The Christian mindset – Spirit-controlled mind
“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the spirit control your mind leads to life and peace” (NLT) Romans 8:5-6
The mind is a battlefield between good and evil. At any moment in time, one of these forces dominates our thinking; we are either fulfilling the desires of the flesh or the desires of the Spirit:
“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (NLT) Gal. 5:17
However, since God has made us free moral agents to choose good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17), none of these forces can beat us into submission. Our decision to do good or evil is our own choice, borne out of the mindset we have fed – flesh-controlled or spirit-controlled (Jam. 1:13-14).
Since the fall of man, our natural inclinations are geared towards satisfying the desires of the flesh. The heart of man was and is still desperately wicked and is inclined towards sin always (Gen. 6:5). Man desperately needed a saviour in Christ Jesus to redeem him from the bondage of sin:
“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children” (NLT) Gal. 4:4-5.
So if you have surrendered to this Saviour through baptism, you are no more under the bondage of sin. The Spirit that was given us on the day of redemption (Acts 2:38) is big enough to transform our mindset and change our hunger and desires:
“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (NLT) Gal. 2:20.
Yes! We have to trust the Son of God by letting the Holy Spirit control our minds and the results will be life and peace. Amen!