Lordship of Christ: “Marks of the Christian Mind”

Religion

Greetings my “epistemologically self-conscious” friends. Today, I want to discuss the “six” characteristics of biblical thinking. Let’s call them “the Marks of the Christian Mind.” These characteristics are extremely important as we seek to live faithfully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Be careful because I will test you on these later.1. Thinking biblically begins with a supernatural orientation. Read Col 3:1-4. A Christ-follower must have an eternal perspective. He is to be heavenly-minded but don’t fall into the trap of being no earthly good, for the reality of Jesus is demonstrated in the life of the individual. Read Col 3:5- 4:6. We are “in the world” but we are “not of the world” (John 17:14-19).

2. We must have an awareness of evil. Mankind is basically evil (Jer. 17:9) and every thought/word/action demonstrates the reality of the sinful nature of man. As a result our wisdom or judgments are unreliable. WE cannot help ourselves.

3. Therefore we need a conception of truth. We must begin with Christ! Christ is Truth! Read John 1:14, 17; 14:6. Christ is the message of God to man; thus John the Apostle calls Him the “Word” (John 1:1). Secondly, God has given us a written Word which is Truth (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21; Ps 119:160). I like to call this “propositional truth.” God’s word has been given to us in the form of sentences/paragraphs; verbs/nouns/etc.; so that we can read it.

4. Acceptance of authority refers to the fact that Scripture- God’s Word- is to be read, studied and obeyed (James 1:22-25; Matt 7:21). It is to be the foundation of all our thoughts (2 Cor. 10:3-5) and the guide for all our actions (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

5. To think biblically, the Christ-follower must have a concern for the person. Man is special and unique because he is made in God’s image. Read Gen 2:26- 31. God saved the best for last! Because man is made in God’s image, he is to be treated with respect. Not because of fame, fortune or power but because he is an image-bearer of God.

6. The last principle to remember is that all of life is worship. I understand that God has set aside one day out of seven which is to be a day of corporate worship- a day on which Christians gather together to sing praises to the Lord and to hear His Word taught. But everyday is to be lived for God’s glory as we serve Him in all we do. I remember an old story of a young lady wrestling with washing dishes as worship- told you it was an old story. She taped a card over the sink which said: “divine services held here three times a day.”

Think about these things. Next week we want to relate them to our daily lives- remember “washing the dishes.”- Or as Paul prayed that “we would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him“. (Col 1:9-10). See ya!

Please note: This is a repeat of an earlier article.

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