PRINCIPLE 3 |
How does a Christian become mature? Does it happen instantaneously? Does it depend on the Holy Spirit or on the believer? What must the believer do? Or is the secret that he must do nothing?
Unfortunately there are a number of misconceptions about what spiritual growth really is. We will discuss three misconceptions and then describe the true nature of spiritual growth.
Many people mistakenly believe that complete spiritual maturity can be theirs instantaneously. Some believe it will be theirs if God so chooses. In other words, they believe that God sanctifies whom he will. Those who get sanctified can rejoice; those who have not yet gotten sanctified can only hope. Then there are others who believe that maturity will be theirs instantaneously if they follow the secret formula. In other words, they believe that there is a surefire way to become instantly mature in perhaps one or three or seven steps.
However, there are three problems with the view that spiritual maturity can come instantaneously. First, it implies that complete Christian maturity, or perfection, can be reached in this life. But John warned that if we claim to be sinless, we deceive ourselves and slander God (1 John 1:8, 10). If anyone would be able to attain perfection, we expect it would have been Paul. But even Paul said he had not attained perfection; he was still pressing forward (Philippians 3:12-16. The word "mature" is used in its current sense in verse 15). Second, such a view sets up divisions among Christians, the "haves" and the "have nots." Whenever the church has divided believers into those who have the knowledge and those who don't, or those who have the Spirit and those who don't, or those who have the gifts and those who don't, or those who have perfection and those who don't, it has become disunited and a poor testimony for the Lord. Third, this view gives the person who thinks he is mature the false impression that he has no room for improvement. Such a view misrepresents Scripture, harms the testimony of the church, and actually hinders spiritual growth.
Some believe that, just as we do nothing to obtain salvation, so we need do nothing to grow spiritually. They feel that growth is based on God's grace and nothing else, so it is automatic. But such a view misrepresents salvation. Certainly it is true that we do not get saved by piling up a long record of good works. But this does not mean that we don't do anything when we get saved. We do make a decision to trust in Jesus Christ, though this decision to trust in Christ should not be considered a "good work." Actually, it is just the opposite. It is an admission that we are guilty and can do nothing to merit salvation, so we must call upon the Lord for mercy and trust Jesus' death on our behalf. Thus, salvation does not come to us automatically without a decision on our part.
The view that Christian maturity comes automatically also neglects the scriptural teaching that, even though we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works. Paul wrote, "we are ... created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). Of course, these good works are not credited to us as though we performed them in our own wisdom and strength. We must rely on the Holy Spirit for power, and we must give him the credit and glory. Nevertheless, we are the ones who do the good works. (Thus, the saying which is popular in some circles, "let go and let God," can be quite misleading.) The Christian is not to be passive, as though growth toward maturity will come automatically with the passage of time. Rather, as Paul did (Philippians 3:12-14), he is to "press on" and "strain" toward the goal.
Many Christians hold the idea that Christian growth can be likened to a ladder or an ascending line on a graph. They feel that each individual believer can be placed on a certain rung of the ladder or plotted at a certain point along the line. This view does hold that growth is gradual rather than instantaneous, and requires the believer to be active rather than passive (and thus avoids the errors of the first two views). However, it has the serious drawback of encouraging comparisons and the ranking of believers. Some end up on rung four, others on rung three, etc. Such attempts at ranking can actually hinder spiritual growth, since we tend to be jealous of those who are "above" us and to look down on those who are "below" us.
While it is true that each of us will follow some path in our Christian walk, it is not true that the path, or the sequence of steps along the path, is the same for everyone. The understandings, attitudes, skills, and action patterns that are learned throughout the Christian life are not learned in the same order by all Christians. Furthermore, each attitude or skill is not a once-learned-and-done matter. Rather, each new lesson is a matter of degree, and some lessons take decades to learn. All this makes it dangerous to attempt to rank one Christian ahead of another as far as his overall Christian life is concerned.
The Bible teaches that spiritual growth progresses in a gradual manner. Even the use of the growth analogy implies a gradual progression. It is true that the positional aspect of salvation changes immediately and completely (See the paper The Positional Aspect of Salvation). Nevertheless, the practical aspects change by degrees. Many New Testament passages point to gradual growth toward Christian maturity:
We … are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18)
We instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you
and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. (1 Thessalonians
4:1, compare v. 10)
Your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
If you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective
and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8)
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation …. (1 Peter 2:2)
Of course, this does not mean that sudden growth in certain areas is impossible. We often hear a new Christian tell how some area of his life changed suddenly when we was saved. Perhaps his use of alcohol or drugs stopped suddenly. Or perhaps his foul language changed overnight. Such sudden changes are always welcomed, but it must not be thought that complete maturity can easily come in the same manner.
Also, this emphasis on gradual growth must not be thought of as an excuse for unnecessarily slow growth. No doubt, all of us should grow faster than we do; but even when we do grow quickly, we still have a long way to go.
The Bible also teaches that spiritual growth is multifaceted. The Christian life is made up of many different but interrelated aspects. Paul talks about growing up "in all things" (Ephesians 4:15). At various points in his letters he gives us long lists of different sins, some of which might be conquered while others are not yet conquered, as was the case with the Colossians (Colossians 3:5-8). Indeed, the multifaceted nature of spiritual growth is even seen in the fact that there are so many commands given to believers in the New Testament (some of which are mentioned in the list of characteristics of Christian maturity in the previous chapter). Growth can take place in any one of these areas at any time. The diagram below is an attempt to illustrate just a few of the many aspects of spiritual growth.
Notice on the diagram that, even though the salvation experience itself takes place at a point in time, it is preceded by a process and followed by a process. Evangelism and understanding the gospel are processes which require time. The individual must come to understand certain things about God, about himself, and about Jesus. This alone takes time, but if the individual starts with certain misconceptions because of his culture or his family or religious background, it may well take much longer to clear away those misconceptions in order to make the gospel message clear. God is at work during this process, for the Lord enlightens, convicts, and draws the individual to himself (John 1:9; 3:19; 12:32; 16:7-11). Thus, there is an educational process which precedes salvation. This is not to say that salvation itself is a process, or that one is educated into the kingdom of God. The pre-salvation education process is not the same as salvation. Instead, it is God's gracious way of bringing the individual to the point where he can make his own enlightened decision. If he decides to repent and trust in Christ, he is saved instantly.
Following salvation there is also a process, but not every aspect of the Christian life grows at once. Growth requires us to focus our attention on one area at a time and to make the proper decisions in that area. Of course, it is necessary to keep the overall goal of Christlikeness in mind. But it is also wise to focus our attention and our efforts on one area at a time. If we can consistently take one small step after another, first in one area and then in a different area, we will experience healthy growth. God often selects the priorities for us, sending experiences our way that call for growth in a certain area. We should always be sensitive to such leading.
If we try to find an easy way to learn everything at once, we will become discouraged. The Christian should set his sights on specific and realistic improvements in one area at a time. And the Christian worker should realize that this task is not an attempt to grow big mushrooms overnight, but to build solid lives, brick by brick.
Paul urged the Roman believers to dedicate themselves to the Lord, that is, to offer themselves as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). Also, he told the Ephesian believers to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Unfortunately, some people confuse dedication and spirituality with spiritual growth.
Some feel that once they dedicate themselves to the Lord, they have done all they need to do. After all, if we are totally dedicated, what else can there be? But Paul believed that there is a lot more -- because after he told the Romans to dedicate themselves as living sacrifices, he went on to give them dozens of specific commands. Thus, dedication is necessary, but it is not a replacement for gradual spiritual growth in one area after another. Rather, dedication has to do with one's general attitude and aspiration.
When we dedicate ourselves to the Lord, we are indicating our desire and intent to live for him. But that does not mean that we can expect to fulfill the specific commands of the New Testament easily and automatically just because of our dedication. On the one hand, if we are not dedicated -- that is, if we do not want to live for the Lord -- we will not grow. On the other hand, dedication makes it possible for us to grow but is not a guarantee of growth.
Spirituality, like dedication, has to do with one's basic attitude and desire to please the Lord. We can say that a person is completely spiritual, or completely dedicated, but nowhere near completely mature. Again, after Paul told the Ephesian believers to be filled with the Spirit, he went on to give them dozens of specific commands. The filling of the Spirit becomes real only as we obey the specific commands of the Lord.
Dedication and spirituality can be likened to the sails of a sailboat, the distant shore can be likened to the goal of Christlikeness, and movement across the water can be likened to spiritual growth. If the sails are not up, no progress will be made. When the sails are fully up, gradual progress will be made as long as the sailor stays on the job and does his part. He will never take credit for the wind, but he will do his part in order to make use of the power of the wind.
The believer must do something in order to grow. What he must do can be described in various ways, but they all refer to the same basic action on the part of the believer. He must obey the Lord. He must apply the Word of God in his life. He must yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, all of these work together. They all involve a positive response to God, that is, a decision to do what God has said he should do -- in a word, obedience. Assuming that a Christian wants to grow (in other words, he is spiritual, or dedicated) and assuming he knows what God wants him to do in some specific area of his life, all he needs to do to grow in that specific area is to respond positively by doing what he knows he should do.
But there are many other things which, even though they are not requirements for growth in a certain area, are needed (some more than others) in the overall picture if the believer is going to continue to grow. These include regular Bible input, a discipler (teacher and model), prayer, fellowship with other believers, worship, and the challenge of Christian service (especially evangelism).