What is Growth?

What is Growth?

I often hear Christians saying in one form or another that “things are going well” and that they are “growing a lot”.  Or another way of saying this is that because they are “growing”, things appear to be going well.  Whenever I hear this, I always question why they think they are growing – never to discourage, but always to shed some truth.  Too often the response I get for why one thinks they are growing is because they are spending more time with God, receiving deeper convictions to their sin, have a sustained joy, etc.  In a little bit, I’ll explain why this is not biblical growth.

I’m not a pessimist, but I do lack confidence in another’s confidence for a few reasons, the primary reason being that there is an overall genuine lack of the fear of God in Christian churches today: we are quick to speak before the altar, quick to view God as the object of a sappy love song (thanks to modern pop-worship), quick to forget about the necessity of sanctification, quick to manipulate others into salvation by preaching topical messages (and not the deeper truths), etc.  And because of the lack of fear, they do not know what growth is.  Isaiah 33:6 says:

“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.”

So let’s take a look at how the bible defines growth.  For it is one thing to spend more time with God when your spirit is strengthened, but what happens when your spirit is broken?  It is another thing to receive conviction, but another to respond to conviction.  To get a better understanding of what I’m basing this theology on, please read Growing from Faith to Love. In case you do not have the time to read that post, I will briefly sum it up.  From James 1:4-5, 3:13, and 2 Peter 1:5-9, we can define the biblical route of growth as follows:

Faith, Goodness, Knowledge, Self-Control, Perseverance, Wisdom, Humility, Godliness, Love

See also:

Goodness vs. Godliness

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

Humility vs. Love

This should give you a solid understanding on what growth as a Christian is.  But within the church, we judge others not on their heart, but on their fruit.  We cannot tell where one is in this sanctification process, but we surely can tell if one is going through it.  With that, take a look at Looking at the Fruits.  This post uses Galatians 5:22-23 and lists the fruit of the Spirit.  Notice that fruit is not pluralized and that it is referring to the Spirit, a singular subject.  To clearly illustrate this meaning, think of the Spirit as an entire grape vine and the individual grapes as the fruit.  Therefore, if we have the Spirit, we should posses all of the fruit – not acquire each quality individually and over time.  And through the sanctification process, we are increasing the measure of each quality.  The fruit of the Spirit are:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control

Also, notice the parallel between the fruit of the Spirit and the steps in the sanctification process.  Pretty amazing!  The bottom line is that we grow through sanctification.  The key to sanctification is wisdom and knowledge, which comes from the fear of the Lord and letting God’s word do its work in your heart as you read, through reflection and meditation.  Let us all become a meditator on the Word of God.

I would love to hear your comments or answer any questions.

-Mark

 

What is Growth?, 3.7 out of 5 based on 3 ratings