Emancipation from Mental Slavery (Soundness of Mind Part 1)
Passage: Ephesians 4.17-20
Date: January 15, 2023
Last week's sermon is foundational as it explained how many of us have a distorted and unbiblical view of the gospel. It is only when we see the death, resurrection, and life (DRL) of Jesus Christ that we have any hope in life. The rest of the sermon series will provide examples of what this looks like based on Ephesians 4-5, so if you missed last week's sermon, be sure to listen to it. (Even if you did listen to it, multiple listens would be helpful as we need to be reminded repeatedly of the DRL of Christ.)
Ephesians 4-5 speak of many different problems in life: sexual immorality, uncontrolled anger, unhealthy greed, etc. All these can be categorized under three groups: soundness of mind, purity in life, and truth and love in speech. Therefore, a transformed heart will produce these three things. In this sermon, we will focus on the soundness of mind.
One of the most recurring problems that we face is that we are not in control over our thoughts. Most of our problems stem from allowing destructive lies to infiltrate our minds. According to Ephesians 4.17-19, those of us who are not in Christ, we have a hardened heart. Because of this, our thinking is darkened and distorted. We allow harmful narratives to influence the way we see the world and ourselves. Consequently, we are enslaved to a number of unhealthy habits, attitudes, and thoughts.
However, because of the DRL of Christ, we do not have to fall into this cycle! We have been given the permanent presence of the Spirit whose work to conform us to Christ is certain and guaranteed. One of the blessings from this is that we now have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2.16). So now we can take every thought captive to the lordship of Christ (2 Cor 10.5). This means that we can identify lies and replace them with truth. When this happens, we are set free in Christ, which leads to healthy habits, attitudes, and thoughts.
As a reminder, because we live in the "Already, Not Yet" (ANY), we still experience the sufferings of this world. Nevertheless, we now have a new motivation, power, peace, and hope that allow us to overcome these struggles. This is all thanks to the DRL of Christ!
