In Romans 8:7 we read, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." Quite a statement, isn't it? Here Paul is contrasting the mind that is set on the flesh (controlled by sin, an unbeliever) with the mind that is set on the Spirit (one who is now controlled by God's Holy Spirit because of the sin conquering work of Jesus). But are unbelievers or people of other religions really hostile to God? Do they actually hate Him? At first glance it seems that most people who have not placed their faith in Christ have a certain respect for their Creator (if they believe that He exists). You do not hear many unbelievers going about declaring, "I hate God!"
Richard Lovelace in his book, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, unfolds Jonathan Edwards explanation of these verses. Here's what he says:
"Edwards summed up the Reformation's critique of humanity's pretense of goodness in a sermon called "Men Naturally God's Enemies," based on Paul's statement in Romans that the unregenerate mind is hostile to God. Although most human beings give the appearance at times of being confused seekers of the truth with a naive respect for God, says Edwards, the reality is that unless they are moved by the Spirit they have a natural distaste for the real God, an uncontrollable desire to break his laws and a constant tendency to sit in judgement on him when they notice him at all. They are at moral enmity with the God revealed in the Bible. Since his purposes cross theirs at every juncture, they really hate him more than any finite object, and this is clearly displayed in their treatment of his Son. They are largely unconscious of this enmity. It is usually repressed through their unbelief, their creation of false portraits of God, their sense of his distance from us, their fear of punishment or their lack of the awareness of the magnitude of their guilt."
