So much time is spent by Christians these days trying to shake off worldly habits and avoid the pitfalls of Satan. Many times we struggle with the same sins over and over again. Why is this? Because we, by and large, have not learned how to train and focus our thinking. As we think, we are. This is a guaranteed, mark it down, unchanging, everlasting Biblical truth! You cannot become something unless you first think that thing. We never do anything unless that deed was first born as a thought of our minds.
The mind is the joint or gateway between the spiritual and the physical. Our mind is affected by our heart or our spirit. As we commune with God, our hearts are stirred and our minds are provoked to think spiritual things. Likewise, if we allow ourselves to be inundated with worldly influences, our minds will stray to carnal, temporal things. The mind is the joint that connects the spiritual part of us to the physical. Nothing we do physically has not been impacted by our mind first. The way we feel in our spirit will determine how we think in our mind which in turn affects how we act.
The Bible teaches us not to be conformed to this world. What does this mean? It means that we should not take on and accept the worldly mindset or way of thinking. We as Christians should not be accepting of how the world thinks and operates. We are not to conform. By taking on a worldly mindset, we are guaranteeing worldly thoughts, and thus we are setting ourselves up for worldly actions. Having a carnal mindset will produce carnal thoughts, which can only lead to carnal actions. This progression of events is guaranteed by Scripture. No matter how much we may try to deceive ourselves into believing that we can overcome a worldly mindset, it simply cannot be done. A man who possesses a worldly mindset is a ticking time bomb of worldly thoughts and deeds waiting to explode.
The maturity we possess as Christians is determined by our mindset. The decisions we make influence and indeed determine our level of Christian maturity. A man with the mind of Christ will tend to make wise decisions and will constantly be maturing and growing- provided he maintains a Godly mindset. A man who is carnally minded will make carnal decisions, do carnal deeds, and never mature in his walk with Christ. Our thinking determines what plane of maturity we will achieve in Christ.
The Bible commands us to be transformed by renewing our minds. To transform something is to change that thing from its original state into something new. This transformation is not a one-time event; it must be a continual process. We must be constantly changing and allowing our minds to be renewed. We must transform our mindset by exchanging our thoughts and beliefs with those of Christ. We must accept His thoughts and deny our own. We must take on His mind, and put away our way of thinking. This is the transformation we must undergo daily to achieve a proper mindset, which will inspire proper thoughts, which will trigger proper behavior.
To take on the mind of Christ, we must not try to fit Scripture to the way we think. We must change the way we think to fit Scripture. There can be no compromise is this regard. In this area, people often fall short of truly inhabiting the mind of Christ as they attempt to pick and choose just how they will accept a Scriptural mindset. We oftentimes try to mix the mind of Christ with a little of our own thinking. This leads to disastrous and heretical results. This kind of living is the source of much of the problems that exist in the body of Christ today- well-intentioned people halfway conforming to the world while proclaiming to take on the mind of Christ. This cannot possibly work, because what fellowship hath light with darkness? If we have any of the old conformity to the world present in our thinking, we are not fully submitted to the Christ-like mindset we are commanded to have. The transformation is not complete, and we do not have the power that is implicit in possessing the mind of Christ. We only have a bastardized version of Christianity that is warned of in II Timothy.
To become a mature Christian and possess holiness, we must take on the mind of Christ. As we think, we are. Holiness is nothing more than having the mind of Christ. Allowing ourselves to come under the authority of Christ and accepting the transformation that Scripture will effect in our lives as a result is the process we must undergo to achieve holiness. We will never mature as Christians absent this transformation. Again, this change is not a one-time event. Salvation does not guarantee spiritual maturity. The one-time change of accepting Christ as Saviour is not the same thing as becoming spiritually mature. Everyday we must crucify the old man, take on the mind of Christ, and journey in His will. Exchange your mindset for the mind of Christ. You will then see how your heart will be touched by Heaven, which your spur your mind to think on true, honest, just, and pure things which will produce actions pleasing to the Lord.
Your mind is a gateway. From your heart, emotions become thoughts which become actions. Your actions determine who you are. What you do defines you. So, in effect, how you feel which determines how you think is what defines you. Think with the mind of Christ and you can be guaranteed to become a mature, holy Christian living in God's will and producing the fruit of the Spirit.
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