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The Redeemed Mind Is No Myth

by Dr. Henderson Ward  
12/20/2015 / Christian Living

There are some things that are very easy to say but extremely hard to do, and no matter how proficient you are, there will always be a gap between simple sayings and real achievements.

I recalled some smart 'Alec' saying that if you want to be the smartest writer in the world, with the most awesome mind, then all you have to do is quite simply memorize the entire Oxford English dictionary.

Give that some thought.

Shakespeare is said to have possessed a working vocabulary of 25,000 words, and the Oxford English Dictionary (according to it's 2nd edition) is composed of some 171,000 words.

So will we see someone soon who simply memorized the entire Oxford English Dictionary and thereby equipped himself with a vocabulary many times that of Shakespeare's?

Unlikely. Though simply put and easy to say, simply memorize the entire dictionary. it's mighty hard to do.

And this was the dilemma that Jesus' disciples had, and the person who put them there was none other than Jesus himself.

After Jesus threw them into mental and emotional turmoil, their response was telling, for they asked, "Who then can be saved?" (Matthew 19:25). Imagine that, Jesus' chosen apostles were wondering if anybody can be saved.

The story of the rich man who came to Jesus, and asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life, has occupied the minds of many, and they are so many different interpretations of this simple story that whatever I tell you will certainly not be the end of the matter.

But one thing I can tell you with certainty, is that the rich man could not grasp the concept of living without his riches. To him that was like walking down Jerusalem's streets naked while eating pork chops. A double whammy you might say.

In all of us, and there are no exceptions, there is something so anchored to our being, so part of who we are, that to us death is preferable than going against it.

Orthodox Jews would rather you kill them than force them to eat pork.
Some women say they will rather die than be viciously raped.
Some parents would confront a rampaging lion to save their child.
Some business people would rather go to hell than pay their fair share of taxes.
Some men would fight an army if it insults their mother.

There are some things in society, all societies, that are obnoxious, unfair and resented and yet continue year after year without abatement, until they become a normal part of our existence. It is expected that the rich will get away with their criminality, the powerful will exploit and marginalise the weak, and the upper classes will be in control.

All these practices are so mundane, so much a part of every-day, ordinary living, so much part of who we are that for someone to go against them, for someone who is one of us not to comprehend; this is nave, it is akin to not knowing that quicksands are dangerous, as well as mosquitoes that sting.

It baffled the minds of the disciples that Jesus did not seem to understand the place that the rich occupied in the world, the hallowed, exalted, cherished place that all aspire to and few occupy. What on earth was Jesus thinking when he was virtually excluding rich folks from the kingdom? Are we hearing right? Is this man for real?

The problem here is that the disciples were still attached to their secular thinking, their minds were still earthly, their carnal aspirations were still rooted in the acquisition of material things of which the rich were their models. So to exclude the rich from this paradise to come was not something they could accept coming from their Messiah.

It takes a transition of the mind for anyone to grasp spiritual gems.

The Bible puts it like this: "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." (Romans 8:6-7)

The transition of the mind comes through a process of transformation, and even learned people do not always fathom how this can be.

When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about this transformation, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:6) Nicodemus response was, "How can these things be?" (John 3:9)

But the Bible is quite clear in how this transformation takes place. God does not take out your physical heart and renew it, he does not rip out your toxic emotions, he does not examine your fetid habits and repair them; for that is not how God works.

The Bible tells us how this transformation process works: "...be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12:2). It was the mind that mattered, sanctified, transformed, transfigured and reformatted to produce newness and spiritual vitality both outwardly and internally.

This was confirmed for emphasis and solidified in doctrine when Paul, writing to the Ephesians said, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." (Ephesians 4:23)

It was Martin Luther King Jr., who said in one of his speeches, "The mind is the measure of the man."

Not just any mind will do, but a certain kind of mind, a mind like Jesus', and the Bible puts it like this: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5)

The mind that was in Jesus Christ, some would say the mind that is in Jesus Christ, was reflected in his disposition throughout his earthly life, in that he was devoted to doing in totality all that pleased the Father. In essence, truly, this is the mind of Christ.

So the mind of Christ is given at conversion, the new birth transforms the mind and equips it to imitate Jesus, but the problem is that we allow outside influences to derail us, sometimes in part and sometimes completely

Here is what the Bible says: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3) The possibility exists of straying and so we are warned "That ye be not soon shaken in mind" (2 Thessalonians 2:2)

Sometimes believers say and do things that are so unlike them, so unexpected, almost as if they are not in their right mind. This is because the sanctified mind needs to be kept fully under control, and not be allowed to drift and do things uncharacteristic.

The best of us will trip up if the mind is fragmented and not wholly committed: "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." (Matthew 22:37)

Often we find it difficult to do the right thing, like truly loving our neighbour, not because we are inherently wicked, but because we unjustly erect barriers in our mind. A quote I saw recently comes to mind: "What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are." Anthony Robbins

We are apt to get carried away when all around us people are going berserk, but as believers we have no room for hating each other, nor shall we join the bandwagon to besmirch and persecute people because of their religion or faith. Christians have been victims of this treatment throughout history, and have overcome, all because, as Paul reminds us, the mind makes the difference, "...we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16)

One of my greatest wish is for Muslims, Hindus and other false religions, and be in no doubt they are false, to repent and turn all together to Christ. I feel most strongly that love, in all its blessed ramifications, will pave the way for such an eventuality far better than hate and persecution. It will be a wonderful day when we can regard all of God's children as our brothers and sisters.

Enough said.

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Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017

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