Spirit unless you are being led BY his Spirit out of sin, and into "righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:24). And you bet its HIS holiness I'm talking about, because it is by means of the power of his HOLY Spirit that we can and must overcome sin and put it to death, literally (Acts 1:8; Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:8-10; Tit. 2:11,12; I Pet. 4:1,2). Hear the apostle Paul on the matter: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). Christianity has polluted and intoxicated the minds of God's people to the point where the words of his Spirit CANNOT be heard, and sadly that is nothing new (Mat. 13:15; Acts 13:40,41,46). Again the apostle Paul warned of this malady in the last days, saying that many will "Have a form of godliness, but [will] deny the power thereof: FROM SUCH TURN AWAY" (II Tim. 3:5). Did you hear that? "From such turn away." Turn away from what, you may ask? Any doctrine that does not magnify the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in the lives of believers, for the purpose of purifying the heart from sin and walking in the reality of his love and holiness; THAT'S WHAT! (Mat. 5:8; Acts 15:8; I Pet. 1:22; I Jn. 3:2,3) So you had better be packing your bags and getting out of every Christian affiliation, because there simply is NOT ONE of them that holds strictly to that standard for the HOPE of salvation which will be obtained by those "Who are kept [from sin] by the power of God through faith UNTO salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (I Pet. 1:5). And that sounds a mighty lot like this: "... but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath THIS HOPE in him PURIFIETH himself, even as HE is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). And those are not quotes of the carnal mind my friend, nor of the carnally minded "Christian" gospel. Those are quotes of the mind of Christ, and they mean exactly what they say. And what they say is certainly NOT what Christianity is saying. Amen.