Carnal or Spiritual.... I had no idea most of my life.

I have said before I was raised up Christian I am not sure that I ever thought of not being one.  I was saved and baptized when I was 16, in the summer of 1977 with three of my siblings. I never questioned in my life that I would be save and baptized it was like getting married part of what I would do with my life.  I was raised in a lot of different churches.  Not different denominations or anything like that just a lot of different churches.  I was raised in the church of Christ.  I was raised in the older style of church of Christ that didn't even really consider the church of Christ a name of an individual church but part of the one true church that Jesus is the head of. It is not really like the Church of Christ that is now.  I did learn right off from all the travel that one was as different from the others as Nazarenes and Baptists. When I became nearly an adult I had opportunity to worship with friends one a Baptist and one a catholic. I attended the Church of God youth group growing up (the minister actually married me and Poppie in the funeral home but that is another blog.)  I soon read and studied up on numerous churches, trying to understand the similarities and differences.  In the years since my parents left here, my father was the preacher and now there isn't a church or Christ here, I have tried several churches.  The Methodist, the Baptist, and thought of others.  I have searched in myself for where God wants me to worship and I am now going to the Baptist Church, I do not know if I will ever be totally at peace or totally comfortable but for now that is where God has called me to. I know that where ever God calls me to I am a new testament Christian and happy where ever God calls me to assemble and that the local church is where I should be in that. 

I have always wondered why one Church makes so much of their service about works and baptism while another church focuses on asking to be saved with no worries about baptism at all.  I wonder why one has no communion and an other has it ever Sunday?  I know that I could name a million idiosyncrasies and that would not cover the differences in churches.  I don't think one church is better than another in God's eyes as long as it is new testament church and following him.  I think that God sees us as one church and that people make the distinctions about the specifics.  I do know that the one thing I have found is that in the differences there are extremes.  One church is totally scriptural and lives by the Word on a daily bases, the people obey, or try to obey all of God commandments, they try to do good works in the Lord.  They don't cuss, the don't drink and they don't associate with bad things or people.  They fight the good fight against the devil and his minions daily.  This is the way I was brought up and I never could live up to the standards of my family, extended family or the friends in the church.  I fell so short.  I now see churches where Sunday is the only day that the people try to be with God, they cuss, they drink, the do drugs, have broken marriages, their are gay people in their congregations, they sin and they sin with no remorse daily. I think how can this be, how can both of these be the church, and how are they both the church with Jesus as the head? 

I have only just learned by studies, what I am sure that people already knew, I guess I just messed that sermon.  There are spiritual and carnal Christians.  There are Christians like Noah, and there are Christians like Lot.  Both in Genius were saved from Gods wrath and destruction.  They alone were saved with their families,  God held his wrath just for them.  The second they were safe God destroyed all but them.  Noah was a spiritual Christian, okay you don't think he was a Christian but he was he looked forward to the cross with faith just as we look backward to the cross with faith, but I digress.  He was a spiritual Christian and Lot was a carnal Christian.  He lived in the carnality, his wife was not saved, he witnessed and was swayed by the carnality of his time, his town and the peoples in it.  He was saved but did not change and obey Christ to live a better life.  He is like so many of the saved that live among us that were not changed by salvation but for a short time before they go back to their ways.  You know what I mean, you see it every day.  The newly saved that are transformed and the newly saved the sort that are still afloat at sea.  God sees them both as saved but they will receive different judgments in heaven and different rewards.

I now know that I spent a large part of my life as a carnal Christian, I do also know that carnal Christians can become spiritual Christians, for some it happens in an instant and for some, like me it takes a life time of mistakes and transgressions to listen to Gods word and hear what he is calling me to do.  What kind of Christian are you? are you saved? have you even asked God into your life?  Have you accepted God's free gift?  Old or young his invitation is there forever and unto your last moment you but need to ask him for his forgiveness and salvation and it its yours.... tomorrow.