Sanctification and Renewal of the Mind

Renewing the Mind

When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, our spirit becomes born-again. The salvation experience causes our once-corrupt spirit to be renewed in the likeness of Jesus Christ. However, our minds do not become renewed, that is why Romans 12:2 says that we must re-new our minds (see also Ephesians 4:23).

This leads us to believe that an effort is required on behalf of the believer in order to renew the mind. Some would say that God will not renew the mind for us – it is something that we do in co-operation with the Holy Spirit. If our mind was renewed at the same time our spirit was born-again – then we would never think a wrong thought.

Many would agree that the process of renewing the mind includes regular study and meditation on God’s Word, particularly the message of God’s unconditional grace towards us through Christ. Some would also insist that this process also requires the believer to make some sort of effort to avoid sin, and so forth.

Right Thinking

Renewing the mind must also incorporate the necessity of thinking right thoughts. It would do us little good to study the Bible for half an hour, but to then go and worry for a couple of hours. Joseph Prince echoed the words of the great preacher C.H. Spurgeon when he said, “Right thinking produces right living.”

If our spirit is born-again, re-created in the likeness of Christ – our mind is the only place where the devil can attack and exploit us. According to James 4:7 – we are to resist the devil. How do we resist the devil? By renewing the mind with right thoughts, based on the truth of the Word. We believe that Christ defeated him once-and-for-all on the cross. We believe that the devil has no power over us. We testify to the fact that our sin was nailed to the cross and buried with Christ.

The whole realm of right thinking can drag the believer into the self-help process of positive thinking. If we are not careful, thinking the right thoughts can become a work – something that we must do for God. We should ensure that we do not allow ourselves to worry and to be laden with guilt if we find that we do not seem at times to think the right thoughts.

Thankfully, God does not relate to us on the basis of our mind, our right thinking. Neither does God see us according to our behaviour and lifestyle. No, God sees us according to what the Bible says that Jesus has already done for us. We are dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ (Romans 6:11).

Right Thinking as an Act of Repentance

Most people see the Biblical concept of repentance as being a process of debasing oneself before God; feeling sorry for oneself and grovelling to God in order to seek His forgiveness – which He may or may not give, according to the seriousness of the believer’s crime.

The Greek word metanoeō is translated repent in the New Testament. According to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary - this word means: to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction). According to Thayer’s Greek Definitions – this word means: to change one’s mind.

There is a great deal of debate surrounding the subject of seeking God’s forgiveness each time you sin, based on 1 John 1:9. We won’t go into that subject here, but we will study this matter at a later time. Advocates of what could be described as the radical grace message – believe that a believer does not have to seek such forgiveness, as it was already given at the cross. This is a belief which I personally agree with.

Repentance is not about seeking God’s forgiveness for a sinful deed. Repentance has much more to do with making a decision to striking at a different, and right, conclusion; it is about seeing a subject in a different, and better, light. Repentance is about aligning ones thought patterns with the truth.

Work Out Your Own Salvation

Perhaps the renewal of the mind is what is meant when Paul admonished believers to work out their own salvation in Philippians 2:12?

Here is how The Message translation renders this verse:

12 What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.
Philippians 2:12 msg

If we are not careful, we can end-up making a work, a fleshly effort, to work out our own salvation.

God Is the Cause of our Desires and Actions

Just as we are perhaps led to believe that we have to revert to some extent, back to rule-keeping, Paul tells us in Philippians 2:13 were that power comes from. I love Philippians 2:13, it is one of my favourite verses of scripture. For me, this verse takes away the pressure to perform as a Christian, because it lets us know that the power to live right does not come from our corrupt, flesh nature, but from God. The modern translations of the Bible really help to bring out the meaning of this verse:

13 For God is at work within you, helping you want to obey him, and then helping you do what he wants.
Philippians 2:13 TLB

13 For it is God who is the cause of your desires and of your acts, for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 BBE

13 It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.
Philippians 2:13 GW

13 God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.
Philippians 2:13 CEV

13 For it is God who in his good will is at work in your hearts, inspiring your will and your action.
Philippians 2:13 GSNT

Sin in the Book of Romans

The book of Romans mentions the word “sin” more than any other book in the Bible. During the beginning chapters of Romans, Paul does not make any effort to exhort believers to make an effort to avoid sin. In fact, Paul lays a foundation by clearly stating that once a believer has accepted Christ as Lord, he has died to sin, once and for all (see Romans 6:11).

Romans 6 is a truly amazing chapter in the Bible which asserts through Jesus Christ we accept His sacrifice for our sins. This causes us to be dead to sin, but alive in Christ. This is not something that we achieve through our own efforts to keep rules – it is something that has already been achieved for us by Christ. We become the beneficiaries

Do Not Let Sin Reign in Your Body

In the next verse, in Romans 6:12, the emphasis changes somewhat in that Paul exhorts the believer to not let sin reign in his mortal body. So we are to liken ourselves dead to sin because of what Romans 6:11 says about us. But Romans 6:12 seems to indicate that there is a possibility of sin once again working in our mortal bodies. This seems to indicate that we have a choice as to whether we want to sin or not. This leads us to consider that we are to struggle with sin – even though the Bible says we have died to sin. Fortunately, Romans 6:14 tells us that sin will not have dominion over us because we are under grace. This message seems to have a parallel with Genesis 4:7. So it would seem that sin still exists, but it has lost its power in the lives of those who trust in Jesus. I like what The Living Bible translation of Romans 6:3, 6-7 says about sin’s power:

3 For sin's power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered.
6 Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin's control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin;
7 for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you.
Romans 6:3, 6-7 TLB

This message of having a choice as to whether we sin or not, seems to be contrary to 1 John 3:9. (See also 1 John 3:9 NLT and 1 John 3:9 MSG). Romans 6:1-2 also seems to agree with 1 John 3:9.

We know from Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the process of believing that we have something that the Bible says we already have in Christ, although we do not see the evidence of it with our physical senses. Perhaps then this explains the contrast between Romans 6:1-2 and Romans 6:12? Our ability to live godly lives, free of sin, is dependant on our faith: it is according to what we believe. If it is according to our belief then it has a lot to do with our thinking.

Romans 13:12 indicates that we are to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. In Romans 13:13 Paul admonishes believers to walk properly. We know that the Bible uses the term “walk” as a metaphor to mean a person’s lifestyle and behaviour. Paul continues in verse 13 saying that we should not walk in revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife or envy. Romans 13:14 continues by saying we should put on Christ and not make any provision for the flesh. This seems to indicate that there is something that the believer must do – rather than reflecting upon what Christ has already done for us.

Sanctification as a Process of Development

Perhaps then, we can conclude that we a both already sanctified and being sanctified according to Hebrews 10:14. We are being sanctified under grace – not under law. That means that the divine nature is something that outworks in our lives in a piecemeal fashion. It is all about a relationship with the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ. This relationship is through fellowship with God through study of the Word, prayer and praise. As we develop our relationship with God in this way, the Holy Spirit and the divine nature that He provides, becomes more and more real to us.

1 Peter 5:10 seems to indicate that believers are to suffer a while in a process by which God will eventually perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

This brings us onto the concept of patience being an attribute which we are not equipped with in the first instance, but something which develops in us through trials. (See James 1:2-3). The book of James is considered by many Grace Christians as being rather legalistic – like an extension of the Gospels, which were intended to bring a man to the end of his own efforts. However, Paul himself seems to repeat this message in Romans 5:3. The same Greek word, hupomonē, translated patience or perseverance, appears in both of these verses.

The Divine Nature as Fruit of the Spirit

Paul likens the attributes of the divine nature to fruit, in that they develop and grow in our life through experience. The Message translation of Galatians 5:22-23 brings out this metaphoric meaning:

22 But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments,
23 not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.
Galatians 5:22-23 msg

I like the way that the end of verse 23 spells out that is all about God’s grace – not our own efforts through legalism: Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.

Conclusion

This study can have one of two effects on believers:

1. It can help them better relate to their lifestyle, which may not match-up to what they see as being the requirements set-out in the Bible. This lightens the load in terms of guilt, as we see that it is not about our efforts to be holy – but about allowing God to work in our lives and allowing God’s nature to become a part of us.

2. It can cause a person to resist this discussion in that he asserts that the Bible says that he has no sin. Therefore, he has no consciousness of sin – so the matter is not worth discussing beyond that. Perhaps if we consider that we are becoming holy, when the Bible says we already are, then perhaps we will never become holy – because holiness is always a future-based thing. Consider Word of Faith teaching that asserts we ought to only consider that we are healed right now – not that we will be healed sometime.

I believe that the way we ought to see renewal of the mind, is that it is a process that we go though over time, by fellowshipping with God in the Word and in prayer – in order to discover more and more, day-by-day, what the Bible says we already are in Christ.