Carnal Christian: Sheep, Goat, Hog?

I have a controversial sermon for us today, friends, regarding what is termed the carnal Christian. First, let me state how you interpret 1 Corinthians 3.1. It will be colored usually by your theological stance, either from an Arminian viewpoint or a Reformed viewpoint. Armenians, for the most part, and Baptists especially, believe wholeheartedly that carnal Christians exist, and may I add, because they're so plentiful in their congregations.

But who am I to argue with a giant as the likes of an Adrian Rogers? I heard Adrian Rogers preach a message on the carnal Christian that was so convincing. If you had a different opinion at the outset, by the time he finished his outline, and got out his hammer and nails, and nailed down the points of his sermon, you were convinced there was such an animal as the carnal Christian, and you wondered if you were one yourself. Vance Havner spoke of them by saying, when a new pastor comes to a church, usually there'll be a couple of 200 pound babies sitting in the sanctuary in diapers, who cry and complain that their formula has been changed.

Well, on the Reformed side, friends, Morton Lloyd-Jones, in his sermon entitled, Carnal or Christian, gives what I consider an exemplary explanation, arguing from Romans 8, 5 through 8, that there's no such thing as a carnal Christian. You're either saved or lost, but you simply can't step over the passage and ignore it. Well, let's deal with it today, friends.

Let's tackle it head on. This is 1 Corinthians chapter 3, in verse 1. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I will stop there, friends, to say, in all fairness to the Arminian side, the apostle Paul does call them brethren, and he does refer to them as being in Christ, even if they are yet babes.

But we must ask ourselves, what did he really mean by the term carnal? I'll let you decide, friend, and whatever stance you take, I won't be offended. The ultimate question is, are there any carnal Christians in heaven now? That's a question to be answered. If you were a carnal Christian on earth, more than likely you won't be one by the time you get to heaven.

God would have dealt with you in corrective discipline if you were one of his sheep and straightened you out like he did crooked Jacob, or he left you alone in your sins, and now you're just an old goat butting heads and kicking everything in your way on your way to hell. It's important to look at the whole scripture when trying to interpret a particular passage. What does Jesus say on the subject? In Matthew 25, 31 through 32, we read, When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divided the sheep from the goats.

Well, he says at the end of it all, only two breeds remain, sheep or goats, the saved and the lost. There are no others. It's either sheep or goats.

There are no hogs. Chances are, if you call yourself a Christian and habitually wallow around in a hogwall of sin, no matter what name you go by, you may be yet in your sins. I know this when Jesus was here in his earthly ministry, as he passed through towns and villages, those who encountered him experienced change.