THE MIND OF CHRIST

 

 

 

Coach Dave Daubenmire
October 27, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

I have been a Christian since 1987, but it is only recently that I have begun to think like one.

That, in my not-so-humble opinion, is why I think America is in the trouble we are in. Most Christians don�t think like Christians because they have been trained to think like Humanists. Why would we be surprised? Few regularly read their Bible, they fill their brain with �conservative� talk and opinions, they immerse their children in godless schools, and precious few pastors preach the Truth.

I�m not trying to insinuate that I am special, or smarter than anyone else. It has been a process for me as well. But I can tell you that unequivocally most Christians do not have �the mind of Christ.�

When I first accepted Christ I was like a newborn child going home from the hospital. Just as a baby is trained in the thoughts and opinions of his parents and siblings, Christian growth is much the same. I locked in with the church and the pastor where I had received my salvation and sat under his nurturing for about three years. He did a great job in training me in the ways of the Bible, but as I was to find out later, not everything he taught me was sound doctrine and not all sound doctrine was taught to me. That is the danger all Christians run. We are trained in the doctrine promoted by the pastor. I thought all Christians believed the same thing. It took a journey outside �my church� to open my eyes.

What makes one a Christian? Sadly, I�m not sure most of us could clearly define it. Does saying the sinner�s prayer make you a Christian? Does going to church regularly, paying your tithe, believing in the rapture, being born into a Christian family, confirmation, or First Communion make you one?

What makes you a Christian?

Please understand, for nearly a decade my faith consisted of going to church, paying my tithe, saying regular prayers, being nice to people--all while living like everyone else. I claimed to be a Christian. I just didn�t live or think like one. I didn�t have a Biblical worldview. I was a �Christian� who thought like everyone else in the world.

What is a Biblical worldview, you may be asking? Let me put it in common, old cornfield terms. A Biblical worldview means that everything you think and do goes through the filter of the Bible�.like a water-purification system. Better yet, it is like computer software.

If you are like me, you still haven�t actually figured the computer out. It will do a lot more than we know it will do, provided we have the software. The software is the filter that the information flows through.

Have you ever received an email attachment from someone but you were unable to open it because you didn�t have the software to decipher it? When you clicked on the attachment the message came up as gibberish and only after downloading the proper software were you able to understand the message that had been sent.

That is what a Biblical worldview is. It is Spiritual software that makes sense out of everything you see in the world. Unfortunately, most do not know how to use the software. That is why they seem so confused in their Christianity.

Think I�m wrong? Look what the Apostle Paul told us, But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ. 1Cor. 2:16

Not only does the natural man, (with the brain that we are born with) not understand the things of the Spirit, it is impossible for him to understand it. Because he doesn�t have the Spirit, (the software) so much of what the mind takes in does not compute. It is foolishness. That is why you are wasting your time explaining spiritual issues to unspiritual men. They are incapable of understanding spiritual issues. No Spirit, no understanding. They don�t have the software. Ever wonder why Ted Kennedy seems so blind?

Do all Christians have Spiritual understanding? If they do, why is there so much confusion in the Christian world? If not, then how does a Christian get it? Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind�You gotta change the way you think! The Bible is the instructions, the Holy Spirit is the software, and we must allow the combination of these two resources to �guide you into all truth.� John 16:13.

But how do you do that, renew your mind? Ephesians 5:25-27: "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that He may sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word."

What is the solution? Read the Bible -- it is the only way to get the mind of Christ�to see things the way He sees things. Unfortunately, too many �Christians� trust their feelings, and make decisions based on emotions, traditions, or �what is best for me.� Does anyone really think that Jesus would vote based on what was best only for Him?? In fact, He already faced that choice. He decided that dying was best�not for Him�but for everyone else.

A Biblical worldview provides all of the answers. It discounts the opinions of man, the influence of pseudo-science, and the emotion associated with so much American thought today. A Biblical worldview simply says it is right�or it is wrong�based on what God says. If you have a Biblical worldview you agree with God.

The Spiritual software makes things so simple. If you are a Christian, you have it. It comes with the program.

Wouldn�t it be awesome if all of us acted based on what were best for others, rather than what was best for us?

I was making a presentation to a group of seniors in a public school this week on the �Lie of Separation of Church and State� and, as usually happens, the issue of abortion came up. I made the case for the pro-life (Biblical worldview) position. I demonstrated that life was a gift from God and that no one had the right to choose to take it. One sweet young lady who identified herself as a Christian queried this:

�I�m a Christian as well, but I have struggled with this question�What about abortion when the life of the mother is at stake? Shouldn�t a woman be allowed to make that choice?�

�What a terrible choice to be confronted with,� I answered her. �But it is my experience that a case in which the mother has to make that choice is very rare. I cannot speak for you, or for anyone else. But I can tell you this; if my wife were confronted with that choice there is no question what she would do. My wife would sacrifice her life for the life of her child because Jesus taught us that �greater love has no man than this, than He would lay down His life for his friends.� The greatest demonstration of love that we can ever show is to give our life for another.�

Another stunned student asked, �What about rape? You don�t think a woman should have to carry a child from a rape, do you?� All eyes in the room were boring in on me, and all ears were open, as the Truth of God�s view pierced their hearts.

�Let me use my wife as an example again,� I explained. Suppose she was made pregnant through a rape. Isn�t that child she is carrying half her, just like the rest of our 3 children? Just because my wife�s 4th child happens to have a different father does the baby not deserve to live? Will having an abortion take away the memory of the rape? Do two wrongs make a right? My Faith teaches that life is never a mistake, but a gift from God. And even though the rape was a horrendous experience, my wife and I would make the decision to give the child life and trust that the Lord would make something great come from the horrible situation. I�ll make you a bet that in 2 years that little bugger�s picture will be on our refrigerator.�

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�And, by the way, why would we give the child the death penalty for the actions of his father?�

Thank God for that software. When the bell rang to end the period, the young people silently left the room, quietly pondering the simplistic profundity that they had just heard.

The mind of Christ�do you have it? Can you share it with others? Truth is so powerful.

Hey�check out my new CD�Why Should God Bless America?�it's better than listening to O'Rush, O'Hannity, or O'Reilly. Pass some salt to your friends!

� 2006 Dave Daubenmire - All Rights Reserved