Are We Maturing Spiritually?

Verse of the Day: 2 Peter 1:5-8 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶ to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷ to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸ For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How are we doing in our spiritual growth? Are we still babes in Christ? I am not asking this to the brother or sister that has recently accepted Jesus as Savior. I am asking those of us who have known Jesus for some time now. There are too many Christians who measure their spiritual maturity by the number of years since they made a profession of faith. However, the number of years we have been a Christian does not necessarily make us mature in the faith. Far too many Christians are stunted in their spiritual growth because they have failed to apply the Word of God to their lives. Some have memorized Scripture (which is great), but still react to people, and respond to life’s issues, in almost the same manner as when they were first saved. Many know the basic doctrines relative to salvation and other basic truths, but have not taken the time to dig into the Scriptures to find the treasures that are there. Sadly, some of us would be those that were spoken of by the Apostle Paul when he desired to give the brothers and sister in Corinth the meat of the Word, but could only give them milk because of their immaturity (1 Cor 3). As born again believers we must not see Jesus just as “fire insurance”. When we accepted Jesus as Savior, we began the journey of being sanctified (the process of becoming more like Jesus). God gave us the Holy Spirit and His Word to help us in that process, but we need to prayerfully seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in applying the Word of God, and not just be hearers of the Word, but doers also (James 1:21-25). Here, the Apostle Peter tells us that once we have received Jesus by faith, to our faith we must add moral goodness. In other words, our sense of morality should change so that we no longer accepting what the world defines as moral (there should be a definite change in our worldview). For the unsaved, what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right, and everyone has their own idea of what is morally correct. Our morality, on the other hand, should be defined by what God says is morally right. To that we are called to add knowledge. We are to be avid students of the Word. We must be able to recognize false teaching and be able to discern when the truth of God is being twisted for selfish and personal gain (and not being used to glorify God by its false application). Next we are to add self-control, especially in our sensual desires and appetites, coupled with patience so that we do not give into lustful acts of sin. Self-control and patience also help us to avoid rushing into making our own decisions about what we want, especially when God may not desire whatever that is for us; and will help us to patiently wait on the Lord to show us His will and plan for that moment and for our lives in general. Ultimately we will be able to patiently wait for Him to see us through the difficult situations He allows into our lives, which result in greater faith and trust. To our self-control and patience we need to add reverence; reverence and respect toward God so that we realize that He is Lord of our lives. Too many alleged followers of Jesus want to live with Him as Savior, but resist Him as Lord. Finally, we must demonstrate our maturity in Christ by the way we treat one another in brotherly love. We are to be kind to one another and cherish each other; seeking one another’s best interests before our own (Phil 2:1-4). We must, by God’s leading, encourage one another and meet each other’s needs, as God reveals those needs to us. On any given day, He can use us to be the answer to someone’s prayers, and vice versa. The bottom line is that when we are careful to do these things, putting them into practice each day, we will be fruitful in gaining more knowledge about who Jesus is, and our intimate fellowship with Him will grow sweeter with each passing day. So, I ask again… How are we doing in our Christian maturity and walk with Jesus?

Our walk with Jesus can only begin when we accept Him as Savior and Lord (John 3:16). Will you call on Him today? Trust Him, repent, confess your sins, call upon Him by faith (Rom 10:13), and begin to enjoy the sweetest relationship you will ever have in this lifetime, and the next (eternally with Jesus).