It is not enough to be convinced only in the mind. In the 60s an American Presbyterian preacher named Francis Schaeffer ran a kind of retreat or conference centre in Switzerland. It was much thronged by people of all kinds and his great emphasis in his particular ministry was worldview. He wanted people to understand how the Christian worldview was under attack and the calamities that would come as a result. Students, particularly of the humanities and also the sciences, would throng to his meetings, and the eyes of many students were opened. I have heard from many academics how embarrassing it was for them, when they would present their completely humanistic worldview with great authority, and it would be dismembered before their very gaze by Schaeffer’s expose. Many among the student community and even academics were converted without doubt. Now we look back and we can see the moral collapse and the advances of alternative morality. But not all those people who were impressed by Dr Frances Schaeffer were actually converted. They were convinced that there is no alternative to the Christian worldview, and that the humanistic worldview is a disaster, but some did not yield their hearts to Christ; they were kind of stuck in no-man’s land. In later life they are rather sad figures. They say, ‘I do not trust this world; I do not trust its politics and its theories; it is in a state of complete collapse. I believe in the Christian worldview, but I do not worship and I do not believe in a personal relationship with Christ.’ And others say, ‘Yes in my emotionally vulnerable youth, I saw the vanity of man without God, without a Christian worldview. But I do not want to revisit that. That is passed. I have gone my own way. I have done well in the world. Yes, it made an impression on me, but if you do not mind, I would rather not speak about it. The battle for the mind was won but the battle for the heart was not won. The mind was convinced, but the heart never submitted. What a tragedy.
Bringing every thought captive to Christ – that is true freedom. To come to Christ and to trust in his atoning death on Calvary and to repent of sin, put your faith in him, and yield your life to him – that is true freedom. Freedom from condemnation, freedom from the domination of sin, freedom to walk with God and know him and explore him and love him now and forever. That is the battle for the heart as well as for the mind.