What is Spiritual maturity?
May 25, 2019 13:33:39 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on May 25, 2019 13:33:39 GMT -5
Spiritual maturity!
Spiritual maturity! Sounds good doesn’t it? Well, it is definitely a personality quality that every person who is sincerely religiously inclined strives for. It is also a primary quality that is sought in those who take the leadership in churches. In contrast, spiritual immaturity is despised and those displaying it are avoided criticized and sometimes shunned.
But what really constitutes spiritual maturity? In order to answer that question from a Christian perspective, we of course, must go to the Bible in order to find how spiritual maturity is defined.
Does the Bible say that spiritual maturity consists in church attendance along with participation in preaching the gospel? Well, please notice that in the book of Jude there are persons described as always being in church albeit with the wrong motives.
Jude1:
4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinder; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage
4 For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. 16 These people are grumblers and faultfinder; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage
Does it then consist of preaching and teaching? Not at all. Notice how Jesus' describes those who who honor him with their lips but their hearts are far from righteousness:
Mark 7:6
Jesus answered them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Matthew 7:21 ►
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Jesus answered them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Matthew 7:21 ►
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
So in view of this, church attendance alone and vociferously preaching and praising might look impressive, but it does not necessarily indicate spiritual maturity. After all, one could attend church with non-Christian motives as Jude points out. One could be there because one simply seeking a marriage mate. Or because of loneliness and to avoid social isolation. Or perhaps because of a strong, selfish longing for public recognition and a sense of authority over others and not because one is a lover of truth and an imitator of Christ.
So what indeed constitutes spiritual maturity person? Well, once more the Bible provides us with the answer in Galatians by enumerating the personality qualities that a spiritually mature individual will display.
“Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
So if a person is full of hatred, always in a state of unhappiness, is cruel, is faithless, is rude and boorish with others, and lacks self control in relation to sinful carvings, then the person is definitely NOT spiritually mature but the opposite-spiritually immature and not qualified to lead others.
As Jesus said:
Matthew 15:14 ►
Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
Why focus on this? Because unfortunately, some persons evaluate others as spiritually mature or immature based on their level of church attendance and participation in preaching the gospel. Based on that criteria, they are given leadership privileges in churches above others who are deemed spiritually immature because they do not attend church or preach the gospel to the same degree.
Unfortunately, such a policy inevitably leads to the appointment of unqualified harmful individuals into positions of shepherds. In such positions those persons serve as stumbling blocks to others who do go to church with the purpose of seeking God and who are in fact far more spiritually mature that those who have been appointed to shepherd the flock of God.
My opinion? Not at all, there are countless examples of children being sexually molested, and adults being abused via cruelty by the very ones who have been placed in positions of authority based on mere church attendance and preaching. From the safety of such positions, they are like eagles or lions seeking out prey. So it is exceedingly important that any church which follows that policy to appoint elders be made aware of the very serious mistake that it is making by appointing servants of Satan in the guise of servants of God.
2 Cor 11
14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.