Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

Disciplines
Culture Watch
The text with which we open this missive each day becomes more important with each passing day.

In 2 Corinthians 10.3-5, Paul describes the disciplining of the mind, getting our minds in shape to deal with challenges to the truth of God from the surrounding culture. He writes as if this is the duty of every believer.

The Lie and its attendant evils are pervasive. Nothing escapes the discoloration and distortion the Lie causes, as people suppress the truth about Christ and His Kingdom by their unrighteous ideas, words, and deeds. Because people and culture are thus garbed in a cloud of untruth, none of them can realize their full potential for beauty, goodness, truth, love, and the glory of God. This is true of everything in people’s lives – relationships, communications, work, study, art, science, and all disciplines and vocations.

Only Christ can redeem all things, reconcile them to God, and renew them in His Kingdom power. And He does this through His people, who possess the mind, Word, Spirit, and power of Christ for making all things new.

We must learn to identify the Lie in all areas of life, whether its presence be great or small, and to confront, expose, and dismantle it, replacing it with the teaching of Christ concerning all things. For this we must be well trained in the use of all the weapons of our warfare, and skilled in directing them at every dark redoubt of the Lie in every area of human life and interest.

Every stronghold of unbelief, all worldviews and cultural forms that resist the knowledge of God, are to be invested, besieged, and reduced to rubble. We are not at war with people, who are, after all, only captives to the Lie and the father of lies. We are called to love our enemies and to work to set them free in Christ. We must thus be careful to distinguish the ideas and forms people espouse and create from the people themselves. We are focused on destroying the former in order to better liberate the latter.

The weapons of our warfare are those which draw on the power of God: The example of our Spirit-filled lives (Acts 1.8); the perfect love of Christ, which casts out sin (1 Jn. 4.18); the Gospel of the Kingdom (Rom. 1.16, 17); the living and powerful Word of God (Heb. 4.12); the convincing example of a community of love (Acts 6.1-7); our ability, through sound reason, to help those who are captive to the Lie discern the folly of their ways (Prov. 26.4, 5); and a compelling alternative vision and worldview, focused on the redeeming and reconciling work of Christ (2 Cor. 5.17-21).

In the process of waging this conflict of worldviews, we are not naive. We know that some will hate us and perhaps even seek to do us harm. But they must not succeed in causing us to fear or hate them, since we are not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12.21).

Our ultimate vindication lies beyond this life; we must learn to cultivate righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, always living in the then and there, here and now, and making sure our speech is always gracious, edifying, and true (Col. 4.6; Eph. 4.29; Eph. 4.15).

It will be necessary sometimes to confront those who are especially recalcitrant with strong words of denunciation and warning (Matt. 23.1-36), but this will always be the exception and not the norm. We must engage every stronghold, wherever it raises its banner, as a community of witnesses. This has particular implications for the work of equipping the saints which is the calling of local pastors and church leaders (Eph. 4.11-16). We must nurture communities of believers who, because they understand the times in which we live, know what we must do in order to continue seeking and advancing the Kingdom amid the lies of unbelief and sin (1 Chron. 12.32).

Yes, this is hard work. But the consequences of failing to take it up and pursue it faithfully will be that, increasingly, our world and its culture become enveloped in, suffused with, and corrupted by the Lie that says people, not God, are the final authority on matters of right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and truth.

We see where such a worldview is taking us already. Are we willing to let this continue, and to fail in our calling to think, live, and overcome with the mind and power of Christ?

For reflection
1.  Does your church teach anything, or in any way work to equip its members, to understand the times and culture around us? Explain.

2.  How do you prepare yourself for taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ?

3.  Share today’s The Week column with some Christian friends. What suggestions do they have for rising to this challenge?

Next steps: Talk with a church leader about how the church might take the challenge of 2 Corinthians 10.3-5 more seriously.

T. M. Moore

There’s no telling what God might do if only men – Paul is specific about this – will take the work of prayer more seriously. To find out how you can do this, and how you can begin enlisting other men for more serious prayer, order a copy of If Men Will Pray from our online store (click here).

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