The Carnal Man ( 2)
Text: 1 Corinthians 3: 1- 4; 1 Samuel 2: 12- 36 Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3: 1, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” ( NKJV)
ELI’S sons, Hophni and Phinehas were carnal men without conscience, and yet they were priests in the house of God. Hophni and Phinehas carried out their priestly duties with reckless blasphemy and grossest wickedness. Hophni and Phinehas were horrible people to the extent that they slept with the women who came to church. It is possible that you will find carnal men behind the pulpit in some churches today. There are some people who call themselves children of God but wouldn’t help a widow except they take her to bed. Such people are a disgrace to the gospel of Christ. How can people live contrary to God’s word and still call themselves Christians?
If you call yourself a child of God and you sleep with any woman that is not your wife, please stop the nonsense, you don’t need to do it. God will hold wicked men and women accountable for their wickedness on people and more so, for their wickedness on the widows. God says He is the husband of the widows and so when you sleep with a widow, it is like you are committing another height of adultery because you are now going into God’s wives ( Psalm 68: 5). The Bible said that pure and genuine religion in the sight of God is to care for the vulnerable ( orphans and widows) and to keep oneself uncontaminated ( James 1: 27). Eli didn’t stop his children from the evil they were doing in the temple and God said to him, because you honour your children more than me, I am going to remove all of you ( 1 Samuel 4: 11- 22). I don’t want God to remove me for honouring anybody above Him. I teach my children that God comes first and their education comes second. So, let God come first, let the glory of God be upheld and let God be given the honour that is due Him.
If somebody is not ready to worship God and decides to walk in the flesh, the Bible says in the book of Hebrews that the person should be chastised ( Hebrews 12: 8). The church should uphold chastising erring believers. If you live your life without discipline, then you are not a true son of God but if you put yourself under the Holy Spirit and the word of God, y ou don’t have problem. It is a careless fellow that follows the path that will destroy him ( Proverbs 16: 25). Eli did not handle his children and so God handled him and his children and threw everybody away. Unfortunately, over 4, 000 men died in the process and if these 4, 000 men had wives, those women became widows because of the wickedness of the pastors and if they had children, all these children became fatherless because of the wickedness of the pastors. When God comes down some of the time, He doesn’t just deal with the person who has gone wrong. David counted Israel and went home but when God came down, he left David and started killing people.
• Today’s Nugget: Mature in your faith in Christ. Prayer: Lord help me to put away the works of the flesh. Prayer lines: 08054477940. E- mail: servantofgod111@yahoo.com. Rev. Pastor Ejikeme Ejim, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.