Although an attempt to produce genuine change in man’s behavior through discipline of the body may have some minor value, it ultimately never produces the desired effect.(Colossians 2:22-23) This is because it merely treats the symptoms rather than the disease, and only leads to heaping on a load of guilt when it fails to work. By its very nature, this strategy is doomed to failure because it simply bucks God’s design—His life flows not from the works of the flesh, but from the Spirit of God surging through the panel of our spirit.(John 15:5)

And here’s another prevalent misconception: the belief that we can transform ourselves by acquiring knowledge about the things of God. Can’t we? I hear a chorus of voices shouting, “Of course we can; how else can we grow in the knowledge of God and thus renew our minds?” The fact is that this too bucks God’s design. When Paul admonishes us not to “be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” he doesn’t mean merely the intellect. Rather, he means the transformation of our mind defined as the inner man—our immaterial nature integrated with the physical mind.(Romans12:2)

But doesn’t gaining more knowledge about God mean that our heart will change in the process? Well, in a sense it does, because knowledge of the things of God and His kingdom are certainly vital to our growth. But such knowledge must be pursued from the right motives if it is to be effective. Why? Because true change in the heart does not come from the direction of the intellect. Rather, the genuine source of change in our heart is the result of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God bringing our spirit alive to Him. Jesus said, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”(John 16:3) He does this by disclosing to us—Spirit to spirit—revelatory truth within, as well as spiritually quickening what we learn through our intellect.

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself