The Carnal Nature of
The natural man cannot love God.
We see in present
evangelism, telling the unbelievers God loves you. We have seen in from our
last week study, in Psalm 7:11, that God is angry at the wicked daily. The
scripture many people use to show that God loves the unbeliever is John 3:16.
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In another portion of the
scripture it says, woe unto the world.
Mt 18:7 Woe unto the
world because of offences!
Was whole world taxed?
Lu 2:1 And it came to
pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all
the world should be taxed.
Did the whole world go
after Jesus?
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Jesus did not pray for
the world, but only to the ones that was given by the Father.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them:
I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are
thine.
This is why the context
is so important in interpreting the scriptures. In John
"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him. John 6:44.
Man is unable to come to
God because of his nature. Charles Spurgeon gives this beautiful example, one
day a man said, that he did not believe
any man had the power to walk to the house of God unless the Father drew him.
This was very foolish saying according to Spurgeon. Because as long as a man
was alive and had legs, it was as easy for him to walk to the house of God as
to the house of Satan. There is no lack of physical power in coming to Christ,
as physically men are alive, they can raise a hand in coming to Christ, they
can walk down the isle in coming to Christ, they can say a prayer in coming to
Christ. But just because they did all these things physically, it does not mean
they truly came to Christ. The defect is not in the body, as the natural man is
alive and strong physically, the defect is in the mind and in the heart. It is
spiritual. As he is spiritually dead.
Spurgeon gives the example of a lion and a sheep. The lion has legs so
does sheep, the lion has a mouth so does a sheep, the lion have ears so does a
sheep. Physically both can walk and eat. But the lion will not eat grass like a
sheep neither the sheep will eat meat like a lion. The distinction is in the
nature. By nature, the Lion is different than a sheep. In the same way by the
natural man s nature is so corrupt that he has neither the will nor the power
to come to Christ unless drawn by the Spirit.
John 3:6. "That
which is born of the flesh is flesh."
Let us go further and see
what sin did to mans nature. When man sinned against God, he became spiritually
dead and was separated from God. There fore there is no love towards God. Love
is to be together. Man and woman falls in love with each other and their desire
is to live together because they love each other. However, we see when they do
not love each other because of sin there is separation in marriage and there is
divorce. Now there is no love for each other as they are separated. In the same
way when man is separated from God, there is no true love in him.
When we looked at people,
we see some are more kind than the others, some are more educated with good
manners and the others, some are more caring than the others. Some are more
affectionate than the others. But they all do not have even a spark of love to
God, as they are spiritually dead, blind and separated from God. The heart of
man is not hungering after the love of God, because it is dead, cold towards
God, his heart is like a dead mans heart towards God.
You may say, there are so
many religious people in the world and we see they have a great love for God,
as they are very religious. My answer is who would be more religious than the
Jews. They worshiped one God, they kept all the traditions and the rituals and
they even knew the word of God. But inside in their hearts, there was no true
love toward God. They were dead to God inside. Jesus said to these religious
people, But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. (John 5:42)
Natural man would like to destroy God.
Man is enmity against God
as a whole being. That means his mental and physical powers, principles, and
actions are against God. His nature is totally against God, there fore his
mind, heart and all his bodily instruments are not for God but in opposition to
God. Apostle Paul speaks of the natural man, I am carnal, sold under sin. (Ro
7:14) He is a slave to sin under the bondage of Satan and all his affections
are dominated by his flesh and against Gods will. We can see again the Jews,
who were very religious, and they had an outward form of godliness of love but
inwardly they hated him. Their desire was to kill Jesus.
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Mt 26:4 And consulted
that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
Lu 22:2 And the chief
priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.
The enmity of the natural
man is so great that no human power can change him as the corruption is rooted
in the heart. He choose to be against God, as his will is against God. He is
very hypocritical, as we see the Jews and the Pharisees were hypocritical, Paul
was at enmity with God, persecuting the church of God, he was a very religious
man but a hypocrite in nature, no one could change his heart, only the infinite
power of God almighty changed his heart and nature as he became as one of the
finest Apostles in the New Testament.
Godly Christians can
witness to them, but cannot change their enmity towards God, pastors can preach
repentance and the Excellency of Christ, but they cannot change them, the
angels cannot change them. They might say, if we really see the miracles of God
we will change. No, the children of Israel saw awesome miracles of God, yet
they murmured against God. The Jews of Christ day saw the miracles of Christ,
and yet they said, Jesus was possessed by Satan, the Old Testament people saw
the great miracles of God, yet they killed the prophets of God, as Jesus said,
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee (Mat 23:37) The natural men are like poisonous snakes
spitting venom at God. They are mortal enemies of God.
The natural man will come
clothed in religion but inwardly an enemy of God, they have killed the Old
Testament prophets, crucified Jesus, killed the disciples, the early church
Christians were tortured, burned alive, eaten alive by the wild animals, the
Roman church burned the true Christians, the natural man hates God.
Natural mans desire is to dethrone God.
The natural mans desire
is to dethrone God. They will do it if they can do it. They would be glad if
there is no God.
Ps 14:1 The fool hath
said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable
works, there is none that doeth good.
Read carefully the root
is the heart. In his heart, there is no God. Meaning his desire is that there
is no God, he is telling I wish there is no God. They are poisonous snakes.
When they bite, they seek to kill precious life.
John the Baptist called
them O brood of vipers. (Mat 3:7) This poison is the enmity that they have for
God.
Ps 58:3 The wicked are
estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Natural man crucified Jesus.
De 32:33 Their wine is the
poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
The immortal, infinitely
holy God who is separated from man, because of sin and mans enmity toward God,
yet God the second person of the Trinity clothed in human nature, became a man,
and came down to earth to dwell among the fallen man, who were vipers and with
full of poison in their heart. They hated him, spit at him, persecuted him and
the multitudes of men cried with one voice saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
Away with him. Rather they would prefer Barabbas who deserved death to be
saved, and their desire was to kill the Holy one of God. They could not find
any fault with Jesus but nothing could satisfy them until they crucified him to
death. Yes, the natural man if they can dethrone God, he will do it. This was
the cruelest execution that ever happened, by mocking the Holy Son of God,
spitting at him and scourging him. Here we see the enmity of man toward God in
all true colors.
God is their greatest
enemy. Their enmity so great toward God than they are to Satan. They believe
that Satan is evil, yet they will join hands with Satan in doing what Satan
wants them to do. In reality, they are the friend of Satan and the devil is
their master.
John 8:44, Ye are of your
father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do: he was a murderer
from the beginning.
We need to remember that
we too were enemies of God one time, we too had a form of religion but dead
spiritually. Now that we are saved by the grace of God, we should not be
separated and point the finger at all who are unsaved. Jesus commanded us to go
and preach the gospel to all nations. Apostle Paul said, Knowledge puffeth up,
but charity edifieth. (1 Cor 8:1) We need to do everything in love and
humility. The prime example is our Lord. We need to show the fallen mans
nature, and preach the gospel to all nations.
Spurgeon
said, of a youth who concealed a stolen fox under his garment, and although it
was eating into his bowels, he would not show it, and therefore died through
the creature's bites; you are of that sort sinner, you are carrying sin in your
bosom, and it is eating out your heart. God knows what it is, and you know what
it is; now you cannot keep it there and be unbitten, undestroyed. Why keep it
there? O cry to God with a vehement cry, God save me from my sin!"