Developing the Mind of Christ
What we are being taught at church—or what we are not being taught—is part of the reason why. If churches were to teach people how to think correctly, rather than how to behave correctly, we might become a huge threat to Satan, but most sermons and self-help Christian books ignore how we should think, choosing instead to focus on how we should behave. Because such teaching chooses to concentrate on correct living rather than correct thinking, many sermons actually reinforce our false beliefs.
Sermons are all about what we should do; what we are not doing; what we need to change; and how we must increase our effort in one area of life or another. Most of today’s teaching has no impact on transforming our minds to seek the thoughts of Christ. Many sermons are actually counterproductive. The emphasis is on us and the effort we make, when it should be on our need to rest in the Holy Spirit and trust Him to work through us.
The difference between the two is as distinct as night and day. It’s the difference between law and grace, between resting in the Lord and gutting it out in the power of our own strength—a strategy that never works.
When the responsibility is placed upon us, we fail every time. This is not our fault. It’s the way we have been programmed—the way we have learned about life. When the responsibility is the Lord’s, when we rest in the Holy Spirit, we succeed.
Success isn’t a balance between our effort and God’s effort. If we are striving in any way, we can never achieve fruit that is worthwhile. Instead, we are held captive by our debilitating strongholds that will continue to enslave us for the rest of our lives.
Making a conscious effort to enter into God’s rest is all we can do, but it’s all that is necessary. Because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, entering God’s rest is what sets the Holy Spirit free to do the work He considers necessary in us. The Good News isn’t simply that you can have a relationship with God through Christ. This is what renewing your mind actually means—bringing your thoughts into captivity to Christ. Not only is this possible and achievable, this is the life every Christian is promised.
That we don’t achieve it isn’t because it’s not possible. It’s because of the strongholds we have constructed in our minds. These fortifications against God’s truth have been effective in keeping us marginalized, in keeping us from being all that we are capable of being.