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

“Grace to you^a, and peace be multiplied 
in the acknowledgement^b of God and of Jesus our Lord!  ”

^A) The word for grace in Greek is charis, (χάρις) means acceptable, benefit, or favour.  When the Christian speaks of grace, he speaks of being accepted into the presence of God (Ephesians 2:13).   He has received the ultimate benefit to be called a child of the Most High and is now an heir to the kingdom of God, sharing in all things with Christ (Galatians 3:26, Romans 8:17) and finding undeserved favor in the sight of the Lord (Romans 3:23,24).   This is a gift that has been given to us on no merits of our own.  This grace makes our hearts rejoice because by this gift, we who were once dead have been made alive through Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5).

We have found favor in God through Christ, but we are told to grow in this favor (2 Peter 3:18).   Since we do not have a supreme knowledge of Christ, the more we learn and seek Him out, the more we find, and the more we are steadfast in Him.   Peter writes later in this letter that those who find favor with God are steadfast and do not fall out of faith.   This grace or favor is in correlation with the knowledge we have of Christ.  The more knowledge we have about the Lord, the stronger we are and the closer we are to God.   We do not each receive special treatment from God for he has no favorites; but we are further sanctified and drawn towards Him, and this is the most glorious thing we can strive for.   Be careful not to think that God’s favor can grow, because it is limitless; but know that in this infinite grace that he has for us we are to expand ourselves within it.   Christ has opened the doors so that we may do everything we can to find favor and closeness with our Father.   Only through faith in Christ can we do anything that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).   Jesus has presented us an immeasurable amount of grace that we can have in the Lord— the grace that separates us from the world and draws us near to Him.  (For further clarification on favoritism and the elect, check out Mark’s article Does God Show Favoritism to the Elect? )

^B) If you can have unlimited grace and peace, would you not partake of it?  John Gill describes this type of knowledge as, “not of a natural, but of a spiritual and evangelical knowledge; of a knowledge of God, not as the God of nature and providence, but as the God of all grace, as in Christ, and a covenant God in him, and of the person, offices, and grace of Christ”.  This type of knowledge is something that is not passive but active.   We do not sit and wait for God to give us this knowledge but we should actively seek it.   Some people see it as a foolish attempt to look at the deeper mysteries of God because they are too deep to understand.   Do not take a passive stance towards the knowledge and wisdom of God, for there is an abundance of grace and peace that is intertwined one with the other.  How many times do you sit and pray for peace that all your anxieties may go away?   Matthew Henry puts it beautifully.  “There is in the word of God a proper remedy for all our spiritual maladies”.  The knowledge of Christ, the active searching out who He is, is the remedy for all our spiritual maladies.   In Proverbs, Solomon says that wisdom and knowledge are life unto those who find them and to keep them guarded in your heart (Proverbs 4:20-22).   I caution you, do not look for what you want to hear or understand about the Lord for you will never let Him get a chance for Him to talk, you will just be talking for Him.   When you open the Word only to have specific questions or concerns answered, you manipulate His word into fitting your circumstance.   Let the Lord speak what he pleases, for all knowledge of Christ brings favor and peace with it.

Some of my favorite verses on sanctification are 2 Peter 1:5-9:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

James 1:4-5:

“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God…”

James 3:13:

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom.”

Combining these three verses together marks the biblical route of growing from faith to love:

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

Over the next few days, I am going to take us through a study of what exactly Peter and James meant.  For instance, what is the difference between goodness and godliness, self-control and perseverance, knowledge and wisdom, etc.  Better yet, what is the love that we are called to obtain?  Having a knowledge of these insights helps us to mark our progress in the Lord and to realize where we need the most work.

-M