Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. (Romans 12:2 Living Bible)

Identification with Christ allows God to attack your intellect from your inner man. Mark Hankins

Simply attacking them with a few scriptures cannot solve problems in life that require mind renewal. You have to get right to the power source of Christianity and start to declare your identification and union with Christ.

P.C. Nelson, in Bible Doctrines, wrote, “Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union.”

Identification with Christ allows God to attack your intellect from your inner man. Christ rises up on the inside of you and doubt, fear, confusion, shame, poverty, and sickness are thrown out!

Confession: I am who God says I am. I have what God says I have. I can do what God says I can do. He is the Champion. I am blessed because I am in Him!

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Your identification with Christ is the center of the power of the Gospel.
Mark Hankins

Mind renewal begins with understanding your identification with Christ. Some problems in your mind or soul can be so severe that they can only be dealt with at their roots by this part of the Gospel. You will never be normal and you will never fulfill the potential God has for your life unless those problems are dealt with.

Your identification with Christ is the center of the power of the Gospel. It will rise up inside you and will hit the root of mental, emotional, or behavioral issues. No matter what has happened to you — abuse, shame, what ever it is — you can say, “I am a new creature in Christ. Christ lives in me. I forget what I used to be.”

There is miracle-working power in Christ. The world may say you will never recover. But in Christ, you can be restored. It cannot happen from the outside, but it can happen on the inside!

Confession: I am being transformed from the inside out by the renewing of my mind! I was crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not give the flesh a chance.
Mark Hankins

Your flesh still has certain desires that you have to deal with. Do not put yourself in situations where your flesh will be able to take advantage of you and drag you through lust. Paul said in Colossians 3:5 that you have to crucify the flesh and mortify the deeds of the body.

The devil will say to you, “If you are saved, you are a new creature. You can still hang around certain kinds of sin.” If there has been a problem and a weakness in your life, just don’t make any provision for that. You need to tell the devil, “No, I understand what my limits are, and it is best for me to stay far away from that temptation.”

Put on what is in you in Christ and don’t give the devil a chance. You might say, “I am in the world. I cannot help but come across certain things.” That is true, but you should not be looking for temptation, you should be doing your best to stay away from it. Acknowledge who you are in Christ then put to death the deeds of the body.

Confession: I am a new creature in Christ. Old lusts, thoughts, temptations, and habits are crucified. I keep under my body and bring it into subjection! (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Corinthians 9:27)

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is free from sin. (Romans 6:6-7)

Wouldn’t you like to go ahead and lose your mind for a little while?
Mark Hankins

Paul said in Romans 6, “I know this for a fact. I was crucified with Christ. Christ took me to the cross with Him.” Some theologians believe that Paul had lost his
mind because he was not even in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. But Paul said, “Christ lives in me now. I did not survive the cross, and there is nothing left of me. It’s all gone. I am a brand-new man. I was crucified with Christ.”

Paul was presenting the law of substitution to the theologians and to us. The law of substitution has to do with the two Adams. The first Adam got us into this mess, so God made another Adam. Jesus is the last Adam. To get rid of the old Adam, there had to be a resurrection.

The death and resurrection of Christ is a group picture. You have to find yourself in it, or the picture does not look so great. Once you find yourself, you can say, “Oh, there I am!” This is not sense knowledge; the Holy Spirit reveals it to you.

Confession: Because Christ lives, I live! I am seated with Him and blessed with Him. I cannot be defeated! I cannot be depressed. Christ lives in me!