And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
The Bible makes it clear that before we were born again, we all had dark minds. Ephesians 4:18 NASB says, “Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart,” and Paul wrote earlier in Ephesians 2:3 NASB, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Before our salvation in Christ, we were by nature dark in our minds and following only the natural pattern of the flesh. But now that we are in Christ, God’s desire is that we renew our minds and begin to walk in accordance to His ways and His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-6). The Bible even says that the commandments of the Lord are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). Jesus said that we were to come unto Him for rest and not works (Matthew 11:28) and yet we were to come under His yoke which comes from farmers yoking up their cattle to plow the fallow grounds. Jesus said that we were to take upon ourselves His yoke and yet we would find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29-30).
But often rather than renewing our minds after Christ and after His Word, we often are discipled by those around us and not after Christ Himself. We become like those we are around and soon we are religious but not like Christ. We can speak the “Christian” language but our minds are not renewed after Christ’s mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). Our minds are still full of the junk of this world, the false views of humanity, the schemes of men, and we often look, walk, and talk like the world more than like Jesus.
I believe the cure for this is not found in theology books or by listening to our favorite Bible teachers. No, the only true way to reform our minds and renew them is through the Scriptures. By reading our Bibles and taking time to study our Bibles we begin to renew our thinking and we are building up our faith in the process (Romans 10:17) as well as building a strong foundation for holy living (Matthew 7:24-27). As we read our Bibles, we are purging ourselves of the false philosophies that have filled our minds through television, through our education, through our friendships and business dealings, through the music we hear and the movies we watch and even the books that we read. The Bible is compared to a sword in Hebrews 4:12 and God takes the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and He cuts away the garbage that we have allowed into it. God’s Word shows us right from wrong (Hebrews 5:14) and our prayer should be, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall observe it to the end” (Psalm 119:33 NASB).
Jesus Himself quoted Scripture when He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). Jesus was able to know when others were twisting Scripture and He was able to correct their errors (Matthew 22:29-32). No doubt that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh (John 1:14) but He was also 100% man (Philippians 2:5-11) and He obeyed His Father in heaven perfectly. He did this not just by being the very Son of God but by obeying the Scriptures. He set us an example for us to follow in His steps (Ephesians 5:1-2; 1 John 2:6).
How can we know the voice of God? How can we discern truth from error? How can we know who is saved and who is lost? How are we to know what is faithful doctrine versus that which is false doctrine? All of this only comes by faithfully abiding in the Word of God (John 8:31-32) and renewing our minds.
So my challenge to us all is to be faithful in reading and studying our Bibles. The Word of God is precious to us (Psalm 19:10-11 NKJV). We need to renew our minds by reading our Bibles and allowing the Scriptures to sanctify us unto Christ (John 17:17). The Bible is able to open our eyes to God’s word and to God’s ways. I would urge you to begin today to daily read your Bible and never allow a day to go by that you are not spending some time in the Bible. What glorious benefits await those who will but spend time reading their Bibles.
[Link to original post and comments at Roy Ingle’s website.]
