8 Reasons Why Carnal Christianity Should be Rejected & Maybe Elvis Was just a Carnal Christian - Todd Friel

Why Lukewarm “Carnal Christianity” Should Be Rejected

Article: “Maybe Elvis Was Just a Carnal Christian” – By Todd Friel

8 REASONS WHY LUKEWARM CARNAL “CHRISTIANITY” SHOULD BE REJECTED— Todd Friel of Wretched Radio & TV gives: “8 Reasons Why ‘Lukewarm Carnal Christianity’ Should be Rejected” in his Article: “Maybe Elvis Was Just a Carnal Christian”.

Also go to Lukewarm Christian to find out more info on exactly What is a Lukewarm Christian? Or if you would like to first take the Lukewarm Christian Test, to see if you are in danger of being a Lukewarm self-deceived so-called “Christian”.. i.e. a False Convert… and check out: Is Obedience to Jesus Necessary for Salvation?

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB) JESUS says, “Not everyone who says to ME, ‘LORD, LORD,’ will enter the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, but he who does the WILL of MY FATHER who is in HEAVEN will enter. “MANY will say to ME on that DAY, ‘LORD, LORD, did we not PROPHESY in YOUR NAME, and in YOUR NAME CAST OUT DEMONS, and in YOUR NAME PERFORM MANY MIRACLES?‘ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I NEVER KNEW you; DEPART from ME, you who PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.”
1 John 2:3-6 “How can we BE SURE that we BELONG to HIM? By OBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS. If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, that person is a LIAR and does NOT live in the TRUTH. But those who OBEY GOD’S WORD really DO LOVE HIM. That is the way to know whether or not we LIVE IN HIM. Those who SAY they LIVE IN GOD should live their lives AS CHRIST DID.”

QUOTE by A.A Hodge: “Think of a SINNER coming to Christ and saying, ‘I do NOT want to be HOLY; I do NOT want to be saved from SIN; I would like to be SAVED in my SINS; do NOT SANCTIFY me NOW but JUSTIFY me NOW.’”

Video: The Lord’s Word to the Laodicea Church – John MacArthur

“Maybe Elvis Was Just A Carnal Christian”

By Todd Friel – Wretched Radio & TV

Imagine trying to lovingly confront a high profile evangelical to share your concern that his Gospel presentation wasn’t Biblical. Gulp. That is precisely what I did with Luis Palau several years ago prior to one of his mega-events.

I suggested he was giving the cure without explaining the disease of sin. Mr. Palau informed me that everyone has an overwhelming burden of guilt and it is not necessary for him to preach about their need for forgiveness.

Suspecting he might say that, I handed him a C.D. with a montage of people we interviewed on the street. We asked strangers, “Do you have an overwhelming burden of guilt?” The responses ranged from condescending disdain to outright laughter.

While Mr. Palau was very nice to me, he ultimately patted me on the head and said, “Be careful that you don’t fall into that Lordship salvation trap. Christians can be Carnal.”

Video: Todd Friel of Wretched Radio/TV Explains How to Share Your Faith Biblically

FROM SO4J-TV: This above Video is Produced by: SO4J-TV & Todd Friel. Todd rightly explains & demonstrates how to Share your Faith Biblically. [This Video is actually called the “Bullhorn Response Video”. Todd Friel responds to False Teacher: Rob Bell’s Nooma Video.] Todd Friel explains true Biblical Evangelism. He does so by responding Biblically to the various approaches to Evangelism that many Churches use— Evangelism Methods that are not Biblical. Many Ministers these days would rather we Water-Down the message of the True Gospel with the another “so called” gospel, so that we do not offend people. They do not want there people using words such as: Judgment & Sin, Hell, Righteousness, and Repentance. They say that it is just too offensive. So they opt to give a message that is not Biblical— one that does not “Convict one of Sin”, nor warn of God’s Coming Judgment. Jesus however warned everyone continually that we need to “Repent & Believe the Gospel”— (Luke 13:3,5) because God has set a day for Judging the World with Justice through Jesus Christ: Acts 17:30-31, Matt 13:37-43. Todd Friel explains the obvious differences between the various “so called” gospels being preached these days, with the one true Gospel that is—Clear, Sound, and Biblical. Todd shows us that we should never compromise God’s Word by watering down the Gospel, and he encourages True Believers to be actively persuading all to come to Repentance & Faith in Jesus while there is still time. For more on this go to Biblical Evangelism.

Carnal Christianity is the concept that says: you can live like the World and still be a Christian. It also teaches that Sanctification can come some time after a person signs a car(d)…er…asks Jesus into his heart …I mean gets saved.

Later that night at the Festival, Mr. Palau’s message included two profanities and proclamations like, “If Elvis had become a Christian, he would have been a rock star, but his life wouldn’t have turned out so bad.” He also informed the audience that if they would simply ask Jesus into their hearts, “The party starts right now.” A woman from my church who just buried her seven year old son almost rushed the stage…and not to sign a card.

His Gospel presentation, as our British friends would say, was “a complete dog’s breakfast.”

It is no surprise that the follow up statistics to crusades are so tragic. The backslider rate (or Carnal Christian rate) hovers around 90%.

It seems that Carnal Christianity and Gospel presentations that don’t include sin, righteousness and judgment go hand and hand.

In order to explain those statistics, the Minister must:

Admit the Preaching is inadequate and without Holy Spirit power.
Alter Theology to explain how a decision-maker can name the name of Christ but live like the devil.

Option one is out of the picture. And so it is, since the early 20th century, modern day evangelicalism (thanks to Lewis Sperry Chafer and the Scofield Bible) has been proclaiming the oxymoron known as Carnal Christianity.

The support text for Carnal Christianity is:

1 Corinthians 3:1-5 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”

Paul was warning the ignorant, sectarian Corinthians that they should not be divided into cliques.

That’s it. This text does not suggest that born-again believers can live like pagans. Paul was introducing them to new theology, not giving them license to sin.

With all credit to Ernest C. Reisinger’s “A Carnal Christian,” here are:

8 Reasons Why “Carnal Christianity” Should Be Rejected

Excerpt from: “A Carnal Christian” by Ernest C. Reisinger’s

In 1 Corinthians 1:2-5, Paul addressed his audience as “sanctified in Christ”. So are they sanctified or carnal? In I Cor 2, Paul divides men into “natural” and “spiritual,” i.e. un-saved and saved. By labeling some Christians as “carnal,” Paul would be introducing a third classification of humans. Furthermore, this would violate every other presentation in Scripture that there are only two classes of people: children of God or children of wrath.
The new covenant of salvation includes two inseparable blessings at salvation: justification and sanctification. Carnal Christianity teaches you will be justified upon conversion, but sanctification is optional.
The Bible presents two types of faith: saving faith and spurious (false) faith (Luke 8:13). Carnal Christianity does not recognize spurious faith. What a false assurance we allow the unregenerate to possess if we allow them to think their faith is valid when the Bible teaches it might be a false conversion.
Carnal Christianity excludes a necessary component of salvation: repentance. The unconverted sinner can just “ask Jesus into his heart” with no requirement to forsake sin.
How does a person know he is saved? Fruit in keeping with repentance. We are told to examine ourselves to see if we are in the truth. What a beautiful gift to the believer. If we can be carnal, how can we know we are saved? Carnal Christianity robs us of assurance.
Carnal Christianity may be a relatively new name, but it is merely a new moniker for an old false teaching: anti-nomianism. “Should we go on sinning that grace might more abound?” Carnal Christianity says, “Sure.”
“Carnal Christian teaching is the mother of many second work-of –grace errors in that it depreciates the Biblical conversion experience by implying that the change in the converted sinner may amount to little or nothing.” Dr. Reisinger goes on to point out that a second step is required to make a man a “spiritual Christian.”
Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, right? (Luke 2:11) Carnal Christianity divides Jesus and allows Him to be Savior but not Lord.

That is ridiculous, isn’t it? And so is Carnal Christianity. Even Elvis would agree with that.

Video: How Do You Know You’re Saved? Paul Washer

Video: John MacArthur on: Lordship Salvation & the Lordship of Christ

Also check out these other Articles on being “LUKEWARM”:

Lukewarm Carnal Christianity—

“MAYBE ELVIS WAS JUST A CARNAL CHRISTIAN”
(8 Reasons Why Carnal Christianity Should be Rejected)