If We Don’t Think Well, We’ll Never Live Well

08 Nov If We Don’t Think Well, We’ll Never Live Well

We become what we think about, a point we made last week. The way the mind works, you only get out of it what you put into it. Therefore we must:

1. Believe what is true
2. Fill our minds with truth
3. Repeat truth until it changes us

 This week we unpack how to protect our minds, because if we don’t think well, we will never live well.

 Christians must guard our minds against three dangers.

First, Christians have to guard our minds against false teaching. 

We need to watch out for doctrinal errors that can divert us from the true gospel. Scripture encourages us to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3). God’s revelation to us was delivered once and for all. That means nothing is going to be added to it.

And that means the message has been around for a while. Someone has said, “If it’s new, it’s not true”—because the biblical faith we believe is the one that was handed down from “the saints” two thousand years ago.

How do we guard our minds against false teachings? By comparing what we are hearing with the Bible and with traditional interpretations, and being wary of something new. Of course, there have always been doctrinal differences in the church, but such differences are clearly defined, well reasoned, and “known” for hundreds of years.

The Internet makes it possible for false teachers to have a loud voice. If a Christian is not already biblically well-taught, he/she can be vulnerable to being led astray. Believers should find reputable teachers who have earned trust over sufficient time and be on guard against false teachers.

Second, Christians must guard our minds against temptations.

Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.” That’s a good verse to put on your television. When was the last time you switched channels because what you were seeing was worthless?

If we’re going to guard our minds, we have to be careful about what we watch. The Bible says very clearly in James 1:14 that sin starts with a thought. You’ve probably heard the old American proverb: “You sow a thought, you reap an action. You sow an action, you reap a habit. You sow a habit, you reap a destiny.”

The same is true, of course, about more than television. Almost anything electronic is fraught with inherent dangers, to say nothing of questionable friends, places, activities, etc.

Our destiny begins in our thoughts. The mind is a strategic battlefield, and if Satan can get your thought life, he’s going to get you. So those harmless thoughts are not harmless at all. Guard your mind against temptation.

Finally, we must guard our minds against spiritual deception.

Satan is the author of deception. In John 8:44, Jesus said that Satan is “a liar and the father of lies.”

1 John 4:1 – 3 says, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The Bible says that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is intensely interested in trying to deceive Christians. We must be alert to that danger. 

Christians must guard our minds with three safeguards. 

First, we must guard what we let into our minds. 

You’ve seen the old magician’s trick where he puts a silk handkerchief in a top hat and then, presto, pulls out a rabbit. What he gets out is not the same as what he put in. Well, that’s a trick, and it’s not true. You can only get out of something what you put into it.

As we have said, the same is true with the mind. You get out of it what you put into it. So, if we want good things out of our mind, if we want helpful things, we must put good and helpful things into our mind. If we put bad and unhelpful things into our mind and then go to our mind later for good and helpful things, it doesn’t work. So, we have to guard what we let into our minds

Second, we must guard what we let our minds create. 

Our minds are affected not only by what we put into them but also by what we let our minds create. When we imagine things, we are creating things mentally that can be just as good or just as bad as letting things into our minds.

For example, someone asked Thomas Edison how he ever came up with the idea for the electric light bulb. He said, “By thinking about it all the time.” So, he let his mind dwell on ideas for the electric light bulb and he helped change the course of history. That is an example of something good that can happen when we let our minds create good things. The same is true with bad things.

And the same is true spiritually. We can create both good and bad thoughts.

Finally, we must guard what we let our minds dwell on.

Finally, we need to be careful about letting our minds dwell on bad or negative thoughts. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Why? Because if we dwell on things that are not true, if we dwell on things that are wrong, if we dwell on hurts, if we dwell on anger or resentment, if we dwell on failure or other negative things, those things grow, dominate our thinking, and affect our emotions, and begin to control who we are and what we do. But on the other hand, if we dwell on positive things, then those positive things begin to dominate our thinking and affect our emotions and actions.

Christians must guard our minds with two weapons. 

We must guard our minds with Scripture and with prayer. 

Regarding Scripture, in Matthew 4 we see Jesus resisting the temptations of the devil by quoting Scripture.

Regarding prayer, in Philippians 4:6–7, the apostle Paul wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So, we see that both Scripture and prayer are powerful weapons against falsehood.

Conclusion

In order to live well, we must first think well. To that end, we must  must guard against false teaching, temptation and spiritual deception. At the same times, we must guard what we let into our minds, what we let our minds create, and what we let our minds dwell on. And, we must use Scripture and prayer as essential weapons.

As we use these truths to help us think well, the Lord will bless us and enable us to live well.

If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this series, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to www.maxanders.com and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blog.

Share this Blog