Go On To Maturity
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
“Of whom we have much
to say, and hard to explain, since you have become
dull of hearing. For through by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you
have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of
milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe. But solid food
belongs to those who are full of age, that is, those who by reason of use have
their senses exercise to discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the
discussion of elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works of faith toward God,
of doctrine of baptisms, of laying of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and
of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits” Hebrews
The writer of Hebrew wants us to caution us of the danger
that lies ahead of us. In this message, I would like to talk about the dangers
of immaturity. Immaturity can happen in the physical as well as the spiritual
aspect of a person. The age of a person does not affect his or her level of
maturity. We can be old in age but still immature in our attitude and outlook
of life. Likewise, we can be young and matured. We mature when we learn well
from ours all well as from others life’s experiences.
The writer of Hebrews gives us two illustrations to explain to us the meaning of maturity.
1. The Teaching
Profession (
A student is immature in the field of his study while the
teacher is mature in his. Here, he says that instead, they are still immature
like students.
2. The Growth Process
of a Human Beings (
Babes or infants drink milk while adults have mature and
gone on to solid food while they, like immature babies still need milk.
The writer of Hebrews goes on further to give us the six
elementary teachings or doctrines which every babe in Christ needs to know and
believe and then moves on in the maturity process.
The Doctrine of
Repentance
Repentance is to turn around from the old lifestyle to face
the new direction that God has pointed out and to walk in it. It is turning
away from serving the god of this world to serve the true and living God. It is
the elementary stage of a new believer’s life. He needs to come to the point of
realization of his sinful state, recognizers the need to repent from it, turn
around and walk away to live his life in obedience in God. This does not mean
we do not sin anymore. As we live for God, we may fall but when we repent, we
pick ourselves up and move on.
The Doctrine of
Salvation by Grace
We are saved by grace. It is not what we have done or have
not done that can save us. Neither is it because we attend church, give our
money and time and read our Bibles that merit salvation. We do not become
children of God because of our works. We become children of God by His grace.
Salvation is a gift. We cannot earn it. It is an act of God’s grace. God picks
us up from where we are, saves us and because we are God’s children, we come to
church, read our Bibles, pay our tithes and do the rest.
The Doctrine of
Baptism
There are two kinds of baptism. There is water baptism and
baptism of the Holy Spirit. After we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour, we get
baptised in water in obedience to Jesus’ command and example. The baptism in
the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues is a gift to all
believers. It is given to us so that we might have power to witness: “But you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
witnesses to Me in
The Doctrine of Laying On of Hands
In the choosing for the seven men for service, the disciples
laid hands on them: “Whom they set before the apostles; and when they had
prayed, they laid hands on them” (Acts 6:6). The laying on of hands was also
practiced in the Old Testament times. In the selection of Joshua to be Moses’
successor: “And the Lord said the Moses: ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun with you,
a man whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him” (Numbers 27:18). What is
the doctrine of laying on of hands? It is the recognition of ministry. It is
the recognition of God-given talents and giftings for service. The laying on of
hands shows the acknowledgement of ministry in the respective areas.
The Resurrection of
the Dead
Physical death is not the end of all things. The Bible says
that there is a coming resurrection for those who believe. We shall be raised
from the dead. Our physical death marks the beginning of our eternal life. The
righteous will enter into the
The Eternal Judgment
There is coming a day when all of us will have to stand
before our Maker. All Christians will stand before the judgment seat of God to
be judged for our works. Some will stand before God during the Great White
Throne Judgment during which the sheep (believers) will be separated from the
goats (non-believers).
These are elementary truths of the Bible. These are
doctrines we must know. Do you know and believe them? Did you allow them to
change your lifestyle? The writer of Hebrews says that when we are born again,
we become infants in Christ and need to learn these elementary truths in order
to grow. We need to understand the truths and feed on them. The Christian life
must grow to maturity.
What Can Hinder Our Growth?
We need to be careful not to stay as infants for the rest of
our lives. We need to grow for the elementary teachings to maturity. But there
are things that can hinder our growth process. What are some of the things that
can hinder our growth as Christians? The passage of Scripture shows us several
things that can hinder our growth.
~ Dullness in hearing
(
What does “dullness in hearing” mean? It simply means being
sluggish, lazy, lethargic, forgetful, complacent and disinterested. Other than
being dull in hearing, we also have hearing that is different, critical,
cynical, mocking and selective. Such kinds of hearing will definitely hinder
our growth. What can we do if our hearing becomes dull?
We need to learn to
concentrate on what we read and hear
During the church service, it is important for us to learn
how to shut our minds out from every thing other than the message being
preached. The only way we can do this is to ask the Holy Spirit to help us. If
we cannot concentrate on what we read and hear, we cannot grow and develop.
We need to meditate
on what we read and hear
We need to take time to meditate upon what we have read and
heard from God’s Word so that we may learn and grow. The Word of God can renew
our minds and change our attitudes and perspectives towards people and
circumstances.
We need to take notes
on what we read and hear
We need to take down messages we received from the preaching
of the Word of God. Ask yourself these questions when you listen to the God’s
Word: “What did God say to me through the message? What can I do after hearing
the message? What are the instructions I need to follow? What are the changes I
need to make in my own life? This gives us the reason to pray.”
We need to read and
memorize God’s Word
The Lord himself stressed the importance of memorization of
His Word: “Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may
be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your
fathers has promised you – a land flowing with milk and honey. And these words
which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them
diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall
bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between you
eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”
(Deut 6:3, 6-9). You cannot teach the word of God effectively until it is in
your heart.
~ Refusal to Grow (
To be forgiven, restored in our relationship with God and
believe the promises of eternal life when we die, is not all to being a
Christians.
There is life to be lived, a character to be shaped and a
victory to be experienced. We must not only be born again but also to grow and
become an adult in our new found faith.
The situation with the Hebrew Christians was this. They were
still living like babes when they should be living like adults. They could be
teachers but were still babes.
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians also
addressed a similar problem: “And I brethren, could not speak to you as to
spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1) and in 1
Cor 14:20 he says, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in
malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”
The refusal to grow up into adults can also jeopardise our
lie as Christians. In Ephesians 4:14, Paul alerted us to what may happen to us
if we as remain infants: “That we should no longer be children, tossed to and
fro and carried about with every wind doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the
cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”
~ Being Unskilled in
the Word (
The verse says, “being unskilled in
the word of righteousness.” This can mean two things:
1. Jesus Christ is
the righteous of God
The righteousness of Jesus Christ is our only hope of being
acceptable to God. This is the Gospel – a message of hope for salvation. He is
the only salvation in God. “And be found in Him, not having my own
righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in
Christ, the righteous ness which is from God by faith” (Phil 3:9). “But of Him
you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness
and satisfaction and redemption” (1 Cor
2. The
Word of God is, the word of righteousness
The Bible is a book that teaches us how to live a life of
God’s kind of righteousness. To know the word is to know God’s
righteousness. To know God’s
righteousness is to know how to live in the light of what is right and wrong.
The Hebrew Christians were not willing to give their time
and energy to discipline themselves to learn God’s word. Therefore they did not
live matured lives as godly people but as babes. They were shinning and being
saved every week when they went to church. They were not experiencing God’s
promises of His grace and power for living but only His grace of salvation and
repentance from sins. They professed Christ but did not live like Christians.
Jesus Himself spoke of the importance of God’s word in our
life: “But He answered and said, ‘It is written. “man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” ’ ” (Matt 4:4).
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”
(1 Peter 2:2).
~ Did Not Exercise
Their Spiritual Mind and Senses (
“But solid food belongs to those who are full of age, that
is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and
evil” (Hebrew 5:14).
A matured Christian belongs to a church and sees his need
for a church life to help him in his everyday living. A matured Christians
shows a disciplined life by what he does daily.
He:
·
Studies his Bible
·
Has a systematic prayer life
·
Evangelizes faithfully
·
Is a worshipper
·
Walks by faith
·
Is a giver
·
Is slow to speak but quick to hear
·
Manifests the fruits of the Spirit in his life
·
Has the mind of Christ
·
Lives a life that pleases God
·
Is the salt and light of the world
This is the kind of lifestyle that exercises our mind and
senses spiritually. The Word of God has many exhortations for us concerning
this aspect. Read Phil 4:8, 2 Cor 10:5 and Rom 12:1, 2 for guidance.
Be Determined To Grow
We must be determined to grow. Once the foundation of the
elementary truths have been laid, we must build on them by obedience and faith
in God. This will take a lot of determination on our part. Hebrew 6:3 says.
“And this we will do if God permits.” “If God permits” means that “unless the
Lord builds the house, we labour in vain.” We cannot do it alone. It is a
twinning programme – you and God must work together. “John answered and said,
‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven’ ” (John
“You are already clean because of the word which I have
spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of
itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me,
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:3-5)
(All the above quotes are from the New King James)
CALVARYNEWS
Issue 37 January – February 1996