Three Types of People

1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3 (The man without the Spirit) does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him … (The spiritual man) makes judgments about all things …Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as (worldly man)—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

Not long ago, I was talking with a friend and my pastor. The pastor asked the man, “what is your belief regarding redemption”? My friend replied, “I have tried to lead a good life, and if there is a god, when I am standing before him, he will look at my deeds and my hope is that he will decide that I am acceptable on the basis of the totality of my life”. This man is a good husband and father and as far as I know he is a good person in the eyes of his family, friends, and society. He has followed the rules of the world, for the most part. But he has also rejected God and the bible. Years ago, his reply would have been my reply. But I learned that men do not get to set the rules for entrance into eternal life. God does that. If Jesus is the Truth as the bible claims and his gift of grace is the only way into heaven, this friend of mine will likely be no better off than a man who has lived his whole life deliberately breaking all of the rules. I know that does not sound fair but it is true. Don't get angry with me and shoot the messenger. God's truth is true whether we agree with it, or not. My goal is only to help others come to understand God's plan. If you chose to reject it, that's your choice.

In the above verses, the apostle Paul points out that when looking at ourselves from a Biblical Christian Worldview perspective, there are basically three types of people in the world.

Natural Man
Spiritual Man
Worldly Man

The Natural Man does not accept the things of God. This group would include millions of people worldwide. This group would include anyone who for any reason has not accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift of eternal Salvation. I will explain this in detail in future posts but unfortunately my friend above who rejects Christ would most likely fit into this category. Also many would be included who are following sincere but miss-guided religions that do not lead their followers to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Is this politically incorrect, and do I expect a number of angry comments? Absolutely, yes! Am I being judgmental? No! No! No! God's word on this is very clear, and I would be compromising my beliefs to pretend otherwise. Also, it must be noted, that there is a big difference between explaining foundational teachings of the bible and personally attacking another person or their religion.

The Spiritual Man has accepted Christ’s free gift of eternal life. He is guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is following God's Word, the truth, and the love of Christ is directing him in his daily walk. This person is living his or her life for God, and would be following a Bibical worldview as previously defined in yesterday's post.

The Worldly Man has also accepted Christ’s free gift of eternal life. Paul refers to these Christians as “infants in Christ” The good news is that they will have eternal life in heaven as a result of accepting Jesus as their Savior. Unfortunately, this person would fall somewhere within the 91% group we talked about in yesterday's post. They are Christians whose beliefs are mixed up with worldly beliefs and philosophies. I will go into more detail later, but these beliefs would include: individualism, materialism, pragmatism, humanism, hedonism, and naturalism, as well as a number of other philosophies and false religions.

I am convinced that there are many from each of these three groups reading this post. Yesterday, I received an email from a friend of mine for over 40 years where the message was clear: don’t send this stuff to me … “how about smut only” instead. As crass as that sounds, I appreciate the honesty. Hopefully, I can maintain our friendship, and in the future he will have new priorities.

Conclusion: If we want to have positive change in our life, the first step we have to take is to be honest with ourselves. Next, there are a few simple steps you need to take.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Which person above best describes me?
Which person do I want to be?
What steps do I need to take to get from where I am to where I want to be?

Please note: Don’t feel pressured by this blog. That is definitely not my intent. Your decisions are between you and God. Keep following and make positive steps day by day. Sign up to "follow" along, and forward this site to others that you think might enjoy it or benefit from it. If it is not for you, like my old friend ... I understand, let me know and I will remove you immediately. And lastly, don't be confused, I still consider myself to be in the worldly man group. I must work at it daily to be transformed into the man that God wants me to be. Thanks for your interest and email me direct if you have any questions that I can help you with.
Have a great day. Bob