“Setting the Mind on Holiness” -- Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 12:1-2; Colossians 3:1-3

I began to think about what it might be like to be a preacher when I was 19 years old. I had been saved at the age of 16 and began a process of reading the Bible each night before going to bed and praying at that time. When I went to junior college, I became involved in the Baptist Student Union where I became a member of the executive council, working in an area called “special ministries.”

Part of the responsibilities of being a member of the council was to meet with the BSU director each week. Over one weekend, I began to fantasize about what it would be like to be a preacher. When I met with the director, Don Emmitte, I jokingly asked him, “Is there a way I can talk God into calling me into the ministry?”

Don told me that, no, I couldn’t do that, but then he began asking me why I asked and probing more deeply into the matter. The more we talked, the more it became apparent that maybe it wasn’t my imagination, but that God was possibly calling me to the ministry.

As I wrapped up my session with Don, he gave me a sheet of paper. He had written across the top of it, “Should I go into the ministry?” and divided the paper into two columns, one marked “pros” and the other “cons.”

A few weeks later, sensing God was wanting me to make a decision, I got out the piece of paper, and prayerfully began to make a list of pros and cons regarding a life of ministry. I quickly managed to come up with 10 pros and five cons. That seemed to be leading me to surrender to the calling, but I wanted to be sure. I asked God to give me some more reasons why I shouldn’t go into the ministry. Instead, I was given five more reasons to list under the “pro” column.

That night, I surrendered to God’s calling.

I’ve used that method in trying to make major decisions in life. Needing to make a decision, and needing to know God’s direction, I have prayerfully considered the pros and cons of a matter. Once I believe I’ve listed all the pros and cons, I’ll make up my mind on what I should or shouldn’t do.

I share this with you because we want to look at Peter’s first admonition in living a holy life, which is to prepare our minds for a course of action.

Anytime you or I are seeking God’s direction in our lives, we need to keep an open mind and let the Spirit direct us in making up our minds. Once our minds are made up, then we can and must go forward as we believe God has led us.

Today, we look at three passages of Scripture that speak to us of the mind of holy living. We will look at a passage from Ephesians, another from Romans and a third from Colossians, each dealing with setting our mind to action.

Background

Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians are likely written at the same time and delivered to the churches in what is now modern day Turkey, in the area that is in the southwest section of the country. Both letters speak to what it really means to be born again and how our lives are changed because of it. The letter to the Romans is an introduction of Paul to the church there that the apostle hopes to visit in the near future.

In all three letters, specifically the passages we look at today, Paul speaks to us of how knowing Christ has to have an effect on our lives and how that effect determines some of the things we do intentionally. In all three passages, Paul calls us to make a conscious decision to follow Christ in a particular way. He tells us why we need to make up our minds to follow Him and live holy lives.

Again, our holiness comes only from the grace and mercy of God. We are made holy purely through the work of Christ at Calvary and, because we are born again into the family of God as His children, He imparts His holiness to us.

Because God makes us holy, though, doesn’t mean we are allowed to live a life as we see fit. We are made holy by His grace; we are called also to live holy lives. The living out of the holy lives entails our conscious decision to follow after Him and walk as God calls us to walk.

Central Truth: We begin the road of holy living by setting our minds to the task.

Setting the mind:

1. Comes from a new attitude in Christ (Eph. 4:22-24)

Paul is writing to the Ephesians to remind them of their being born into the body of Christ and the unity of the church in Christ. As is Paul’s practice, he spends the first half of the letter speaking about theology and uses the last half of the letter to speak about how that theology shapes our practical living. As we come to this passage, Paul is calling us to walk in the light as Christ is in the light.

In vs. 17-19, Paul writes about the worldly way of living. In v. 17, Paul writes, “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” He writes they are darkened in their understanding and separated from God. Paul reminds them that it is impossible to please God when our hearts are hardened and we walk in ignorance of Him.

Instead, the apostle writes that we are different because of our relationship with Christ. Here he uses the idea of changing clothes to contrast our old way of living and how we now live in Christ. He tells us we are “put off” our old self and to “put on” the new self. The verbs used for “put off” and “put on” are phrased to let us know that this transformation is an event that only occurs once. Since salvation in Christ is a one-time event, we do not need to be saved over and over again. When we came to know Christ, we were created into a new person, created to walk in fellowship and experience eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul writes that we are to take off our old self, which was corrupt, and instead to be made new in the attitudes of our minds. This “attitude of the mind” is different than the putting off and putting on used here. This “attitude of the mind” is a constantly renewing way of being.

In other words, when God by grace gave us salvation, He transformed us once and for all. But that transformation requires a daily commitment to walk in His ways on our part. We are called to constantly set our minds on Him. We are given the ability through the Holy Spirit to have a change in attitude and a new way of thinking. This calling is not just for a renewing of the spirit, but also a renewing of our way of thinking and our way of feeling. We serve God with our emotions and with our intellect.

God does not want us ignorant, He wants us deliberately and intellectually following Him, committing ourselves each day to follow Him. By using preparing our mind with the attitude of Christ, we are becoming like Him in true righteousness and holiness.

2. Comes from the Spirit’s transforming power (Romans 12:1-2)

One of the great promises of God is that He is at work in us to “will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). The ability to live holy lives is always by God’s initiative. Yet, even though the holy life is initiated by God’s grace and mercy, we are always called to join God in this work of sanctification.

Toward that end, as Paul is writing to the Romans, he reminds them that the work God does in us demands that we change the way we feel, the way we think, the way we do. These two verses speak to this truth.

One of the things we will spend eternity doing is worshiping God. We will fellowship with Him and spend our days in praise and worship of the glorious God who created our world and sent His Son to die for our sins that we may know the Father and the Son through the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us in v.1 that our act of worship in our world today is to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. This act of worship means that we give ourselves over to Him, to allow Him to use us as He sees fit. In writing to the Galatians, Paul reminds them, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

This giving of our bodies is a conscious decision on our part, and it is a renewing commitment on our parts. Unlike the taking off and putting on in Ephesians, which was a one-time event, the offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice is on-going, a daily decision on our part. God calls us to be holy; we agree and commit ourselves to Him in a way that is holy and pleasing to Him.

E.M. Blailock, in the commentary, “Understanding the New Testament: Romans,” writes that Romans 12:2 is literally translated in this way: “And cease trying to adapt yourself to the age we live in, but continue the transformation which began with your mind’s renewal, so that you may test out for yourselves the will of God, that, namely, which is good, well-pleasing to Him, and perfect.”

We are able to make the conscious decision to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice because God has renewed our minds, focusing no longer on the things of this world, but on His calling and His will. God began the transformation of our lives when He saved us. He continues to work in us to sanctify us and make us more like Him each day, and we, for our part, commit ourselves to this calling. Using the self-control that is part of the fruit of the Spirit, we stop trying to adapt to this world, and we allow God to continue to transform us.

The way we do this is through living and walking in faith. That’s how we test God’s will for our lives. Think of sitting in a chair. The first time we come upon a particular chair, we may look at it and wonder if it can really hold us up. The only way we can know for sure is to actually sit in it, to put our faith in the chair to hold us. As we sit, we realize our faith in the chair was justified, and we grow in our confidence and our faith in the chair.

Walking with God, we put our faith in the new ways He leads us, taking the steps. Peter writes, “For this reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).

The renewing of the mind is a part of living out a holy life. This renewal was initiated by God, but calls us to commit to Him each day.

3. Comes from our place with Christ (Col. 3:1-3)

In this passage, Paul is referencing back to what was written earlier in the letter. In 2:6-7, Paul writes, “So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thanksfulness.”

The theme of living in Christ is found in this passage, where Paul reminds us that, since we are in Christ, we can relate to the risen Lord and identify ourselves with Him fully. Since we are raised with Christ, Who is seated at the right hand of the Father, we can set our hearts and our minds on things above.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that our hearts will be where our treasures are found. If our treasures are earthly things, our hearts will focus on earthly things. If our treasures are found in Christ Jesus, then our hearts will be with Him.

Paul, taking that idea further, shares that we are in Christ, and He is in us. Therefore, we can make a conscious decision to think about the things of Christ. We submit our hearts and minds to His will, His work and His transforming power. With a mind centered on Christ and the things above, we find ourselves seeing the world as Jesus saw it, a place in need of His compassion, His love, His ministry. No longer will we be focused on what is for our good, instead looking at how we can better offer ourselves to Him so we can test and learn the will of God.

Conclusion

When you and I have to make a decision, we are told to make up our minds. We are told to set our minds to the task. We are asked to be single-minded and focused.

God, who makes us holy, calls us to live holy lives. We continue the work of holy living by making up our minds to do so. As God leads us, we focus on His calling, His will and His way. We are transformed, made holy, with thoughts and hearts on things of God, not the things of the world.

Today is the day to make up our minds for Him.