What’s one of the biggest problems facing the nation today? It is a lack of spiritual maturity. At least that’s what nine out of ten pastors said during research recently conducted by The Barna Group in partnership with Living on the Edge. Many churchgoers and clergy struggle to articulate a basic understanding of spiritual maturity, the report says. Moreover, people aspire to be spiritually mature, but they don’t know what it means. These findings were released in May 2009.
Having been a senior pastor for twelve years in the past, I know how difficult it is to get the work of the local church done through spiritual babes. They can’t effectively lead others in ministry. Plus, there is a limit to what challenges they will take on, or to what they are willing to endure in ministry when the going gets tough. Of course, every Christian starts out being a babe in Christ. None of us are born walking with the Lord. We learn how to do that over time.
The problem is that many who profess to be Christians grow little if any over time. If I were a parent, and I had a six year old son who was still crawling and drinking milk from a bottle, and he could not digest solid food, I would be greatly concerned. I would know something was seriously wrong. Similarly, I submit to you that when we have 50-year-old Christians who have been virtually living in church all of their life, and they still act like, serve like, and bicker like babes, there is much cause for concern.
None of what I have said up to this point is that important, if the sole purpose for becoming a Christian is to go to heaven when we die. That is certainly the most important one, and even Christians who fail to mature will go to heaven, if they keep their faith and trust in Christ until the end. But the need for us to grow up spiritually is vital because, I believe, the Lord’s work is the most important work in the world. Everybody needs Christ’s salvation. As powerful as the President of the United States is, with all of his influence and authority, for instance, the only thing that will matter after he dies is whether or not he accepted Christ as his Savior. This is the truth, whether one is a billionaire or a beggar on the street.
As Christians, we are the Lord’s ambassadors for this most important work, and the more mature we are, the more effectively He can use us to win the lost. That’s the big picture. It is to this end that Christ came down from heaven to die a cruel death on the cross for us.
Our spiritual growth is important not only because the Lord can use us more effectively in doing His work, but also because it increases our quality of life as Christians. This I say because though He is no respecter of persons, He is a respecter of our relationship with Him. He wants us to love Him more than we love anyone or anything else. He in turn will bless us for our faithfulness. To me, this is important because, not only do I want to go to heaven when I die, not only do I want to be a part of what He is doing on earth, but also I want to enjoy His blessings while I’m here.
Having been a senior pastor for twelve years in the past, I know how difficult it is to get the work of the local church done through spiritual babes. They can’t effectively lead others in ministry. Plus, there is a limit to what challenges they will take on, or to what they are willing to endure in ministry when the going gets tough. Of course, every Christian starts out being a babe in Christ. None of us are born walking with the Lord. We learn how to do that over time.
The problem is that many who profess to be Christians grow little if any over time. If I were a parent, and I had a six year old son who was still crawling and drinking milk from a bottle, and he could not digest solid food, I would be greatly concerned. I would know something was seriously wrong. Similarly, I submit to you that when we have 50-year-old Christians who have been virtually living in church all of their life, and they still act like, serve like, and bicker like babes, there is much cause for concern.
None of what I have said up to this point is that important, if the sole purpose for becoming a Christian is to go to heaven when we die. That is certainly the most important one, and even Christians who fail to mature will go to heaven, if they keep their faith and trust in Christ until the end. But the need for us to grow up spiritually is vital because, I believe, the Lord’s work is the most important work in the world. Everybody needs Christ’s salvation. As powerful as the President of the United States is, with all of his influence and authority, for instance, the only thing that will matter after he dies is whether or not he accepted Christ as his Savior. This is the truth, whether one is a billionaire or a beggar on the street.
As Christians, we are the Lord’s ambassadors for this most important work, and the more mature we are, the more effectively He can use us to win the lost. That’s the big picture. It is to this end that Christ came down from heaven to die a cruel death on the cross for us.
Our spiritual growth is important not only because the Lord can use us more effectively in doing His work, but also because it increases our quality of life as Christians. This I say because though He is no respecter of persons, He is a respecter of our relationship with Him. He wants us to love Him more than we love anyone or anything else. He in turn will bless us for our faithfulness. To me, this is important because, not only do I want to go to heaven when I die, not only do I want to be a part of what He is doing on earth, but also I want to enjoy His blessings while I’m here.
Copyright © 2010 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
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