The Mind

Rom 8:5-8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life & peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Rom 8:12 “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.”

2 Cor 1:22 “And who has also put His seal on us & given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good & acceptable & perfect.”

1 Peter 1:14-17 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

Ps 119:97-104 “Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep Your word. I do not turn aside from Your rules, for You have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”

Gen 2:19 “So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field & every bird of the heavens & brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.”

Matt 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind.”

2 John 6 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.”

Prov 27:19 “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.”

Prov 23:7 (NASB) “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”

Matt 15:18-20 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, & this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”

John 6:68 “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

The human mind is designed to focus upon Jesus Christ as Savior & Lord. The believer can have two “dispositions” (mind sets): he can lean toward the things of the flesh (carnal Christian) & be at enmity with God; or he can incline toward the things of the Spirit (spiritual Christian) & enjoy life & peace. Our obligation is to the Holy Spirit who convicted us & showed us how much we needed a Savior. The Spirit gave us saving faith, & implanted the new nature within us; He bears witness to us that we are God’s children.

This sermon ends the “Worldviews” series with a closer look at one of the greatest battlefields – the minds on man!