This beta step enables a person to launch out into the process of coming to wholeness in themselves and achieving freedom from slavery to sinful patterns in their lives and freedom from deep regret for what happened in their past. It centres around the whole process of 'mind renewal', which is not brain-washing but rather a process of aligning your mind with the truth. Right belief determines right behaviour (cf Romans 12:2).

It essentially involves coming to a real, sound understanding of what it means that Jesus Christ is now your Lord, and just how significant it is that God the Father loves you and that you are now not only part of His kingdom but also part of His family! It is discovering your new identity in Christ and applying it to your life.

But it also involves the undoing of established false belief patterns from our past. This will include negative roots to our past being healed, cut off, and ripped out (those not brought to our attention in our initial repentance by the Holy Spirit). This is basically a removal of 'idols from the house', often those which were erected to address areas of rejection manifesting itself also in pride and unbelief, which lead to rebellion. The more of a life one has lived outside the will of God, often the more the roots there are that need to be ripped out!

The more thorough the repentance at conversion in the alpha stage, the less the repentance here! [And by repentance I do not just mean sorrow over sin, but truly how much one's mind changes over to really put one's trust in God alone in every area of one's life; the less this occurs, the more problems arise!] But unless identity is fully established, we allow the door to our past practices to remain open, and they may come and re-establish themselves again, perhaps even stronger!, and especially if one has a law-consciousness rather than a true understanding that through Christ's death we have died to the law as a regime and are now united with the risen Christ. We may easily add 'works' to our faith rather than understanding that we are only ever justified by grace (the 'natural' man struggles for self-justification, which is found only in comparing itself with others, in condemning and judging others; justification by grace leads to serving others).

And just like peeling an onion, this stage does not only occur once! It is often revisited through life as the Holy Spirit reveals more and more of the scum He wants to purge from the gold that we are! But major victories are often had right at the beginning! The more we allow our minds to be transformed and renewed, the more we become free!

Whilst this stage in the journey to wholeness can be done alone, it is best done in an accountable relationship with another person who is free in Christ, so that a thorough cleansing from the past is ensured as much as possible. It is also often facilitated through worship, prayer, and the preaching of the word; when one enters the Lord's presence, His purging fire is there to burn up the chaff!

Further discipleship will also reveal areas of one's life that may need to be addressed; the process of mind transformation may take a long time for some people, but in the context of good, loving, groups of Christians who are each wanting to live in accordance with the truth and are not afraid of facing the truth in their own lives, the process can be much quicker.

Let us now begin to explore some material which establishes just who we are in Christ, and how that can be applied to our lives.

One of our most basic needs is to be totally accepted for who we are. But in our fallen world, all of us experience rejection, sometimes from our own parents, siblings, and relatives, and other times from those who we classified as friends or 'significant others'. Consider this list of causes:

In each case of rejection, unless we had been totally secure in the eternal acceptance of God for us in Jesus Christ, we would have responded unhealthily and deviated from God's plumbline for our lives. These deviations manifest themselves in emotional attitudes of rejection or rebellion which the following pendulum diagram clearly shows:

[from Bruce and Petranella Litchfield, Christian Counselling.]

To overcome these deviant emotional attitudes, which are an expression of false beliefs as to who you are, it is necessary to fill your mind with the truth and also to repent from and renounce false beliefs and behaviours. Please note that we must not resort to rules and regulations to try and get change our emotions (cf Colossians 2:20-23). Emotions are just are symptom of what we believe. We need to begin to think differently, and then as a result of that our behaviour and hence our emotions will change.

What follows firstly is a list of Scriptural truths which any believer in Christ can hold on to. But please note, we do not need to appropriate these truths 'in our own strength'. The best way is to actually ask God to help you understand and really 'see' these truths; ask the Holy Spirit to apply these truths to your mind and being, and ask the Holy Spirit to heal any emotional wounds which may be exposed as you read through the list. I have also found that these truths hit home the most as I am actively worshipping God; as I worship they somehow get truly etched into my being, most probably because I am encountering 'face-to-face' in worship the One who is the embodiment and source of all these truths!

[Highly recommended further reading are works by Larry Crabb (Understanding People, Inside Out) and Neil T. Anderson (Victory over the Darkness), the latter book being the one from which the above list was taken.]

When a Christian begins to believe and appropriate the above truths, he/she is thinking rationally* and in accordance with reality. And as Jesus said, when you know the truth, the truth sets you free (Jn 8:31,32). Consider the following tables to help establish rational thinking:

[* Note: That is, thinking accurately and appropriately about ourselves, others, and the world around us, thinking realistically, thinking in accord with biblical truth.]

So what we can see is that the essence to right thinking is appropriating the great truths of what God did for us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; it is applying and believing the truths concerning our new birth:

"Christ fully satisfied God's wrath on the cross, therefore I am viewed favourably by God and am deeply loved by God (1 Jn 4:9-11)"

"God has not only forgiven me of my sins but has also granted me the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Because of justification, I have Christ's righteousness and am, therefore, pleasing to the Father (Rom 3:19-25; Rom 5:1; 2 Cor 5:21)"

"Although I was once hostile toward God and at a distance from Him, I am now forgiven and have been brought into an intimate relationship with Him. Therefore, I am totally accepted by God (Col 1:21-22)"

"I am adopted into sonship in God's eternal family alongside of Christ, God's beloved Son (Gal 3:26; Eph 1:3-7)"

"I am a new creation in Christ (John 3:3-6; 2 Cor 5:17)"

[The above tables and definitions were gleaned from Bruce and Petranella Litchfield. Christian Counselling. 4 vols. Dickson, ACT, Australia: Christian Counselling Services, 1992]

Perhaps the final checklist we may use to see how we are progressing in our appropriation, with the help of the Holy Spirit, of these truths concerning who we are is the standard of love (1 Cor 13:4-8). It does us well to work down the following list and mark which aspects we are still lacking in, and if we are still lacking, let us endeavour to humble ourselves and walk in His Spirit, for love is the fruit of walking in the Spirit:

And so we see that coming to a true understanding of who we are in Christ is one of the most important and practical things we can ever do, for it prepares us for being in relationship with others, that is, for being in community, which is what we all deeply long for. And the fact is that the above truths concerning who you are in Christ are also true for every other born again Christian you meet! Thus the Christian community should be the most awesome experience of love and acceptance any person could ever encounter. The fact, however, that it isn't in many cases shows the serious lack amongst our churches of understanding these truths for ourselves, let alone perceiving the same truths in others. We must therefore never neglect establishing our identity in Christ.

But as already indicated, beyond coming to an understanding of the above truths of who we are in Christ there is the necessity of also breaking bondages to sinful lifestyle patterns which we have committed ourselves to in the past in our attempts to find life.

In this stage, the material written by Neil T. Anderson (Set Free, The Bondage Breaker) is excellent, and it essentially consists in making, under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a fearless inventory of every sinful lifestyle pattern that you have adopted in your life and renouncing your involvement with it in Jesus name, preferably in the presence of another wise mature Christian. It is an elaboration of the biblical principle to publicly confess our sins (cf 1 John 1:5-10; James 5:16). I reproduce here in short form the 7 Steps to Freedom in Christ which God has used so effectively:

Step 1: Counterfeit vs Real

Renounce any involvement with occult practices, false religions, and idolatry (includes wrong priorities).

We need to renounce any activity and group which denies Jesus Christ, offers guidance through any source other than the absolute authority of the written Word of God, or requires secret initiations, ceremonies, or covenants.

In order to help you assess your spiritual experiences, begin this step by asking God to reveal false guidance and counterfeit religious experiences:

"Dear heavenly Father, I ask You to guard my heart and my mind and reveal to me any and all involvement I have had either knowingly or unknowingly with cultic or occult practices, religions, and false teachers. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

Use the 'Non-Christian Spiritual Inventory' below to determine which activities you have been involved in any way:

Ask yourself:

1. Have you ever been hypnotised, attended a New Age or parapsychology seminar, or consulted a medium, spiritist, or channeler? Explain.

2. Do you now have or have you ever had an imaginary friend or spirit guide offering you guidance or companionship? Explain.

3. Have you ever heard voices in your mind of had repeating and nagging thoughts condemning you or that were foreign to what you believe or feel, like there was a dialogue going on in your head? Explain.

4. What other spiritual experiences have you had that would be considered out of the ordinary?

5. Have you ever been involved in satanic ritual of any form? Explain.

When you are confident that your list is complete, confess and renounce each involvement, whether active or passive, by praying aloud the following prayer, repeating it separately for each item on your list:

"Lord, I confess that I have participated in (activity). I ask your forgiveness, and I renounce (activity)."

We also need to recognise those areas of our lives that have become more important than the true God, Jesus Christ. These areas become idols, and they too must be renounced.

Consider this list of things which are not evil in and of themselves, but can usurp God's rightful place as Lord of our lives:

Use the following prayer to renounce any areas of idolatry or wrong priority the Holy Spirit brings to your mind:

"In the name of the true and living God, Jesus Christ, I renounce my worship of the false god of (name the idol). I choose to worship only You, Lord. I ask You, Father, to enable me to keep this area of (name the idol) in its proper place in my life."

Step 2: Deception vs Truth

Confess ways that you have been deceived by the world, your own pride, fears, etc. This is similar to engrafting God's truth, as we looked at earlier, and believing the truth instead of lies. We must openly confront the lies we have held on to.

Consider these deceptions:

Self-deception

Self-defence

For those things that have been true in your life, pray aloud:

"Lord, I agree that I have been deceived in the area of ________________. Thank You for forgiving me. I commit myself to know and follow Your truth. Amen."

We must openly confess 'creeds of faith' based firmly on God's Word in the Bible. Apart from creeds such as the Apostle's Creed, we need to affirm truth about who God is as Father to us. I reproduce the following marvellous example:

Step 3: Bitterness vs Forgiveness

Ask God to bring to your mind those people you need to forgive, and then pray to forgive those people. Note that most people have their parents at the top of the list.

Remember these following points regarding forgiving:

Step 4: Rebellion vs Submission

Confess in prayer the authority figures in your life that you have not submitted to or respected, and ask for forgiveness. Authority figures include civil government, parents, husband or wife, employer, Church leaders, God.

Step 5: Pride vs Humility

Specifically confess to God areas in your life in which you have been prideful, independent, self-sufficient, and choose to humble yourself and place all your confidence in God alone.

Consider these areas:

Step 6: Bondage vs Freedom

In dealing with sins that have become habits, confess them clearly, specifically, and openly, and before God choose to deliberately turn away from them. When it comes to wrong sexual uses of your body, whether done by you or against you, ask God to reveal to your mind every time your body was used as an instrument of unrighteousness. Then, renounce every occasion with a prayer as follows : "Lord, I renounce (name the specific use of your body) with (name the person), and I renounce any bonding that may have taken place." Then pray a prayer in which you afresh commit your body to the Lord.

Step 7: Curses vs Blessings

Renounce the sins of your ancestors as well as any curses which may have been placed on you by deceived and evil people or groups. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what 'curses' may be hanging over your head.

1. Walk in the Spirit. This means actively and daily choosing to be in a listening mode to the Holy Spirit's guidance, and also asking for His help, so that lives of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be the result. Our souls (mind, will, and emotions) and 'hearts' need to be in submission to the Holy Spirit; our physical bodies need to be in submission to our souls. This will become second nature to you as you cultivate an intimate personal relationship with God through prayer, Bible reading, giving thanks and praise to God, and wholesome Christian fellowship (we are now getting on to phases Gamma and Delta!). Jesus said "Abide in me, and you will bear much fruit" (John 15:5). Our responsibility is to abide in Him.

2. "Continue to set your mind on things above and not on earthly things" (cf Colossians 3:1-11). We are to continue to put our minds to good things, things which are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good-report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8), and so provide fertile soil for good growth in our lives. One of the best ways of putting your mind on these things is through Bible reading and study (see Delta).

3. Take up your cross daily. Remember that YOU HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED with Christ and are now a new creation! Therefore as and when your flesh raises its ugly head again, desiring to get you to walk in lust, greed, and pride, remember that you are actually dead to that old way of living, and that your spirit has no desire to walk in that way, and actively with your mind and will kill that desire. You can do it. You have the power and authority in Christ to do so! God wants you to fight. God also wants you to call upon Him for His help, too, in the matter. Remember that no temptation has overtaken you except such that is common to man. But God is faithful, and with every temptation He will make a way of escape (cf 1 Corinthians 10:13).

4. If the temptation is getting too much, contact a Christian friend and share the temptation with them. Be specific, and both of you pray specifically and immediately. God wants and will give you the victory.

5. Prompt confession and renunciation of new acts of sin (which are, by definition, acts in which you fell short of the glory of God, you fell short of how Jesus would have acted on that occasion, you did not act in faith) as the Holy Spirit brings them to your attention.

At this point it is beneficial to have a prayer partner or triplet with whom you can openly confess your sins as required. Remember that John said:

Do not be embarrassed to confess your sins. That is a trick of the devil. He wants that cancerous activity to remain hidden so that it can destroy you and your witness! Submit to God's way, resist the devil, and he will flee from you (cf James 4:7).

Practising these things, you will truly be living in a level of freedom and victory you once had never thought possible, preparing you for life in love in community with others. Hallelujah!