The Christian Mind
Romans 12:1-2,
I think if you did a survey of all the letters written by the Apostle Paul, you would find that no one talked more about grace than he did. No one talked more about joy than he did. And no one talked more about thanksgiving than the Apostle Paul. But something else, Paul talked a lot about the mind and thinking. We were created to think, we are commanded to think. And if you did a quick survey of the book of Proverbs, you would find that there are a lot of words that have reference to the use of our mind, right? Wisdom, knowledge, discernment, understanding.
And there's even this word ‘repentance’ that we find in the New Testament. It has three different words that are translated repentance, but one of the words means change of mind, but it never stops there. If there has been a change of mind, there will be a change of life. In Romans 12, notice that it puts both of these things together side by side, right thinking and produces right living. It connects the renewal of the mind to the transformed life. And again, Christians are commanded to make good use of their minds. Let me give you a few texts of scripture.
When I was in Bible college my first year, we had to take a philosophy course. It was called Philosophy 101, it was taught by Mr. Franklin. It was the one course I really didn't like. They didn't use a lot of Bible, but focused a lot on philosophers. There was one book that he recommended we had to buy for the course, it was by Dr. John Stott and it's titled Your Mind Matters. He warned of a mindless Christianity. When it comes to the back end of that book, he stresses the importance of the mind in terms of how it impacts the totality of the Christian life. He said,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
I think if you did a survey of all the letters written by the Apostle Paul, you would find that no one talked more about grace than he did. No one talked more about joy than he did. And no one talked more about thanksgiving than the Apostle Paul. But something else, Paul talked a lot about the mind and thinking. We were created to think, we are commanded to think. And if you did a quick survey of the book of Proverbs, you would find that there are a lot of words that have reference to the use of our mind, right? Wisdom, knowledge, discernment, understanding.
And there's even this word ‘repentance’ that we find in the New Testament. It has three different words that are translated repentance, but one of the words means change of mind, but it never stops there. If there has been a change of mind, there will be a change of life. In Romans 12, notice that it puts both of these things together side by side, right thinking and produces right living. It connects the renewal of the mind to the transformed life. And again, Christians are commanded to make good use of their minds. Let me give you a few texts of scripture.
- Philippians 2:5, “Have the mind of Christ.”
- Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind upon things above.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:5, “Take every thought captive.”
- 2 Timothy 2:7, “Think carefully or soberly.”
When I was in Bible college my first year, we had to take a philosophy course. It was called Philosophy 101, it was taught by Mr. Franklin. It was the one course I really didn't like. They didn't use a lot of Bible, but focused a lot on philosophers. There was one book that he recommended we had to buy for the course, it was by Dr. John Stott and it's titled Your Mind Matters. He warned of a mindless Christianity. When it comes to the back end of that book, he stresses the importance of the mind in terms of how it impacts the totality of the Christian life. He said,
"It impacts Christian worship; it impacts Christian faith; it impacts Christian holiness, Christian guidance, Christian evangelism, and the Christian ministry."
But it's very clear when we read our Bibles, the Christian religion requires a diligent and constant use of the mind. This past Sunday, if you were listening carefully, there was mention of knowledge in the Sunday school hour and also in the morning worship hour. In the Sunday school hour, our brother Henry opened up that section of Ephesians 1:15-19, and mentioned the very first petition has to do with knowing God. Verses 16 and 17, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
In the Sunday morning sermon I gave focus to our sufferings and our relationship to Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul makes mention of his own desire to know Christ, that was his great ambition in life, to know Christ and to share in His sufferings and the power of His resurrection. If you have that book by Dr. Packard, Knowing God, in the very first section he quotes Spurgeon, a sermon that Spurgeon preached. I took a few sections of that sermon, and here's what he says about knowing God,
In the Sunday morning sermon I gave focus to our sufferings and our relationship to Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul makes mention of his own desire to know Christ, that was his great ambition in life, to know Christ and to share in His sufferings and the power of His resurrection. If you have that book by Dr. Packard, Knowing God, in the very first section he quotes Spurgeon, a sermon that Spurgeon preached. I took a few sections of that sermon, and here's what he says about knowing God,
"The most excellent study for expanding the soul, is knowing and thinking of God, the science of Christ and Him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead as the glorious Trinity. Nothing, will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man as a devout man if he doesn't continue in the investigation of this great subject."
Then he says this,
"Contemplating Christ is a balm for every wound, a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrow? Would you lose your cares? Then go plunge yourself into the Godhead, the deepest sea. Nothing, can comfort the soul, calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief than thinking on the subject of the Godhead."
That's a good prayer to pray before we come to church, after we leave church, “Whatever I heard Lord, may I grow in my understanding and knowledge of who you are, and who Christ is.” There is no greater way to renew your mind and transform your life. So that's what we should pray for. Let's be a people who continually are being transformed by the growing knowledge of God and Christ. And we could even pray for every sinner who hears the Word of God that they would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Didn't Jesus say, “This is eternal life, to know the true and living God.”
Posted in Pastor Devotional