What, then, is a “carnal’ Christian”? Is it biblical to divide believers into “spiritual men” and “carnal men”? There is, I think, a better way. It would be better to say that each believer is both spiritual and carnal. Even that, however, is not quite what the New Testament teaches. It is best to emphasize what the Bible emphasizes: Christians are habitually, or characteristically, spiritual men and women. If a man is not characteristically spiritual he is not a Christian at all. No amount of profession will make up for his ungodliness. But it is true of genuine believers, in a sense, that we are carnal. It is true, I mean, that we still sometimes sin. We are in constant need of God’s mercy. We are always candidates for God’s grace.
Tom Wells