warned against a spiritual life being choked out by the cares of this world . A healthy discipleship program helps mitigate the damage life brings against a person ’ s spiritual pursuits .
Remaining connected to God through daily Bible study , prayer , worship , and fellowship is also how we remain strong in faith and allowing mind renewal to continue . The Apostle Paul prayed for a pattern of growth in the lives of the Colossian church , which becomes almost a template for remaining in God ’ s will and growing in Christ .
Colossians 1:9-10 “ And so , from the day we heard , we have not ceased to pray for you , asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding , so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord , fully pleasing to him , bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God .”
First , in order to be saved , a person must come in contact with knowledge concerning salvation . After redemption , learning about God becomes the most important task . When we pursue the activities that bring us closer to Him , they reveal the will of God . Unquestionably , the Lord wants us to do these things . As a new believer pursues the revealed will of the Father , he is filled with the knowledge of God . The educated believer learns about God , he understands what it takes walk in a manner worthy of salvation which leads to a life pleasing to God , a life that will naturally bear fruit , leading to greater and deeper understanding of God . This then leads to walking in a manner worthy of salvation ; this cycle should be ongoing and progressive in the life of a healthy believer . What Paul is describing in Colossians 1:9-10 is simply the idea of abiding in Christ . Jesus told His disciples :
John 15:4 “ Abide in me , and I in you . As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself , unless it abides in the vine , neither can you , unless you abide in me .”
The pattern of Colossians 1:9-10 lays out exactly how to abide in Christ and remain in a place conducive to the ongoing renewal of the mind .
The Biblical call to renew the mind is not a mere suggestion , nor is it an abstract idea . The renewal of the mind is a necessary component to the process of sanctification , a process every believer must participate in . By renewal of the mind , thought patterns influenced by the world are discarded and replaced with a Biblical world view . Ideas and beliefs built on emotion and unfounded theories of human behavior no longer hold any viability as Biblical truth supersedes man ’ s vainglorious postulations . In essence , by the renewal of the mind , a Christ follower is able to view the world from God ’ s perspective , removing selfish motive and ambition from the equation . Renewal of the mind brings a formerly lost sinner to a place of concern for the eternal state of currently lost sinners . This renewal is achieved through and by the power of the Holy Spirit in concert with the willing heart of the indwelt believer . For this reason , every believer is charged with the command to be transformed by the renewal of the mind .