1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
The Apostle James wrote to Christians, not to unbelievers, showing them the need for their souls to be saved (renewed and transformed); which means having been born again, you need your soul to be renewed, to be saved, to be delivered from the wrong mindset that you used to have before you got born again. Now, you need to renew your mind to the truth of God’s Word. Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” This means without the renewing of the mind, you cannot prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The soul must be renewed to know the will of God accurately. For you to access divine guidance, you need to renew your soul, and this is very important. Why? When you got born again, it was your spirit that got born again, your soul still needed to be saved, to be renewed and restored. In receiving divine guidance, your spirit receives divine instruction from God’s Spirit, and that is in turn communicated to your soul, and this becomes fluent as your soul is being renewed and is made to be subject to the true agent of change, the Word. In Psalms 23:3, the Psalmist said “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Your soul needs to be restored to the truth of the Word. Your soul was out of place, out of alignment with God when you were in the world, but now that you are born again, your soul must come into perfect line with God. It is so easy to be led by the Spirit of God when your soul is renewed; God’s leading will come fast and clear to the renewed mind.
The renewed mind is the mind that is under the influence of the Word; it is the mind that has come into alignment with the Word. You get your mind renewed on the Word by meditating in the Word and practicing the Word. When you meditate in the Word and practice the Word consistently, your mind will be renewed. Mere meditation in the Word without working the Word will not get your mind renewed. Your mind becomes actively, practically and dynamically renewed when you practice the Word that you have meditated upon. If the Word of God says to do something, then go ahead and do it. Every Word of God that you get into you and that you act upon renews and restores your soul. An unrenewed soul is a hinderance to receiving divine guidance. An unrenewed mind stands in the way of hearing God, but with a renewed mind, you can pick whatever the Holy Spirit says to or witnesses with your spirit. You can give expression to it because your soul is renewed. Two equations to simplify the renewing of the mind are, Equation 1: Meditating on God’s Word + Acting on God’s word = Renewal of the mind. (James 1:22-23, Romans 12:2). Equation 2: Talk the Word of God to yourself+ think the Word in yourself + catch/grasp it = Meditation (Joshua 1:8). When you begin to meditate on God’s Word, your soul will be renewed and submitted to the authority of God’s Word.
MY SOLID FRONT (YOUR CONFESSION):
In the Name of Jesus Christ, I declare that I give good attention to meditating in the Word and acting upon the Word consistently! Amen!
Further Meditation: Joshua 1:8; James 1:22-25.