Posted on 02/06/2015 5:38:48 PM PST by RnMomof7
February 2, 2015
Let me start by saying that it’s not wrong for a new believer to be immature any more than it’s wrong for a child to be childish.
Puerility is only annoying in an adult. When a four year old dons a cape and wears his underwear over his pants, claiming x-ray vision it’s cute. When his dad does that it’s concerning (or certifiable).
When you’ve been a believer for many years though, lack of these indicators should be concerning.
Mature believers possess these 5 indicators…
1. An Appetite for Meat
It’s good to enjoy the milk of the gospel with every meal. But some Christians pride themselves on focusing only on the gospel, snubbing the offer of deeper doctrines. The love of doctrine may need to be acquired over time but it will always be there in a mature believer.
The writer to the Hebrews chides his readers for their reluctance to chew.
Heb 5: 11-14 [W]e have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
An infant’s meal needs to go through a blender for the first few months of his or her life. When a normal 21 year old still asks mommy to spoon feed him mashed potatoes it is just creepy and dysfunctional.
2. An Imperviousness to Personal Offence
It is seldom that a mature believer feels offended. Offence is appropriate at any attack on God’s glory, as when the zeal of God’s house consumed Jesus and he aimed an Indiana Jones whip at the overpriced animals in the Temple’s corrupt commercial zone.
But mature believers don’t take personal offence easily. They understand that when someone sins against them there are bigger issues at stake than their personal rights; e.g. God’s glory, the attacker’s relationship with God, etc.
Take Paul. When he could no longer draw a crowd (being in jail for the gospel and all) rival preachers were pouring salt on his shackle-blisters by preaching the gospel in competition with him. He didn’t get uppity. Instead he seemed buoyed by the news that the gospel was still getting airtime. That’s maturity!
Phil 1: 15-18 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? [So what?] Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice.
3. A Conscience Informed by Scripture, not Opinions
When you are first saved it is natural to have a pendulum swing aversion to anything associated with your former way of life. That can be healthy. But as you mature you will settle into a more balanced view of liberty. If Jesus says something is ok then you won’t get upset when some Christians take him up on enjoying that freedom.
Rom 14: 1-3 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
I love vegetarians—more meat for me. But when a believer abstains from a lawful liberty thinking that it makes them more acceptable to God it’s a sign of immaturity. The more you grow in your understanding of grace, the less it grates you that people ignore man-made religious norms. You may still choose to abstain but your conscience is not plagued by the knowledge that others partake in what you avoid.
4. A Sense of Humble Surprise when used by God in Ministry
God uses sinners to do his work for a good reason: there is no one else from which to choose. Some sinners are used mightily. A mature believer will always feel humbled by his effectiveness in God’s ministry. Often though, the same privilege will inflate an immature believer’s ego.
1 Tim 3: 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
Paul’s assumption is that a new convert—who is more likely to be immature—when used by God in ministry, will not possess the sense of surprise and humility that is a sign of maturity.
Compare this to Paul’s own attitude that he is the chief of sinners, used only as means to show the extent of God’s mercy (1 Tim 1:15). He considered himself the unlikely, unsuitable privy pot that was blessed to temporarily house the priceless treasure of God’s gifts (2 Cor 4:7).
5. Tendency to give Credit for Spiritual Growth to God, not People
Our world is an arena for idolatry. American Idol is the most aptly named and unblushingly honest tribute to our celebrity culture. Our hearts are geared to adulate and adore. An immature believer struggles to break the habit of idolizing people. He merely transfers his adulation of worldly celebrities to spiritual celebrities.
Whether it’s a pedestal for his pastor or an inordinate reverence for John Calvin, immaturity fails to give adequate credence to God’s power at work.
1 Cor 3: 4-7 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Experienced race horse owners have respect for a good jockey, trainer, and veterinarian; but everyone understands the main factor in a win is the horse. We respect good preachers, writers, commentators, and spiritual mentors; but hopefully we recognize the real muscle behind any winning ministry they do.
Leave with this thought: whenever residual immaturity in any of these areas pops up in my own spiritual inbox, I am comforted in knowing that I am a work in progress, and I cling to Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
A grow up in Christ ping
Good article.
BUMP. Plus...a dear friend once said to me (over 25 years ago)...”if you can’t see that you have grown in Christ in 6 months..look at your relationship again...” or something like that. I have always remembered that. “tried” to instill it in my children...probs didn’t take. :( BUT...still hang in there....tis all we have, eh?
I know you do. 🙋😄🆒🎆 Keep up the good work. 🔊📡
I saw this interesting thing from Rick Joyner.
I know some people have problems with him but I thought this was right on.
Levels of Maturity- The Greatest Christian Life
Week 5, 2015
Rick Joyner
Word for the Week
This week we will dig down a bit more on how important it is for every believer to have a vision of how far they can go in Christ, know where they are now, and see the next step. There are basically five levels of maturity in Christ that are revealed in the Scriptures:
1) Believer – born again by faith in Christ and the atonement of His cross. This is the first step in the greatest journey we can ever take, but it is just the first step.
2) Disciple – this is the beginning of spiritual maturity. A disciple lives to learn of their Master, to be like Him, and do the works that He did.
3) Servant – this is where the main focus changes from learning of Him to doing His will and accomplishing His work.
4) Friend – this is a call to a special companionship with Him and greater authority (see John 15:14).
5) Sons of God – this is the high calling of God that Paul wrote about, that even the great apostle did not consider he had yet attained to (see Philippians 3).
Every one who is born again has been given the invitation and power to become sons of God. This is to walk in the highest place of relationship and authority with God on the earth. These levels are revealed in Scripture and become clearer as we begin to see and run the race for the high calling of God in Christ. We will elaborate on each of these so that the path can be more clearly seen, and so that we can more accurately evaluate where we are and what our next step is for maturing in Christ.
The path to the high calling of God in Christ is not a safe path; rather it is a faith path. There are dangers, stumbling blocks, and traps all along the way. Even so, it is far more dangerous not to be on this path. As the Lord Jesus warned, those who seek to save their lives will lose them, but those who are willing to lay down their lives for His sake will find them. We are now well into the times when the only safe place is in His will. We will not be in His will if He is not our first love and if doing His will is not a chief pursuit in this life. However, one does not walk this path to be safe, but out of the ultimate love that would compel us to walk the path of the ultimate life.
Ping for AM
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Outstanding and spot on, thanks.
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Regardless of all these if you are comfortable with your own death, which is inevitable, defines a spiritual maturity. I sure don’t want to die anytime soon. I sure do fear God’s judgment on me. All the rest is icing on the cake of our time on this rock.
If you have trusted Jesus Christ to be your Savior, your judgement is already done...It's over...You passed...You will not come into condemnation...
1. No Scripture pointing out non-biblical beliefs.
2. No cartoons mocking non-biblical beliefs.
ERGO: ELSIE has a LOT more free time to play with goats!
That one has been a red flag for me since I was a teenager. You know something is wrong when adulation is given to a person, place, or thing rather than Christ alone.
I am near the end of years.. No one wants to leave their family and friends.. But I know with certainty that as I breath my last breath I will be in His presence wearing His robe of righteousness..
They can become Idols .. we need to understand that there is no man that sees fully the truth of God..there is no infallible man..
What you need; my dear; is Mormonism's Forever Family®!!
http://www.mormon.org/faq/together-forever
LOL
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