Taking Thoughts Captive
Taking Every Thought Captive to the Obedience of Christ
Sunday night when Jamie and I went to pick up Anna Ryan from her grandparents, she met us at the door and uttered a very profound statement. I immediately said, “Hey that will make a great title for a pastor’s corner. All week I have toiled in vain to remember what that statement was, thus depriving myself of the benefits of the thought.
Paul understood the importance of taking every thought captive so that our lives may benefit from them. The word captive means to be held as a prisoner. I once thought that we were to lock up the bad thoughts to keep them from doing us harm. The opposite is true. We are to hold on to the good thoughts and the bad thoughts won’t hang around. The Bible says, “I say then: walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Paul is saying that if we hold on to the Godly thoughts it will force the bad thoughts away, but if we let the Godly thoughts escape the battle is lost.
Corinth was a wicked city filled with every imaginable evil. Paul explained the proper way to wage spiritual warfare, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when our obedience is fulfilled” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). When you wage war you must understand your position on the battlefield before you can fight. We mistakenly believe that we are basically good and must simply keep evil out of our lives. Evil has a stronghold on every human heart which is exceedingly wicked. As Paul explained these must be pulled down. We do this by obeying every good thought that God sends our way. An obedient thought is always ready to punish a disobedient thought in your own life. Pay careful attention to the verse it says your life not someone else’s. Failure to obey leaves Canaanites in the land and destroys the future for our children. This is why there is so much sin in America today. Be positive; daily take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.