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, speaks, and acts as the world. This isn’t surprising, 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 (The Bible). 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.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (Colossians 1:21)
You shall walk as the old creation after the deceitful lusts and desires of the flesh and of the mind.
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Ephesians 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, you renew your mind with the Word of God, 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. The Word (the Bible) is the truth. 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.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2)
How can the new creation become visible in the natural realm?
In the spiritual realm, 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, and obey the Word, and become a doer of the Word, you will put off the put off the old man and put on the new man,
By putting off the old man and putting on the new man, the new creation becomes visible in the natural realm.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 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, instead of the Bible, 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. If you love the world, 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; the Word or the world. 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, doubt, strive, 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, which represents the will of God.
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, at work, (birthday) party, or when you speak to acquaintances, friends, 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. (Read also: ‘The battle and weakness of the old man‘).
The mind of Christ
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, act, 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 fruit of the Spirit and please God. Only the works of the Spirit will please God, not the works of the flesh.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 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.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee
Isaiah 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 life as a sinner or not. If you still love your old life, with all its sins and iniquities, 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 (Colossians 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.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment (Matthew 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, Luke 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, but their actions prove if they really love God.
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; the will of God.
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.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
