A.The mind, or heart, is the last, great frontier.It is the most difficult part of man to conquer, and yet it is the most necessary part of man to control.
B.In this lesson, let us consider the idea of "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” which is found in 2Corinthians 10:3-6.
II.THE THOUGHTS OF THE HEART
A.The thoughts of a person’s heart define who he is.
1.The heart is the center of man’s intellect, reason, conscience, morality, and emotion.It is the origin of every word and every deed.
2.Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”In the context, this passage speaks of the false pretense of a wealthy, selfish man, but the principle applies universally.The substance of a person’s true character is always in his heart and not in his outward image.
B.If the thoughts of the heart are evil, then evil words and deeds will result.
1.Jesus taught that sin issues forth from within the heart and defiles the sinner.
a.In Matthew 12:34, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
b.In Matthew 15:1-11, when the Pharisees accused Christ’s disciples of violating the traditions of the elders by eating with unwashed hands, Jesus answered, "It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”Then in verses 17-20, He explained to His disciples, "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
2.It is even possible for the heart to be in conflict with itself in sinful self-deception.
a.The thoughts of the heart can ease the conscience by false and unjust reasoning.The result is a heart that is self-deceived and convinced that sin is not sinful.Such a heart will cause a person to speak evil words and commit evil deeds without a sense of guilt.
b.The Scriptures warn us of the dangers of a self-deceived heart.
i.Galatians 6:7-8 – "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
ii.James 1:26 – "If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”
III.TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE
A.Because thoughts have such a profound effect upon the soul, it is necessary to take control of the mind.
1.The effect of the heart upon the soul is evident in 1John 3:19-22 – "We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.”
2.Likewise, this effect is seen in Romans 2:15-16, where Paul wrote that the Gentiles "show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
B.The thoughts of the heart cannot be controlled by physical strength but are captured by spiritual power.
1.Notice the message of 2Corinthians 10:3-6 – "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”
a.Swords and guns cannot capture the heart.They can incite fear and control behavior, but the heart is not converted by such force.
b.Instead, the heart is captured by spiritual forces – influence, evidence, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, conviction, etc.
2.Specifically, the divinely powerful weapon that captures the thoughts of man to the obedience of Christ is the word of God.
a.The word of God is described as the "sword of the Spirit” in Ephesians 6:17.It is this weapon that we must use in the struggle "not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
b.In Hebrews 4:12, this divinely powerful weapon is further described – "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
3.The word of God takes captive the thoughts of the heart by means of evidence and conviction.
a.The word of God is spread into the hearts of men by the preaching of the gospel.Not every heart responds to God’s word, but hearts that are captured by the sword of the Spirit understand the word and bear fruit (see the parable of the sower, Matt. 13:1-23).
b.For those hearts who are captured by God’s word, the result is faith – "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
c.Hearts that have faith are truly captivated by God’s word, for "faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).They are convinced by the evidence and influence of God’s word that God is real "and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).
d.Captured thoughts turn man’s heart to obedience to Christ.Romans 6:17 says, "…you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.”
4.Even after being initially captured by the word of God, we must continually apply the Bible to keep our thoughts in captivity to the obedience of Christ.
a.Notice Romans 12:1-3 – "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
b.This continuous transformation and renewal of our minds keeps our thoughts captive and prevents them from going astray into conformity with the world and the service of Satan.
IV.CONCLUSION
A.Therefore, let us take captive the thoughts of our hearts and set them on heaven.Consider three passages that give direction for our the thoughts of our hearts.
1.Matthew 6:19-21 – "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
2.Philippians 4:8 – "Finally, brethren, 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.”
3.Colossians 3:1-2 – "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
B.Again, it is the word of God that gives us the substance for godly thoughts.The treasures of heaven (Matt. 6:19-21), the things upon which our minds should dwell (Phil. 4:8), and the things above (Col. 3:2) are all found in God’s word.Therefore, let us say to the Lord, "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97).
