Renewing our Minds with Truth

A couple years ago, I was asked to speak to a ladies group on the promise of transformation. Today, I thought I would share that message on the blog. 😊

The passage that immediately came to mind when I was asked to speak on “the promise of transformation” was Romans 12:1-2:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The process of redemption begins with justification—through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are justified, or made right, with God. Our debt has been paid and our record made clean. Following justification are sanctification and glorification. Glorification is when we are given new bodies and made fully into the image of Christ in the new heaven and new earth. But until then, we are on this process of sanctification, or being made holy, until Christ’s return.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:25-27

One of the main ways that sanctification occurs is through the truth of the Word of God.

Sadly, knowledge of that Word has decreased amongst professing believers over the past decades. A 2017 study conducted by Barna found that only 17% of Christians (who consider their faith important and attend church regularly) actually have a biblical worldview. Among practicing Christians, over half are inclined toward New Spirituality and postmodernist beliefs, and over 30% accept Marxist ideas. Some unbiblical ideas the study found common among Christians included:

“If you do good, you will receive good. If you do bad, you will receive bad.”
“Meaning and purpose come from working hard to earn as much as possible so you can make the most of life.”
“What is right or wrong depends on what an individual believes.”
“The government, rather than individuals, should control as much of the resources as necessary to ensure that everyone gets their fair share.”¹

We need a better knowledge of the Word of God in our lives. If we claim to be people who live according to the word of God, then we need to know the word of God for ourselves, rather than taking trite sayings posted on social media as truth.

One of the best ways to grow your relationship with God is to study His Word.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Bible is packed full of wisdom and instruction, showing us how to live our lives in a way that pleases God. Psalm 119 is all about God’s Word and its blessings:

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” Psalm 119:9
“Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors.” Psalm 119:24
“Establish Your word to Your servant, As that which produces reverence for You.” Psalm 119:38
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105
“I long for Your salvation, O Lord, And Your law is my delight.” Psalm 119:174

When we have been in the Word, studying it and learning to apply it to our lives, amazing things happen. And the more time I’ve spent studying God’s Word, the more I love it! In the Bible we find answers, instructions, warnings, and blessings. We learn more of who God is and His great love for us every time we read. God’s Word is truly wonderful, truly a gift.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

Another reason we need to be in the Word is because we are susceptible to false teaching. In this age of information, our minds are quickly filled with messages from many different sources, some secular, some Christian, and some heretical. One way that I think the modern church is especially susceptible to false teaching is through worship music. There are so many songs available to us to listen to for worship. While there are many good songs, there are also lots of “Christian” songs that sound nice, make us feel good warm fuzzies, but have poor theology. Theology is the study of God, but some songs have theology based on feelings instead of the Bible. Or the theology is really me-ology, all about how God makes me feel instead of giving God glory. These songs may feel good and right, but our feelings don’t determine truth. Facts determine truth, and the facts of theology are found in the Scriptures. Scripture is the Word of God, and the Word is Jesus Himself, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Our theology cannot be based on music; songs are too short to give us the full picture of our Heavenly Father. We must know the word for proper theology. We can’t base theology on music; know the word for theology. Theology is the study of God. If we want to know who God is and how He wants us to live we need to know the Word, and then when we know the Word we can have the wisdom and discernment to know what messages we are hearing that align with Scripture and what does not.

We also need to memorize Scripture. “Why memorize Bible verses when I can look them up on my phone?” is the most common excuse for not memorizing Scripture. To be honest, this is a good question: what is the point of memorizing Scripture? Most Sabbath school teachers say that the point of memorizing Scripture is so that if you happen to not have your phone or a Bible on hand you can still recite Bible verses when sharing the gospel. While this is handy, it doesn’t truly satisfy the question. It’s not the biblical answer.

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Hear that again, “Your word I have treasured in my heart”—it doesn’t say have the word on your body, it says in your heart. You can’t treasure the Word when it’s sitting in your back pocket.

We see throughout the Old Testament that memorizing scripture was a big deal. God told people to write His words on their foreheads and hearts, teach them, talk of them all day in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. How can we think on and talk about and teach the word all day if we do not know the Word?

Memorizing scripture helps us to delight in God’s word, to understand it deeply, helps us to have ammo to recognize and fight against temptation, to have encouragement ready, to fight against anxiety (seriously the best thing to do—remind yourself of the truth when your emotions try to take control). We need to have the answers to destroy speculations and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says. We don’t know Christ just through our feelings; feelings follow thoughts. What we fill our thoughts with changes what we feel.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

Are we filling our minds with Scripture? With what is true? With the real Jesus or the Jesus we want Him to be?

Another reason for memorizing Scripture is that this is how we meditate biblically. In popular psychology, meditation is a big thing right now. It’s been shown to have a lot of benefits, but we have to be careful with what kind of meditation we participate in as Christians. Worldly meditation is emptying your mind and trying to become one with the universe. Biblical meditation is filling your mind with the Word, like Psalm 1:1-3 says. Biblical meditation focuses our minds on Christ.

Yes, memorization takes hard work and dedication. It is not easy, even for people who seem to come by it naturally. But the hard work is so worth it!

Get into the Word starting this week. There are two forms of getting into the Word that are both important: reading and studying. We read through the Bible for an overview of the story of redemption. We study the Bible to know its meaning, learn context, see how Scripture interprets Scripture, and cross the bridge from how the text applies in their town to how it applies in our town. I think this methodical mode of study is so important for making accurate applications to our lives rather than reading the Scripture for what we want it to mean, what we “feel” it means. Are you reading through the Bible? Are you studying it? If not, how can you add these to your daily schedule?

I challenge you to start memorizing if you don’t do so already—you can start small, with one verse a month or one a week. Or do more if you feel God is calling you to do that. Something that helps me memorize scripture is to listen to scripture verses while I commute. Listening to the same passage over and over helps me memorize scripture even when I’m busy and “don’t have time” for memorization.

Time spent in God’s Word is never wasted.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:9-11

May this be true in our lives, that God’s Word will accomplish His desire in us.

With love,

Kelsey

Reference:

Barna (2017). “Competing Worldviews Influence Today’s Christians.” Retrieved from https://www.barna.com/research/competing-worldviews-influence-todays-christians/ ↩︎