The Way of Deliverance 543
should examine himself carefully to find out which of the three
grounds he has furnished to the evil spirits. Is it the unrenewed mind?
or the passive mind? or the acceptance of the lie of the evil spirits?
Or has he yielded on all three counts? Judging by the experience of
Christians, a large number have supplied all three to the devil and his
minions. Upon isolating the point or points by which he has ceded
territory to the evil spirits, he must set out immediately to recover all
the ground he has lost. This is his only salvation. Since he has
degenerated into his present state through surrendering this or that
foothold to the evil spirits, he will be free solely when these
footholds are all regained. The unrenewed mind must be renewed;
the lie accepted must be spotted and denied; and passivity must be
turned into free action. We shall discuss them one by one.
The Mind RenewedGod desires not only a change in the mind of His children at the
time of conversion; He desires also a mind that is totally renewed,
which is transparent as crystal. We find this commanded in the Word
of God. The reason Satan can work is that the Christian has not been
liberated entirely from a carnal mind. He may start out with a narrow
mentality which cannot tolerate others or a darkened mentality that
cannot comprehend deeper truth or a foolish mentality which cannot
bear any important responsibility; and afterwards he slips into deeper
sins. This is because “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to
God” (Rom. 8.7). Once knowing the teaching of Romans 6 many
Christians see themselves as having already been freed from their
carnal mind. What they do not appreciate is that the cross must
operate minutely in every area of the man. “Consider yourselves
dead to sin” must be followed by “let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal bodies” (Rom. 6.11-12). Following the change of mentality
there must be the bringing of “every thought captive to obey Christ”
(2 Cor. 10.5). The mind must be renewed completely, since any
residue of its carnality is hostile to God.