Romans 12:1-3 English Standard Version

¹ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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 and acceptable and perfect. ³ For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Can we hold on to all the memories of our past and have a renewed mind? We do not think of our thought processes as being new but rather how we were trained to think. Education should teach us how to think, not what to think. It is meant to exercise the mind in reasoning skills, how to gather information and make decisions on life matters.

Truth in life is all about perspective and how we come to the conclusions which form our personal realities. Now that we have entered a spiritual kingdom, truth is no longer a perspective, He is our God.

John 14:6a English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Our mind set must change from determining our own truths to receiving the truth by faith. It is a knowing in relationship and relying on He who is true. The renewed mind is the one that has been restored in relationship that we had before the fall of man.

Genesis 3:8-9 English Standard Version

⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool^[wind] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

2 Timothy 2:20-22 English Standard Version

²⁰ Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹ Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. ²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Here is the problem with cleaning ourselves, we clean first where we allow people to come and see for themselves how we live. We base our cleaning on two levels, our own standards and our own judgments.

If anyone comes in and judges our house it is likely that they will not be invited back. The principles of house cleaning are very similar to cleaning up our behaviors. We tend to hide things we are embarrassed that others might see, so we deny them access.

When it comes to the abiding presence of God, there is no hiding from God what is inside of us. There is no hiding from the God inside of us. If we do not think of Him as the abiding presence our actions might look as if we are godless.

Romans 8:5-6 English Standard Version

⁵ 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. ⁶ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Our mindset is important because it should reflect our faith in Christ, our life in Christ. How we think and what we think is important.

Have we changed our minds or have we been given a new one?