Renewing Our Minds
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Many new believers have never been part of a Christian fellowship before. In a good church the people seem friendly enough, and the people go out of their way to make new believers feel welcome. New believers are initially encouraged by the message that they are new creations in Christ. They would like to believe that, but they wonder why they still struggle with the same old issues, thoughts and feelings. All new believers have probably wondered that—and they deserve an adequate answer.
Let’s start with an illustration. Suppose you played for an abusive soccer coach. He belittled his team and ruled with fear and intimidation. In order to make the team, you had to learn how to cope, succeed and survive under his authority. Then one day you were traded to a new team, and you got a new coach. The old coach was gone. You were no longer under his authority, and you no longer had any relationship with him.
Your new coach was nothing like your old coach. He was kind and respectful to his team, and he motivated the players out of love. But how do you think you initially related to your new coach and teammates? Probably the same way you had been trained under the old coach. Hopefully, your relationship with your new coach, your behavior on the field, and your attitude toward the game would slowly change as you got to know the new coach and learned how to be a better team player on a well-coached team.
We all started out on the wrong team. We were born physically alive but spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins (see Ephesians 2:1), and we learned how to live independently of God. We had no relationship with God and no knowledge of His ways. So we learned how to cope and tried by our own efforts to succeed in this fallen world. Having no other recourse, we “followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of [darkness] . . . gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath” (Ephesians 2:2-3). As a result, sinful thoughts and desires were deeply ingrained in our minds.
Then one day we became new creations in Christ. We were transferred to a different team and got a new coach, but nobody pushed the “clear” button in our memory banks. All the previous training experiences, memories and habits were still programmed into our minds, which is why Paul wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2)?
We all were conformed to this world. Even as believers, we will remain conformed to this world if we continue believing and living as we always have. So we must make a conscious decision to put aside the lifestyles of this “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). We must continuously be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The English word “transformation” comes from the Greek word metamorphosis, which implies a total change from inside out. The key to this transformation is the mind, which is the control center of our thoughts, attitudes and actions.
A few Questions to ponder:
Why do believers still often struggle with many of the issues they had in their former lives before coming to Christ?
Why are we told to lean not on our own understanding but in all ways acknowledge God?
How do we move from information to transformation?
How did you live under the ruler of this world as compared to living under the lordship of Christ?
Should you seek to be transformed in order to he accepted, or have you been accepted and need to be transformed? Explain.
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.