An Enemy Lies Within

The church in America desperately needs a reformation. Where do reformations begin if not with repentance? According to Strong’s Concordance, repentance means “a change of mind”. Not what you expected, right? I too was surprised. Most consider repentance to be a matter of behavior. As we will discover, true repentance leads to a change in behavior for those that first change their mindset.
This brings us to Romans 12:2, where we are encouraged to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Perhaps, in the Age of Reason, we need a reformation in the way we think. We need to start seriously and soberly thinking about the way we think as Christians. This is easier said than done.
This book may not be for everyone. If your mind is completely renewed and continually set on things above, and if you continually take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, then you will not profit from the revelations and strategies offered here.
For the rest of us, there is a desperate need to give attention to the carnal mind’s methods and maneuvers; it’s deceptions and distractions. I know this first hand. My carnal mind has played tricks on me for the entirety of my life. God continues to reveal the foothold it has established and the damage it has done.
There are others who would rather not be bothered and challenged by self-examination. They are holding on to the possibility that these things will work themselves out without too much involvement and effort on their part. Some have gone so far as to assume that the war for our souls is over.
Beware! This is exactly what our carnal minds would have us accept and believe. Passivity and procrastination are two of its favorite weapons; for they draw very little attention – allowing our carnal mind to remain undetected within the camp. Again, I speak from personal experience.
This hiddenness is quite the phenomenon, particularly when you consider the power and importance that has been awarded to the canal mind in this, the Age of Reason. Indeed, the carnal mind has been placed upon something more than a pedestal. The carnal mind now occupies a throne!
And who do you think put it there? WE DID! The carnal mind – our collective carnal minds, to be exact – has managed to place itself on a throne for all of mankind to worship!
This truly is an incredible accomplishment. Think about it. Consider the carnal mind’s creative trickery in the American education system. From kindergarten through high school, we are trained to depend on our ability to reason until finally, at the university, that reason is worshipped. Indeed, mankind believes – more than anything – in the power of the reasoning mind. Few question the destruction it has wrought.
That brings me to the purpose of this book – to encourage Christians to think about how they are thinking; to recognize we not only allow the enemy to reside in the camp, but we turn to it for counsel and advise. It is no wonder we cannot get the lost world to think differently. Generally speaking, we are not thinking right ourselves.
God is a process-oriented problem solver; He uses processes to solve problems. For example, God uses the salvation process to solve the problem of our rebellious separation from Him. Our lack of holiness is also a problem – solved by sanctification. More to the point of this study, we have a problem with our minds. We need a process from God.
The process God has given us for the renewal of our minds is the process of faith. The process of faith, beginning with the word of God (Romans 11:17), produces the good work of God which we are created to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). The renewal of the mind must occur for His word to manifest in His good work.
Indeed, the perfecting of our faith is co-dependent with the renewal of our minds. It is heartening – and not surprising – to know that the key to our reformation is the process of faith. We will search this out extensively in this study.