Does salvation + time + knowledge = spiritual maturity? If not, where does it come from? From years of church membership? From learning how to use Bible software or getting 10 devotionals in your inbox? Does it come with a degree in theology? Or from attending Bible studies week after week? If not, what does it take?
Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 9 & 10
Psalm 121.1-8
Proverbs 28.16
Hebrews 5.1-14
Does Salvation + Time + Knowledge = Spiritual Maturity?
Hebrews 5.1-14:
Where Does Spiritual Maturity Come From?
Where does spiritual maturity come from? Does it happen simply because we show up for church week after week? Or get baptized, learn how to use Bible software, or start serving in church? Does it come from attending Bible studies or displaying a Christian bumper sticker?
It’s not to say those things are wrong or that they can’t happen as a result of spiritual maturity, but in themselves, they don’t make us a mature disciple of Christ.
James said we can be mere hearers of the word, gathering knowledge and information, and not be doers. He went on to say that when we do, we delude ourselves (Jas. 1.22-25). Often that delusion concerns our own maturity and level of obedience. We think we’re “OK” because we do certain Christian things.
More than Time & Knowledge
Today’s passage in Hebrews 5 from the New Living Translation says:
11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
The writer of Hebrews was addressing people who had been believers for some time … long enough that they should have been teaching others. If they should have been teaching, they had at least some knowledge. They should have been spiritually mature but, instead, they were still babies who needed milk.
Verse 14 says solid food, food that is fit for mature believers, is for those who “through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” The New American Standard Bible says, “who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
So spiritual maturity requires more than time and more than mere knowledge. It also requires obedience to the Word of God. And while we won’t do that perfectly, obedience should be our goal.
Paul told the Corinthians:
Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5.9).
And Jesus said:
If you love Me, keep My commandments (Jn. 14.15).
So we might say it this way. Salvation plus at least some time plus growth in our understanding and knowledge of God and His Word plus a pattern of obedience will lead to spiritual maturity.
Today’s Other Readings:
Ezekiel 9 & 10:
Marked by God
Ezekiel continues to prophesy to the largely unrepentant, hard-hearted nation and to warn them of God’s coming judgment.
But even as God prepared to bring His judgment on the people, He commanded an angel to go out and put a mark on every person who loved and worshiped Him and who grieved over the spiritual condition of the nation. Just as He did before the death angel passed over in Egypt, God marked His own for protection.
The same is true today. All those who belong to Him, those who are born again by the Spirit of God, have His mark. Ephesians 1.13-14:
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
There will be a day of judgment for everyone. But sadly, there are many who look good on the outside, but because they don’t have a genuine relationship with the Lord are not sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 7.21-23:
21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Going to church, leaving behind some things like drinking and foul language, perhaps even serving at church, and hanging around Christians can appease the conscience without any real heart change. And can result in a person hearing those words, “I never knew you!”
The Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit & Self-Examination
As Paul warned some of the Corinthians:
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified (2 Cor. 13.5).
The psalmist prayed:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139.23-24).
We can be easily blinded to our own sin. That’s why we need the body of Christ to lovingly hold us accountable, even challenge us, at times (Heb. 10.24-25; Gal. 6.1-2) and why we need to cultivate the willingness to submit to God by praying and examining ourselves in light of His Word.
Psalm 121.1-8:
He Never Slumbers or Sleeps
Isn’t it good to know that our God never slumbers or sleeps (v. 3-4)? He is there when we call on Him!
Proverbs 28.16:
A Ruler Who Lacks Understanding
A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, but he who hates covetousness will prolong his days.
Too often, especially in this media age, leadership is determined by a charismatic personality, the ability to speak well, or a willingness to tell people what they want to hear. But leaders should first be chosen because of righteousness, good understanding, selflessness, and a godly character.
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll discuss two challenging questions, whether we can be addicted to religion and whether we could be worshiping idols. We’ll also talk about what it means to be children of light, what is sometimes called generational sin, and look at a slippery spiritual path.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out our YouTube channel.
If this post spoke to you, I would love it if you would share it on your favorite social media platform.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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