Renewing the Mind

Romans 12:1-2

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.”

Paul is speaking to believers who have spent much of their time in the world, conforming “to the pattern of this world” whom he exhorts “in view of God’s mercy” to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pelasing to God.”

Hendriksen summarises the implications of this saying, “Paul states that these sacrifices must have the following characteristics: they must be “living,” that is, must proceed from the new life within the believer; “holy,” the product of the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit; and, accordingly, “well-pleasing” to God, not only accepted by, but most heartily welcome to, the One to whom believers dedicate themselves.”

This is to become the Christians aim and to influence his mindset - my life is to be sacrificed to God with the intention of being holy and pleasing to Him!

This is to become my “spiritual act of worship” which translates the Greek word “logikon” which can also be renderewd “reasonable” or “logical” worshipfor Paul here is “the action of worshiping, the wholehearted consecration of heart, mind, will, words, and deeds, in fact of all one is, has, and does, to God. Nothing less!”(Hendriksen)

Until recently these Christians had been under the power and influence of the flesh, as they lived outside of Christ. However, there has been a transformation through the work of the Spirit and they are now learning to live the “transformed” life “by the renewing of your mind”.

How did this happen? - not by switching from there old values list directed by the cultural norms or passions of the flesh to a new value system directed by Old Testament Law or the cultural expectations of the Christian Church, but by allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through them as thye learn the truth as it is taught them and they make room for the fruit of the Spirit to flourish and grow within them! (see Galatians 5:19–22)

This is so important for us to grasp because the Christian life is meant to be completely submitted to the will of God, in contrast to that of unbelievers who do not and cannot “submit to God’s law” (Rom 8:7;Rom 10:3). The Christian on the otherhand, has the opposite intention, even though it it hard and that even though we struggle with sin(see Rom 7:22-25; Rom 6:18-22) we do “desire” to do the will of God in our mind!

What does this demonstrate? That my mind is free to do the will of God and my desire is to do this because the Holy Spirit is at work in me! - “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). And I agree with Paul, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

You are free in Christ, because when you do from the inside what you love to do, you are free — if what you love to do is what you ought to do and do not do, what you do not desire to do, then you are free!

So here in Romans 12:2, Paul now focuses on one essential means of transformation — “the renewal of your mind.”

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This is really crucial if we are to live in the Spirit. If you long to break loose from conformity to the world, to be transformed and renewed from the inside out.

To be free from mere duty-driven Christianity and do the will of God because its what you love to do in offering up your body as a living sacrifice to God, then renewing your mind is the most important thing; the most important act of worship that you can do!

Renewing the mind is the key to transformation. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

Why is the mind so important? Why does it need renewing? And what does this renewal result in?

The Problem with Our Minds

There are many who think that the only problem with the human mind is that it doesn’t have access to all the knowledge it needs.

So education becomes the great instrument of personal and social progress. “Education, education, education!”

However, education is not enough in and of itself because the question is what are we being educated into and and who can be trusted to do the eduction and what is the desired end goal of that education?

If people are educated in technology that can advance society in terms of health care; social advancements, etc then that is fine bit if it leads to online crime, elaborate scams, and sophisticated terrorist plots, and other types of immoral activities via the medium of the internet, then education can be used for ill as well as good. Be aware that Germany before the Second World War was one of the most educationally advanced, scientific societies in the Western world, but look where that led in the name of progress!

The key from the Bible’s perspectives is about what do we allow into our minds? Becasue a thought can easily become a lust or desire which is contrary to the will of God; which can easily become a habit which begins to dominate and control our thinking that can elad us into all kinds of scary and difficult places -so the Bible says....

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Why do we need to do this? Because as Craig Groeschel, “Sometimes what we think will make us happy is the opposite of what God wants for us.”― The Christian Atheist: When You Believe in God But Live as if He Doesn’t Exist

The Bible on the other hand in Ephesians 4:23 speaks of the need to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.”

“Most of life's battles are won or lost in the mind....” ― Craig Groeschel, Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World

“As you’ll recall, what you believe — about who you are and who God is — determines how you behave. If you believe everybody is going to criticize you, you’ll behave cautiously. If you believe you’re probably going to fail, you’re going to venture out tentatively. If, however, you believe that the one true Lord God is calling you, empowering you, leading you, and equipping you, then you will live boldly. Why? Because boldness is behavior born of belief.”― Craig Groeschel, Altar Ego: Becoming Who God Says You Are

The mind has a “spirit.” a bent or disposition or “mindset.”(Romans 8:6) . It tends one way or the other; a viewpoint or worldview that needs to be transformed.

The problem with our minds is not merely that we are finite, and don’t have all the information. The problem is that our minds are fallen or as Paul puts it in Romans 1:28 as “depraved” and Paul says this is as a result of the unwilligness of mankind to acknowledge God as worthy of knowing and His decress worthty of following and ordering our lives around.

This is the problem with our minds - the depravity of our minds are not by nature God-worshiping minds. They are by nature self-worshiping minds - Rom 1:23 - That is the spirit of our minds and that is why they need to be renewed so that our minds become God-exalting worshipping minds!

Don’t underestimate the power of your thinking - positive thoughts are rewarding and negative thoughts are damaging.

The impact on the brain chemistry itself in terms of the release of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins, all play a role in how you experience happiness. Dopamine for example is a neurotransmitter produced by the hypothalamus, a small region of the brain that helps you feel pleasure.“Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It's a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting. Your body spreads it along four major pathways in the brain. Like most other systems in the body, you don’t notice it (or maybe even know about it) until there’s a problem.”(https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine#091e9c5e81cc00b6-1-3). Too much or too little of it can lead to a vast range of health issues as serious as Parkinson’s disease; Schizophenia and prescription dopamine can be used to treat a range of cardiac and circulatory problems.

Likewise negative thoughts also have a negative impact on the mind and body. Repeated negative thoughts, such as anger, resentment, fear, or depression, may cause our bodies to release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Over time, high levels of these hormones can contribute to mental health symptoms leading to anxiety; insomnia; depression; irritability; poor concentration and attention; poor memory and exhaustion. Interestingly researchers at King's College London found that repetitive negative thinking may increase your risk for Alzheimer's disease. The study found that a habit of prolonged negative thinking diminishes your brain's ability to think, reason, and form memories. Essentially draining your brain's resources. Another study reported in the journal American Academy of Neurology found that cynical thinking also produces a greater dementia risk.

Dr Caroline Leaf a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist talks about the need to “Frame your world with your words.”― Dr Caroline Leaf, Who Switched Off My Brain?. During her years in clinical practice and her work with thousands of underprivileged teachers and students in her home country of South Africa and in the USA, she developed her theory called the Geodesic Information Processing theory of how we think, build memory, and learn, into tools and processes that have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), learning disabilities (ADD, ADHD), autism, dementias and mental ill-health issues like anxiety and depression). Due to advances in understanding of how the brain works and the the revolutionary finding on neuroplasticity she points out that “Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.” ― Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health

What the renewal of our minds look like?

“Belief overflows to behavior. First we need to change what we believe. when we truly change what we believe, we'll gladly change how we behave.”― Craig Groeschel, Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World

Peter tells us what we need to do in 1 Peter 1:13-15: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Now that you no longer live in “ignorance”, live in such a way that your "evil desires” are subdued and that you seek to imitate God in holiness whilst you set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Likewise, Paul says in Ephesians 4:17-19 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

Its straightforward, don’t “live as the Gentiles do”! Their minds are “darkened” and in “ignorance” and their hearts are hardened so that Paul takes us deeper than Peter here. He penetrates beneath the “futile mind” and the “darkened understanding” and the willful “ignorance” and says that it is all rooted in the hardness of their heart in which their whole disposition is that they give “themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

So positively the renweal of our minds involves our setting our minds on Christ and the hope we have in Him and negatively resisting the evil desires and passions that come from our sinful nature to seek to live in holiness before God.

That’s what we are to do but how does this happen when our nature responds so readilly and naturally to the evil desires of the flesh?

The answer is we can only do this as our minds are renewed by the Holy Spirit! - Romans 12:2, “Be transformed in the renewal of your mind.” This word “renewal” is only used in one other place in, namely, Titus 3:5 where Paul says this: “[God] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit renews the mind. Its His work and we are dependent on him for His enabling.

2 Corinthians 3:18 , likewise states “we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”. It is as we behold the glory of Christ, we are “transformed into His likeness”

The Spirit works from the inside out, and as a we cooperate with Him, we are transformed to become more and more like Jesus!

What then shall we do to renew our minds?

Spend time reflecting on and glory in the person of Christ - get to know Him better - see Eph 1:17-23 and Eph 3:14-21

Read and meditate on Scripture and especially to discover the purposes of God for your life and your identity in Christ.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will empower you to renw your desires and approve the will of God, so that all of life will become worship to the glory of Christ.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and power controlling All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly In my heart from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His power.

May the peace of God my Father Rule my life in everything, That I may be calm to comfort Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, This is victory.

May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe, Looking only unto Jesus As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me, As I seek the lost to win, And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him.

(Kate B. Wilkinson, “May the Mind of Christ, My Savior”)

Practical Application for Reflection & Discussion groups:

Reflection - Do a “thought audit” - what is the tendency of your thinking with regard to its general trend?

Do they drift towards the negative or the positive? Do you assume the worst or the best?

Do you have a tendency to worry or be in peace?

Do your thoughts tend to be dominiated by worldly considerations or spiritual ones?

Are you excited about the direction that your thoughts are taking you or do you need to re-prioritise your thinking?

ii. 2 Corinthians 10:4 talks about strongholds that need to be demolished. What mental stronghold is holding you back in your Christian life that you want to break down with God’s help?

iii. Group Discussion:

We renew our minds in Scripture - What spiritual truth from God, demolishes that stronghold?

Paul talks about taking “every thought captive, to make it obedient to Christ”? - 2 Cor 10:5 - How can we do this?

“Linked Science Concept: When you objectively observe your own thinking with the view to capturing rogue thoughts, you in effect direct your attention to stop the negative impact and rewire healthy new circuits into your brain...God designed humans to observe our own thoughts, catch those that are bad, and get rid of them.” ― Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health. “

What statement/promise of the Bible can you use to help overcome a spiritual barrier or encourage you to move forward in your faith?

Once you have decided on it. Write it down, try and memorise it; declare it, pray through it and believe it. Keep repeating until it replaces your negative thinking -“And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”!

iv. Spiritual Exercise:

One of the many byproducts of negative thinking is stress, which then leads to more negative thinking. So here’s a suggestion: when negative thoughts come, and they will, don't just ignore them. Instead:

Pay attention. Stop what you are doing. Close your eyes if you need to. 

Replace the negative thought with a positive thought from Scripture. 

Hold the Scripture in your brain for a full minute, or more. (Note: When you do this, neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections – starts to work in your favour. The two keys are “attention density” – the amount of attention paid to a particular mental experience over a specific time – and holding the thought long enough for your brain to begin to create new 'channels.' so that you become a sculptor of your own brain. How cool is that? - The key here is that changing your habits of mind can change your life.  A good book to read on self-directed neuroplasticity is You Are Not Your Brain, by Jeffrey Schwartz).

v. Final Reflection:

Be GRATEFUL to God and to others - “Gratitude produces a feeling of long-lasting happiness and contentment, the physiological basis of which lies at the neurotransmitter level. When we express gratitude and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions, and they make us feel ‘good’. They enhance our mood immediately, making us feel happy from the inside. By consciously practicing gratitude everyday, we can help these neural pathways to strengthen themselves and ultimately create a permanent grateful and positive nature within ourselves.” - Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, Psychiatric Counsellor - The Neuroscience of Gratitude and How It Affects Anxiety & Grief. Positive Psychology.

BE ACTIVE to release endorphins and boost your mood by increasing your dopamine levels whilst also helping your body reduve inflamation.

Get into the habit of JOURNALING and/or MEDITATING on Scripture to articulate all the good things in your life or finding ways to show appreciation to those close to you to release serotonin.

WATCH YOUR DIET both NUTRITIONALLY and MENTALLY - Feed your mind and your body with good, wholesome food to again to increase the serotonin levels in your body(brain-gut connection).

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP - with those who are positive and supportivehug you and lvoe you releasing that good old Oxytocin which helps to keep you calm and boosts our immune systems, improves problem-solving skills and decreases stress. This will stimulate the release of those “feel good” brain chemicals and help you into a positive, happy state of being.

St. Ignatius thought that the Examen was a gift that came directly from God, and that God wanted it to be shared as widely as possible:

Step 1. Become aware of God’s presence. Step 2. Review the day with gratitude. Step 3. Pay attention to your emotions. Step 4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. Step 5. Look toward tomorrow.