|
(Editor´s Note: This is part two of an article urging men to let God renew their minds through faith in Jesus Christ.)
Putting faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the first major step toward letting God renew our minds. Truly, our willingness to turn to Christ is of itself a tribute to His amazing ability to impact our minds and hearts! It was God who drew us to Himself and convicted us of our need for salvation. This was no small task given our anti-God mental programming conducted by Satan and our sinful natures. For us men too, there is at the core of our sinful natures, a stubborn pride that resists owning up to our wrongdoing or need for God.
All the credit, honor and glory must go to God alone when any human being comes to brokenness and repentance leading to salvation. But it is so dramatically evident it was God when one of us prideful men is saved, He must be praised all the more for His awesome work of wisdom, love, longsuffering and power! Then, after the moment of salvation, He keeps right on displaying these aspects of His Being to us because the renewing of our minds is a lifelong and difficult process; we still resist Him!
This is why the next major step toward letting God renew our minds after coming to Christ is to intentionally cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The process is not automatic! The mental programming created by years of satanic operation, sinful assertion and environmental conditioning doesn´t just magically go away from the new Christian´s life. In my own experience as a new believer, I was often engaged in intense daily struggles to purposely see and do things God´s way. Even now, after 29 years, at times it can still be difficult and painful to do this.
The apostle Paul explains the reason for this painful struggle especially at the beginning of one´s walk with the Lord as being due to the clash between our two natures. That´s right, two! Our old way of thinking tied to our sinful nature clashes with the new mind in the making and nature we have by the Holy Spirit. These can and will never agree (Romans 8:5-8). Paul counsels that new and seasoned believers must purposely die to the thinking and whims of the old nature, walk in the Spirit (let Him lead, control and empower our lives) and set our minds on heavenly things to avoid inner conflict and sin (Romans 6:1-14; II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:16-17; Colossians 3:1-11).
Paul also pleads with those who come to Christ in accord with what we know is God´s mercy, "that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1b, NKJV). If we in Christ are thinking right, we ought to do right and serve the purposes of God with our lives. This is why the apostle further states, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God," (Romans 12:2, NKJV).
Very, very clearly Paul is teaching a Christian´s thinking is to no longer be in step with the world he just came out of to Christ. The Christian´s thinking is now to be in the process of being transformed by the deliberate renewing work of the Holy Spirit to conform with the thinking of Christ! The way the Christian thinks is demonstrated by the way he talks and lives. His new way of thinking, talking and living is to demonstrate the good and perfect will of God to the world!
Here is where skeptics see their opportunity to pan Christianity because it appears that a great number of those professing to be Christians today have undergone no change in their thinking, talking or living! With this observation I must agree in all grief that there is some truth. However, the cliché, "You don´t throw the baby out with the dirty bath water," must apply in this situation if nowhere else!
In the first place, there are many false believers and imposters within the Christian community. Secondly, for whatever all of the reasons including the pervasive existence of manmade religion within the churches, many Christians simply have not gotten the teaching our readers are getting right now and do not fully understand "the faith" or what God wants to do in their lives. Thirdly, to their shame, some Christians know "the faith" and what God wants to do in them, but refuse in rebellion to submit to it. Finally, all in Christ are at various stages of maturity; some are weaker than others. Thankfully, biblical Christianity is what it is apart from the failures of its adherents!
For this cause, in line with the mission of The From Slavery To Victory Education Project and Strong Man Ministries, I labor to see the descendants of slaves set free in Christ. Then, with renewed minds, to think in accord with God´s Word on everything including the understanding of our experience. This, of course, would be a "biblical worldview." To think about our experience and cope with it from a biblical worldview is the most healthy and beneficial way for our people to live.
To Be Continued Next Issue
|