What does the Bible say about renewing the mind?
How do you renew your mind? Are you earthly minded or are you heavenly minded? Let’s replace the world’s way of thinking with the truths of God’s Word. What we dwell upon and the things that take our time will shape our lives. As believers, we renew our minds biblically by spending uninterrupted time with God in prayer and His Word. Be careful what you are feeding your mind because what we indulge in will affect us. Set time daily to read the Bible, prayer, and worship the Lord.
Christian quotes about renewing the mind
“Without the renewed mind, we will distort the Scriptures to avoid their radical commands for self-denial, and love, and purity, and supreme satisfaction in Christ alone.” — John Piper
“Sanctification begins with spiritually renewing the mind, that is, changing how we think.” John MacArthur
Renewing the mind is a little like refinishing furniture. It is a two-stage process. It involves taking off the old and replacing it with the new. The old is the lies you have learned to tell or were taught by those around you; it is the attitudes and ideas that have become a part of your thinking but do not reflect reality. The new is the truth. To renew your mind is to involve yourself in the process of allowing God to bring to the surface the lies you have mistakenly accepted and replace them with truth. To the degree that you do this, your behavior will be transformed.
“If you perform your part, God will fulfill His. And once you put off specifically, you should just as thoroughly believe that God will renew your mind, despite the fact you know not how.” Watchman Nee
“Most of all, let the Word of God fill you and renew your mind every day. When our minds are on Christ, Satan has little room to maneuver.” — Billy Graham
“Satan’s target is your mind, and his weapons are lies. So fill your mind with the Word of God.”
“You are commanded to put aside the sinful practices of your old self, to be changed by a renewing of the mind, and to put on Christlike practices of your new self. Memorizing God’s Word is foundational to that process.” John Broger John Broger
The Bible calls us to renew our minds
1. Romans 12:1-2 “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. 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.”
2. Ephesians 4:22-24 “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
3. Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
4. Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
5. Colossians 3:2-3 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
6. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
7. Romans 7:25 “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Having the mind of Christ
8. Philippians 2:5 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”
9. 1 Corinthians 2:16 (KJV) “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
10. 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.”
11. 1 John 2:6 “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
12. John 13:15 “I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.”
God will work in your life to make you more like Jesus.
Victory over your mind will come from spending time with the Lord, relying upon the Spirit, and renewing your mind with God’s Word. God so deeply loves you and His great goal is to conform you into the image of Christ. God is constantly working to mature us in Christ and renew our mind. What a glorious privilege. Take a moment to think about the precious work of the living God in your life.
13. Philippians 1:6 (NIV) “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
14. Philippians 2:13 (KJV) “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Being a new creation in Christ
15. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
16. Galatians 2:19-20 “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
17. Isaiah 43:18 “Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.”
18. Romans 6:4 “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.”
Renew your mind with the Word of God
19. Joshua 1:8-9 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
20. Matthew 4:4 “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
21. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
22. Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
We are no longer slaves to sin
23. Romans 6:1-6 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
Keep your mind on Christ
24. Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
25. Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Reminders
26. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
27. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
28. Romans 8:27 “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
29. Romans 8:6 “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.“
Bad example of renewing the mind in the Bible
30. Matthew 16:23 “Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
I Am encouraged and blessed by this message, May God continue to strengthen the ministry more of His work