Liturgical Practices Shape the Mind and Spirit

Recalling Romans 12:1-2

            In the blog Worshiping in Spirit and Truth, Romans 12:1-2 was analyzed to discuss how Christian believers are to worship the Lord God. In such biblical verses, the Apostle Paul exhorted the church in Rome to avoid becoming like the world and practicing its sinful behaviors but to renew their minds in the Lord, for they were God’s chosen people. Therefore, daily spiritual transformation was to become a crucial aspect of believers’ lives.

            Such a way of life is not limited to the believers to whom Paul wrote the letter but to all their contemporaries and upcoming generations. This means that modern believers are not exempt from this requirement of Christian faith and spirituality. Christians must transform spiritually and mentally and develop a Christ-like character that sets God’s will above everything else. Otherwise, idolatrous acts will be committed, as worldly behaviors and lifestyles prioritize sin and put God in second place.

 An idol is whatever claims the loyalty, time, attention, and worth that belongs to God.[1] Putting such things above and before God can harm the believer’s mind and heart. To worship is a human thing; if such behavior or practice is not God-oriented, idols can propel individuals toward rival gods and visions of the good life.[2] Therefore, believers must renew their minds, hearts, and commitment to the Lord daily and become sanctified.

Building the Mind and the Spirit: Rituals and Becoming What We Love

Christian believers must become spiritually transformed and develop holiness. Donald S. Whitney states that even though believers will be granted holiness when Christ returns, God intends them to pursue it.[3] In other words, Christians must cultivate their spirit and mind to conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) through specific rituals or spiritual practices. Rituals and spiritual practices are daily religious ceremonies or actions performed with a particular end or purpose. Prosper of Aquitaine, between 435 and 442, stated that religious practices or rituals shape faith.[4] Consequently, such practices must be done intentionally and with a goal in mind, which, in the case of Christianity, is to achieve conformity to the image of Christ.

Since worshiping correctly requires ascribing God with supreme worth, the heart’s priorities must be intentionally aligned with his will and commands. This means that believers must evaluate their habits, for they manifest what the heart genuinely loves.[5] If any behavior or desire contrary to God’s will is observed, then something other than him is being loved. Consequently, the mind and heart must be reoriented to love God, first, with the help and power of the Holy Spirit, and second, with the performance of spiritual practices such as praying, recitation or corporate confession of creeds, fasting for spiritual purposes, reading and studying the Bible, corporate singing of worship songs with the inclusion of bodily signals, baptism (once in life), the Lord’s Supper, and others.

Galatians 2:20: Conformity to the Crucified Christ

            Paul’s words in Galatians 2:20 indicate that believers must become symbolically and spiritually crucified with the Lord Jesus Christ. They must crucify their flesh and worldly desires as they submit to God in obedience and conformity to the crucified Christ. Thus, there must be a continuous rejection of the patterns of the world and the sinful desires of the flesh while pursuing sanctification. Consequently, submission and openness to the transformative power of the Holy Spirit and the daily performance of faith shaping Christian rituals or spiritual practices should follow, for they reorient the believer’s mind, spirit, and heart towards the Lord God and destroy the idols that prevent ascribing supreme worth to him.

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[1] G.K. Beale, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 17.

[2] James K. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2016), 29.

[3] Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2014), 3.

[4] Marcus Waldren Brown, “Worship and Spiritual Transformation: An Examination of Lex Orandi-Lex Credendi,” Southwestern Journal of Theology, no.66 (2023): 85.

[5] Smith, You Are What You Love, 29.