Renewing your mind is necessary because a carnal mind won’t submit to God and His Word. When you become born again in Christ and become a new creation, your mind is unchanged and is still carnal and worldly. Your mind still thinks, korero, and acts as the world. Ehara tēnei i te mea whakamīharo, because all those years, you have been fed with the things of the world and educated by the knowledge and wisdom of the world. But now that you have become a new creation it’s time to renew your mind with the Word of God (Te Bibilia). Let’s look at what the Bible says about the necessity of renewing your mind.
The necessity of renewing your mind
Renewing your mind is necessary, because as long as your mind and the way you think are not renewed with the Word of God, you will always speak, act and walk according to what your old carnal mind is telling you to do.
When your mind is not in line with the Word of God, but in line with the world, you shall do those things, which are against the will of God.
Ko koe hoki, I tetahi wa i wehea ai ratou me nga hoariri i roto i to hinengaro e nga mahi kino, yet now hath he reconciled (Kolosa 1:21)
You shall walk as the hanga tawhito after the deceitful lusts and desires of the flesh and of the mind.
I roto hoki i a tatou korero katoa i mua i nga hiahia o to tatou kikokiko, te whakatutuki i nga hiahia o te kikokiko me te hinengaro; a ko nga natura nga tamariki o te riri, Ahakoa etahi atu (Epeha 2:3)
The carnal mind stops the work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit lives in fullness in every born-again believer. But there is one thing that will stop the Holy Spirit and that is a carnal mind. As long as the mind is carnal and thinks like the world instead of the Word of God, the Christian will not walk according to the Word after the Spirit.
Therefore if you want to walk after the Spirit, renewing your mind is essential.
It is so important, that as soon as you repent and become born again, whakahoutia e koe to hinengaro ki te Kupu a te Atua, so that you will get to know the will of God and live according to His will.
You can only get to know the will of God through the Word. Te Kupu (te Paipera) Ko te pono. Only the Word will expose the lies of the world; the lies of the devil, which you have believed for all those years and are settled as strongholds in your mind.
Kaua hoki e rite ki tenei ao: engari kia puta ke koutou i runga i te whakahoutanga o to koutou hinengaro, kia whakamatauria ai e koutou te mea pai, me te manakohia, me te tino tika, te hinaaro o te Atua (Roma 12:2)
How can the new creation become visible in the natural realm?
I roto i te pae varua, you have been made a new creation. This spiritual transformation will become visible in the natural realm. The renewing of your mind plays an important role in this process of sanctification.
When you read and study the Bible and renew your mind with the Word, me te whakarongo ki te kupu, ka waiho hei kaimahi mo te kupu, you will put off the Whakanohia te koroua a Whakanohia te tangata hou,
By putting off the old man and putting on the new man, the new creation becomes visible in the natural realm.
Kia whakarerea e koutou te tangata tawhito i to mua, kua pirau nei i runga i nga hiahia tinihanga; Kia whakahoutia i roto i te wairua o to hinengaro; Kia kakahuria iho hoki te tangata hou, ko ta te Atua i hanga ai i runga i te tika, i te tapu pono (Epeha 4:22-24)
As long as you don’t renew your mind with the Word of God and keep feeding your mind with the things of the world and believe in the knowledge and wisdom of the world, hei utu mo te Paipera, then you shall stay the old man.
There will be no change, but you’ll stay the old creation, who is carnal and sense ruled. You’ll keep walking as the old creation and live the same life as you did before.
Who do you believe: the Word of the world?
You decide how to spend your time. You spend your time on the things that are important to you. If you love Jesus you spend time in the Word and pray and listen to Him and believe His words and do what He says. Ki te aroha koe ki te ao, you spend time to the things of the world and believe what the world is telling you.
The Word is telling the truth about the world and the world is telling lies about the Word. You decide who you believe; te kupu, te ao ranei. If you believe what the Word says is true, you will obey the Word. But if you believe what the world is telling you, you do what the world says and automatically reject the Word.
You can easily reject the truths of God’s Word and believe in the lies of the world, which are in reality the lies of the devil.
Not renewing your mind or partially renewing your mind will cause strive in your mind and life
As long as your mind is not renewed or partially renewed with the Word of God, you shall experience faith issues, ruarua, tohe, hesitations, spiritual defeat, etc. That is because a part of your mind is still carnal and thinks like the world and another part thinks the way God thinks.
The part of your mind that is carnal and still thinks like the world, shall always strive with the part of the mind that is spiritual and thinks like the Word of God, and vice versa.
The carnal mind will never submit to the law of God, e tohu ana i te hiahia o te Atua.
You shall be partial and have two sides. One side is still attached to the world and the other side belongs to the Spirit.
One moment you shall be engaged with the things of the Kingdom of God and you shall speak and do what the Bible says, and the next moment you shall devote yourself to the things of the world, and speak and do what the world says.
You shall be a chameleon and adjust your behavior to the environment.
When you are in church and when you are surrounded by Christians, you speak religiously and act pious. When you are at school, I te mahi, (birthday) party, or when you speak to acquaintances, hoa, and/or family members, who are unbelievers, you shall speak, behave and act like the world. Because if you speak about the Word in the world, you shall be considered a fool and be ridiculed and sometimes even persecuted, and that is something that most Christians don’t like. (Panuitia hoki: ‘Te pakanga me te ngoikore o te koroua').
Ko te hinengaro o te Karaiti
As long as your mind is not completely renewed with the Word of God, you shall have a partial carnal mind and not the mind of Christ. Only when the mind is completely renewed with the Word of God, you shall speak, mahi, and walk in faith after the Word and the Spirit.
You shall submit yourself to the will of God (the law of God) because you’ll be rooted in the Word, think like the Word and therefore you shall walk like the Word as a son of God.
When your mind is renewed and you walk after the Spirit, you shall bear the Hua o te Wairua Na tēnā koutou. Only the works of the Spirit will please God, not the works of the flesh.
Ko te hunga hoki i runga i ta te kikokiko, whakaaro ana ratou ki o te kikokiko; ko te hunga ia i runga i ta te Wairua, ko nga mea o te Wairua. Ko te whakaaro hoki ki ta te kikokiko he mate; ko to te Wairua ia he ora, he rangimarie. Na te mea ko te ngakau kikokiko he mauahara ki te Atua: e kore hoki e pa ki te ture a te Atua, kaore ano hoki e taea. Na, ko te hunga i roto i te kikokiko e kore e pai ki te Atua (Roma 8:5-8)
Renewing your mind will cause perfect peace in your mind
Renewing your mind with the Word of God and living according to the will of God will cause perfect peace in your mind.
Ka mau tonu koe i te rangimarie ki a ia, e u ana te whakaaro ki a koe: no te mea e whakawhirinaki ana ia ki a koe
Ihaia 26:3-4
How long will the process of renewing your mind take?
How long the process of renewing your mind takes all depends upon the fact of how big your love for God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is. Let me ask you, how eager are you to do His will and please Him?
Another important factor is that it depends upon the fact whether you hate your old ora hei tangata hara kāore rānei. If you still love your old life, me ona hara katoa me ona kino, then you will not get rid of it. Because you don’t get rid of something you love, but you keep doing what you love.
The love for the world stops the growth of many Christians.
Many times Christians spend more time on the things of this world, than on the things of the Kingdom of God. They seek the things which are upon this earth, instead of seeking the things which are above (Kolosa 3:1).
When people spend more time on the things of this world, than the renewing of the mind will take a long time. Maybe they will even fall away from the faith.
What is the greatest commandment?
The greatest commandment that Jesus gave to us, is to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your mind, and all of your strength.
Ka mea a Ihu ki a ia, Kia aroha ki a Ihowa, ki tou Atua, kia mau ki tou Atua, kia aroha ki tou Atua., me o wairua katoa, me ō hinengaro katoa. Koinei te ture tuatahi me te nui (Matiu 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, Ruka 10:27)
Everything depends upon the fact of how great someone’s love is for God.
Christians can say all kinds of things. They can say they believe in God, how much they love God, engari their actions prove mehemea ratou tino aroha ki te Atua.
A person can have a lot of head knowledge of the Bible and quote many scriptures, but if a person believes the wisdom and knowledge of the world above the wisdom and knowledge of God, then the mind stay unrenewed, and stay carnal.
If the mind of Christians remain carnal they shall stay the old carnal man and live in enmity with God. Because a carnal mind won’t submit to the word and the Law of God; Te hinaaro o te Atua.
An unrenewed carnal mind shall never submit to God but always rebel, and strive against the word and will of God.
If you love God the Father and the Son, you will do what the Word commanded you to do, and not what the world; the people tell you to do.
You can’t partially serve Jesus Christ. It is all or nothing.
'Kia tote mo te whenua’
