We’re at War! – Part 2: Renewing the Mind
November 17, 2009 
3 Comments
Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Bringing your thoughts, behaviors/actions in line with the Word of God is critical in winning the war against the enemy. Making up your mind to do so, however, is one thing, actually doing it; therein lies the battle. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, our old lives and past sins were washed away. While we are new beings in Him because His Spirit resides within us, we still have the same old mind with the same old memories and the same old thought patterns. Our obedient Spirit desires God’s way; our carnal Mind wants it our way and so the two are constantly in battle.
Galatians 5:17: For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
To be truly obedient, our mind needs to change. It is essential that we renew our mind, constantly lining up our thoughts with the Word of God.
Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Sometimes I feel like I can benefit from a collar that zaps me every time a bad thought lingers in my mind. Short of a drastic measure like this, we should strive to reprogram our mind by consciously brushing away unwanted thoughts and focusing on thoughts that are edifying to the Spirit. It’s a day to day, minute by minute, second by second uphill battle and while difficult, it is not impossible. It starts with a choice; a strong commitment to do the right thing and is fueled by our love for Jesus Christ and the power of His Word which we should consume daily.
Great follow-up story, I think we all struggle with something in our lives, some more than others, the question is ..how do we overcome these struggles? How can we live a life that reflects Christ? How can we stop feeding the beast, that is our flesh? It is a everyday battle and as the scripture says, we should be transformed by the renewing of your minds, that is where sin starts, so we must keep it filled with the things of Christ (easier said than done)
Ahh…I’ve just been through what the first paragraph of this article describes.
Although my spirit convicts me of my actions, I know that the guilt will die down soon and I probably will be on the verge of sinning again.
And the only solution to this problem is to follow what the Bible says.. ‘that we should take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ’
Because, unless I do that, these thoughts of mine will turn into actions, and these actions will turn into habits which I then try to get rid of.
Thanks for the article!
Leo – it will always be a fight right done till the end. Thank God that we have his grace to endure and that we can always go to Him for forgiveness. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Hang in there!