The Mind: The Place Of Decision

Serge Da Rosa
Aug 16
8 min read

Updated: Sep 6

“To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” — Romans 8:6

For centuries, believers have fought against “the devil,” feared “principalities and powers,” and battled “evil spirits,” all while missing the root of the problem. Beneath every false system, every religious stronghold, and every oppressive force that humanity has endured lies the same source: the carnal mind.

The mind is not just a place where thoughts pass through—it is the place of decision. It is the lens through which we interpret reality, the seat from which we either embrace truth or believe a lie. If we don’t understand the role of the mind in the grand narrative of redemption, we’ll keep fighting shadows instead of living in the victory of union.

The carnal mind was the operating system behind the satan, the devil, the law, principalities and powers, and even the idea of evil spirits. Jesus disarmed all of it—not by force or cosmic combat, but by exposing the lie, restoring union, and renewing the human mind.

The Carnal Mind: Not Neutral, but Hostile

Paul writes with unflinching clarity:

“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” — Romans 8:7

Enmity means active hostility. The carnal mind doesn’t simply ignore truth—it resists it. It imagines separation where God declares union. It projects judgment where there is only mercy. It assumes performance earns acceptance and that law is the path to life.

The carnal mind is:

Performance-driven — striving to earn what’s already freely given.
Fear-based — expecting punishment instead of receiving love.
Dualistic — dividing God from man, self from others, and sacred from secular.
Deceptive — presenting death as life, and law as righteousness.

This mindset became the root of all bondage.

The Law: A System the Carnal Mind Could Exploit

The law was holy, but the carnal mind hijacked it.

“The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire...” — Romans 7:12–13

The law provided an external standard, a set of commands to measure righteousness. The carnal mind took that standard and turned it into a weapon—producing comparison, condemnation, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness. It left people either puffed up with pride or crushed by shame.

As Paul said:

“The strength of sin is the law.” — 1 Corinthians 15:56

Why? Because the law gave the carnal mind something to cling to—a checklist that seemed holy but only amplified humanity’s sense of lack.

But Jesus came to end the system:

“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” — Romans 10:4

Principalities and Powers: Systemic, Not Supernatural

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age…”

These were not invisible creatures flying in the sky. The language Paul uses was political and religious—pointing to governing systems that held humanity captive under the old covenant.

Principalities (archē) — ruling origins, chief authorities (religious/legal power).
Powers (exousia) — legal right or delegated authority (such as the law or temple system).
Rulers of darkness — those who sustained ignorance and fear through control.

These systems derived their strength from one thing: the carnal mind that believed in them. They existed because people, through fear, allegiance, and tradition, gave them authority.

The Disarming of the Entire System

Jesus dismantled the system by transforming the mind.

He didn’t engage Satan in a sword fight. He didn’t wrestle invisible powers. He revealed the lie of separation, fulfilled the law, and unveiled the truth of our union with God.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” — Philippians 2:5

To have the mind of Christ is to abandon the carnal mind—to think from union rather than distance, from peace rather than striving, from wholeness rather than fragmentation.

The Victory of Christ: The Mind Made Whole

The gospel is a call to awakening. It’s not about defeating a devil—it’s about realizing the lie has already been exposed.

Jesus came to liberate the human mind, to bring us back to our right mind, to remove the veil, to end the system, and to give us His mind—the mind of union, peace, and perfect love.

“We were only ever enemies in our minds.” — Colossians 1:21

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” — Romans 12:2

The mind has always been the place of battle—and in Christ, it is the place where victory has already been won.

The Myth of Two Natures

One of the greatest misconceptions among believers is the idea that we carry two natures inside us—a “sin nature” and a “righteous nature”—locked in constant battle. This teaching keeps people living as if they are spiritually divided, pulled between good and evil in their very identity.

But the gospel declares something better. We do not have two natures. We have one nature—the nature of God, imparted to us through union with Christ.

“Anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” — 1 Corinthians 6:17

The conflict we feel is not between competing natures—it’s between truth and the remnants of old thinking. The mind is the place of decision where we choose to align with who we truly are or with a lie that no longer defines us.

You are not part sinner and part saint. You are wholly new, fully righteous in Christ. When your mind drifts toward carnal thinking, it is not your “old nature” resurfacing—it is simply an unrenewed thought asking for alignment with the truth of your God-given nature.

This is why renewing the mind is central to the believer’s walk. We are not trying to kill off some lurking sinful self—we are learning to think in agreement with the righteousness that already defines us.

Renewed Mind — Knowing and Living God’s Will

Paul writes:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will.” — Romans 12:2

This isn’t about decoding some mysterious future plan. Paul is saying that when your mind is renewed, you will naturally know, experience, and walk in God’s will because it will look like Him.

God’s will is not random or hidden. It is always health, wholeness, righteousness, peace, and joy.

“The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 14:17

The spiritual mind, the mind of Christ, will always lead to these outcomes. It brings clarity, peace, and life.

The carnal mind, on the other hand, always leads to distortion, confusion, brokenness, and dark places.

Renewing the mind is not about discovering God’s hidden will for you, it is about aligning your thoughts with it. When you think from union with Christ, you are already walking in His will, because His nature is your nature.

Desire and the Power of Perception

This truth is as old as the garden.

The serpent didn’t force Eve to eat. He didn’t hand her the fruit. He simply offered a suggestion—a seed of doubt: “Did God really say…?”

The turning point came when:

“The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise…” — Genesis 3:6

She saw… she desired… and she chose.

Even though the temptation came from the serpent, the decision was made internally. Her perception changed—she began to see something forbidden as beneficial. That shift of awareness birthed desire, and desire led to choice.

Adam’s choice followed a different path entirely. Adam was never approached by the serpent, never confronted by a lie, and never drawn into a direct debate about God’s word. Instead, Adam’s moment of decision came when Eve presented the fruit to him. At that point, there was no serpent in the conversation—only Adam, his desire, and his choice. It wasn’t “the devil made me do it.” It was Adam’s own mind weighing the moment and agreeing with a path outside of what God had said.

His participation was an act of will, not the result of external coercion.

The Process of Temptation — James’ Insight

James captures the inner mechanics of temptation in a way that aligns perfectly with the truth that the mind is the place of decision:

“Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” — James 1:14–15

Notice the order:

Desire is stirred — It begins inside, not outside.
Desire conceives — Agreement is made in the heart and mind.
Birth of sin — The decision moves from thought to action.
Sin matures into death — The outcome of separation-thinking takes root.

James doesn’t present temptation as an external overpowering force, but as an internal progression. The enemy doesn’t “make” us sin — desire draws us in, and our agreement with that desire is what gives it life.

This is exactly what we see in the garden:

Eve’s perception shifted, desire formed, and choice followed.
Adam also let desire guide his choice when Eve presented the fruit.
In both cases, the mind was the deciding factor — desire was the bridge between thought and action.

Understanding James’ sequence helps us recognize temptation early. The moment we become aware of desire pulling us away from truth, we can realign our perception with Christ before it conceives action. This is why renewing the mind isn’t just about learning truth — it’s about catching distorted desire before it matures into decisions that bring death.

The mind will always be the place of decision. Every thought is a doorway. Every perception is an invitation. And in Christ, we’ve been given the ability to choose life, to think from union, and to live from the fullness of peace.

From the Mind of Decision to the Mind of Life

From the very beginning, the Scriptures present two ways of living, two sources from which our thoughts and decisions can flow. In the garden, these were pictured as two trees:

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil
The tree of life

When our minds operate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, our decisions are driven by constant measurement, “Is this right? Is this wrong?” It’s a mindset rooted in performance and self-justification, where the ultimate goal is to avoid error rather than to embrace life. This kind of thinking may seem spiritual, but it keeps us stuck in the same cycle Adam and Eve entered: living by evaluation instead of participation in God’s life.

But the mind of Christ, the spiritual mind is the mind of the tree of life. It’s not obsessed with moral keeping. Instead, it draws from union with God, where the question isn’t “Is this right or wrong?” but “Does this come from life?” The life of God naturally produces righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17) without the mental burden of constantly analyzing every move.

Living from the tree of life doesn’t mean there’s no discernment; it means our discernment flows from our place of union with God, not from a detached standard. In union, our decisions are birthed from the very nature of God within us, a nature that is already righteous, already holy, and already aligned with His will.

This is the renewed mind: not simply a moral compass, but a life-giving source that transforms every thought, attitude, and choice from the inside out.

Tree of Knowledge Thinking	Tree of Life Thinking
Driven by fear of getting it wrong	Led by peace and trust in God’s nature
Measures everything by right/wrong, success/failure	Measures by life
Produces pressure, anxiety, guilt	Produces rest, clarity, joy
Focuses on performance and earning approval	Flows from identity and relationship
Motivated by avoiding punishment or shame	Motivated by love and union
Feels heavy, draining, and duty-driven	Feels light, freeing, and empowering

About the Author

Serge Da Rosa is co-founder of Urban Eden Community, a ministry dedicated to helping people discover their God-given identity and walk in the freedom of the new creation. Alongside his wife, Kristy, Serge facilitates weekly gatherings in Tulsa, Oklahoma that center around authentic connection, growth, and kingdom expression outside the walls of traditional religious systems.

Serge’s passion is to see people awakened to their union with God. Through weekly community gatherings, work in addiction recovery, community events, writing, teaching, and the Kings And Priests Podcast, he speaks into themes of identity, grace, purpose, kingdom and governance with clarity, depth, and hope.

Whether through a conversation, a gathering, or a written word, Serge’s message remains the same: You are in perfect union with God, empowered with God's Kingdom.

To learn more, connect with Serge, or support the mission, visit www.UrbanEdenCmty.com

Email us: urbanedencmty@gmail.com