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How Jesus Destroys the Carnal Nature

How Jesus Destroys the Carnal Nature

I received an email from a kind Christian gentleman who values the penal/legal model of salvation and questions the healing model that Come and Reason presents. I thought it might be helpful to share a portion of his email that expresses his concerns and my response:


Dr. Tim:

By your own definitions, man’s sinfulness or condition of sin is exactly man’s carnal nature, which you know well cannot be cured, healed, or restored. Our carnal nature will not be taken to heaven. It will either be replaced for believers at the Second Advent, or destroyed with its possessor in the second death. Our carnal nature will always oppose God and His will. There is no Healing Model to present as an atonement model.

As long as you tell your Sabbath School class members that Christ died for our sinfulness, they will admit that it is plausible. I challenge you to tell your class members that Christ died to heal our carnal nature and see what response you get.

Incidentally, you like to refer to another model of the atonement as “imposed law.” Is this fair? The term, “imposed law,” is not appropriate at all, because the God we worship never imposes Himself on anyone, or imposes anything on anyone.


Yes, I understand that “sinfulness” and the “carnal nature” are the same. Sinfulness is a condition that, because of Adam’s sin, we are born with and did not choose (Psalm 51:5). Thus, we are born terminal, not legally guilty. Every human being born since Adam is born with a condition that we did not choose; therefore, we individually are not in some “legal” situation of our making—we are in a sin-sick situation of our birth. This carnal condition is what causes acts of sin and results in death (James 1:15; Galatians 6:8). The acts of sin are symptoms of the condition, not the cause of the condition.

The plan of salvation is God’s intervention to eradicate the death condition and replace it with God’s eternal-life condition (Romans 6:23). This requires that God’s law (which is the law that life is built to operate upon) be written upon our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10). But we are unable to do this. This is what Christ came to do for us, to be the remedy to our condition, to eradicate (not merely heal) the carnal nature and replace the carnal nature with a righteous sinless nature that He, as a human, developed for us. This state of restoration to mature righteousness is known in the Bible as being perfect. Adam and Eve in Eden were sinless but not perfect. Jesus became our Savior when He destroyed the carnal nature and developed a perfect, sinless, and righteous human nature (Hebrews 5:9). Thus, Jesus heals humanity, not the carnal nature. At Gethsemane and the cross, Jesus chose righteousness, God’s law of love, and rejected selfishness and, thus, crucified the humanity that He inherited through Mary (Galatians 4:4), the part that “tempted him in every way like us” (Hebrews 4:15). But the part of His humanity that He received from the Holy Spirit was not destroyed at the cross; thus, He rose again on the third day as the same Jesus—same in character, identity, individuality, but with a purified and perfected humanity free of the carnal nature that tempts (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14).

This is what He accomplished. And those who enter into a faith relationship with Jesus “die” to the old man, the carnal nature, and receive via the Holy Spirit a new heart and right spirit (Ezekiel 11:19). We receive a new nature—we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). As Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). As Scripture teaches, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Note, the Bible does not teach that “I have been declared to be crucified with Christ,” or “that it is declared that Christ lives in me,” or “that it is accounted that we become partakers of the divine nature,” or that “Christ became sin for us so that we could be declared the righteousness of God.” No, we actually are transformed and changed; our hearts are no longer controlled by the old carnal nature, and we get a new nature—we “become the righteousness of God!”

This is beautifully expressed in the book Christ’s Object Lessons when describing the metaphor of being clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness:

“By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah” (p. 311).

This is the reality—actual heart/mind transformation and renewal to love what God loves and to live in harmony with the principles of God’s kingdom.

The penal/legal view is a fraud and a lie that teaches people that they are legally declared to be righteous when they remain unrighteous. It prevents people from experiencing the true healing of heart and mind that God has provided through Christ. The legal view of salvation is part of the wine of Babylon that we are to reject and for which the three angels’ messages call people out of when it calls us back to worship God as Creator. This requires that we reject human imposed-law constructs and understand that God’s laws are the design protocols upon which reality operates and, therefore, salvation is the action of God to heal, fix, recreate, restore human beings back to righteousness, which requires restoring His living law of love within us. This is the reality: All legal/penal theologies are based on Satan’s view of God’s law and keep people trapped in a hopeless system.

Regarding “imposed law,” it is a term that differentiates the design laws upon which the Creator builds reality and life (laws of gravity and physics; laws of health; law of love, liberty, truth; the moral laws; etc.) from the arbitrary laws that sinful beings make—rules that are legislated or enacted that require external enforcement by a ruling authority. God’s government never uses imposed laws or compelling power; His laws are not like human laws. Thus, the imposed-law terminology is quite accurate, and the imposed-law idea is an infection from Satan that is at the heart of the penal/legal theologies. I urge you to reject the idea that God’s law functions like human law and to begin worshiping Him as Creator—recognizing that all His laws are design laws and that the entire penal/legal construct is a fraud.

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God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

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Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

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I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

Andrew H., Great Britain

 

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 23

I would just like to add my voice to the many people who, I believe, must have contacted you to express their appreciation for the “Healing the Mind” DVDs. I’ve been listening to your Bible study class discussions for many years and I’ve been personally blessed by your research and teaching about the character of God.

L. G., Oakland, MI, USA

 

Testimony 53

I was so blessed by a friend who gave me your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” while I was sitting in church asking God to please help me learn more about Him and help me not to be so confused and scared. That was about 2 years ago. Your books have helped me to love God even more. I’m not confused or scared anymore! I have listened to all of your bible study classes and feel like I know the wonderful people that attend every week. Thank you for all that you’re doing in spreading the true message about God and His law of love. God bless you and your whole class.

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Testimony 21

I am absolutly on fire with the message at Come and Reason! I can’t get enough! I’ve read your book, blog, and articles. I’ve listened to your Bible study podcasts, your radio show, and your series – all excellent! It wasn’t until the past couple of years that I have I like I’m becoming “healthy,” with more to share with others than just beasts and commandments! I used to be a Bible worker and preached when the pastors were gone until I had had enough. I didnt realize at the time what the problem was, but i know now… the message wasn’t properly focused. Now my flame is rekindled. All of your little examples are so perfect in explaining something “complicated” and making it easily understood! Now I’m trying to shape it into a life changing evangelistic series! Thank you!

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Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

I can tell you that this new, “present truth” message is far grander and life-changing than when I shifted from being an agnostic and then a nominal Christian. It has radically altered my worldview, because it reveals a God that makes sense. It is a revolution. I believe that Dr. Jennings’ message is the final message that must go to the world. If any message could be called “righteousness by faith,” as abused as that term is by the right and the left, this is that message, because Jennings’ biblical message identifies a God who is different, whose character isn’t an impossible contradiction.

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Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

Dr. Roger D, Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 14

We really appreciate your views on the judgment and they make good sense considering our free choice.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA

 

Testimony 56

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Tammy Cinzio, Australia