Developing a Christian Mind – Part 1
Thesis To develop a Christian mind means to think about everything—not just religious matters—from a biblical framework grounded in the doctrine of God, in opposition to the secular naturalism that has reduced Western culture to mindless materialism and moral inversion.
The shape of the message
Western culture has largely lost not only a Christian mind but any coherent mind at all, succumbing instead to mindlessness driven by materialism, relativism, and television's image-based medium. Paul's command in Romans 12:1-2 to be transformed by the renewing of our minds stands against this cultural conformity and requires us to think Christianly about everything—not merely to think about Christian things, but to interpret all of reality through a biblical framework rather than through the secular lens that dominates modern thought. A Christian worldview begins with the doctrine of God—a personal, holy, sovereign being who reveals himself in Scripture—and stands opposed to the naturalism that has replaced theism in the West, producing a culture that cannot distinguish good from evil and increasingly behaves like animals rather than image-bearers. Only those willing to lose their lives for transcendent truth make a difference in history, as seen in the collapse of communism in 1989, where Christians defied death because they believed in a reality beyond this world.
Discuss · apply · pray
Six surfaces drawn from this sermon — small-group leader brief, daily reading plan, weekly prayer, memorize, family table, couples — generated automatically by Sermon Steward.
Questions for midweek
- What does Paul mean in Romans 12:1-2 when he calls believers to 'not be conformed to this world' but instead to be 'transformed by the renewing of your mind'? What worldly patterns of thinking do you see most pressuring the church today? Can you think of a specific area—politics, sexuality, work, money, entertainment—where secular thinking has subtly shaped how you think differently than Scripture would?
- Boice argues that a Christian mind begins with 'the doctrine of God'—understanding him as personal, holy, and sovereign, revealing himself in Scripture. How does viewing God this way change the way you interpret what you see happening in the world around you?
- The sermon traces how Western culture has moved from a theistic worldview (believing in a personal God) to a naturalistic worldview (seeing only matter and no transcendent reality). What are the practical differences you observe in how people make moral decisions under each framework?Where do you see this naturalism affecting decisions in your own workplace, school, or family relationships?
- Romans 1:28-32 describes a progression of God's judgment: people suppress the truth, exchange God's glory for idols, and finally God gives them over so they 'call evil good and good evil.' How does understanding this progression help you make sense of cultural confusion about morality? What does it mean pastorally and spiritually that this represents God's judgment rather than merely human foolishness?
- Boice contrasts Daniel Garva, who was willing to lose his leg for transcendent truth, with a Princeton student who declared 'nothing is worth dying for.' What does this difference reveal about what we actually believe is real and true? How does a Christian worldview reshape what we consider worth sacrificing for? Where in your own life are you being called to choose a transcendent value over earthly comfort or safety?
- The sermon argues that developing a Christian mind means learning to think about *everything*—not just explicitly 'Christian' topics—through a biblical framework. What would it look like for you to begin applying a Christian worldview to decisions about your work, entertainment choices, or how you spend money this week? What spiritual practices or habits would help you actually do this rather than merely intending to?
Five-day reading plan
This week we trace the foundation of a Christian mind: from God's revealed glory in creation, through the catastrophe of human rebellion and cultural decay, to the call to recover biblical theism and think Christianly about all of life.
Renew Our Minds in Biblical Truth
Father, we come before you acknowledging that you alone are the personal, holy, sovereign God who governs all things toward their appointed end. We confess that we have too often allowed our minds to be shaped by the materialism and relativism of our age rather than by the renewing power of your truth. Like the culture around us, we find ourselves susceptible to mindlessness—absorbed in images and surface-level thinking, forgetting that we are called to interpret all of reality through the lens of your revealed Word rather than through secular frameworks that deny your existence and your reign (Romans 12:1-2).
Yet the gospel declares that we have been given the mind of Christ. Through his death and resurrection, he has broken the power of the worldview that reduces us to mere animals and has restored us to our true dignity as image-bearers of God. In Christ, we are no longer slaves to the patterns of this age but are being transformed into people who see creation declaring your glory, who recognize your hand in history, and who understand that transcendent realities matter infinitely more than temporal comforts (Romans 1:18-20; Psalm 19:1).
Grant us, we pray, the courage and discipline to develop minds shaped by biblical truth. Help us to read deeply, to think carefully about how the gospel speaks to every dimension of our lives—not merely religious matters, but politics, art, work, and culture. Free us from the tyranny of images and mindlessness; teach us to look up to you rather than down at the world's empty philosophies. Give us conviction like those faithful ones whose willingness to die for transcendent truth changed the course of history, that we might live as those who belong to an eternal kingdom and think accordingly (Romans 12:2; Daniel 4).
We commit ourselves to this glad pursuit of a Christian mind, trusting that as our thoughts are renewed by your Word, our entire lives will be transformed to reflect the beauty and truth of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Romans 12:1-2
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Looking Up or Looking Down
One question for the table: Pastor James said that when people stop believing in God, they start acting more like animals instead of like people made in God's image. Can you think of something you saw today—maybe on TV, at school, or online—where someone was acting like an animal instead of like someone made by God? What would it look like if that person remembered they were made to reflect God instead?
Works for ages 8+ — younger kids can listen and offer simple examples with help from parents
For parents: This prompt invites kids to think about the sermon's key contrast: whether we see ourselves as image-bearers made by God, or as animals with no higher purpose. Listen for where your kids naturally place themselves and gently help them see how the gospel calls us upward.
Renewing Our Minds Together
- What part of the sermon most challenged how you're currently thinking about the world—and where do you sense the Holy Spirit calling you to think more biblically?
- Where do we, as a couple, tend to drift into secular thinking rather than viewing life through a Christian worldview, and how might we help each other resist that drift?
- As we consider the cost of living for transcendent truth rather than merely earthly comfort, what specific conviction would you like the other to pray for you about this week?
James Boice
Long-time pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia; founder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and a tireless expositor of the Pauline epistles.