'What is the key element in spiritual warfare? According to Scripture, it is human minds. 'But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ' (2 Corinthians 11:3 NIV). 'For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ' (10:3-5 NIV). Just as Satan reasoned with Eve as to why she should disobey God in the Garden, it is people's thought life that is the arena in which our spiritual battles are won or lost'.
Thoughts matter.
The human mind is not the ultimate weapon when fighting evil, but it cannot be excluded. It must be joined together with the Word, the Spirit, unconditional love, faith, and much else. However, it plays a powerful part indeed.
A person's thoughts effect one's actions, and whether or not those thoughts and actions are intentional determines how spiritual warfare is combatted. Satan, just as he deceived Eve in the garden, has been attacking how we view God. He twists our thinking about God's character and His intentions for us. At the root of every sin is selfishness, and Satan knows that the more we know, the more it goes to our heads. Knowledge is a beautiful gift that the Lord allows us to encounter. Learning is beneficial to us all. However, when knowledge gained turns a person's demeanor into one of arrogance, it is no longer Christ-centered, because His love is selfless. Our world thrives on learning, seeking to discover new pieces in the puzzle of life, and scientific discovery is grand and helpful, as it often can help us learn how to better things such as an average life expectancy or how to prevent diseases, but what good is that knowledge if we know nothing about Jesus Christ? Knowledge is meaningless without love. Truth is a proper combination of the two.
Being in college has opened my eyes to a lot of new world views, some positive while others not so much. One view was talked about often in my classes this past year, and it seems that more and more students and professors are beginning to embrace it. As time has progressed, a new idea has evolved: free-thinking, often defined as the forming of one's own opinions rather than depending completely on authority and/or popular belief, especially about social and religious issues. When researching this idea, what I've discovered is not what one would expect, and that is free-thinking, as the world today embraces, isn't truly free, because it often means living for one's self by disregarding rules or absolutes outlined by religion. Often free-thinking means to disregard faith as blindly accepting teachings in a naive sense. It means setting one's own rules based on one's own preferences. There is one big problem with all of this: no person is perfect. Everyone is broken, and if one chooses to rely completely on self to function, then that person will not last. A person is quite like a car in the shop-if the car were to refuse the help of the mechanic, it would not run properly. However, when the car submits to the true authority-the good mechanic-it is able to receive help (perhaps a proper oil change or a new transmission), and only then is it able to function smoothly. Think of yourself-your life, your body, your soul-as a broken car with God as the true mechanic. If life has taught me anything at all, it is that I do not trust myself with myself-does that make sense? I am broken and I need to be fixed. I need salvation. I need Jesus Christ. Without Him, I am a mess.
Now to the other point: naive belief. Being a believer does not mean accepting what your parents believe, and having faith does not mean being gullible. The Bible tells us to grow in our knowledge in Philippians 1:9-11. When our knowledge of Christ grows, our knowledge of God grows, and as our knowledge of God grows, His love abounds more and more in our lives. The Lord does not want us to blindly accept religion, but rather He wants us to utilize wisdom and minds to determine what is true. He wants us to dwell on Scripture and analyze the historical context, if it helps us learn more about His character. He wants us to take a step of faith and experience His presence. He wants us to quiet ourselves and listen to His Spirit. He wants us to love people no matter what. Often the proof of His love is made very clear in life. He wants us to delve deep into history, science, and mathematics and see His glory in it all. God does not want us to be in the dark. He allows us to learn. However, as we are learning we cannot forget who He is. He wants us to humbly learn more about the world without fear but instead with His perfect love in mind and at heart.
So, free-thinking. Often this encompasses denouncing absolute authority, but where is the freedom in that? Rules are set in place for a reason, and think on this: the Lord, if the Ultimate true God as we believe Him to be, has the only authority to set any rules at all. God's standard is set because it is His character. Our rebellious nature is what brings slavery-the wrong kind-by letting Satan have footholds in our lives. When we are enslaved in the right way-slaves to righteousness-we find obedience, which leads to freedom. It is only when we give our lives-freely choose-to submit to the Lord's will that we find true freedom, because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
It's ironic, really, (but the whole gospel story is) that a King takes the most humble of all places to save the bruised, the broken, the sinners, and the runaways. Have you ever tried to wrap your mind around a love that knows no end? It's impossible, but that doesn't mean it isn't real. If anything, our yearning for it and the satisfaction that it brings means that it is.
Here is what I'm getting at: only by becoming slaves to righteousness and taking our thoughts captive do we truly find freedom. Thoughts enslaved to righteousness instead of sin yield fruitful lives. Spiritual warfare is overcome in the renewing of our minds. It's a different type of free-thinking.
Being in college has opened my eyes to a lot of new world views, some positive while others not so much. One view was talked about often in my classes this past year, and it seems that more and more students and professors are beginning to embrace it. As time has progressed, a new idea has evolved: free-thinking, often defined as the forming of one's own opinions rather than depending completely on authority and/or popular belief, especially about social and religious issues. When researching this idea, what I've discovered is not what one would expect, and that is free-thinking, as the world today embraces, isn't truly free, because it often means living for one's self by disregarding rules or absolutes outlined by religion. Often free-thinking means to disregard faith as blindly accepting teachings in a naive sense. It means setting one's own rules based on one's own preferences. There is one big problem with all of this: no person is perfect. Everyone is broken, and if one chooses to rely completely on self to function, then that person will not last. A person is quite like a car in the shop-if the car were to refuse the help of the mechanic, it would not run properly. However, when the car submits to the true authority-the good mechanic-it is able to receive help (perhaps a proper oil change or a new transmission), and only then is it able to function smoothly. Think of yourself-your life, your body, your soul-as a broken car with God as the true mechanic. If life has taught me anything at all, it is that I do not trust myself with myself-does that make sense? I am broken and I need to be fixed. I need salvation. I need Jesus Christ. Without Him, I am a mess.Now to the other point: naive belief. Being a believer does not mean accepting what your parents believe, and having faith does not mean being gullible. The Bible tells us to grow in our knowledge in Philippians 1:9-11. When our knowledge of Christ grows, our knowledge of God grows, and as our knowledge of God grows, His love abounds more and more in our lives. The Lord does not want us to blindly accept religion, but rather He wants us to utilize wisdom and minds to determine what is true. He wants us to dwell on Scripture and analyze the historical context, if it helps us learn more about His character. He wants us to take a step of faith and experience His presence. He wants us to quiet ourselves and listen to His Spirit. He wants us to love people no matter what. Often the proof of His love is made very clear in life. He wants us to delve deep into history, science, and mathematics and see His glory in it all. God does not want us to be in the dark. He allows us to learn. However, as we are learning we cannot forget who He is. He wants us to humbly learn more about the world without fear but instead with His perfect love in mind and at heart.
So, free-thinking. Often this encompasses denouncing absolute authority, but where is the freedom in that? Rules are set in place for a reason, and think on this: the Lord, if the Ultimate true God as we believe Him to be, has the only authority to set any rules at all. God's standard is set because it is His character. Our rebellious nature is what brings slavery-the wrong kind-by letting Satan have footholds in our lives. When we are enslaved in the right way-slaves to righteousness-we find obedience, which leads to freedom. It is only when we give our lives-freely choose-to submit to the Lord's will that we find true freedom, because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
It's ironic, really, (but the whole gospel story is) that a King takes the most humble of all places to save the bruised, the broken, the sinners, and the runaways. Have you ever tried to wrap your mind around a love that knows no end? It's impossible, but that doesn't mean it isn't real. If anything, our yearning for it and the satisfaction that it brings means that it is.
Here is what I'm getting at: only by becoming slaves to righteousness and taking our thoughts captive do we truly find freedom. Thoughts enslaved to righteousness instead of sin yield fruitful lives. Spiritual warfare is overcome in the renewing of our minds. It's a different type of free-thinking.
