Growing In Christ
Why We Need and How To Grow In Christ
Contents
Salvation Saved From and Saved For
The Cross – the End and the Beginning
The Spiritual Battle, Warnings and God’s Discipline
Building On the Rock of Scripture
Are We Once Saved Always Saved?
The Future: Will the Church Go Through the Great Tribulation?
Growth is a sign of life and health. To grow in Christ is not just desirable but essential to live for Him. But what does it mean and how do I grow in Christ? As Christians what evidence should there be to show that we are ‘growing in Christ‘?
I hope that here these questions will be addressed and show that God’s amazing and gracious salvation in Christ goes much further than to forgive our sins and give us a right to enter His eternal kingdom. It is God’s intention for us that we not remain as children but grow by the power of His Spirit.
As a father and mother rejoice to see their children grow in stature and maturity so our Father in heaven rejoices to see His children grow spiritually into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.
The goal of growth is that ‘we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13). That is the goal of growth is to bear the fruit of the Spirit and become like Jesus. This goal is not just an ideal but a reality through the power of His spirit within us.
That we grow and mature is essential so that we will not, as Paul in his letter to the Ephesians says, be ‘tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes’. (Ephesians 4:14). Here Paul warns that poor, false or deceiving teaching will cause us to be led astray and not grow to maturity.
There are two great parables relating to growth: the parable of the sower and the parable of the vine (Luke 8:4-15 and John 15:1-6) which explain how: 1. we bear the fruit of the Spirit and 2. what can hinder or even prevent this fruit from forming.
In the parable of the vine Jesus said He is the vine and we are the branches. We must remain spiritually connected to Him to bear fruit (see Chapter 3. We Are To Bear Fruit).
In the parable of the sower Jesus told His disciples that a superficial, shallow faith and worldliness – love for this world and the things of this world rather than the kingdom of God present great spiritual dangers. If these are not addressed we will be unequipped to face the trials of this life and hinder or even prevent our growth and bearing the fruit of Christ’s spirit in us.
Another hindrance is the idea that all we need is faith. This is a serious misconception as the Bible teaches us we also need to practice holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness is a word less used these days but simply means to separate ourselves from the ways of sin and of this world. It is the evidence of a soul who has been saved and transformed by the power of God, through repentance and faith. Through the cross of Christ we are not only are saved from the penalty of sin but also its power.
Scripture warns us it is possible to neglect the tremendous salvation we have in Christ with tragic eternal consequences (Hebrews 2:1-3). The good news is that through salvation in Christ God has given us by His grace the power and strength we need to grow in Him and become a holy people. This is not only to ensure our entrance into His eternal kingdom but also that we be light and salt in this world to bring glory to Him.
Salvation Saved From and Saved For
Exodus: God’s example of salvation
Salvation: What God does
Salvation: Past, present and future
Salvation: Our response
We need to repent
Faith
Faith needs to continue
Faithful to Jesus alone
Faith will be tested
Faith and obedience
Examples of faith and obedience
Baptism
The Cross – the End and the Beginning
The significance of the Cross, Christ’s death and resurrection in the salvation and the life of every believer
Living As God’s People
Renewing our minds
The fear of God
The character of God’s people – the Beatitudes
We are to deny self
We are to be led by the Holy Spirit
We are to be the salt of the earth and light in the world
We are to bear fruit
We are to forgive those who sin against us
We are to love – the greatest commandment
We are the body of Christ, a holy temple
We are to remain in Christ
We are to be a people of who know God’s peace and joy
The Spiritual Battle, Warnings and God’s Discipline
The Spiritual Battle: the world, the flesh and Satan
Warnings About Departing from God
God disciplines His people
Building On the Rock of Scripture
The parable of the house built on the rock
The parable of the sower
Warnings from the book of Hebrews
Are We Once Saved Always Saved?
The Future: Will the Church Go Through the Great Tribulation?
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Derek Stancombe, David Fleming and John Staer for their encouragement, constructive criticism and invaluable comments.
Unless otherwise indicated Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org).
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved