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From: sunanto choa
ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY MATURE
?
BY DR. LUDER WHITLOCK,
JR.
After the usual perfunctory greetings following the
funeral service, Alice and Robert were walking to their car in the parking lot
when she said, "I'm going to miss Helen. She was the finest Christian I have
ever known." You may have heard similar statements on occasion, but they raise
the question: How do we know who is a fine Christian and who is not? To phrase
it another way, how do you become a person of spiritual stature? How can you
attain spiritual maturity? How would you know if you or someone else has
attained spiritual maturity? If you were asked to survey the membership of a
local congregation to determine who is spiritually mature, what identifying
marks would you look for? Can you compile a list of characteristics that would
enable you, with some confidence, to recognize spiritual maturity when you
encounter it?
I have often asked that
question, listening carefully to the replies. They usually fit into a pattern of
emphasis on Bible reading, prayer, and church activity or ministry. The answers
typically are that a strong or spiritually mature Christian is someone who reads
the Bible regularly, someone who is a serious Bible student, or someone who
really knows the Bible. Another response might be to single out someone who
prays sincerely and devoutly to God, a real prayer warrior, or perhaps as
someone who knows how to talk to God. It is not unusual for people to combine
prayer and meditation on the Scriptures as the epitome of a devotional life that
reaches the highest levels of Divine approval. Nor is it unusual for someone to
suggest that intense involvement in the life of the church or a Christian
ministry is a defining factor. This is tantamount to making frequency of
attendance, level of activity or status in the church the determining criteria
of spiritual maturity.
There is, of course, good
reason for people to suggest these answers or they would not be offered so
often. After all, they respond, why would you engage in such activities unless
you were a Christian, and a serious one at that? How else can you justify the
motivation? As the activity level increases you would usually expect that to
signal a deepened commitment or higher level of spiritual attainment, wouldn't
you? Following this line of thought, it is perfectly plausible to expect
ministers, missionaries, church officers and leaders to be at a comparably
higher level of spiritual development than other Christians.
Yet, however reasonable
this may seem, it does not always work this way and it is definitely not the way
to assess spiritual growth. This may come as a surprise, but the fact is that
you may do all of these things - read the Bible daily or read through the Bible
yearly, pray frequently and fervently, and be extremely active in a congregation
or Christian organization - without even being a Christian, much less a
spiritually mature Christian. It happens.
Think about that! The devil
knows the Scriptures, doesn't he? Satan did not hesitate to quote the Bible
persuasively when tempting Christ (Matthew 4:1-10). Unbelievers have been and
still are biblical scholars. They may be accomplished academicians or widely
published authors. That is not unusual. The Jesus Seminar of the 90s certainly
seems to qualify. The Pharisees of Jesus' day, though their hearts were far from
the Lord, set an enviable example of disciplined devotion and dogged, compulsive
obedience to the law according to their interpretation of it. In their world if
you had asked the Jewish average citizen on the street who would most likely get
to heaven, the answer would have been a Pharisee or a Sadducee.
To counter that kind of
thinking, as you may recall, Jesus sternly warned that not all who pray "Lord,
Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. He cautioned his listeners not to make
false assumptions about their spiritual status or future spiritual reward, for
although they could point to things they had done in his name, such as
prophesying, casting out demons and performing miracles, they might still hear
the judgment, "Away from me, I never knew you" (Matthew 7:21-23).
The message is crystal
clear. You should be careful about the criteria you choose for assessing the
assurance of your salvation or spiritual maturity. Regardless of popular
opinion, it is a mistake to assume that prayer, study of the Bible and active
participation in worship or ministry guarantee you or anyone else spiritual
status since they do not even guarantee faith. Why is this so?
The basic error is often
one of confusing the methods or means of spiritual growth with the marks of
spiritual maturity. The term "means of grace" has been used through the years to
refer to the medium through which grace may be received. The means of grace for
strengthening the faith of the Christian are generally understood to be the Word
of God, sacraments and prayer. Once you are a Christian they become the primary
channels by which you draw closer to God, growing spiritually. Reading God's
word and hearing it preached or taught, joining in public worship at a church
regularly, receiving the sacraments, and participating in prayer and support
groups are foundational to one's growth and development in Christ.
They do not automatically
guarantee spiritual growth, as has been noted above, but must be received
sincerely in faith and with gratitude or they may become the means of
condemnation and judgment for the believer (I Corinthians 11:29, John 12:
47-48). That is why these activities should be understood as means of grace for
spiritual growth, not the actual marks of spiritual maturity. They become the
vehicles to help you reach spiritual maturity but must not be equated with it.
DISCERNING SPIRITUAL MATURITY So, the question remains -
how can you discern those who have approached spiritual maturity in contrast to
those who are just beginning the journey of faith? Are you spiritually mature?
Immature? What criteria or characteristics do we look for? One response might be
- look for the fruit of the Spirit as listed by Paul in Galatians 5:22,23: love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control.
This makes sense because
these qualities are a sign of spirituality, marking the presence and influence
of the Holy Spirit who brings them to fruition. However, the most satisfactory
and straightforward answer to this question is that God wants you to become like
Him, conformed to His image in Christ (Ephesians 4:23, Romans 8:29).
This is what God intends
for your spiritual pilgrimage. Let us consider why this is true and what it
means to be conformed to God's image. To do so drives us back to the first pages
of the Bible. There we read that Adam and Eve were created in His image at the
dawn of the universe (Genesis 1:27). They were like Him and enjoyed an intimate
relationship with Him. However, that image was soon marred or distorted by their
sinful disobedience. This disobedience alienated them from God, resulting in
tension, if not outright hostility with God, dramatically portrayed by their
banishment from the Garden of Eden.
The placement of the
cherubim at the gate of the Garden, brandishing a flaming sword to bar Adam and
Eve from returning was an unmistakable mark of God's judgment. Their sinful
folly had lost them their unique role in Paradise, along with all its benefits.
The nobility of the human race was severely eroded, resulting in a dehumanizing
trend that would eventually lead to all kinds of inhuman acts. Moreover, they
would not be able to re-enter the Garden and regain what had been lost. That now
was impossible. There would have to be another solution.
The Gospel is the solution
God provides to all who are under His judgment. Everyone must repent of the sin
that has estranged them from God and trust in Christ for forgiveness and
acceptance. The Gospel is a message of hope. But it is also a message of
transformation because all who genuinely repent and believe are changed forever.
They are born again spiritually. The old person is left behind and the new
person takes over. When they become Christians they do so as spiritual babies
who begin a process of spiritual growth. The nature of the change following
conversion is an experience of grace that gradually remakes believers so that
they become more and more like God. That is what spiritual growth means - being
remade into the image of God. It is a progressive experience of conformity to
the character of God.
The most important step any
person can take toward spiritual growth is to seek a better knowledge of God,
who has revealed Himself to us most clearly through the Scriptures. He has also
revealed Himself to us through the universe, His creation, and through other
Christians. In biblical times He revealed Himself through unusual appearances,
such as the Angel of the Lord or the pillar of fire. All of these sources of
information are helpful to us in coming to know God, but the Scriptures provide
the only infallible record and guide. Moreover, the Scriptures are our source
for the knowledge of God as Savior.
Gathering this information
and seeking to understand it, as well as use it to interpret our experience,
enables us to have a true and accurate understanding of who God is and what he
is like, although it is far from an exhaustive knowledge. And, even with all the
information available, what person could claim to know God completely or
comprehensively? The important thing is that we know him truly.
TRANSFORMED LIVES Spiritual growth is
transformation. Lives are changed from unbelief to belief, from ungodly to
godly. Although your transformation will not be complete until the glory of
heaven is realized, nevertheless there is a recognizable change that begins with
conversion and continues throughout your life. It may have ups and downs, spurts
of great growth and slower times of imperceptible advance, but it is a new and
different life empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit. What you were becomes
more and more distant and different from the new you who is becoming more and
more like the Lord you have come to love. It is somewhat reminiscent of perusing
photographs taken during various phases of your life. The progression from
infancy to childhood to youth and then on to the stages of adulthood reveals
striking changes. Spiritual growth involves a similar progression, and every day
God's attributes should be more clearly apparent and enduring in you. That is
the mark of spiritual growth.
Consider the Sermon on the
Mount in this light (Matthew 5:1ff). Jesus began His great sermon with a
surprising statement regarding the poor in spirit or it might be translated "the
beggars of the spirit". He might well have said, "The best thing that can happen
to you is to acknowledge your spiritual impoverishment. You are spiritually
destitute; so the road to happiness begins when you admit that you are sinful
through and through. Everything that you think and touch is in some way tainted
with sin. It pervades and corrupts your whole life, holding you captive like an
addiction. But, of greater concern is the fact that it brings you under the
wrath and judgment of the holy God who cannot have fellowship with sin. Do you
realize that the consequences of your sinfulness means eternal punishment? If
so, then you have taken the first step toward true happiness."
Grabbing the undivided
attention of his listeners with this striking statement, Jesus might have
continued, "Once you recognize the magnitude of your problem, the best thing you
can do is repent - mourn because of the sin that has separated you from God,
triggered his anger and brought you under His judgment. If you genuinely grieve
for the way you have spoiled your life and offended God, there is hope. If you
are distressed because of the harm you have done and are therefore willing to
reject this way of life, you can begin anew, finding peace and comfort. If you
hunger and thirst for the righteousness that comes from above - from the Lord -
and can be received through faith in the Savior he has promised, then there is
hope for you."
Given the biblical emphasis
on changed lives, which should be radically different from those of
non-Christians, it is extremely disturbing to learn that when it comes to
moral-ethical standards, you cannot tell much difference between many church
members and non-church members. If our world were characterized by unusually
high standards of moral behavior, this fact might be somewhat more encouraging,
but given the significant erosion of moral standards and behavior during the
last forty years, this is a matter for serious concern.
Perhaps we have failed
dramatically in our effort to teach people what God expects and, given the
abysmal biblical ignorance that typifies the Christian populace, that may well
be the case. You do wonder what is being accomplished by so many hours of Bible
study and preaching. Or perhaps many Christians do not care, finding it easier
and more desirable to accommodate their behavior to the unbelievers around them.
Some may assume that only church-related matters are to be influenced by faith.
Another possibility is that many church members may not be Christians, but for
one reason or another find it advantageous to be part of the church.
Whatever the reason, there
is a serious problem. Christians should be different. And if we are not
developing a new way of thinking and living that is different from an
unbelieving world, we cannot meet God's approval. Something has to change. It is
time for Christians to get serious, especially if there is a genuine desire to
take advantage of the spiritual stirrings in the land. For if non-Christians see
nothing distinctive about us, they will ask, "Why should we bother considering
Christianity? What difference would it make?"
Therefore, while the
avenues to spiritual growth may be multiple, the destination of spiritual
maturity is clearly and singularly to be understood as conformity to the image
of God. When other people mingle with us and observe us in the ebb and flow of
daily activities, they should be pointed to the Lord through our transformed
lives that reflect God's grace and character.
Character should be
emphasized because spiritual growth involves the formation of character.
Together the characteristics of God reveal his character just as the various
facets of our personalities, values, and behavior demonstrate our character. As
your life is transformed by the Holy Spirit so that you become conformed more
and more to the image of God, a character change is occurring in you. This
character change, reflected in the transformation of your various
characteristics or attributes, will make you more like the Lord and less like
unbelieving people around you. From the inner core throughout we will become
different - people of character - godly people.
Don't let anyone persuade
you that character doesn't matter as long as you have faith - that as long as
you believe, you can live however you wish. Real faith creates character as our
lives are transformed to the characteristics of God. Such character formation
shapes our behavior. When the heart is changed, the person changes. When enough
people change, the culture changes, and ultimately the world changes.
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