I am producing a response of mine to a gentleman named "Herc" from another list on the matter of Free Willy as discussed in Romans 8:7:
Hi Herc. Thanks for the reply.
"the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Romans 8:7
To understand the passage that you quote, it is necessary to understand a few things about the ancient world. First of all, "carnal" refers to the mind that is part and parcel with the fleshly members of a man. Paul (and Matthew and Mark) believed that sin lived in the fleshy body parts of a man:
Ro 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Hence, you could and should remove your eye, for example, if it was making you sin:
Mt 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
The ancients believed that thought was a function of the heart (which we now know to just be a blood pump):
Pr 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Ro 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
They also thought that man's motives were hidden in his kidneys:
Jer 11:20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
Jer 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Jer 20:12 But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
Re 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
And they thought the breath was intelligent, because by it the deity had imparted life and intelligence to the clay statue of himself:
Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Ro 8:2 For the law of the Spirit [breath] of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Whereas sin resided in the members, righteousness was produced by the breath:
Ga 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit [breath] is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit [breath] is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Now Paul's nemesis is ever the Jews. Socrates taught that it was constitutionally impossible for man to act otherwise than on that which he believed to be the highest good. Hence, the philosopher must determine what is the highest good which would make him a better person. The Jews likewise understood the Torah to act this way. Hence, in the wisdom literature, one is told that if one meditates on the Torah (Instruction) then one would gain understanding and become good, just as surely as a tree would flourish if planted beside good streams. We see much of this "production of righteousness by understanding" idea in the OT and NT. See Proverbs 8, and Jesus on "if my words abide in you..." stuff in the NT.
So Paul is arguing against the Jews and against the Socratic philosopy of his day and saying that the law (the LXX translation of "Torah") could not produce righteousness because the mind is in and composed of the sinful fleshy members of the "body of sin." Hence, despite what the philosophers and Jews said, even if the mind understood and agreed with the law, the end would NOT be the production of righteousness because the principle of sin that lived in the members would overpower the mind and still produce sinful actions:
Ro 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
His remedy is the breath based gospel:
Ro 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned [gave a death sentence to] sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled [accomplished, realized] in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit [breath].
What this is NOT saying, though, is that a person in this condition cannot, by his natural falculties, hear, understand and believe the gospel, because Paul argues that the gospel is the very thing that is designed (unlike the law) to be believed and to produce righteousness.
Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
2Co 6:7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
This is why Paul insisted that the gospel be preached by a preacher rather than be etched into stone like the Torah. It was the breath of the deity that had to enter into the hearer along with the words:
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament [covenant]; not of the letter, but of the spirit [breath]: for the letter killeth, but the spirit [breath] giveth life.
Shalom,
Bill Ross"
