The carnal mind will accept the command to love and simultaneously reject God’s definition of what love really involves. For example, a husband may say a hearty “amen” when the preacher quotes “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). However, he does not want to explore deeply what it means to love like Christ because then he will have to die to self, mature, and sacrifice, and that is what deliberate carnality abhors. The carnal mind wants to define divine love according to very personal human standards.
Shallow teaching nurtures and rewards carnal thinking. Only delving deeply into the Scripture will reveal one’s carnality, which provides opportunity for repentance and true spiritual growth.
