What does it mean to
renew the mind?
it is a process of
shedding the old outer covering and putting on the new. This takes place in the
'spirit of our mind'. ... As we come to know Him, our minds are renewed in
accordance to that knowledge of Him. In Romans 12: 2 Paul speaks of 'proving'
what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
What does being renewed in the spirit of your
mind mean?
There is
renewal. But being renewed in the spirit of our mind is not a one time act of
renewal as when we are born again. This word means that from the time we repent
we put on the new man (Eph 4:24), from that time continuing through the rest of
our life we are being renewed.
What does it mean to be transformed by
the renewing of the mind?
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” (Romans 12:1–2).
The phrase
“the mercies of God” refers to all of what has preceded chapters 1—11. The
exhortation that Paul presents is that since we have been the gracious
recipients of God’s great mercies, we are to be “living sacrifices” to God. How
do we do this? We are living sacrifices to God by not conforming to this world,
but by being transformed by the renewal of our minds.
This
exhortation really serves as a summary statement of all that follows. A living
sacrifice to God is one who does not conform, but is transformed. We are not to
be conformed to this world. Paul is using the word world here to refer to the
spirit of the age. In other words, world refers to the popular worldview that
rejects God and His revelation. As unbelievers, we are naturally conformed to
the world (Ephesians 2:1–3). As believers, we are no longer conformed to this
world because we no longer belong to the spirit of this age. We have been
translated rather than continuing to conform to this world; we are to be
transformed by having our minds renewed.
It is
interesting to note that Paul says that we must be transformed by the renewing
of our “minds.” The mind is the key to the Christian life. The reason why
non-Christians do not respond to Christian truth is that they cannot discern
spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:14). The gospel is a call for the unbeliever
to repent of his sin and embrace Christ by faith. The Greek word translated
“repentance” carries the notion of a change of mind. Our thinking must be
changed (transformed) from old, ungodly ways of thinking into new, godly ways
of thinking. What we know in our minds to be true forms a conviction in our
hearts of that truth, and that conviction in our hearts translates into action.
Therefore, we must first renew our minds.
The only way
to replace the error of the world’s way of thinking is to replace it with God’s
truth, and the only infallible source of God’s truth is His revealed Word, the
Bible. Transformation through renewed minds comes as believers expose
themselves to God’s Word through the faithful exposition of it each week in
church, personal Bible study, and group Bible study. A solid church that
believes in preaching the Word, reading the Word, and singing the Word is
invaluable in helping us renew our minds.
There are no
shortcuts. There is no magical formula for renewing our minds. We must fill our
minds with God’s Word. As Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the
truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
Renewal of the mind from a yoga
perspective
Spirituality
is the search, practice and experience through which one carries out the
necessary transformation on himself in order to have access to the truth. In
this regard we can call spirituality a set of looking, exercises, renunciation,
and conversion of looking at modifications of our existence which are not for
knowledge, but for one’s very being. It is the price to be paid for access to
truth.
Spirituality
is then an entire set of disciplines which is the price to be paid for truth.
Spirituality
postulates that truth is never given to us by right. It further postulates that
that we do not have the right to access of the truth neither is it not capable
of having access to the truth.
It
postulates, that truth is not given to us by a simple act of knowledge. It
postulates for us to have the right of access to the truth, we must be changed, transformed, shifted and become to some extend different from what
he was. The truth is only
give to us at a price that brings us to closer to the realization of our true
nature., for without this realization, we cannot know the truth.
In short no
spiritual conversion, no access to truth.
If the Self
of us is to be known as all peace and wholeness, there needs to be a peaceful
mind.
The mind
entertains aimless desires and for this reason is restless. The mind needs to
become like the Self.
The four
pre-requisitions for knowing God are:
Discrimination
between the eternal and the non eternal
Dispassion
for the fruits of one’s labor
Control of
mind and senses
A burning
desire to know God
We also need
to see this world clearly for what it is.
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