Renew Your Mind (Sermon Illustration)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV).

For the longest time, we have interpreted this verse as meaning that reading the Bible transforms the way we think. While this is true, new research shows that there is more to it than that.

Studies have proven that doing something frequently like reading the Bible not only changes the way we think but literally changes our brain.

Our mind is transformed and made new!

Mark Batterson explains it this way:

Doctors Avi Karni and Leslie Ungerleider of the National Institute of Mental Health did a fascinating study asking subjects to perform a simple motor task—a finger-tapping exercise. As subjects tapped, the doctors conducted an MRI to identify what part of the brain was being activated. The subjects then practiced the finger-tapping exercise daily for four weeks. At the end of the four-week period, the brain scan was repeated. In each instance, it revealed that the area of the brain involved in the task had expanded. That simple task—finger-tapping exercise—literally recruited new nerve cells and rewired neuronal connections.

When we read Scripture, we are recruiting new nerve cells and rewiring neuronal connections. In a sense, we are downloading a new operating system that reconfigures the mind…

When we read Scripture, we engage in spiritual tapping. Our brains are rewired in alignment with the Word, and we develop the mind of Christ. We think His thoughts.¹

1. Mark Batterson, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars (Multnomah, 2016), 50.

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