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by: DanielLaLondJr.
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False teaching has always been in the Christian church. In the first century church the doctrine of Jezebel (Rev. 2) crept into the minds of unwary believers. And in contemporary Christian circles spurious doctrine assumes the form of a cadaverous crossbreed dubbed the "carnal Christian."

Trumpeting this "carnal Christian" theme around the globe is Dr. Tony Evans. All of the quotations from Dr. Evans' contained in this article are excerpted from his pamphlet The Carnal Christian. In opposition to historic Christianity Dr. Evans gathers his carnal Christian theory from three solitary verses in first Corinthians chapter three:

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Cor 3:1-3

"It is possible," insists Tony Evans, "to be on your way to heaven but be of no earthly good because you compromise your faith...notice that Paul calls them brethren." At the time of this rebuke Paul did include these Corinthians in the family of believers. From this passage, however, Dr. Evans continues his slide down a slippery slope of unsupported claims. Consider Dr. Tony Evans' carnal Christian:

- "The author is writing to Christians. He's also talking about people with hard hearts-the kind of person who, while stealing a car, would kill the woman sitting in it."

- [The carnal Christian] "is a sick Christian, attempting to keep one foot planted in two mutually-exclusive worlds."

Does Paul's reference to the Christians at Corinth as "brethren" and "carnal" (or worldly) automatically mean that they might remain carnal and unrepentant and yet be welcomed into paradise as Dr. Evans imagines? The answer: not a chance. Remaining in an unrepentant, carnal state wasn't an alternative for the Corinthians. Paul's reproof of the "carnal" in 1 Corinthians 3 is spelled out in greater detail soon after in the same book (note that Tony Evans ignores this passage):

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor 6:9-10

The "carnal Christian" isn't taught in the bible and not even a hint of this doctrine may be seen in any confession or teacher that I have studied. It's not found in the Ante-Nicene writings, the Westminster Confession or the Baptist Confession of 1689. Neither is it found in the works of Luther, Arminius, Calvin, Edwards, Whitefield, Wesley or Finney. Dr. Anthony T. Evans' "carnal Christian" is fantasy not theology.

About the Author

Daniel LaLond Jr.'s book, The Lying Promise, has 400 pages, over 800 footnotes and 3 appendices. In it LaLond examines the doctrine of Tony Evans The Lying Promise also critiques doctrines such as the carnal Christian.

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