Spiritual maturity shouldn’t be a mystery, yet anyone who has spent time in the church has likely noticed varying levels of spiritual growth among the members. Some grow slowly, some grow quickly, and some never grow at all. Why is it that so many never mature beyond spiritual infancy? I have yet to hear anyone declare, “I don’t want to grow closer to the Lord.” But I’ve heard many testify their desire to know him deeper. Sometimes those who make such a declaration begin growing, but many times they find themselves in the same position of stagnated growth year after year. The Bible warns that there will be many who are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
This is not unique to our time, for the Apostle Paul scolded the members of one of his churches by saying, “By now you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.”
Why is this such a problem in the church? Why do many Christians get stuck in the cycle of learning the basics, and yet never get beyond the need to learn the basics again. I believe the Bible gives us the answers. I also am confident that if you apply these things, you will not be left in spiritual immaturity. In fact, the Bible promises that if you follow specific principles, you will be fruitful and find the doors of heaven wide open. We’ll look at the passages which teach this shortly, but let’s begin with the words of Jesus which hit at the heart of the problem.
Hear, and take heed
Look at Mark 4:23-25
23 "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
25 "For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
I’ve seen this passage applied incorrectly to various doctrines, but if we examine it in context, there is only one meaning to Jesus’ words. He begins by declaring, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus often made this declaration before giving truth to the people. In Matthew 13, Jesus begins with this statement, then teaches many truths, and quotes the Bible’s warning: hearing the people shall hear, but not understand. Do you have ears to hear? The hearing is our response to the word of God.
What separates those who understand from those who do not? Let’s look at this in greater detail through the scriptures of Matthew 13:10-15
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 "And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'
This is a similar passage to the one in Mark above, but it adds some details that are also relevant to our topic here. What was the difference between the disciples who were given understanding, and those who were given hardness of heart? It is the response to the gospel. God indeed hardened them (see Romans 9:18), but it is to give them what they desire in their hearts. This passage says, “Their eyes they have closed.” In Romans 1, God gives people over to their own corruption after they suppress the truth in their hearts. Judgment begins with the words, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.” A similar declaration is found in 2 Thessalonians 2. “Because they did not receive the love of the truth…God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.”
When people close their eyes to hide themselves from the truth, God gives them the lie they have chosen. To close one’s eyes is to choose the lie. The lie could be a desire for a particular sin, but more times that not, it is the false belief in our own wisdom. When I think my ways are above God’s, I am in rejection of truth. Without faith it is impossible to please God. When I choose my ways over God’s, I will close my eyes to the truth by turning away from seeing the word. Thus, I am declaring my disbelief in His word, and faith in my flesh.
This is not only the line that divides the unredeemed from the Christian, but it is also the dividing line between the mature in faith and the one who flounders in their search for truth. I’ve heard people declare their desire to grow, but when invited to be a part of discipleship, they decline by not following through. Compare this to the disciples whom Jesus said, “To you it is given to know…but to those without, it is not given.” The disciples heard the word, and then came to the Lord seeking understanding. Those on the outside heard the word, nodded their heads, and walked away. It didn’t change their life. They found very little value in truth and didn’t bother following through, or seeking to understand what they had heard. Some respond with apathy, while others don’t want to face God’s call to surrender their lives.
That’s the danger of the word. You can’t receive it without your life changing. The word convicts, rebukes, corrects, and teaches the right way to go. Since the flesh is contrary to the word, those who love their lives in the flesh are forced to close their eyes to the word. It is a deceptive rejection of truth. I can close my eyes and convince myself that I’m not rejecting the truth, but it’s still rejection. The word never goes out without accomplishing its purpose. It is either life-changing, or heart-hardening.
We all do this to some degree. There have been times in my life when God dealt with me for my stubborn refusal to obey. When I finally repented and opened my eyes, I realized that deep down I knew my decisions were wrong. Part of repentance was acknowledging my self-deception.
Many Christians grope in the darkness, not because they have no light, but because they will not open their eyes to see. I’ve had people tell me they were afraid to surrender to the Lord, for he may call them to do something they don’t want to do, or give up something they value. Perhaps God will call us to sacrifice; perhaps not. The real heart of the question is, do we love God more than these things? Do we love our lives more than God? Or do we believe the promise that God will be our exceedingly great reward, and he will give us his kingdom? It is a small thing to sacrifice a passing world in order to receive an eternal kingdom. We know this, yet we struggle to put our knowledge into practice.
More will be given, or what we have will be taken
Let’s look again at Mark 4:23-25
23 "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24 Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
25 "For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
This passage strikes at the heart of spiritual growth. I’ve heard people scoff at the concept of God taking away from those who are lacking and giving to those who have abundance. The idea seems unjust – unless you understand what is being said.
This is both a promise and a warning. It begins with your hearing of the word of God. When you hear the word read, taught, preached, or even when you read it, you must take heed and weigh carefully your own response. In Philippians 2:12 we are instructed to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. It is a serious matter and we should not take our spiritual health lightly. Notice, we are not instructed to work for salvation, but to work out our salvation. We are to take what has been delivered to us, and diligently craft our lives around it. This is similar to the instruction found in James 1:20, where we are told to build ourselves upon our most holy faith. We are not called to build our faith – for faith is a spiritual gift, and something the flesh cannot produce. We are called to build our lives upon that most holy faith we have been given. In the same way, we are called to work out our salvation with the word we hear through the scriptures as we apply it to our lives.
Faith comes through the word of God. This is why the Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The way we work out our salvation and build ourselves upon our faith is by hearing the word, and making it part of our life. To take heed to the hearing, we are receiving the word, comparing our lives to it, and removing the things which choke the word, while doing the things God is instructing in his word.
The reason people don’t grow in the faith is found in this instruction of Jesus. How can a crowd of people hear the same word, yet some have knowledge, and some do not? If you hear the word, receive it as a treasure, meditate upon it, and live by it, you are in the promise of abundance. Your abundance is based on the measure you choose. Those who toss the word aside, are those in the parable of the sown seeds in Matthew 13:18. They don’t understand the word, they don’t seek to understand, so they leave it alone, and the devil snatches it from their hearts. They become the ones who do not have, and end up losing what little they had.
Each person who receives the word has the opportunity to see it flourish in their lives. Abundance is available to every Christian. It doesn’t require a seminary degree, special calling, or ordination. This promise is to anyone who has ears to hear. The word grows abundantly. Our life is filled with abundance. Don’t mistake this for physical possessions. Jesus made it clear that our lives are not measured based on the things we possess. A rich man can be in poverty, and the poor can be abundantly satisfied. The reverse is also true. Only the Christian can enjoy the abundant life whether living in wealth, poverty, freedom, or imprisonment. Our circumstances do not matter; it all depends on our willingness to hear and do the word of God.
Understanding Spiritual Growth
Let’s take a moment to examine what it means to grow spiritually, and how this is accomplished in our lives. It is clear from the teaching of Jesus that our growth is dependent upon hearing and obeying the word of God. God reveals truth to us, empowers us by His Spirit, and calls us into obedience. As we submit ourselves under his hand, we begin to grow. As we grow, God reveals more to us. The process continues throughout our life as we slowly conform to the image of Christ, and out of the desires of our sinful flesh.
Growth ceases once we resist the word of God. The Lord does not allow us to pick and choose which truths we want to accept. Each step in our maturity is the working of the hand of God. He brings truth to us, and we either resist his hand, or receive the nourishment of the word. We can’t refuse the bread of life and demand another meal. Either we partake of the bread of God’s word, or we famish our souls. If we look back over the past six months or so, and see no growth, there is only one reason – we are malnourished, because we are resisting the word of God.
Another truth is that God doesn’t do a spiritual dump into our lives. He doesn’t overwhelm us with all we need at once. He doesn’t give us more than we can bear. Our ultimate goal and the course God has destined into our lives is to fully conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). God has provided everything we need to finish this life fully conformed to Christ. The only limitation is our willingness to surrender what God opens our eyes to see. Unfortunately, we are immature, and until we begin maturing, we cling to the selfish will of our old life. Unwillingness to let go of the flesh is why most of us began our Christian walk slowly.
When I’m unwilling to let go of the flesh, I can’t experience the spiritual abundance God wants to put in the place of what he is taking away. When I finally yielded that first time, I discovered the beginnings of a spiritual life that I never comprehended before. I couldn’t experience God’s abundance until I yielded my will to his, and I was unwilling to yield because I couldn’t comprehend what was better. Faith comes before the promise. For this reason, many Christians can’t trust themselves to God; therefore, they remain in their current state of spiritual infancy. In ignorance, they cling to childish things, not knowing something better is in store. Paul alluded to this when he spoke in 1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Many are stuck in childhood, unwilling to put away the childish things that crowd their lives and prevent spiritual growth.
Thankfully, God does not require instant conformity. Many times God looked at man’s failure in the Bible and had patience because he remembered that man was only flesh. Imperfect, fallen man, struggling against our human nature. Even the most spiritually minded man or woman will have times when their way becomes clouded with confusion. The flesh will appeal to our desires, and sometimes it will seem right. There is a way that seems right, but leads to destruction. But God, in his mercy, chastises us and prevents us from following that path. We may temporarily lose our way, but God is gracious enough to lead us toward mercy, even when we are serving the flesh.
The problem is not that we wander off the path from time to time. The problem is when we refuse to get back on the path. Or refuse to begin walking down the path. It is during these times when spiritual growth is impossible. Everything in our lives serves to direct us back to the path. Those who keep running from the path will have a never-ending cycle of God dealing with them and frustrating their cause. Some spend their whole life wondering why God doesn’t move in their lives, but we can’t ask God to move in our life when we push away his hand. Nor can we ask God to reveal more of himself to us when we refuse to walk in what God has already revealed.
When we begin walking in obedience, God works to establish truth in our lives, and then he reveals more, and more, and more, until we have abundance. It doesn’t happen overnight. It is a slow growth, for we must mature in what we have been given before we can move on. Consider Isaiah 28:9-10
9 " Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."
God compares our growth to a nursing child. There must be a time when we are weaned from the milk and begin growing. The precepts are given to those who allow themselves to be weaned from the milk. And then God begins the process of giving us truth, little by little. Our next growth spurt must be built upon a solid foundation built by our last time of growth.
The goal is patient endurance. The race isn’t to the swift, but to the steady. Consider the examples God has given us in nature. In my area, one of the fastest growing trees are the Georgia pines. They are tall, some growing forty feet or more into the air. One of the slowest growing trees is the oak. It takes decades for the tree to grow big enough to provide shade. Its growth is slow and steady, but it is hard and strong. When wind or ice storms arrive, the first trees to go are the tall pines. Rarely does an oak tree topple by the wind. Try sawing an oak board. It is a chore, but I can make quick work out of a pine board. And something built with pine won’t endure the weather on its own.
This is much like the Christian walk. True spiritual growth is a steady, consistent process. It’s intended to be a life-long journey. Occasionally, there will be someone who gets excited about spiritual things and seems to take off like a rocket. More times than not, they topple and are gone. Often, they are riding a wave of emotion, and when the feelings recede, so does their momentum. At that point, either they get discouraged and fall away, or they begin the steady process of building precept upon precept. This is why the Bible warns not to put a novice Christian into leadership. The foundation upon the word of God must be built in each of our lives, otherwise we cannot stand. This can be understood from Matthew 7:24-27
24 " Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
When I read this, I think upon the time when I worked in construction, and one of my jobs was to dig footings for houses to be built upon. I hated when I had to dig on rocky ground. Once, we were building a house in the mountains. It had about two inches of soil, and then we had to pound through six inches of solid rock. We had no special equipment, so I had to take a pick and chip away for days to get deep enough to make the proper foundation. Later, we had a job where someone built a riverside house. The entire property was a bed of sand. Regardless of how deep I dug, it was all sand. It took me only a few hours to dig a 4200 square foot foundation. It was an easy job, but I questioned the sanity of the person building an expensive mansion on sand. Which house do you suppose will be here a generation from now?
In Jesus’ parable, I can picture one man chipping away by the sweat of his brow. Building his house is a slow, painful process. Each time he looks across the road, the other man lifts his glass cheerfully. His work is done, and he’s relaxing in the shade of his porch. He finished in record time, and he didn’t have to burden himself with the wasted efforts of the man hammering into the rock.
The man on the rock would often get discouraged. It’s hard to persevere when everyone is looking at him like a fool. I’m sure others would walk by, look at the guy relaxing on his porch, and choose his way over the man chipping away and making little progress. Everyone would be quick to invest their dream homes into the easy building plan. I imagine them conversing among themselves, wondering why the guy across the street doesn’t just give up on his foolish plan and join them in the good life. How many times would the man on the rock hear discouraging words and well meaning advice? From all outward appearances, the advice sounds good. In fact, years of leisure may roll by without anyone giving a second thought to their shortcut.
It isn’t until the storm hits that the truth is separated from the deception. The man on the rock and the man on the sand endured the same hardship. The house on the rock wasn’t spared the storm of life; he just had the foundation to endure it. It is after the storm that life built on human wisdom was shown to be a tragedy.
The Christian walk is no different. Everyday, we must be digging our foundation into the rock of God’s word. It is slow. It is painful. It is laborious. To do this, we have to give up our leisure time. People will also try to discourage you. I can’t tell you how many times people try to persuade me that the word of God is not relevant, or unnecessary, or that there is an easier way. You’ll be called foolish – even by people within the church. While those around us enjoy leisure time, it will seem foolish when we are laboring over the word. It’s much easier to sit in front of the TV each night than to dedicate ourselves to the word, and then to strive to bring our lives into obedience. A few who witness our labors will be encouraged to do the same, while many will alienate those who surrender their lives and labor in the word.
In the end, the trials of life will reveal each of our foundations. Endurance is given to those who hear the word of God, and do it. It is slow, steady growth, but the most rewarding experience our heart can know. Few things are more satisfying than to know God is speaking directly to you from the scriptures, and to see your own life changing. Growth is not what you do; growth is what God does in you when you nourish yourself in the word, and surrender to His will.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Discipleship
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eddiesnipes
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