Introduction
“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 and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
Once we come to faith in Christ and begin walking in the Light, we often start to see more clearly how sinful and flawed we are in our flesh. And if we are not careful, we might become confused and distracted and get caught up in trying to renew ourselves through self-effort. We might (perhaps unconsciously) begin a campaign to clean up our act so that we might live free from habitual sin and represent Christ better.
But this is not God’s way of renewal for us. Self-effort is the world’s way. “Pull yourself up! Do hard things! No pain, no glory!” are the mantras of this world, but Jesus speaks a better word.
When His disciples asked, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?”Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29). The work we do, friend, is to believe in Jesus.
As believers, we must not conform to the world’s methods of renewal through self-effort as these are confusing, distracting, and doomed to fail. Instead, we must seek the renewal of our mind through God’s Word.
We do not face our problems or sin struggles by tackling them ourselves, turning to laws and rules to change our behavior. Instead, we want to seek transformation by reminding ourselves of what Jesus accomplished for us through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. By meditating on this heart cleansing and mind-renewing message continually and by putting faith in it, a transformation of heart and life is sure.
And this remembering of Jesus’ death, and what He accomplished on the cross for us, is not a one-time event nor merely remembering during communion at a church service. No, we must always remind ourselves of the One “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age…” (Galatians 1:4; 2 Peter 1:12).
Illustration
In Exodus 14, we read how God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and how they were now facing the Red Sea in front of them and Pharoah’s pursuing army behind. The Israelites were terrified and trembling; they were murmuring against God and complaining to Moses. They said, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11).
But in the very next chapter, Exodus 15, we see the Israelites had gone from trembling to worshipping, from complaining to praising.
Exodus 15:2 (NIV) The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
What brought about this renewal of their minds, this great transformation in them, to where they changed from grumbling to praising?
God had rescued and saved them from destruction at the hand of Pharaoh’s army and from drowning in the Red Sea.
Exodus 14:24-25 (NIV) During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
In Exodus 15, the Israelites were reveling in what God had accomplished on their behalf, how He fought for them, how He supernaturally delivered them. The contemplation of His work on their behalf renewed and transformed them. They went from terror in feeling trapped to fervor in worship, from trembling to praising.
Contemplating how Jesus fought for you on the cross and secured your victory through resurrection power will bring renewal to you too.
Application
Are you wanting to experience a significant renewal in your mind, life, or behavior?
Hebrews 3 tells you how to receive the help you need: “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” (Hebrews 3:1 NIV)
The way to win the battle against your flesh and to experience the renewal that you want is to fix your thoughts on Jesus.
Remember the agonies of the cross that Jesus endured to cleanse you and heal you. Remember His pierced head, hands, side, and feet, which Jesus displays as He intercedes for you in Heaven. Fill your mind with the truth that you are in Jesus who has risen victorious over death, the world, the devil, and the flesh.
As the song says, “Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide; There’s wonderful power in the blood.”
As you wash at the “cleansing tide” of the cross and renew your mind in this way, you will experience the Holy Spirit leading you away from ungodly thinking and behavior and into thoughts and actions that are pure, lovely, and of good report. You will not be trying to do better; instead, you will be walking by the Spirit and bearing His fruit. Transformation comes not by trying but by dying.
As you fix your thoughts on Jesus, you will begin to live as the new creation He has made you (2 Corinthians 5:17). No longer are you a slave to sin, in bondage to the world and its ideologies; now you are a new creation in Christ Jesus with a mind that is renewed by remembering Christ’s death and resurrection and controlled by the love of Jesus who died to save and sanctify you (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Question: How will you fix your thoughts on Jesus for the renewal of your heart and mind?
Mark writes, “By praying and asking the Lord to take me to the cross to be with Jesus and his healing blood. Then seeing his suffering for me on the cross then claiming the gifts of the Spirit from him in order to war against the flesh.“Cheryle writes, “By looking to the Cross and seeing that Jesus went willingly upon it to save me from sin and death. I can live a holy and victorious life THROUGH the Blood He shed for me. The world does not have the answer or the power. Jesus does. AMEN.”
Joe writes, “If I try to simply NOT think about something, I find that I focus on it more. So trying to overcome sinful thoughts by not thinking about them is impossible. The beauty of the Gospel is it isn’t another gimmick to play a mind game and try to NOT think about something. I get to fix my thoughts on Jesus and have my mind renewed once my heart has been changed by His grace through the Gospel. I will spend mental energy thinking about what Jesus did for me. He cleansed me (1 Pet. 1:18-19). He redeemed me from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). He made me new (2 Cor. 5:1). And the list could go on. Thank You, Jesus!“
Kim writes, “In order to fix my thoughts on Jesus, I must know what the Word says about Jesus and what He has done. For me, that begins with time in His word each morning, prayer and listening to sound teaching throughout the day and considering what I’ve read and heard to see what it says about God and what is says about me. And to have a grateful heart for all the Lord has done and made available to me. The beautiful gospel has set me free to focus on Jesus and no longer myself. The daily exercise is to REMEMBER this and REJOICE in it!“
Mike L. writes, “I will meditate on the cross where the King of the Universe chose me over Himself. I will see His blood covered face, I will look into His eyes and I will see the love that He has for me and hear Him say “Mike I did this for you because I love you.” Seriously who is like Jesus!? That even though I was His enemy He gave is life for me, I deserve nothing but eternal damnation, instead I am receiving eternal life where sin ceases to exist. Jesus has given me peace and I honestly look forward to death as I will never have to deal with sin again and I will be in His presence. May I always take time each day to fixate my heart on the cross as to become more and more like Jesus drawing people to the love of our Savior. Lord Jesus thank you for loving me and choosing me over yourself, thank you for wiping out my sin debt, Lord words can not say enough, may my life be worthy of the love that you afforded me and cost You so much, blessed be His beautiful name!“
Reprinted by permission from the Looking to Jesus study at www.settingcaptivesfree.com. SCF exists to help men and women find freedom in Christ through the gospel.