Christ Can Change Our Attitudes
Introduction: Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (NKJV). Do not be conformed to this age, fashioned after its external and superficial customs. But be transformed (changed) by the renewal of your mind – by its new ideals and its new attitude .. .. (Amplified Bible)
The Christian has a new way of thinking about everything, because he judges himself, and has God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the brethren in his thoughts. He thinks altogether differently from the natural man. (C.A. Coates) The attitude of the world and the attitude of the Christian are very different. Here are a few examples:
1. The World Says: Have A High Self-Esteem. Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (NKJV). I warn everyone among you not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance. (Amplified Bible)
"This play upon the word "think" is specially noteworthy. The first need of the enlightened mind is to be conscious of our proper attitude to our fellow Christians, and the right use of spiritual gifts. There is an inherent tendency from the highest spiritual life to the lowliest to exalt self, and every form of spiritual pride is disastrous to life and godliness. Each Christian is only a part of the great whole, and unless his opinion of himself agrees with God’s opinion of him, his life will inevitably result in failure." (W. H. Griffith Thomas)
2. The World Says: You Can't Change The Way You Were Born. Eph. 4:22, 23 “Put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. and be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (NKJV). Strip yourselves of the former nature which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through desires that spring from delusion: and be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind –having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude (Amplified Version). "The old man means all that a person was before his conversion, all that he was as a child ofAdam. It is corrupted as a result of giving in to deceitful, evil cravings which are pleasant and promising in anticipation but hideous and disappointing in retrospect. In the school of Christ, we learn that at the time of conversion we put away our old man which is corrupt through deceitful lusts. A second lesson the Ephesians learned at the feet of Jesus was that they were being renewed in the spirit of their mind. This points to a complete about-face in their thinking, a change from mental impurity to holiness. The Spirit of God influences the thought processes to reason from God's standpoint, not from that of unsaved men." (William MacDonald)
3. The World Says: Make Something Of Yourself. Phil. 2:3, 5, 7 “...in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself... Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (NKJV). Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus (v. 5 Amplified Bible). "Christ not only took upon Him the likeness and fashion of a man, but the form of a servant. that is, a man of mean estate. He was not only God’s Servant. but He came to minister to men, and was among them as one who serves in a mean and servile state. One would think that the Lord Jesus, if He would be a man should have been a prince, and appeared in splendor. But quite the contrary: He took upon Him the form of a servant. He was brought up meanly, probably working with His supposed father at his trade. His whole life was a life of humiliation, meanness, poverty, and disgrace; He had nowhere to lay His head, lived upon alms, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, did not appear with external pomp, or any marks of distinction from other men. Christians must be of Christ’s mind. He was eminently humble, and this is what we are peculiarly to learn of Him" (Matthew Henry).
4. The World Says: You Only Live Once; So Make The Most Of It. Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (NKJV). Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth (New English Translation). You must not only seek heaven; you must also think heaven (Wuest). "A man would be unwise if he valued copper as much as gold. Faith brings future things into the present, and puts present things into the past; faith beholds unseen things, and lives on them. It values the favor of God above everything, and sees all the world’s false glory in God’s own light.” (William Lincoln)
5. The World Says: Keep Your Mind Busy And Don’t Worry What You Think About As Long As You Are Thinking. 1 Pet. 1:13 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (NKJV). “If we permit him, Satan will make our mind his playground. He will not only put doubt there, but also worry and even fear. Furthermore, he is apt to instill into our minds hard thoughts towards others, causing us to hate them, to be envious of them or perhaps to show an unforgiving spirit towards them. Then again, he may fill our minds with lust or impurity. This we just must not permit. We cannot always help what strikes our minds, but we can help it if we harbor them and foster them. A rat may accidentally get into our house, but we do not have to feed it and make a pet out of it. Read some of the great promises of the Scriptures and ask the Lord to help you believe them. Let us think God’s thoughts, not man’s.” (J. Nieboer)
Conclusion: Phil. 3:14-15 “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (NKJV). So let those who are spiritually mature have this mind and hold these convictions, and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make this clear to you also (Amplified Bible). “In the dining room in our school there were five long tables, with about thirty boys at each table. One of these was called “The Training Table,” and any boy who seriously wished to train for a race, or other sports, sat at this table. The food there was plain, no pies or fancy puddings, as at the other tables; but the boys at The Training Table knew they must deny themselves, and they did so gladly, for the sake of the prize they hoped to gain. As you looked at some of these boys, with their daily training and self-denial, you could not but say, of some at least, they are a type of perfect boyhood. When he speaks of those who are “perfect” (mature), I think the apostle is thinking of those who seek to run the spiritual race with all their hearts, as these boys sought to run at their school races.” (G. C. Willis).
The Christian has a new way of thinking about everything, because he judges himself, and has God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the brethren in his thoughts. He thinks altogether differently from the natural man. (C.A. Coates) The attitude of the world and the attitude of the Christian are very different. Here are a few examples:
1. The World Says: Have A High Self-Esteem. Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (NKJV). I warn everyone among you not to have an exaggerated opinion of his own importance. (Amplified Bible)
"This play upon the word "think" is specially noteworthy. The first need of the enlightened mind is to be conscious of our proper attitude to our fellow Christians, and the right use of spiritual gifts. There is an inherent tendency from the highest spiritual life to the lowliest to exalt self, and every form of spiritual pride is disastrous to life and godliness. Each Christian is only a part of the great whole, and unless his opinion of himself agrees with God’s opinion of him, his life will inevitably result in failure." (W. H. Griffith Thomas)
2. The World Says: You Can't Change The Way You Were Born. Eph. 4:22, 23 “Put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. and be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (NKJV). Strip yourselves of the former nature which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through desires that spring from delusion: and be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind –having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude (Amplified Version). "The old man means all that a person was before his conversion, all that he was as a child ofAdam. It is corrupted as a result of giving in to deceitful, evil cravings which are pleasant and promising in anticipation but hideous and disappointing in retrospect. In the school of Christ, we learn that at the time of conversion we put away our old man which is corrupt through deceitful lusts. A second lesson the Ephesians learned at the feet of Jesus was that they were being renewed in the spirit of their mind. This points to a complete about-face in their thinking, a change from mental impurity to holiness. The Spirit of God influences the thought processes to reason from God's standpoint, not from that of unsaved men." (William MacDonald)
3. The World Says: Make Something Of Yourself. Phil. 2:3, 5, 7 “...in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself... Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant” (NKJV). Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus (v. 5 Amplified Bible). "Christ not only took upon Him the likeness and fashion of a man, but the form of a servant. that is, a man of mean estate. He was not only God’s Servant. but He came to minister to men, and was among them as one who serves in a mean and servile state. One would think that the Lord Jesus, if He would be a man should have been a prince, and appeared in splendor. But quite the contrary: He took upon Him the form of a servant. He was brought up meanly, probably working with His supposed father at his trade. His whole life was a life of humiliation, meanness, poverty, and disgrace; He had nowhere to lay His head, lived upon alms, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, did not appear with external pomp, or any marks of distinction from other men. Christians must be of Christ’s mind. He was eminently humble, and this is what we are peculiarly to learn of Him" (Matthew Henry).
4. The World Says: You Only Live Once; So Make The Most Of It. Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (NKJV). Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth (New English Translation). You must not only seek heaven; you must also think heaven (Wuest). "A man would be unwise if he valued copper as much as gold. Faith brings future things into the present, and puts present things into the past; faith beholds unseen things, and lives on them. It values the favor of God above everything, and sees all the world’s false glory in God’s own light.” (William Lincoln)
5. The World Says: Keep Your Mind Busy And Don’t Worry What You Think About As Long As You Are Thinking. 1 Pet. 1:13 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (NKJV). “If we permit him, Satan will make our mind his playground. He will not only put doubt there, but also worry and even fear. Furthermore, he is apt to instill into our minds hard thoughts towards others, causing us to hate them, to be envious of them or perhaps to show an unforgiving spirit towards them. Then again, he may fill our minds with lust or impurity. This we just must not permit. We cannot always help what strikes our minds, but we can help it if we harbor them and foster them. A rat may accidentally get into our house, but we do not have to feed it and make a pet out of it. Read some of the great promises of the Scriptures and ask the Lord to help you believe them. Let us think God’s thoughts, not man’s.” (J. Nieboer)
Conclusion: Phil. 3:14-15 “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (NKJV). So let those who are spiritually mature have this mind and hold these convictions, and if in any respect you have a different attitude of mind, God will make this clear to you also (Amplified Bible). “In the dining room in our school there were five long tables, with about thirty boys at each table. One of these was called “The Training Table,” and any boy who seriously wished to train for a race, or other sports, sat at this table. The food there was plain, no pies or fancy puddings, as at the other tables; but the boys at The Training Table knew they must deny themselves, and they did so gladly, for the sake of the prize they hoped to gain. As you looked at some of these boys, with their daily training and self-denial, you could not but say, of some at least, they are a type of perfect boyhood. When he speaks of those who are “perfect” (mature), I think the apostle is thinking of those who seek to run the spiritual race with all their hearts, as these boys sought to run at their school races.” (G. C. Willis).
From the May 2010 issue of Milk & Honey, www.stw1982.com
