Moriah Primitive Baptist Church
Madison County, Georgia
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Moriah Primitive Baptist Church Madison County, Georgia
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Battle
of the Minds
(February 7, 2008)
Scripture has no shortage of adjectives when it comes to describing a child of God’s mind - Rom 8:6-9. Scripture describes a saint’s mind both positively (sober, renewed, forward, pure, humble, willing, steadfast, wise, sound) and negatively (carnal, doubtful, fleshly, blinded, unbelieving, coveting, corrupt, unstable, reprobate).
Picture the Apostle Paul lying on the couch of a psychiatrist, reciting Rom 7:15-24:
 | I do the things I don’t want to do, |
| I don’t do the things I want to do, |
| Evil is present when I manage to do good, |
| A constant war takes place in my mind, |
| I am wretched and beg deliverance from this death. |
No doubt a modern psychologist would diagnose Paul manic
depressive or schizophrenic and heavily medicate the poor man.
The illness must be catchy for Paul warned the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians to expect the same internal conflict - Gal 5:16-25, Eph 4:17-24, Php 3:14-21, Col 3:1-5. Actually, the war Paul described is a sign of spiritual life, for a person without such conflict is a person without spiritual life.
Which mind wins? A Christian once shared the gospel with an American Indian. The
Indian, recognizing this conflict, said he often felt two wolves fighting
within. When asked which wolf won, the Indian responded, the one I feed.
“Garbage in, garbage out” and “Spiritual in, spiritual out” has Biblical roots.
What affects us?
| 1. | Ps 119:149 | the things we read, |
| 2. | Php 3:19 | the things we consume, |
| 3. | Php. 4:8 | the things we think about, |
| 4. | 1Tim 4:15 | the things we meditate upon, |
| 5. | 2Tim 2:4 | the things which keep us busy, |
| 6. | Heb 13:6 | the things people near us think about & |
| 7. | 1Pet 3:8 | the things that motivate us |
May the Lord help us recognize and monitor the things which influence our minds, and give us strength to win our mind battles.
Article Written by Elder Dolph Painter, Moriah Primitive Baptist Church
This site created by Steve McCannon. This page last updated 02/07/2008