Mind, Heart and Will

The text

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Romans 6:17 KJV

At a glance

Summary of the sermon

Paul's thanksgiving over the Roman Christians describes a balanced conversion: a form of doctrine (addressed to the mind) which they obeyed (an act of the will) from the heart (with the emotions). Lloyd-Jones uses this verse to diagnose the unhappiness that comes from a partial grasp of the gospel — one that has laid hold of only part of the person.

He describes three kinds of imbalance. The intellectual Christian treats the faith as a philosophy or a theological hobby; he can argue about doctrine for hours and yet remains unmoved and, not infrequently, unkind. The emotional Christian lives on experiences — a sense of relief, a love of beautiful services, the atmosphere of a meeting — and collapses when the feeling fades or a real trial comes. The Christian of the will alone made a decision under pressure without really understanding what he was deciding, and later cannot say why he came forward. Even engaging two of the three faculties while neglecting the third produces instability and, in the end, misery.

The remedy is to take hold of the gospel in its true size — not merely forgiveness, nor merely a moral code, but the whole sweep of biblical truth — and to receive it in the right order. Truth must first come to the mind; the mind moves the heart; the heart moves the will. Heart and will are never to be approached directly. When the whole person obeys the truth together, the result is a stable, joyful and consistent Christian.

Key points

• Unhappiness often stems from a one-sided view of the gospel: forgiveness-only, ethics-only or atmosphere-only.
• Romans 6:17 describes the whole person — mind, heart and will — laid hold of by the truth.
• Intellect-only Christians stay cold; emotion-only Christians are unstable; will-only Christians later doubt.
• The order matters: mind first, then heart, then will; never the heart or will directly.
• Preachers who produce unbalanced converts bear part of the responsibility.

Illustrations the preacher uses

• Converts in an enquiry room who could not say why they had come forward.
• People moved by architecture and music who have nothing to hold them when trouble comes.
• Learned theologians whose knowledge gave them no comfort when they came to die.

Related Scripture

• Romans 6:1–14
• Romans 12:1–2
• James 1:2
• Mark 12:30

For reflection and discussion

1. Which of the three — mind, heart or will — dominates your own faith, and which is underdeveloped?
2. Why must truth reach the heart through the mind rather than being aimed at the heart directly?
3. Have you seen a lopsided faith give way under pressure, in yourself or someone else? What was missing?