Romans 12:1-2 ( NKJV )
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
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.
We are discussing walking by faith as opposed to natural sight. Yesterday we talked about one of the foundational truths upon which faith must be built. This truth is twofold. First you must be convinced that the Father knows what you need and will always make sure that His children do not go without necessities. Second, if you seek God’s kingdom and God’s ways first you will be in a position to receive by faith what the Father will add to us. If we seek our needs first, we will have rely on the limits of our natural ability as opposed to God’s unlimited ability to meet our needs.
I need to backtrack for a moment. Things like “seeking first the kingdom” are truths that must be ingrained in us if we are going to walk by faith. In any training situation, the point of training is to make certain things second nature. The military is a prime example. The things drilled into recruits at boot camp are things that must be done without thinking in combat. They must become the automatic response of the soldier because, in combat, there is not time to think and then act. In many cases the responses necessary for a soldier are not what would be natural to a civilian.
The same thing is true in walking by faith. There are certain things that must be so ingrained that we don’t have to think before we do them. They become our automatic responses. In many cases they go against our natural inclination. “Seek first the Kingdom of God” would fall into this category. It is more natural to human beings to “seek first what we need” than to place the kingdom of God as first priority in our lives. If we are going to fully walk by faith, however, seeking first God’s will and purpose must be our automatic response in any situation.
This reordering of our way of thinking and responding is called the “renewing of the mind” in the above scripture. We are changed inwardly when we are born again. I believe that nothing else is necessary for us to go to heaven. However we do not get saved and go right to heaven. We have to live here for a period of time. Not only that, but we are born babies in the spirit just as we are in the natural. God wants functional children in the earth. We are expected to learn to live and fulfill our purpose in the earth as adults in God’s kingdom.
Paul tells us that we should not be conformed to this world. We should not act like the world, think like the world, sin like the world or be limited to the solutions the world has to offer. Paul says we should be transformed or completely changed. I believe this implies a change of the whole man. Salvation causes the spirit of man to come alive, however the soul, mind, emotions and will, must also be changed. Once soul and spirit begin to function in proper order and balance the body will follow suit.
If salvation changes the spirit what changes the soul? Paul tells us it is the renewing of the mind. Thayer’s Greek Definitions defines renewing as a renewal, renovation, or complete change for the better. If we want to be fully transformed in our walk, if we want to learn to walk by faith and not by sight, we must renew our mind. We must transform how we think and completely change it for the better. We must train our lives until certain responses become automatic. These responses must rule our actions and our decisions in every area of life.
What is the vehicle for renewing the mind? There is only one thing God has given us that can do the job. Look at Is. 55:8-11.
Isaiah 55:8-11 ( NKJV )
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
To renew our minds means that we must learn to think like God thinks. It also means that we must be able to see and walk in God’s ways. How does Isaiah say this will be accomplished? By the Word of God. The vehicle God has provided to renew our minds is the Word of God. The more we fill our minds with the God’s word the more we will think and act like God.
The Word of God is not like other books. It is not a book of philosophy that just teaches us a good way to live. Heb. 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is alive. It contains within itself the power to change our thinking. The more we plant the seed of the Word of God in the soil of our heart the more our thinking changes. We begin to see what He sees. We begin to want what he wants. Life looks different to us. What we can and can’t do changes. Faith in the Word rises and we begin to walk in a different way.
The most important thing any Christian can do is to commit to the renewing of the mind. In Romans 12:1 Paul lets us know the importance of this by telling us we must be a “living sacrifice” to do it. It is that necessary. We must present our bodies, our eyes, our ears and our physical brain to God so that our minds can be renewed and we can become the transformed, faith walking body of Christ that Jesus needs in the earth today.
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