"Be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2).
Being saved is not a matter of
receiving Christ into our life as we often hear it. It is receiving an entirely
new life in Christ Jesus. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature
[or creation]:old things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
Many people, when they are saved,
make a change in certain outward behaviors according to what other, more mature
Christians teach them. So, for example, they stop smoking and drinking and
dancing and start reading their Bibles and praying and attending the meetings
of the assembly. But Christianity is much more than making changes in
activities. Being a Christian involves a total transformation, a renewing, a
reprogramming of our mind. Our basic thinking patterns need to be
straightened out, our responses to other people’s bad (and good) behavior
revised, our attitudes toward our spouse, children, parents, friends,
neighbors, and brothers and sisters in Christ needs to be changed. Our minds
need to be reprogrammed so we can begin to say like the apostle Paul, "We
have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16).
Let us consider a number of ways
in which we need to experience the renewing of our minds.
From Proud to Humble
"Be clothed with humility,
for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time"
(1 Pet. 5:5,6; also Psa. 138:6). "Let this mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus:… He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:5-8).
What do the following statements
have in common? Do you ever say or think anything like them?
1. "I am not going to let him
get the better of me, or let her get away with saying that to me."
2. "He is not going to tell me
what to do.
3. "I want everyone in this
house to know that I am the boss and I am not going to tolerate any
insubordination."
4. (After pronouncing a word
incorrectly):"What will people think?"
5. (In an assembly meeting):
"I am going to keep my mouth shut; that will keep me from saying something
wrong."
6. (After winning a game of
Scrabble):"What’s the matter? You didn’t do so well tonight, did
you!"
7. (After losing a game of
Scrabble):"You sure are lucky; you got all the good letters."
8. (After being called out in a
close play at first base):"You’re blind! I was safe!"
9. "I am truly humbled to be given
this award."
What do these have in common? They
are all expressions of the pride of our hearts. Even number 9, while it may
sound humble, can often be a statement of pride. For example, a local
professional ball player spoke these words upon receiving an award. If he had
been truly humbled, he would not have demanded a $3 million dollar per year
salary increase a few months later.
The one whose mind has been
transformed from pride to humility may respond in ways like these:
1. (When criticized):Yes, you are
right; I was wrong."
2. (After being called out in a
close play at first base):"Wow, that was a great catch you made,
Buddy."
3. (After receiving a compliment
or an award):"Praise the Lord! He gave me the ability, and besides, lots
of others helped me."
4. "What can I do to show the
love of Christ to my office mate who is always saying nasty things to me?"
5. (After saying or doing
something stupid in public):"Lord, help me to be more wise and careful;
and help me not to crawl into a shell just because I made a mistake."
We lingered extra long on this
first area of transformation because of the subtlety of pride and the
difficulty of recognizing it in ourselves. We shall be much more brief in
defining the rest of the areas in which our minds need to be renewed.
From Wanting to be Waited on
to Wanting to Serve Others
"He who is greatest among
you, let him be as the younger; and he who is chief, as he who serves"
(Luke 22:26). "Jesus … began to wash the disciples’ feet…. If I then,
your Lord and Maser, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have
done to you" (John 13:3-18). "Christ Jesus … took upon Him the form
of a servant" (Phil. 2:5-7). "By love serve one another" (Gal.
5:13).
Husbands, what is your attitude
toward some of your wife’s home duties? Do you regard fixing your
supper, washing your dirty dishes, ironing your shirts, vacuuming
your living room, or changing your baby’s diaper as being beneath
your dignity? Do you enjoy serving and helping your wife as much as you enjoy
having her serve and help you? Do you enjoy serving the Lord as much as you
enjoy having Him serve and help you and answer your prayers?
From Pleasing Self
to Pleasing Others
"We then who are strong ought
to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one
of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased
not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached Thee
fell on Me" (Rom. 15:1-3).
From Selfish, Indifferent,
and Hateful to Loving
"Charity [or love] … seeks
not her own" (1 Cor. 13:5). "Every one who hates his brother is a
murderer…. Hereby have we known love, because He has laid down His life for
us; and we ought for the brethren to lay down our lives. But whoso may have the
world’s substance, and see his brother having need, and shut up his bowels from
him, how abides the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:15-17). "Love one
another; as I have loved you, you also love one another" (John 13:34).
"Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and has given Himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2).
Hate is not the only opposite of
love. As seen in 1 John 3:16,17, another opposite of love is indifference. And
since love is self-sacrificing by its very nature, a third opposite of love is
selfishness as seen in 1 Cor. 13:5.
From Covetous, Getting, and Stingy
to Giving and Merciful
"Let covetousness not be once
named among you, as becomes saints … for … no … covetous man, who is an
idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph.
5:3,5). "Shall I then take my bread and my water and my flesh that I have
killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they
be?" (1 Sam. 25:11). "Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let
him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have to
give to him who has need" (Eph. 4:28). "Give to every man who asks of
you … and lend, hoping for nothing again…. Be therefore merciful, as your
Father is merciful" (Luke 6:30-36).
From Gloomy and Depressed
to Joyful
"Hannah … was in bitterness
of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore…. And Hannah prayed and
said, My heart rejoices in the LORD … I rejoice in Thy salvation" (1
Sam. 1:9,10; 2:1). "Comfort the faint-hearted" (1 Thess. 5:14 JND).
"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4).
From Unthankful to Thankful
"When they knew God, they
glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful" (Rom. 1:21). "In the
last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be … unthankful" (2
Tim. 3:1,2). "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts
with praise:be thankful unto Him, and bless His name" (Psa. 100:4).
"In every thing give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18). "Giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ" (Eph. 5:20).
The unthankful spirit so prevalent
in the world today comes from the attitude, "I deserve it, so why should I
say `thank you’?" On one occasion, Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one
turned back "and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his
face at [Jesus’] feet, giving Him thanks" (Luke 17:15,16). That thankful
man received an unexpected bonus:"Your faith has made you whole [that is,
spiritually as well as physically]" (verse 19).
From Anxious, Worried, and Fearful
to Peaceful and Prayerful
"Do not be careful [full of
care] about your life, what you should eat and what you should drink, nor for
your body what you should put on" (Matt. 6:25-34 JND). "Why are you
so fearful … and they feared exceedingly…. And they were afraid…. The
woman, fearing and trembling,… told Him all the truth…. Be not afraid, only
believe" (Mark 4:40,41; 5:15,33,36). "Be careful [full of care] for
nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus"
(Phil. 4:6,7). "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you"
(John 14:27).
From Quarrelsome to Peaceable
"Put off … anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth…. Forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any….
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:8,13,15).
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of
God" (Matt. 5:9).
There are at least three ways we
can be peacemakers:
1. We can keep from teasing and
kidding (Prov. 26:18,19; Eph. 5:4), provoking (Eph. 6:4), and striving (2 Tim.
2:24) with one another, and "follow after the things that make for
peace" (Rom. 14:19).
2. We can seek to make peace with
our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:18-21) or help two warring parties to be
reconciled (1 Cor. 7:11).
3. We can "preach the gospel
of peace" (Rom. 10:15) so that souls might be "justified by
faith" and thus "have peace with God" (Rom. 5:1).
From Impatient to Longsuffering
"Charity [or love] suffers
long … endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4,7). "Put on …
longsuffering" (Col. 3:12; Eph. 4:2). "Be patient toward all
men" (1 Thess. 5:14; 2 Tim. 2:24).
From Angry and Bitter to Forgiving
"Looking diligently … lest
any root of bitterness springing up trouble you" (Heb. 12:15). "Let
not the sun go down upon your wrath…. Let all bitterness, and wrath … be
put away from you, with all malice, and be kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you"
(Eph. 4:26,31,32). "Put off … anger, wrath … forgiving one
another" (Col. 3:8,13). "[Love] thinks no evil" (1 Cor. 13:5);
this could appropriately be translated, "Love does not keep an account of
the evil done to one," or in short, "Love does not hold a
grudge."
From Controlling to Yielding,
Kind, Gentle
"I wrote unto the church, but
Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us
… neither does he receive the brethren, and forbids those who would, and
casts them out of the church" (3 John 9,10). "Let your moderation [or
yieldingness] be known unto all men" (Phil. 4:5). "Be kind one to
another" (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12).
From Apathetic to Helpful, Good
"Apathetic" means
unmoved or not interested. In today’s language, it is an attitude of "I
can’t be bothered:let George do it." "Let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober…. Edify [or build up] one another" (1
Thess. 5:6,11).
"There came down a certain
priest that way; and when he saw [the wounded man], he passed by on the other
side. And likewise a Levite … came and looked on him, and passed by on the
other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and
when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his
wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him
to an inn, and took care of him" (Luke 10:30-34).
Notice that the word
"good" is never specifically used in this story of "the good
Samaritan." However, every action of the Samaritan toward the robbed and
wounded man help to define the word "good." The word "good"
in the New Testament does not mean the same thing as "righteous"; it
is not the opposite of "bad" or "unrighteous." It means
being helpful and beneficial to others.
From Hypocritical to Sincere
"Hypocrisy" is
pretending to be something different from what you really are.
"Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make
long prayer…. You pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" (Matt.
23:13-36). The fatal sin of Ananias and Sapphira was that of pretending
to give all of the proceeds of the land sale to the apostles (Acts
5:1-10). "Let love be without dissimulation [or hypocrisy]" (Rom.
12:9). "Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through
the Spirit unto unfeigned [or unhypocritical] love of the brethren, see that
you love one another with a pure heart fervently" (1 Pet. 1:22). "In
simplicity and godly sincerity … we have had our conversation [or manner of
life] in the world" (2 Cor. 1:12). "That you may be sincere and
without offense till the day of Christ" (Phil. 1:10).
The Greek word for
"sincere" is literally "judged by the sun." The English
word "sincere" is from the Latin words, sine and cera,
meaning "without wax." In Bible times, makers of pottery used a waxy
substance to cover fine cracks in their earthenware. The crack was detectable
only if one held the vessel up to the light. Thus the sellers of the finest
pottery might have had signs saying, "Sincere-ware sold here." In
other words, buyers could hold the pieces up to the sun and be reassured that
there were no hidden cracks. A truly sincere person is one whose private life,
if held up to public scrutiny, would be found to be as exemplary as his/her
public life.
From Unbelieving to
Trusting, Faithful
"He marveled because of their
unbelief" (Mark 6:6). "Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief"
(Mark 9:24). "We walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not unto you own
understanding" (Prov. 3:5).
From Deceitful to
Truthful and Honest
"Deceive not with your
lips" (Prov. 24:28). "Deceit and guile depart not from her
streets" (Psa. 55:11). "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbor" (Eph. 4:25). "[Speak] the truth in love"
(Eph. 4:15). "Provide things honest in the sight of all men" (Rom.
12:17).
From Macho to Meek and Confessing
"And the king [Rehoboam]
answered the people roughly … saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I
will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scorpions" (1 Ki. 12:13,14). "Miriam and Aaron
spoke against Moses…. Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men
which were upon the face of the earth…. Miriam became leprous, white as
snow…. And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal [Miriam] now, O God, I
beseech Thee" (Num. 12:1-13). "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly
in heart" (Matt. 11:28). "Father forgive them, for they know not what
they do" (Luke 23:34). "Put on … meekness" (Col. 3:12).
"Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for
those who despitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).
"Confess your faults one to another" (Jas. 5:16).
The macho man does not admit to
any wrong or any weakness, and is quick to take vengeance against any offense
against himself. The meek man is quick to confess his wrongdoings, both to God
and to those whom he has wronged, and leaves vengeance to the Lord (Rom.
12:19).
From Fearful to
Bold and Courageous
"[Peter] began to curse and
swear, saying, I do not know this Man of whom you speak" (Mark 14:71).
"Peter … lifted up his voice and said unto them … Jesus of Nazareth
… you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain…. God …
has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you delivered up … and killed the Prince of
life" (Acts 2:14-36; 3:13-26). "[The authorities] commanded [Peter
and John] not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and
John answered and said unto them … We cannot but speak the things which we have
seen and heard…. We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts. 4:18-20;
5:27-32).
From Prejudiced to Impartial
"How is it that Thou, being a
Jew, askest drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no
dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). In "the new man … there
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free:but Christ is all and in all" (Col. 3:9-11). "My
brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with
respect of persons" (Jas. 2:1-5). "The wisdom that is from above is
… without partiality" (Jas. 3:17).
From Out-of-Control to Temperate
"In the last days … men
shall be incontinent [or intemperate or out-of-control]" (2 Tim. 3:1,3).
"The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison" (Jas. 3:8). "I keep my body under and bring it into
subjection" (1 Cor. 9:27). "If any man offend not in word, the same
is … able also to bridle the whole body" (Jas. 3:2).
Concluding Observations
Did you notice how often the
verses in Ephesians and Colossians about putting off and putting on were
referenced? This surely fits in with the idea of a total transformation taking
place in one who is saved.
Finally, if we go down through the
section headings, we will notice the need to be transformed to
"loving" (section 4), "joyful," "peaceful,"
"peaceable," "longsuffering," "gentle,"
"good," "faithful," "meek," and
"temperate" (last section before this one). Do you remember seeing
these words in another setting? Yes, they are the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit
of Gal. 5:22,23. One of the chief ways the Holy Spirit transforms us by the
renewing of our minds is by ministering to us the qualities, characteristics,
and Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14,15). When we truly receive the
Spirit’s ministry of Christ to us, it is expressed in our lives as the fruit of
the Spirit.
Let us each read through the
section headings once again with the thought of asking ourselves if there are
one or two areas where we need further renewing of our mind. Let us not be
satisfied with a standard less than this:"We have the mind of
Christ" (1 Cor. 2:16).