Renewing the Mind

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Transformation - the Heart of the Gospel

There is a tendency (what we might call nominal Christianity) to reduce the gospel to something far more limited, far less pervasive, far less invasive in terms of what God seeks to do within and through those who put their faith in Jesus.

Salvation, it is argued, includes the transformation of the individual, the community of faith, and the entire cosmos.

In other words, salvation is far more than just go to heaven when you die.

Romans 1:17 “17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

We see in 2 Corinthians 5:15 “15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Romans 6:13 “13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.”

Mark 8:34–35 “34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

God’s gift of salvation is transformation at the heart of it.

We have been transformed from dead to alive, from an enemy to a friend, from unrighteous to righteous in Christ, from going to hell, to spending eternity with Jesus. From living for self - to living for Christ, from living in darkness to living in the light and living in sin to living holy lives.

However, at no point does this work of transformation become our own righteousness as something we achieve on our own or establish for ourselves.

The Gospel calls people to believe something that is: to think differently about the world and about ourselves and then to live that belief.

Paul tells us how this transformation takes place:

Romans 12:1–2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Conformed vs. Transformed

Contrast is the mother of all clarity - conform vs transform.

What does this mean?

Two patterns are held up: the pattern of the world and the pattern of God’s will.

For Paul to say, “do not be conformed to the pattern of this world” He is telling us to recognize and reject the pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterizes the world

And to embrace God’s will for all character and life.

The word “conform” is in contrast to “transform,”

Conform means to become shaped or molded to a particular pattern.

Transform is the Greek word metamorpho which means to be changed in outward appearance or expression as manifesting a change in nature or essence.

In other words, Conformed is molded by external pressures.

Transformed is changed from within - renewing our mind.

It is not less than intellectual; it does mean to have truth from God’s word “dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16). And because what we perceive becomes our reality. We have the truth of God’s word that brings us to think and perceive reality “Christianly”

But it is more than that. In Ephesians 4:23 Paul tells us to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (ESV). This probably means not just that we think true thoughts, but that the governing influence of our mind is reoriented.

This governing influence, In other words, or in our common terminology today, is our “imagination” that is captivated by the person of Christ. Who he is and what he did fires the imagination and controls our minds.

All throughout Scripture, we are told, “behold” “set your mind” “This is my Son, hear him” - give him your attention.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate (to gaze at something like a mirror) the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Ian McGilchrist - British psychiatrist, philosopher, and former literary scholar. Has done extensive research on the brain, has written some of the most compelling research on the brain and thinking, his work being hailed as one of the most important books ever written.

The Divided Brain: He argues that the left and right hemispheres of the brain perceive and construct reality in fundamentally different ways.

Cultural Critique: McGilchrist suggests that modern Western civilization has become overly dominated by left-hemisphere thinking—which is mechanistic, hyper-focused, and bureaucratic—while neglecting the holistic, empathetic, and context-aware perspective of the right hemisphere.

"Transformation begins with attention. Whatever repeatedly captures our attention slowly shapes the people we become." - Ian McGilchrist

We could say that who you are today is a result of where you gave your attention in the past

Who you become in the future will reflect what you give your attention to today.

So what do you give your attention to?

Fight the Lie

The Gospel is about beliefs and truth claims.

The Gospel calls people to abandon false claims about the world and about themselves and to embrace good truth (or news) about God and about themselves.

Stepping into this new truth results in transformation, which comes about by the Holy Spirit of God who inhabits all truth.

What do you believe / perceive that is not true. What lies do you believe?

Clarify further. We all have behaviors and ways of thinking that come from “Mental Models.”

Mental model is technical language for “the stories we tell ourselves”

These stories we tell ourselves: tell us who we are, what our purpose is, and where we belong. These stories ultimately dictate our behavior.

If we want to be transformed by the Spirit, we must let him change the story we tell ourselves that will make us more Christ-like.

Example of two different methods for helping someone change.

Imagine a person, who has grown up experiencing rejection, loss, and has been told by authority figures that they are worthless and bad. They believed the lie told them and lived lonely and couldn’t hold a job.

“Counselor A” Here is a list of things to do:

Go out and get a job

Make new friends

Be social and smile more, etc.

Trying to change by doing new things.

Of course, Their life was so damaged from years of humiliation that they could not simply make new friends which made them feel even worse about themselves. It was hard to immediately change and enjoy the company of others. Thus, they conclude, that they are the worthless person they were always told.

“Counselor B”

Helped them create a new mental model, tell a different story by identifying the lies believed. “You are believing a lie about yourself and about this world.

“Let me tell you how beautiful you are and how much you are really loved— and even how much people are counting on you. On top of all of this, God loves you more than you can imagine.”

He sees you as worth his love and attention.

Healing may not happen immediately, change won’t happen suddenly but these new thoughts and stories will be the foundation that they see themselves and the world differently.

Evangelism is not a demand for certain behaviors. It is an offer, an opportunity of the Gospel story to give us a new story for how we see ourselves and the world around us.

Example: Columbian rebel children

Changed from “wanted criminals” to “wanted child”

What lies are you believing? You cannot fight what you do not know.

Take an audit of what you think and say to yourself about yourself.

What is the story you are telling yourself about your future?

Nothing is impossible with God

Is your vision of the future clouded with worry (as if you don’t have a God?) or is it infused with hope that comes from Jesus?

That you serve a God that uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

So why would I limit my God with stories that reject the Gospel.

I think of the stories the early church told themselves as they lost everything, their families, their homes, their status, their honor and even their lives.

Hebrews 10:32–35 “32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”

What story are you telling yourself? Do you speak negatively about yourself?

When you fail do you define yourself by that failure or do you get up and recognize that you are more than those failures and God is still working in you and on you.

Can you look in the mirror and love what you see?

If God loves you, how can you not love you.

Do you think negatively or positively of others? Can you think loving thoughts of others?

Do your thoughts reflect your faith in God?

Counter the Lie with - Sound Doctrine

Sir William Bragg said, “Light brings us the news of the Universe”

We can only see with light. It is the light of the sun that enables us to enjoy the beauty in the world.

2 Corinthians 4:4–6 “4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

Paul uses this phrase for the story tellers: Sound doctrine - healthy teaching and this healthy teaching gives us light to see to spot the lies and embrace truth.

What you see (perception is reality) will either enable you or keep you from living the flourishing life that God intends. (We need light, illumination from the One who created us and knows all things)

We must depend upon the Word of God and the sound doctrine / healthy teaching that comes from it.

1 Timothy 4:16 “16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

The Elephant metaphor

Several blind men encounter an elephant for the first time. Each touches a different part:

One feels the leg and says, "An elephant is like a tree trunk."

Another feels the side and says, "It's like a wall."

Another feels the tail and says, "It's like a rope."

Another feels the tusk and says, "It's like a spear."

Another feels the ear and says, "It's like a fan."

Another feels the trunk and says, "It's like a snake."

The king sees it all

The Gospel is the message of our King who is communicating to us the big picture. He sees it all, knows it all and his story makes sense of our lives. His story makes sense of our suffering, makes sense of our experiences, makes sense of living in this world in this time.

The Gospel is the light of the glory of Christ that reveals reality to people who are blind.

Jesus quoted Isaiah in Luke 4:18–19 “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.””

The light of the Gospel does bring us the news - the good news - of the universe, directly from the Creator Himself.

Full Circle Close:

Our imaginations and thoughts are to be captivated by the Person of Jesus and His Gospel.

Continually giving our attention to “sound doctrine” “healthy teaching” because what we give our attention to will transform us and shape us.