On Their Minds

Hebrews 10:16-22 - “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.


Jeremiah 31:33-34 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Leviticus 16:1-2 - The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

Hebrews 2:2-4 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Application:

· The new covenant supersedes the old covenant and fulfills it
· I am no longer ignorant of Him and His will for my life. I share in the knowledge of the Lord
· Christ was my sacrifice of atonement
· If failure to follow and obey the law came with retribution, then neglecting salvation through Christ comes with more dangerous retribution

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Blinded The Minds Of Unbelievers

2 Corinthians 4:4,6 - The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.


John 12:31 - Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.

1 Corinthians 1:20 - Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

2 Corinthians 3:14,18 - But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away…And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Application:

· Am I being gloriously transformed into the image of God?
· Out of the cross flows the greatest good ever to come to the world
· All humanly devised philosophical systems end in meaninglessness because they have a wrong concept of God and His revelation
· Do I have the power to see how the new covenant has transcended and replaced the old covenant?
· Is the light in my life the knowledge of the glory of God?
· Am I made a partaker of the glory of God by being gradually transformed into the likeness of Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Minds

Ephesians 4:22-24 - You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 13:14 - Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Conclusions:

· Is my thought and will being transformed? Am I testing and approving what is pleasing to God (not necessarily to me)?
· Have I put on a new self both positionally and experientially?
· Do I practice all the virtues associated with Christ?

ll Scripture verses taken from NIV

Peace Of God

Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

1 Peter 1:3-5 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Conclusions:

• Being anxious is self-centered, counterproductive worry, not legitimate cares for the spread of the gospel
• Anxiety and prayer are two great opposing forces in Christian experience
• Thanksgiving is the antidote to worry (along with prayer and petition)
• The peace of God is not merely a psychological state of mind, but an inner tranquility based on peace with God—the peaceful state of those whose sins are forgiven
• The opposite of anxiety, the peace of God is the tranquility that comes when the believer commits all his cares to God in prayer and worries about them no more
• The full dimensions of God’s love and care are beyond human comprehension
• Guard your hearts and your minds is a military concept depicting a sentry standing guard
• God’s protective custody of those who are in Christ Jesus extends to the core of their beings and to their deepest intentions
• Peace is a common Hebrew greeting, which Jesus uses in John 14:27 in an unusual way
• Peace speaks, in effect, of the salvation that Christ’s redemptive work will achieve for His disciples—total well-being and inner rest of spirit, in fellowship with God
• All true peace is His gift, which the repetition emphasizes
• In its greetings of peace the world can only express a longing or wish
• But Jesus peace is real and present
• Peace with God is not merely a subjective feeling but primarily an objective status, a new relationship with God: Once we were His enemies, but now we are His friends
• There are two sides to the perseverance of the Christian
• The Christian is shielded (1) by God’s power and (2) by his own faith
• The Bible speaks of salvation as (1) past—when a person first believes, (2) present—the continuing process of salvation, or sanctification, and (3) future—when Christ returns and salvation, or sanctification, is completed through glorification

Application:

• Are you anxious?
• Have you committed all your cares to God in prayer?
• Is your heart troubled?
• Are you His friend?
• Are you shielded by God's power and your faith?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible