Marty a Cauley

Carnal Corinth Marty a Cauley

The denial of the very existence of carnal Christians is common among those who deny eternal security. A primary reason Carnal Corinth was written was to defend the doctrine of eternal security by biblically demonstrating that the category known as carnal Christians is an exegetical certainty. Particular focus is given to the Corinthian epistles in this study. Even carnal Corinthian believers have unconditional security soteriologically. Fallacious arguments by pseudo Lordship Salvationists against so-called carnal security are discussed and refuted. Along the way, certain misunderstandings about the nature of carnality are discussed. A frequently misunderstood passage, even among the author's fellow Free Grace Salvationists, is found in 2Cor 5:20. The common assumption is that all believers are ambassadors of God's grace and are involved in urging unbelievers to be reconciled to God. The common assumption is challenged at length in Carnal Corinth. Even some Lordship Salvationists who deny eternal security acknowledge, correctly, that in the passage Paul is urging the carnal believers in Corinth to be reconciled to him and his apostolic associates. The discussion of this apostolic "we" in this passage and throughout the Corinthian epistles leads to a discussion of the apostolic "us" in the infamous 1Jn 2:19, a passage frequently used in the conditional security camp to claim that all true believers will (and must) persevere in the faith. Carnal Corinth counters and expands upon the Free Grace counter to demonstrate a plausible pervasive use of the apostolic circle citations in the NT epistles. Collateral studies include the nature of blamelessness in 1Cor 1:8 and the nature of the gospel.