Renewed Minds

Believers are given different gifts and graces. The Holy Spirit works in each of us according to his will, for the profit of the whole body (1 Cor. 12:7). Some believers and congregations are weak and wobbly, but then grow stronger. Some are strong, then experience seasons of weakness and struggle.

                Among the things we have in common is the precious Word of God, the Bible. Our entire faith is built upon “forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89). The Son of God incarnate came down from heaven saying the same: “And the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). We live not by man’s words and traditions, however ancient or revered, but by God’s word: “In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9).

                Because the Lord our God has preserved his word for us in Scripture, we have his “precious thoughts” (Ps. 139:17) and his word that is “spirit and life” (John 6:63). All growth in holiness, true growth in congregations, and personal growth in holiness, comes from the power of God’s word renewing and transforming us (Acts 12:24; 1 Pet. 2:2). His word is living and powerful (Heb. 4:12), for it is our Savior’s living voice (Rom. 16:25) and the Spirit’s powerful sword (Eph. 6:15)!

                We also have in common the related command to be “renewed in the spirit of our thinking” (Eph. 4:23). To be renewed means to be refreshed, to be made new. God’s word renews us, for his voice creates, sustains, quickens, and guides. His word makes our thoughts new (Rom. 12:2).

                Our spirit is the vital or quickening principle within us. The “spirit of our mind” means that in all our perceiving and thinking faculties, all the ways we think about life, we are to be made new. Instead of thinking our own thoughts or the world’s thoughts, we think God’s thoughts. Christians think differently because our minds are being made new by God’s Spirit working through the word (2 Thess. 2:13).

                Too often, we think like the world. If bad rulers are threatening our lives, we suddenly turn atheist and forget that the same Lord who turned the hearts of Cyrus and Darius to rebuild his church now rules over all our rulers by his enthroned Son. We worry about provision when we are too old and weak to work, or what will happen to our children when we are gone. If someone says something ugly to us, we ever after hold a grudge. Do you not feel the need for renewed thinking, child of God? 

                Turn to God’s word. Think his ever fresh, renewing thoughts. Forsake and mortify (Col. 3:5) old thought patterns, like: “I cannot believe they did or said that to me again. Payback is coming!” Instead, remembering what we did to Jesus Christ but what he in love did for us, we are to think: I must be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:32). This is the way my heavenly Father and Savior treated me. My Savior was loving me while my sins were crucifying him. Think on Him! Then, in his power, love!

                A renewed mind assumes a few things. First, sinful thoughts about God, ourselves, and others must be forsaken. We need the light of Scripture to reveal our sinful thoughts. What seems normal to us and therefore authentic is usually sinful. It does not honor God or love others. When our thoughts are rotten, we must come back to the renewer, Jesus Christ: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5).

                Second, having a renewed mind is not something the Lord expects us to produce. The very word that renews is effectual because of our abiding Helper, the Holy Spirit of truth. As we seek renewed minds, we must commit our renewal to the Holy Spirit and then commit ourselves to his word. When thought battles seem unwinnable, look up to heaven and see the Victor. He went to the Father’s right hand and sent the Spirit to make us new. Keep coming to him and confessing your thought failures and sins – ask him to share his victory and life with you. “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19).

                Third, we must be intentional about our thinking – what we think about, where we get our thoughts and ideas, whether or not we should give a certain thought process free rein or quickly confess and forsake it. Our thoughts reveal our hearts. This is a good place to begin. What do my thoughts reveal about my heart? Where do my thoughts go when my mind is freed up from work or chores? What do I think about others close to me – spouse, children, siblings? If you doubt the importance of this, remember: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

                This means that our minds – like our wills, affections, and words – are not our own. We may not live by the imagination of our hearts or think about whatever we want. We cannot watch or listen to whatever we desire. This is what Scripture condemns constantly as “walking after the imagination of their hearts” (Gen. 6:5; Jer. 3:17; 13:10; 2 Cor. 10:5). We must love God with our minds (Matt. 22:37). Our thoughts are not our own, and therefore we should not “surf the web” but use it only as an intentional tool to accomplish specific things. If you look for “whatever,” you will find it. At best, you will be distracted and have a distorted view of reality. Our minds belong to God and are not free to wander in the world’s fields. When we wander from God’s place for us, troubles come swiftly (Prov. 26:2).

                Third, the battle for a renewed mind is the hardest battle we fight, but Jesus Christ shows us the way. In his fellowship and strength, we can seek renewed minds. Follow the Captain’s lead! He knew the Scriptures and used them. He answered every challenge with Scripture. He knew where to find specific things in the Scripture scrolls that then existed. He had God’s word hidden in his heart. He tested all things by the Word. He consciously obeyed the word at all times, especially in the darkest times.

                We need renewed thinking everywhere. Our children, for example, require vast amounts of time, training, and energy. They will disappoint and struggle in areas you did not. They do not need your scolding and groaning every time they do something that annoys you. They do not need for you to force them into the tidy paradigms that give a false sense of control when they are young, only to find later that you trusted your own wisdom and righteousness, not the Savior in any kind of personal, humble, constant way. They need to be shown the same kindness that the Lord showed you! They need to hear you talk often of God’s grace, so that the good things you hold before them are always referred to the grace of our living Savior. Otherwise, they shall grow up either frustrated and bitter at you and their failures, or pharisaical and worldly in an attempt at personal salvation and survival. Renewed minds in parents look like: the practice of a living, talking walk with Jesus Christ in your home, so that he is the vital center; children hearing you draw help and wisdom from the living Savior; getting on your knees with them when they struggle so that Gethsemane comes alive for them. We are teaching them to call upon the Father for help, not hide; turn to him in faith, not turn against him in frustration. We must have renewed thinking about our children, or we shall exasperate and discourage them.

                We also need renewed thoughts about our nation: not who wins the next election cycle will determine the future, but whether or not we submit to the enthroned Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Lord of this and every land. Do we look for heaven’s security here or keep our heavenly citizenship in constant mind? Do we think in terms of red and blue, or sheep and goats? Do we trust natural law and good sense to right all wrongs, or do we trust and obey our Savior’s “make disciples of the nations?” Are we using fleshly weapons, or do Christian men and their organizations have regular days of prayer and fasting to ask the Lord of Hosts to bless our labors for his honor in our land?

                If your thoughts are discouraging you, get fresh ones. The Lord offers them to you in his Word! Abide in my word, the Savior said. Let my word dwell richly in you (Col. 3:16). His words are spirit and life. They will give you joy and a fresh perspective about life. Not moroseness about the present and anxiety about the future but his “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Think: how can I be of good cheer with so many burdens? Because Jesus Christ has conquered; the mighty Captain lives in us by the Holy Spirit and is making us new. We are conquerors in him, as we walk by the same word he loved and obeyed.