Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ
and be taken forward to maturity.
Hebrews 6:1a
Your decision to give your life to the Lord Jesus is the single most important decision of life. It radically impacts your living for time and eternity. That’s because only Jesus can give you new life, abundant life, and eternal life. And all three levels of life became yours when you put your faith in Him.
After your decision, growing spiritually is like growing physically—both take time. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity as a Christian. It will take time to become a mature son or daughter, a strong spiritual athlete, and a good soldier of Jesus Christ. So, we need to have fellowship with God in two important ways: prayer and Bible study.
As growing Christians, we must also fellowship with other Christians through some local church where the Bible is preached, taught, and applied. We should not expect everyone in the church to be alike, because it is diversity and variety that make real harmony possible through Christ. We should not get distracted or disappointed by the hypocrites in the church, but instead keep our eyes focused on Christ. The local church needs fewer critics and more involvement, starting with us.
Times may change, people may change, circumstances may change, but God’s Word never changes! Nor do the devil’s devices and trickery. Down through the centuries, the evil one has been able to successfully use the same temptations, deceptions, accusations, and condemnation to subtly ensnare and entrap new generations of young believers. That’s why we all—regardless of where we are in our spiritual growth—need to regularly go back to the basic fundamentals of our faith, as well as the basic principles of spiritual warfare.
There are three primary spiritual enemies on the outside and inside trying to sabotage our Christian life: the world, the flesh, and the devil. We must learn to fight against them and overcome them through God’s Word and God’s Spirit.
We must also confront sin. No one likes to talk about sin because we are all guilty of it. We are all sinners by nature and choice and are incapable of saving ourselves from sin or removing it from our lives. It is not a sin to be tempted, but yielding to temptation is sin. If we do yield to temptation and sin, we must apply 1 John 1:9 to our lives: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we repent, God restores.
Most Christians will hit slumps, usually because their emphasis is wrongly placed on feelings. When their feelings change, their faith in Christ tends to change. Spiritual security is based upon what God has done for us through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—not on feelings.
God sometimes gives emotional experiences to encourage our growth, but He will not allow us to build our Christian lives on our fickle feelings. Christianity is firmly rooted in historical facts, and the important thing for us is faith in those facts. Feelings are by-products of our faith.
So, keep fact, faith, and feeling in the proper perspective. Then and only then will your life steps be steady and secure!
