Romans 8:5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.… I. THE TEXT DIVIDES MEN INTO TWO CLASSES AND ONLY TWO. The test of these two classes is the bent and inclination of their minds towards carnal or spiritual things. It is important to determine to which we belong. We cannot do so by any conventional test. II. THE TEST IS CARRIED INTO THE INNER MAN. 1. It is "minding" the things of the flesh or spirit that determines character; what a man is rather than what he does. God looks at the heart, and no outward act can deceive Him. 2. "Minding the things," etc., includes the exercise of the affections. III. MAN REALLY IS WHAT HIS NATURE IS. The prevailing instincts of the heart determine the external habits of life. Character is determined from within, not from without. A man may live in a church all his life. This will not make him a saint. You may sow wheat and barley and flax in the same soil and under the same conditions, softened by the same shower, warmed by the same sun; but these influences only lead to the development of the different species according to their own intrinsic natures. Circumstances may repress the outward manifestation of character as a man may avoid worldly amusements from a sense of impropriety, etc.; but such abstinence does not prove him to be a spiritual man. IV. THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THIS PRINCIPLE. In regard to — 1. Prayer. 2. Reading the Bible. 3. Christ. 4. The world and the things of the world. 5. The unseen world. (P. Strutt.) Parallel Verses KJV: For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. |
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