What does it mean to be carnal and why is it so detrimental to the body of Christ, especially when done by its leaders? To be carnal means to focus on worldly desires rather than spiritual values. Doing so within the church can lead to a distortion of the church's purpose. In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of living by the Spirit, highlighting how a carnal mindset can lead to spiritual death. Matthew 21:12-17 recounts Jesus cleansing the temple, demonstrating the need for the church to be a place of true worship rather than a den of worldly pursuits. Jesus knew that the negative effects of carnality include a loss of spiritual focus, hypocrisy, and a deviation from the core principles of faith. He knew that when leaders demonstrate these behaviors, they can easily lead away from Christ those whom they are supposedly called to lead toward Christ.
The church is a place of worship and true worship to Yahweh can never be done by means of objects, music, or words that were created with the intent of encouraging sin or worshiping Satan. Not for the sake of culture, not for the sake of salvation, and not for the sake of church numbers or money collected. When individuals and/or churches are willing to be carnal to fit into a culture, there are many consequences that come with this choice that do not line up with the salvation they claim. Therefore, those who are already lukewarm within their relationship with God can easily slide backwards into a position where every area of their lives is being lived carnally. Afterall, if the leaders are carnal within the church, then being carnal must be ok, right?
Of course, it’s not okay and anyone who thinks so is living in delusion and could be headed towards the spiritual death that Apostle Paul and Jesus wanted to help us all prevent. It’s one thing to be a leader of a family and lead your own family astray, but to accept a position as a leader in the Body of Christ and lead hundreds, thousands, even millions astray should and will bring an extreme burden of accountability to the guilty party. I pray that I will never be guilty of doing this in my family or in my ministry. I pray the same for you. It’s time to start back asking What Would Jesus Do. In many churches today, Jesus would go in and flip over tables and chairs and call many workers of iniquity. When we focus on the truth of the fact that many of the things done in the body today would not be pleasing to Him, we should be free from the delusion of church place carnality.
Love you guys,
Diathe