There is No Neutral

As part of some research I've been working on, I'm reading through the book of Romans. I love the way my Bible describes Romans, in it's introduction to the book. "Its compressed declarations of vast truths are like coiled springs--once loosed, they leap through the mind and heart to fill one's horizon and shape one's life." (I really wish I wrote that sentance.)

One of those coiled springs has indeed been leaping through my mind for the past few days. It is found in Romans 8:7:

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." (emphasis mine)

The first part of that sentance contains a very strong word, "enmity." The actual Greek word used is "echthra." According to Stong's, the definition of ecthra is: "hostility; by implication a reason for opposition: - enmity, hatred."

Hatred is about as far from indifferent as you can get. I can't be the only Christian who has been influenced by the messages of this world. According to wordly (or carnal) wisdom, there are an awful lot of good people in this world. And if you happen to come across one who is "not good," then the explanation for their lack of goodness must surely lie in some unhappiness or mistreatment in childhood, etc.

And I would agree that we are surrounded by nice, gentle, considerate, peaceful, moral, and generous people. That lady who cut in front of me at the grocery store doesn't make the list, but still, there are plenty of others who do. It's tempting to start thinking that there is nothing wrong with our nice, but non-religious, neighbor. It is even more tempting to go down the line of reasoning that because they are "good" by the standards of this world, that surely an eternity of conscious punishment, seperated from God, is far from what they deserve.

But as is often the case, what seems obvious, and what makes sense to our human minds, is just plain wrong. Because according to that little phrase in Romans 8:7, the carnal mind is locked into a relationship of hatred toward God. There is no neutral territory. Carnal, by the way, simply means "of the flesh." Its implications include everything that has to do with this world, and the desires that naturally result in our worldly, fleshly, lives. We ususally associate it with sexual connotation, but its true meaning is much broader than just sexual lust.

I have, on occassion, been very carnally minded about all sorts of things; like shoes (Cole Haan shoes if you must know), and a flat stomach, and a condo at the beach. None of which I currently posses. (Well, except for some Cole Haan shoes that I got on clearance, but that is a whole other topic.)

Getting back to serious business, though, if a person is carnally minded, then they hate God. It is as simple as that. For all the veneer of respectfullness and good-citizenship, those who are not renewed by the Spirit are at war with God. It might not seem obvious to our human eyes, but you can bet that God is fully aware of every skirmish.

And now that this particular coiled spring from the book of Romans has leapt through my mind, I see those around me in a slightly different light. Not in the light of judgment, but in the light of reality. There are no Switzerlands in this war. Everyone is in the trenches on one side or the other, aiming and taking shots. And my goal is to cause as many defections from the side of the enemy as possible.

James 4:4

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”