Every Thought Captive

​2 Corinthians 10:5 ~ “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
 
How much of our minds are set to the obedience of Christ? The streams of information that beset our thinking—either from this world, or from our own imaginations—are often raised above the knowledge of God. Consider for a moment how the world uses opinion and argument to try and establish a different understanding than that which is given by God. It happened first in the Garden of Eden when the enemy of God entered into a conversation with Eve and threw into the dialogue a question: “Did God actually say” (see Genesis 3:1), and then went about to twist God’s word and distort the truth.
 
And, as we consider our text for today, let us first understand that there is a war happening—and it is a war against the truth. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:3, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.” And though we do not wage this war as the world does, we are waging a war. It is not a war against people, though people are often the agents of the world’s deceptive practices. This is a war between the lies of the enemy and the truth of God. Truth is under constant attack. There are, as the text says, “arguments and lofty opinions” against the knowledge of God. The world is filled with their own presumed logic, set to reject the truth of God and, ultimately, to reject the LORD God, Himself. But, dear Christian, you have a great requirement to not only reject such notions that the world gives against the truth of God in Christ, but to “destroy” such lofty opinions. To do that, those opinions and arguments must be torn down with the truth.
 
Which brings us to the next part—that we are to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” So, let me ask you beloved, how many stray thoughts are running amok in your thinking? Have you accepted some ideologies of this world that sound plausible and yet they are not biblical? A brief survey of much of the thinking of Christendom today might yield a surprising array of false ideologies. More than just the debated theologies of Biblical thinkers, you will discover filtered throughout the mentality of many Christians various worldly, even pagan notions that have become colloquial ideas. There are those who will embrace the societal acceptance of sinfulness as behavioral norms. Others will dive headlong into various forms of Christian Narcissism that insists the Christian life is about personal fulfilment. Some have embraced the idea that their subjective intuitions are Divine revelation. All of these, and many, many more are ways in which the enemy of God is continually asking: “did God actually say.”
 
There are no exceptions to the thoughts that must be taken captive. It is “every thought.” You cannot hold fast to your own notions. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Yet, there are many Christians who do lean on their own understanding and do not take their thoughts captive. Because of this, they do not live a life in obedience to Christ but in faithfulness to their own notions of what they believe is best for them. But, as our text instructs, we not only are to take every thought captive—they are to be captured to the obedience of Christ.
 
But how? I am glad you asked. To take captive your thoughts, you must surrender them to the word of God. The Scriptures are the weapon of God to arrest our straying thoughts so that we can live a life pleasing to Christ and obey Him. Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” How frequently, dear Christian, do you take a venture into the Scriptures to encounter the thoughts of Christ and surrender your own understanding? Do you yield to His word as the authority or do you glance through the Bible and then submit to your own concepts anyway? If you struggle to arrest your own thinking, then take those thoughts captive and point the sword of the Spirit—the word of God—at the heart of it. Paul instructed the church in Rome this way, “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). Let this be your continued effort as you strive to take captive all random worldly thoughts or earthly ideologies for obedience to Christ.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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