RENEWING THE MIND

There are some Scriptures that I find intimidating and this is one of them:
“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” (Romans 12:1-2).

How does that work? Renewing of the mind brings a transformation that allows us to remain free from the pressures of the world we live in. Again, I ask, how does that work? How can a mind be renewed?

What is more complicated and intricate than the human mind? No, a blonde driving at twice the speed limit while doing her nails on the way to a half-price shoe sale at Neiman’s is not more complicated, even though she also is texting the whole way. How can we possibly renew what we can’t even begin to understand—the mind? The fact is that we cannot, through therapy or through personal discipline or thinking positive thoughts—we cannot renew the mind. Renewing the mind is beyond the capabilities of human endeavor. Renewing the mind is the work of the Creator. He made it in the first place, He can fix it when it’s broken, and He can renew it when it gets sullied by the waves of worldliness that are constantly crashing on our beach. The word renew as used in Romans 12:2 means to renovate, to make a complete change, a do-over!

God has given us the agent of renewal. He took up residence in us at salvation and He is with us throughout our entire spiritual experience. He is the Holy Spirit and He is the agent of renewal. In addition, He has given us the manual of renewal, the Bible.

At salvation the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in us (see 1 Corinthians 6:19). It is one thing for the Holy Spirit to be a houseguest and it’s something else for Him to be active in leading, guiding, and rebuilding our lives. For most Christians, the Holy Spirit is a welcome houseguest; they are glad He has come, they are excited and thrilled about salvation and they understand that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The idea of fully activating the Holy Spirit in their life, however, is not a concept they either understand or participate in and so the welcome houseguest is confined to a small part of their life and never allowed to do for them all that He can and would do.

1 Corinthians 14:4: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” The word “edify” means to replenish, rebuild, refresh. Paul, of course, is referring to activating the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life through prayer. Later in this same chapter, Paul says, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all” (v.18). I don’t think the issue here is tongues but, rather, the benefit that the Holy Spirit brings to the life of the believer.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We tend to think of correction as it’s used in this sentence as being discipline, and while that is a part of the meaning, the fuller meaning is “to restore to an upright or right state,” literally to lift up and put in place that which has been knocked down by life and circumstances. A large part of the ministry of the Word of God to us is to set in right order everything that makes up our lives. When we read and study Scripture, we are giving the Holy Spirit an opportunity to bring our mind and spirit into contact with the living Word—and that’s a potent and healing connection!

Can our mind be so battered and bruised by the sick world we live in that nothing can help? Absolutely not! To Timothy, Paul offers the hope and the understanding of allowing the Word of God to minister to us and to bring His healing touch. To the Corinthians, Paul brings a message of encouragement that the mind, the heart, the spirit of the believer can be refreshed and restored by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Your houseguest would love to do a little renovating. Do we let Him do this or do we keep Him confined to a room in the basement?