Restless Wonderer

7.      The Christian mind exercises discernment in recognising false teaching “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.   For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.   Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” (Romans 16:17-19) As Paul reaches the conclusion of Romans, he reminds the Christians in Rome about the danger of division due to false teachings.   He warns them that naïve people have minds that are readily deceived by false ideas and encourages them to be wise about what is good.   Developing a Christian mind is necessary so that we can recognise false teachings.   This is the responsibil...

6.      The Christian mind learns in fellowship with other Christians “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5-6) The ultimate purpose of Paul’s teaching about unity among Christians despite differences of opinion over non-essential matters (see part 5 of this series) is that believers should glorify God with unity of mind and heart.   This principle teaches us three additional important truths about the Christian mind.     Firstly, unity in the core of the gospel is more important than our individual right to stand for our own principles.   We must prioritise the fundamental truths that unite all believers (the gospel) over all secondary issues.   The evangelical movement has historically done just this, allowing partnership in the g...

5.      The Christian mind seeks to be fully convinced in disputed matters “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. (Romans 14:5) In Romans 14, Paul deals with a situation where sincere Christians had a difference of opinion over issues that are not essential to the core of the gospel, such as what was permissible to eat and whether certain days should be treated as more holy than others.   These were probably differences between Jewish believers, whose consciences did not permit them to eat foods that had previously been forbidden or to abandon the Jewish festivals.   Paul’s teaching is aimed at maintaining unity for the sake of the gospel and he lays down two principles to guide them: everything must be done out of faith in God and love for fellow believers.   This is, not, however, to say that there is no ‘right or wrong’ answer on the i...

4.      The Christian mind contrasts with the worlds pattern and is renewed to know God’s will “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.   Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2) The Spirit not only empowers us to do God’s will, as we saw in the last post, He also brings about a progressive transformation in us towards greater Christ-likeness in order that we can recognise what God’s will is.   Scripture (the subject of part 2 in this series) does not answer every question we have about what it means to serve God faithfully.  We are confronted with many situations where we must make choices that Scripture does not specifically speak to.  In the...

3.      The Christian mind surrenders to the Spirit and so submits to God’s Word “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.   The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.   The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans 8:5-7) Having identified the problem in Chapter 7 of Romans that despite knowing God's truth and wanting to obey it he was incapable of doing so, Paul reveals the solution in Chapter 8.   Bible knowledge by itself is worthless, in fact dangerous.  It can lead to self-righteousness, as we judge others for their lack of knowledge, or, conversely, to despair, as we realise how far we are from the standard of Scripture.  The problem in either case lies in our 'flesh' (which m...

2.      The Christian mind seeks truth in God’s Word “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). In the previous post we acknowledged that God's ways cannot be fully understood by the limited human mind.  This is not, however, to say that nothing can be known about God and His ways.  We can know whatever God has communicated to us of Himself and His purposes and God has, indeed, revealed Himself in Scripture.     In Romans 7, Paul describes how his mind was surrendered to God’s Law, meaning the Old Testament Scriptures and the truths recorded in them.   Through reading it He recognised what was true and what was false.   Of course, this was not enough on its own – he found that he did not have the power to keep the Law as his sinful nature was in slavery to sin and this caused him great i...

In this series of posts I will follow the theme of the Christian mind through the book of Romans.  In doing so, I will draw out seven principles for developing a Christian mind, which, I believe, is an essential goal for us. 1.      The Christian mind recognises its limitations and worships God “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!   How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?” (Romans 11:34) Wisdom, according to several Old Testament verses, begins with the fear of the Lord.   At the end of Romans 11, Paul writes a great hymn of praise to God, in which he speaks of God’s superior wisdom, knowledge and understanding.   The language is striking.  We cannot claim to fully comprehend the mind of God - His ways are beyond our ability to comprehend.  Whatever studies we may engage in and qualifications we may achie...

I was shocked and disturbed to read last week an article on the BBC News website entitled, 'Pornography addiction worry' for tenth of 12 to 13-year-olds ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-32115162 ).  This is the latest in a series of reports on the effect pornography is having on our children.  The article is based on a survey of 700 children aged 12 and 13 conducted by the charity NSPCCC ChildLine.  It found that 20% had "seen pornographic images that had shocked or upset them" and 12% had taken part in a sexually explicit video.  The charity describes pornography as "a part of everyday life" for many children who contact its helpline.  The BBC article describes the impact this problem is having on some children by quoting one boy aged under 15 who says he has begun to think differently about girls and wonders whether he'll ever be able to get married and suggesting that many girls feel they need to act like porn stars in order to be attractive to b...

I have a confession to make - actually three confessions!  Firstly, I am a lapsed numismatist.  Before you dig out your dictionary of theology or start worrying about what heresy I've become embroiled in (this time?), 'numismatist' is the term for a coin collector (quite possibly you knew that already).  My interest in coins began when I found a tray of assorted foreign and old coins in my dad's garage (which had enough hidden recesses to hide various long-lost artefacts - the ark of the covenant, Shergar in a horsebox and Elvis Presley in a suspended animation pod could all be there waiting to be unearthed).  I understand that those coins were collected by my maternal grandfather when he walked the streets of Belfast as an insurance agent, receiving payments door-to-door.  I was fascinated with these items of living history.  I bought coin albums, sorted out my small collection and even acquired a few additional specimens (family holidays in England i...

In yesterday's post we considered Paul's challenge in Philippians 2 to live in humility and inter-dependence with one another, following the pattern of the trinity and especially of Christ's incarnation.  We concluded that a key part in dealing with our ambition is to serve others, not yourself.  Paul was not the only New Testament writer to warn against the dangers of selfish ambition.  James, in his characteristically provocative style, wrote: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice" (James 3:16).  The context in which this statement is set is a discussion of two kinds of 'wisdom'.  James is really a wisdom writer - I tell my students when I teach them about biblical interpretation that this little book should be classified along with Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (and, incidentally, much of Jesus' teaching) as 'wisdom literature'.  James says that wisdom is something that will show...