Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. I. WHEREIN THIS STATE OF MIND CONSISTS. In — 1. Renewal of the mind by the Spirit (John 3:6, 7). 2. Abstraction of the mind from the world. 3. Exercise of the mind on spiritual objects. II. WITH WHAT THIS STATE OF MIND IS IDENTIFIED. "To be spiritually minded," according to "the wise men after the flesh," is to be mad; according to the votaries of sensual pleasure, is to be melancholy; according to the Word of God, "life and peace." Spirituality of mind is — 1. The evidence of spiritual life. It is not natural to nor acquired by man. No cause is adequate to the production of it but the Holy Ghost. He, therefore, who is "spiritually minded" has the witness of the Spirit that he is "born of God." In the feelings of life experienced, and the functions of life performed, there is the evidence of life. 2. The element of a happy life. "To be spiritually minded is life and peace." It yields pure and permanent enjoyment when all other sources fail, and in every variety and change of circumstance, and is productive of perfect felicity in heaven. 3. The earnest of eternal life — both as a pledge that it shall be given, and as a part already given (vers. 29, 30; John 4:14). III. HOW THIS STATE OF MIND MAY BE ORIGINATED AND PROMOTED. By — 1. Dependence on the Spirit of God. 2. Attendance on the means of grace. The Spirit ordinarily works by means, the chief of which are the study of the Scriptures, private devotion, and public worship. 3. Seclusion from the world. Not that lawful occupation is incompatible, but there is in the world much that has tendency to sensualise the mind; and the further we remove from the sphere of its attraction, the better for the cultivation of this grace. 4. Christian converse. When Christ talked with two of His disciples by the way, their hearts burned within them. 5. Meditation on death and the world to come.The subject may be viewed and improved — 1. As a test of character. 2. As an excitement to joy. (G. Corney.) Parallel Verses KJV: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.WEB: For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; |
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