Romans 8:6 – For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
The person who is spiritually minded is a justified sinner, a believer, one whose debt to God's law and justice has been fully paid, one who rests in Christ and trusts that His righteousness alone merits for him all of Heaven, one who has been delivered from the powers of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, one who has been convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Spiritual mindedness has two basic points of reference...
1) Spiritual knowledge, which begins with hearing, understanding, and believing God's Gospel – the good news of how God saves sinners so as to feely give them all the benefits and blessings of eternal life, and entitle them to all of Heaven based solely upon the righteousness of Christ freely imputed. This truth is then revealed to them by God-given faith. This is where all spiritual mindedness, spiritual thinking and godliness, begins. This is the genuine faith that evidences their justification.
The carnal mind, which is the mind of lost sinners who are yet in a state of spiritual darkness, in unbelief, seeking to establish a righteousness of their own, rejects this spiritual knowledge of God's way of salvation by sovereign grace in Christ. T he carnal mind judges this knowledge to be foolish (1 Cor. 1:18), and rejects Christ's righteousness in favor of its own (Rom. 10:1-3). This describes all who do not believe the Gospel, no matter who they are and no matter how they appear.
The spiritual mind glories in the knowledge of God as both a just God and a Savior
Jeremiah 9 -- {23} Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: {24} But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
John 17 – {3} And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
This knowledge cannot puff a person up with pride because this knowledge glorifies God, exalts Christ, and removes all grounds for boasting in the sinner.
2) Spiritual judgment, which begins with repentance, where, in light of the Gospel knowledge, that person admits that all worship, all efforts, before hearing, understanding, and believing the Gospel, were dead works and acts of open idolatry. This, then, keeps him from speaking peace where there is no peace. He now makes his judgments of saved and lost based on God's truth rather than Satan's lie.
The carnal mind, which is not subject to the law of God, will always make judgments of saved and lost, of spiritual matters, based on outward appearance, reputation, self-love, and self-righteousness. The carnal mind refuses to judge by God's testimony alone.
1 Corinthians 2 – {14} But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When a lost person speaks peace to himself and to others who are either ignorant of or not submitted to the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel, he judges this to be spiritual, loving, and compassionate. But God calls it wicked and evil. God calls it satanic (1 John 5:19; 2 John 9-11).
The spiritual mind, which is subject to the law of God, makes its judgments of saved and lost, of spiritual matters, based on God's Word. The spiritual mind is one that knows that appearances and reputation can be deceiving (2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Galatians 1:6-8).
1 Corinthians 2 – {15} But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. {16} For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.