Every Thought Captive

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

It is necessary, in capturing a fortress, after you have destroyed the walls and moved into the center of the fortress, to root out all the remaining pockets of resistance. There will be enemy soldiers who have hidden away in the depths of the fortress, and these must be rooted out and taken captive or else the whole job will have to be done all over again very shortly. This God does as we take every thought to make it obedient to Christ: we must pursue each vagrant thought and capture it for Christ. This is all done in the battleground of the mind, the thought life. That is why your thinking is very important, and why you must learn to confront your thoughts as a Christian, examine what you are thinking, pass judgment upon it, and act in line with that judgment, either positively or negatively. You cannot allow your mind to give itself to anything it wants to; it must be disciplined or your whole Christian relationship will crumble and be weak.

It is necessary to do this if you want to have permanent victory. Allow these sub-Christian thoughts to remain unconquered and you will soon have to take the fortress all over again. They will creep out of their hiding places and take over, and you will find that that which God has delivered you from has taken control once again. You must capture every thought obedient to Christ. This is nothing but the practical acknowledgment of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. The intellectual life is often the last part of a Christian to be yielded to the right of Christ to rule. Somehow we love to retain some area of our intellect, of our thought life, reserved from the control of Christ. Sometimes this is manifested by permitting ourselves an inward indulgence while repressing the outward expression of it. Many play lustful thoughts over and over on their mind, but do not allow themselves to engage in the immoral acts involved. That is a refusal to bring captive every thought to the obedience to Christ. Sooner or later we shall find ourselves in a situation where the act that we thought we could avoid has been committed before we know it. Others manifest that reserve by allowing jealous thoughts and resentful attitudes to take over the thought-life. Though they outwardly appear to be friendly and cooperative with people, inwardly they are filled with hostility and resentment against them. But that is a direct refusal to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. It is refusing to bow to the right of Jesus Christ to be Lord over that area of life.

Father, I confess how many sinful thoughts I have indulged in. Teach me to bring every thought captive to you.