The Bible commands us to think in a distinctively Christian way.
And be not conformed
to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God (Romans 12:2).
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
In Thinking Christianly: New Patterns for New People, Dr. Albert Greene explains:
Because a Christian mind
is more than a mechanical skill, such as driving a car or operating a
computer, there is no simple set of steps which can be offered...There
are steps to be followed of course, steps like reading the Bible,
prayer, meditation, etc. But the Christian mind is primarily the result
of a deepening relationship to God in Christ by the Holy Spirit. It
involves the deepest resources of your heart. Here are some
suggestions, however, which may be helpful in moving in that direction:
Seek to develop a longing for God; (Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1-8), for coming to know Christ as the person who is our only hope of salvation
and our only Master. It means taking His yoke upon us and learning of
Him (Matthew 11:28-30). We do this primarily through learning to hear His voice in the Bible and responding to Him in prayer.
Endeavor to see His
glory and hear His voice in creation. This means a radical break with
the popular viewpoint which sees the world as "stuff" controlled by
"natural laws." God made our world and our way of living in it with the
intent that it should speak to us about Him. We need to learn to hear
Him in it.
Give increasing thought
to what it means to be created in the image of God and what is the task
which God has given to each of us in our human lives.
Pay increasing attention
to the biblically sound revelation that truth does not consist of
factual information: truth is a person. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Furthermore, truth in the
biblical sense is something which must be done to be known (1 John 4:6).
Christian experiential knowing is radically different from mere secular intellectual knowing.
True Wisdom
What the secular world
calls wisdom excludes God, stresses human self-sufficiency, makes
humanity the highest authority, and refuses to recognize God's
revelation in Jesus Christ. God calls this worldly wisdom foolishness:
For the
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).
For
since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God
was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who
believe (1
Corinthians 1:21).
.but we
preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23).
For the
foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than man's strength (1 Corinthians 1:25).
The man
without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they
are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).
For the
wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches
the wise in their craftiness"
(1 Corinthians 3:19).
The Gospel and the message of the cross must never
be accommodated to philosophy, science or any other so-called human
wisdom. (Galatians 6:14). Again, God commands us in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It is our mind that God
demands and that the world deforms. The Bible has a great deal to say about
the mind, the heart, the soul, the spirit, the truth, knowledge, wisdom
and understanding. The first and greatest command is to love God with
all of our minds. We are told to have the mind of Christ; we are
commanded to let Christ's mind be in us. Second Peter tells us that God's
divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness through the knowledge of God. The Lord gives wisdom; from His
mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
The way to obey Christ and keep from conforming to the world is through the study of the Scriptures. Study
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain
babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness (2 Timothy 2:15-16).
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).
Wisdom is for the person
who sees its value and therefore diligently seeks it. The wise person
listens to instruction (Proverbs 9:9), and from God's discipline
(Proverbs 3:11), accepts God's commands (Proverbs 10:8), listens to the
godly counsel of parents and others (Proverbs 10:1; 13:10), and
treasures wisdom more than silver, gold or precious jewels.
Brothers
and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you
were wise in the way the Lord judges wisdom....But God chose the
foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and He chose the weak
things of this world to shame the strong. He chose what the world
thinks unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks it is
nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important (1 Corinthians 1:26—30)
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