Consequences and Returns

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: July 31, 2005

Consequences and Returns
by Dan Trygg

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 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. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:7-10

"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Galatians 5:19-25

This subject came up several times this week, so I thought we ought to discuss it openly. Sometimes there is confusion (or denial) regarding forgiveness of our sin and the consequences of our sin. Sometimes we think that because someone forgives us that there are no longer any consequences for our wrongful behavior. That is not true. At times, because our offense involves only a hurtful interaction between me and another person, and that other person has a gracious and full heart, one that has not been wounded by me repeatedly, he or she may be able to forgive me, and we seem to pick up as though nothing happened. That is a testimony to the resilience of the human heart, and the power of grace to allow us to overcome hurt. In reality, however, there is a consequence to my behavior, however small it may seem. If I continue to hurt that person, even if they forgive me repeatedly, there likely will come a time when they will begin to be guarded or self-protective around me. There will be loss which will come into the relationship as a result of my behavior.

The most common NT word for sin is hamartia, which means to "miss the mark". The word picture associated with this word is an archery contest. We try our best to hit the bull’s eye, but we miss. As a result, we lose the prize. There is always loss involved in missing the mark. To use another definition, hamartia simply means to "make a mistake". When you make a mistake, there is always some consequence. You have to go back and retrace your steps, or repair what was the result of your error. You have to go back and set it right. There is always a consequence of time, energy and life spent. You can’t just pretend it did not happen. It did, and you have to deal with the result. It doesn’t matter how pure your intent was, or how completely the person forgives, you "missed it" so you have to come back to fix it, or you have to somehow cover for what you missed. Or you choose to live with the loss. It is not the same as if you never sinned.

If we go back to the story of the first human sin in the garden of Eden, it is quite clear that things changed as a result of sin. Adam and Eve were no longer permitted to stay in the garden. They no longer lived in an ideal environment. There were radical consequences, just from eating a piece of fruit! Innocence was gone. Trust was broken. Betrayal had occurred for the first time. They felt guilt and shame, and avoided God for the first time. They hid themselves, from God and each other. Blame made its first appearance in human relationships. The consequences were huge. We find that the ripple effect of that choice affected all creation. Even though God graciously restored their relationship with Him, and gave them hope and promises for the future, they were never able to return to what they had before they chose to sin. They sowed to their flesh, and reaped a horrific harvest. In the end, since they could not pay for their sin, God chose to bear the cost, and sent Jesus to die on their behalf. Even God could not just pretend it never happened. The error had to be corrected. The loss had to be paid for.

Think of any human relationship. Sin is like spilling a glass of water on the table. Some runs onto the floor. Try as you might, you are not able to get all that water back into that glass. Furthermore, even if you could, you lost the time and energy it took to try to recover that water. Any way you look at it, sin always has a consequence. If it were grape juice in the glass, and it got on your clothes, you’d have to wash them, too, …or they could forever bear the stain. I think you get the point. Sin always creates loss of some kind.

Forgiveness is when I do something that hurts or disappoints another person, and they personally choose to release me from their desire to exact revenge, or make me pay for the loss incurred. I might have to make some kind of amends, but they are willing to bear the cost of the damage I caused to their trust. Forgiveness always means that the forgiver is willing to bear the cost for their pain, at least to some degree. They choose to allow me another chance. Consequences still remain, however. They now know that I am capable of hurting them. Innocence and idealism have been shattered. Thankfully, we have the capacity to work beyond that, but the consequence is there. Trust is broken. Hurt has been inflicted, and we know it could happen again. The damage caused remains. It may be healed. It may leave scars. It will cost something. It always does. The question regarding forgiveness is, "How much will this person be willing to cover the cost of my offenses and injuries?" Or, "How far should I go in bearing the cost for another’s sin against me?" Jesus said that we ought to forgive as often as a person repents and asks to be restored (Matt. 18:21-35), but He also said that there are times when we have to distance ourselves for our own protection (Matt. 18:15-17; cf. Rom. 16:17; Tit. 3:10; II Tim. 3:5).

Paul tells us plainly in Gal. 6:7 that we will reap what we sow. Sin is like planting seed. This word picture indicates not only that the consequences remain, but also that, like seeds, the consequences of sin can sometimes take on a life of their own that can multiply into further consequences in our lives. Now, just as not every seed will sprout, grow and multiply, in the same way every sinful choice will not burgeon into an addictive habit, or initiate a domino effect of other sins and consequences. The principle is there, however. Paul is not just talking about outward consequences. He is talking more about how our choices affect our character. Character growth is the consequence of our choices and investments over time. We choose to invest towards things of the flesh (self-focused) or things of the Spirit (God-focused). Thankfully, the multiplication principle is also operational on the other side as well. If we sow to the Spirit, if we make choices and investments toward knowing God and in obedience to Him, there will be a multiplied result that can come to pass in our hearts and character. Those consequences are just as real. Satan would like to convince us that they don’t matter, or don’t count, when we fall into sin. Those seeds are just as real, however, and some of them will sprout and produce a multiplied effect in our lives, especially if we nurture them.

On a further positive note, Paul makes the application of this positive investment principle to the impact we can have on the lives of others. He tells us to not get tired of doing good for others, because eventually it will have an impact. Again, the analogy of sowing crops is a valuable word picture for understanding how this works. Not every good deed is going to produce drastic change, just as every seed is not necessarily productive. Furthermore, the wise farmer would sow seed at different times, and under different circumstances, because there were no guarantees when it would "take" and grow (Ecc. 11:4-6). In the same way, if we are wise concerning the "sowing" of good deeds into the lives of others, hoping to draw them to Jesus, we need to realize that repeated investments in a variety of times and situations will more likely produce a more noticeable impact and effect than occasional good deeds or a "one-per-person" mentality. Another reality is that not all people will be responsive. Like the parable of the soils (Matt. 13:3-23), not every heart will be responsive to the grace of God, or the message of His Kingdom, especially in the short-term. Some of those hearts can be softened, but it will take time, prayer and repeated investments in their lives. Even then, some people simply will not respond.

If we sow to the flesh, what will we get as a result? What does the flesh produce? How about investments in the Spirit? What return can we expect from investing toward God? Galataians 6:8 tells us in general terms that those who sow to the flesh reap rottenness, while those who sow to the Spirit reap age-type life, the quality of life that comes from the Kingdom of God. In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul had described in more detail some of the ways which fleshly living and Kingdom living appear in our lives. Investing in the flesh will produce consequences in our lives. A fleshly orientation will show itself in a focus on sensuality (cf. Eph. 4:17-19), leading to sexual immorality and impurity. There is a corruption of spirit, as well, expressed in idolatry (honoring and serving anything in place of God) and sorcery (In NT times this referred to people who took mood altering drugs and herbs to open their minds to the spirit-world. The Greek word is pharmakeia.). Sowing to the flesh also results in emotional and relational imbalance, injury and division. Finally, escape into drunkenness and running to late night parties (with all that can happen there) are fruits of fleshly living. These are destructive behaviors. They create hurt to the individual, as well as their partners. In the end, they destroy a person’s health and trap them in a world of pain and addiction, where people are degraded, used and abused. The consequences are very real, and very tragic. While these people are searching for good feelings, they are sowing seeds of pain and destruction in their lives that ultimately will ruin and consume them.

By contrast, the Spirit produces emotional and character qualities that everyone recognizes as healthy, positive and desirable. While there will be spiritual warfare and opposition from others, the change in quality of life and relationships is noticeable to all. The mind set on the flesh is death; but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:6). Just as sowing to the flesh produces rottenness, sowing to the Spirit produces a harvest of health and vitality.

Let Your Light Shine

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting at Harvest Fellowship
Sunday @ 9:30 a.m. 801 E. Cliff Rd. in Burnsville, MN Info: (952) 431-2063 Pastor: Rich Meidl Today’s Date: July 24, 2005

Let Your Light Shine
by Dan Trygg

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

"…at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ 15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:8-17

"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Romans 13:10-14

The Bible employs the images of light and darkness many times to depict the spiritual atmosphere and character of people and places. Often darkness refers to spiritual ignorance, deception or blindness (Matt. 6:22,23; Jn. 1:5; 3:19; 12:35,46; Rom. 2:19; I Thess. 5:4; I Jn. 1:5,6; 2:8-11). At other times, it refers to the heaviness of depression and hopelessness (Matt. 4:16; Isa. 59:9-12). It is also used as an image to describe the evil spiritual kingdom set at odds against God (Lk. 22:53; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12; Eph. 6:12). Finally, it is used to describe a place of death, isolation and punishment that awaits the wicked (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; II Pet. 2:17; Jude 1:6,13). As they chose to live in this life, so they have a future of confusion, loneliness, and separation from all that is good and righteous. What is important for us to grasp is that this present world is largely under the dominion of the powers of darkness. Men and women are darkened in their understanding of spiritual things, and they experience an inner emptiness that causes them to reach out for more, to find meaning and fulfillment for their existence. Because they are blind to the spiritual realities around them, they are often entrapped in lies, behaviors and relationships which misguide them and lead them into destructive bondage.

Spiritual forces of wickedness are always at work to keep this cloud of confusion, blindness and misdirection upon people to maintain their influence and control. They use people to spread and reinforce this darkness through deception, erroneous example, and abuse in every area of human life. Satan’s agenda is to keep human beings from coming to know God and finding freedom, especially to neutralize our lives so that we are no threat to his earthly kingdom. He is a master at using darkness and deception at every conceivable level to accomplish his ends. He will use what seems to be harmless distraction to waste our moments and hours, until our lives are spent with no impact for God. He will lure us with pleasurable experiences and behaviors to entrap us in an unending slavery of self-seeking hedonism. Sometimes he offers success and wealth so that we become proud and live in the lethargy of luxury and self-indulgence. Sometimes he misdirects our awareness of just causes to manipulate us into social or political activities which appear commendable, but keep us from the whole truth that is in God’s will alone. His true colors show, however, when he uses people to abuse, defile and oppress others. Where he can, he delights to crush the innocent, deface, degrade and murder human beings, because he so despises the image of the Creator which is still somehow visible in us. Furthermore, he assigns demonic parasites to attempt to invade our lives, to blind us to the gospel and manipulate us to do his will (cf. II Tim. 2:24-26). These evil creatures are responsible for all manner of afflictions of the spirit, mind and body.

On the other hand, Jesus referred to Himself as the light of the world on two occasions (Jn. 8:12; 9:5). He came to bring the glory and radiance of His Father’s liberating love and goodness into this dark planet (Jn. 1:9-14; Heb. 1:3). He came to do much more than that, however. He came to break the power of the dominion of darkness, and begin to spread the light of the knowledge of the glory of God abroad to liberate those held under its heavy cloak. The way He has chosen to do that is by (1.) undercutting the power of the enemy; and (2.) gathering up an army of people to bring His Kingdom glory to every corner of the earth.

We who know Him are that army. Once we were darkness, but He has changed that. We were as powerless as clay pots would be to light up a dark place, but, …miracle of miracles…, He has shone in our hearts to enable us to shine forth the reality of knowing God in Jesus (II Cor. 4:6,7). As He said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Because of His presence in our lives, our identity, our very nature has changed. Once we were darkness, but now we are children of light. Once we were under the dominion and authority of the prince of darkness, now our citizenship has been transferred to the Kingdom of Jesus, God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13). Since we are no longer under Satan’s authority, we can break off his attempts to control us. Because we have been spiritually reborn, we have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light (Col. 1:12), and have been given weaponry and giftings to enable us to fulfill what God is calling us to accomplish (Matt. 28:19,20; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 6:10-20; I Cor. 12).

All of that said, the big picture is that we should be living lives that are noticeably different from our pre-Christian behaviors, …lives that should stand out as radically different from our non-Christian neighbors, co-workers, family and friends. There should be something different about our character and behavior that proclaims the goodness of God, the righteousness of God and the power of Jesus’ presence in our lives to overcome sin and enable us to live moral, godly, and upright lives in this day and age (Tit. 2:11-14). Our faith should be expressed in our behavior in such ways that should dispel the darkness, much as Jesus’ own life did.

Often our Christianity is no more than a form of godliness. Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days difficult times will come, times of great evil. One aspect of that is that people will maintain an outward form of devotion to God, but they will deny or refuse the power of what that really means (II Tim. 1:1-5). Many go to church out of a sense of duty, or from an underlying belief that their religious attendance and devotional rituals will bring God’s favor and blessing upon their agenda. This is nothing other than witchcraft, trying to manipulate and control spiritual powers by ritual and religious performance. Self-centeredness is at the core of such a mindset. Instead of surrendering themselves to serve God, they are trying to get God to serve their interests. Such people are to be avoided, says Paul. Their true nature and/or orientation will become evident by the fruit of their lives. Are they becoming more Christlike in character, …more loving, more patient, more joyful and able to give of themselves? Are they investing themselves in the King’s business, or living for their own personal comforts? Are they reaching out to the weak and powerless? Are they gracious and forgiving, or bitter and argumentative? Are they making sacrifices to serve God and others?

How do we walk as children of light? What must we do to be more effective in this area?

(1.) Repent and submit to God. If you see you have been self-oriented, and not as deeply devoted as you ought, the starting point for a change in life and relationship with God is simply to admit that, confess it to Him, and ask Him to have His way in your life. I Jn. 1:9 tells us that if we agree with God about our behavior, He will be faithful to forgive us from our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Expect Him to begin to work. To "cast off the works of darkness" and "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness" are necessary first steps to open your life up to God. "What sharing-together has light and darkness?" (II Cor. 6:14) If you want to walk as a child of light, you must put aside the works of darkness out of obedience and submission to God.

(2.) Invest yourself to know Him and His will. He is the true source of light and life. We will be transformed as we begin to know Him better, and commune with Him. II Cor. 3:18 says as we behold His glory, …His grace, His love, His faithfulness…, we will be changed into His likeness. Expect Him to communicate to you what He wants from you. He will begin to make His will known to you. The Spirit will lead you (Rom. 8:14).

(3.) Step into the opportunities He brings to you. God creates us as He sees fit, shaping, tooling and equipping us to do His will. He also gives His spiritual gifts as He desires. He will also bring to us the opportunities to serve others in ways that will bring Him glory. We, however, have to choose to step into those when they come. Fear and discomfort are our greatest obstacles, here. Pray for boldness and compelling love from the Spirit (II Cor. 5:14). [Note what the Scriptures say we should be looking to do: good works, acts of kindness and love (Matt. 5:16; Tit. 2:7,14; 3:8,14; Heb. 10:24). These show an uncommon concern and graciousness for others. These strike at the root of human selfishness. They are the outward expression of the change God makes in our hearts, as we become like Him. Jesus said that love is the premier mark of the genuine follower of Jesus (Jn. 13:34,35). The enemy can imitate and counterfeit other spiritual gifts and supernatural acts, but he cannot move people to consistently love, as defined in I Cor. 13.]

(4.) Be prepared for warfare. Whenever we make advances in the things of the Spirit, we can expect that there will be a backlash and/or a price to be paid. This is war, after all. Satan will oppose us, and attempt to destroy the impact of what we do. Count on it. "Put on the armor of light." Be mentally and spiritually prepared.

(5.) Choose to make this a way of life. The word picture of a "walk" is that of repeated steps. If we are going to walk in the Spirit, if we are going to walk as children of light, we must make repeated, regular, consistent steps of obedience in response to His leading.

Discovering and Implementing the Power of Jesus

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: July 10, 2005

Discovering and Implementing the Renewing Power of Jesus
by Dan Trygg

"…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Ephesians 4:22-25


As we survey the NT, it is not surprising to find that the apostle Paul repeatedly referred to certain key concepts which he felt were necessary to communicate to the various groups of believers with whom he corresponded. Among these repeated themes is his teaching about our union with Christ in His death and resurrection, and how that is to be practically applied in our lives. How do we come to practically experience Jesus in our lives? How do we come to experience the power of His life in us? By comparing and cross-checking his writings, it becomes evident that there are four steps Paul refers to that will help us to implement Jesus into our experience. Note the emphasis on choice. If we do nothing, little will happen. God wants us to partner with Him in our own personal struggles, as well as the work of advancing the Kingdom.

1.) Choose to consider yourselves to be dead to sin (i.e., without any need to fulfill its demands) and alive toward God (i.e., open, available and ready to do His will). This is the practical result, the realization, of our union with Him in death & resurrection.

2.) Choose to "put off" or "put distant" the old self, and the behaviors characteristic of our former life. Do not keep on making yourself available to express the old patterns of life, or to fulfill the desires of sin. In other words, as often as you are conscious of a tendency to do things in the old sinful manner, put that aside and consciously implement a new way of living life.

Of course, you cannot choose a different course of action unless you are aware of other possibilities, which leads to the next principle, our topic for today:

3.) Choose to renew your minds.

In Ephesians 4:23, the focus of our study, the NASB translates the beginning phrase of the verse as "and that you be renewed...". In the Greek, however, the phrase begins with the word "but", i.e., "but to be renewed in the spirit of your mind". Our first observation about this verse is that Paul intended to set at contrast what he is about to say here from the "former manner of life" spoken of in the previous verse. Verse 22 admonishes us to "put away from ourselves the former manner of life". In contrast to that old, negative way of living, the apostle now begins to tell us in positive terms how to live life differently.

The verb form here is a continual, ongoing-action infinitive. The NASB translates it as though it were passive, "to be renewed". By form, however, it could also be understood as being in the middle voice, "to renew (for yourselves) in/with/by the spirit of the mind/perception of y'all", or even, "to renew (yourselves) in the spirit of your minds".. The middle voice would indicate that we must be intensely involved in the process. To renew the mind will take our active effort, and will obviously affect us, change us and limit us.

The word translated as "mind" (nous) is the same as that used in verse 17 to describe the lifestyle of the Gentiles. They walk about "in the futility of their mind". By using the exact same word (there negatively, ...and now as the focal point of change), we cannot escape the emphatic contrast he is setting up. The old mind was futile, empty and vain. It needs to be reprogrammed.

It is amazing how much of the New Testament teaching is directed to the thinking process, the habitual thought patterns, discernment, deception, world view and self-concept, etc. The word for "mind" (Gk. – nous) means more than just the organ of the intellect, however. It is also the faculty of perception, attitude, imagination, and discernment. From the beginning, our encounter with the truth demands a change in world view. The word for repentance is metanoia, another word from the same root. Metanoia literally means to "change your mind, change your perception of reality". Coming to faith is accepting a paradigm shift, seeing reality in a way that includes the gospel truth of God, and choosing to live life according to that new perception. From that introduction to a new, drastic shift in the way we see reality, we are to continue in the process of clarifying our understanding and perception of it. There are three aspects to this:

(a.) "...be renewed in the spirit of your minds" -- Eph. 4:23. This would seem to address the attitude or orientation of the mind (e.g., I Cor. 4:21). This also is a conscious decision, which means we must evaluate whether we have an attitude that is spiritually in tune with God, or not. If not, we must learn to readjust our focus to see things from the God-perspective. This will change our attitude.

The word "spirit" also could literally mean "wind or breath". If you substitute this idea into the phrase, how does the word picture change for you? "Be renewed in the breath of your mind." Doesn't that sound like "take a breath of fresh air", mentally? Be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated in your minds, which have previously been stale, stuffy, and lifeless in their previous thought patterns.

It is interesting that Paul uses a little bit different word for "be renewed" here than in the other passages about renewing the mind. There (e.g., Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10; Tit. 3:5) the apostle uses a word meaning "to renew, make-different-again". Here, the word choice means to renew in the sense of "to-make-young-again". This fits the image of "to re-fresh" very well. Our attitude can easily become jaded with sarcasm, cynicism, fear, bitterness, etc. due to the painful experiences we may have had to deal with, or as a result of our exposure to the "spirit of the age" in advertising, movies, television and other media. We need to recover the innocence and freshness of a youthful spirit in the attitude of our perspective on reality. Otherwise, we will continue to live in the old, empty perceptions of life, and will have difficulty putting on the new person.

(b.) "Set your mind on spiritual things" -- Col. 3:1-3; cf. Rom. 8:5-9. It is interesting to note that Paul uses a different verb to express this thought. The Greek word, phroneo, describes more the thinking process than nous does, i.e., the thoughts themselves, more than one's total perception or understanding. It describes what you have in your mind, or what you give your conscious attention to. To set your mind on spiritual things means think spiritual thoughts. Choose to incorporate the reality of the work of Jesus into your daily life. Think about spiritual concepts and how they relate to you. Exercise an awareness of God's presence in your life, and expand your horizons to include "the things above". Think about the spiritual warfare going on around you and others, and the fact that God wants you to use you to affect that conflict. This brings a new perspective by which all of life can be reinterpreted.

(c.) Renew your perception or world view -- Rom. 12:2; Heb. 5:14. This component deals with not only the content of our belief-system (theology), but also how we see and interpret the world around us. In practical terms, it presents renewal of the mind (nous) in the context of learning to discern God's purposes and desires for your life, and, at times, for others as well. The Scriptures are a record of God’s revelation to us to teach us about Him, His love and provision for us, as well as His general purposes for us. That is why it is so valuable a resource for us. We need to study His Word, and ask the Holy Spirit to teach us (Jn. 14:26).

It is important to see that, according to Rom. 12:2, the change in one's world view (including self-concept) is to lead toward the discovery by experimentation of God's pleasure for us as individuals and as a group. The words of Paul, "that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect", indicate an active, learning-by-doing and trying-different-options to find what works for you. God gives us permission to experiment. In fact, experimentation is the only way to learn some things, including discovering God's will for your life. The end result of the process will be a mature, discerning person, one who has trained their faculties of discernment by exercise and experimentation to be able to discern good from evil, right from wrong.

4.) Choose to process honestly with other people in the Body – Eph. 4:15,16; 5:18-20; Col. 3:9,10,16; Heb. 3:12,13; Jas. 5:16; I Pet. 2:1-3. You can see that the process of renewing the mind is a very large, comprehensive endeavor. It will require not only education and informational learning, but also introspection and active experimentation. Because we are on the inside looking out, there is a lot about our attitudes, thoughts and abilities that we simply cannot see clearly. That is why these verses are set into the context of community. We need the instruction, interaction and feedback of others to help us in this process. We need the exposing, convicting, revealing, healing and empowering ministrations of the Holy Spirit through the people of God to really make us new. It is normative for God to use the Body (our brothers and sisters in Christ) to minister to us in these ways (I Cor. 12-14).