FOR TO BE CARNALLY MINDED IS DEATH
By A. W. Tozer
For to be carnally minded is death: but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace: . . . But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. - - Romans 8:6. 9
One of the most telling blows which the enemy ever struck
at the life of the Church was to create in her a groundless fear
of the Holy Spirit! He has been and is so widely misunderstood,
that the very mention of His Name in some circles is enough to
frighten many people into resistance.Perhaps we may help by examining that fire which is the
symbol of the Spirit's Person and Presence.The Holy Spirit is first of all a moral flame. It is not an
accident of language that He is called the HOLY Spirit, for
whatever else the word holy may mean, it does undoubtedly
carry with it the idea of moral purity. And the Spirit, being
God, must be absolutely and infinitely pure!It follows then that whoever would be filled and indwelt
by the Spirit should first judge his life for any hidden iniquities;
he should courageously expel from his heart everything which
is out of accord with the character of God as revealed by the
Holy Scriptures.At the base of all true Christian experience must lie a sound
and sane morality. No joys are valid, no delights legitimate
where sin is allowed to live in life or conduct. No transgression
of pure righteousness dare excuse itself on the ground of
superior religious experience."Be ye holy" is a serious commandment from the Lord of the
whole earth. The true Christian ideal is not to be happy, but to be holy. The holy heart alone can be the habitation of the Holy Spirit!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.