What They Said

“To ‘mind the things of the Spirit’ does not mean an interest even in theology as an end in itself, for a man can be interested in theology and Christian doctrine and yet not `mind the things of the Spirit.' A man can take up theology as a subject. Many have done so, and have made a career of it. They have enjoyed it, have been expert in it; but it may have nothing at all to do with `the things of the Spirit'; indeed, again, it may be extremely hostile to them. In other words, it is possible for a man with his natural mind to grasp a theological system in an intellectual way only. That may be of no spiritual value to him at all; it can even be the cause of his damnation. A man can approach Christianity as an intellectual system, as a philosophy; and if he has a certain type of mind he can be greatly interested in it. I have known men of whom that is true. Theology was their hobby, the subject they enjoyed reading. As other men have their various hobbies and pursuits, this happened to be theirs; and it can be one of the most fascinating intellectual pursuits that a man can take up. But a man can be interested and immersed in it, and spend his life at it, and yet remain spiritually dead. Now, of course, as I am about to show, the man who `minds the things of the Spirit' in the right way is obviously interested in theology and doctrine and in religion. All I am saying at the moment is that a mere interest in religious pursuits does not establish the fact that we are `minding' the things of the Spirit.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

(from: Exposition of Chapter 8:5-17 The Sons of God  Chapter Two)