It’s Time To Grow Up - Part 2
Scriptures: Proverbs 20:11; 1 Cor. 13:11; Heb. 5:12-14
This is part two of my message “It’s Time to Grow Up” and I must tell you that I will not be able to finish it this morning. I ask for your patience as I listen to and share what the Spirit of God is sharing with me.
Last week I shared with you that many Churches operate as “spiritual daycare” centers that are caring for baby Christians. There appears to be an acceptance that these baby Christians will remain babies and in some Churches that is the expectation. I do not believe that this is the will of God for how the Church is to be operating. According what is written in the New Testament, we are supposed to be teaching and training baby Christians to grow in the Word of God into mature adult Christians. As mature adult Christians they are equipped to deal with the world’s issues while teaching others about Christ and their need for Him as their personal Savior.
In my message last week I focused on the behaviors of small children. I gave you examples of the differences between the behaviors of a child versus the behavior of an adult. This morning I want to begin sharing with you these differences from a spiritual perspective. While I do not wish to offend anyone, although some of you will possibly be offended before this series is complete, it is important that we self-examine ourselves to identify where we are on the spiritual maturity scale. If you discover that you are still a baby Christian and you are happy being a baby Christian (and many Christians are) then understand that it is your choice and not God’s plan for you. God’s expectation is that we will grow and mature so that we can function for and be used by Him. As I told you last week, my father always told my brothers and me, “The older you get is just the older you get!” As you listen to the message this morning, ask yourself, “Am I just getting older as a Christian?” Remember what was recorded in Proverbs 20:11. It says “It is by his deeds that a child distinguishes himself, if his conduct is pure and right.” Our deeds/behaviors continue to define us as we become adults just like they did when we were a child. As Christians, our conduct/behavior also defines what maturity level are as a Christian. Spiritually, what are your behaviors saying about your spiritual maturity?
This morning, and for the duration of this series, I will be using two visual aids to help you visualize the fullness of the message. The first visual aid is a baby bottle. A baby bottle is what is used to feed infants because they are unable to eat solid food. As I have already stated, many Christians are coming to Church with the baby bottles in hand looking for milk to fill them. Their bottles get filled and then the milk spoils because they never drink it all. They get milk on Sunday and then take it home and never touch the bottle again until the next time they come to Church. Sounds familiar? The second visual aid is a baby pacifier. A pacifier is used to quieten a baby when it’s hungry, irritated and/or crying. I want you to see this. A pacifier is used to “trick” the baby into thinking it is receiving food when it reality the baby is receiving nothing! When pastors, me included, deliver any Word that is designed to pacify you and make you happy, it’s the same as sticking a pacifier into the mouth of an infant because you are not being fed, you’re being pacified!!! So as you see me sucking on this bottle and this pacifier for the remainder of this series, ask yourself if I am representing you! Now let’s start this morning where we left off on last Sunday. Please turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians 13:11.
Last week I gave you an image of me being in a grocery cart with Nikki pushing me down the aisle while I scream “go faster.” That image caused many of you to laugh out loud and consider what your actions would be if you ever saw that. In reality, it would be a very childish thing for me (and ultimately Nikki) to do. Determining someone’s level of spiritual maturity is easily seen in how they live their lives. A baby Christian will act like (through their conduct, decisions, etc.) a baby Christian. A mature, adult Christian will act like and make decisions like a mature, adult Christians. I will provide examples of this later. Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth the following in 1 Corinthians 13:11. He said, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” In this verse Paul speaks about spiritual maturity. He said, when he was a child, he spoke, thought and reasoned as a child. Think about some of the things you did as a child – how you thought and the reasons you did some of the things you did. I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger. My daughter says we do those things because our frontal lobes are not fully developed until we reach our early twenties. Whatever the reason is, when we were children we talked, thought and reasoned as children. We did not have the knowledge necessary to make grown up arguments and/or decisions even though we tried to exercise what we thought were our rights. Have you ever tried talking to a child who would argue with you and never back down? In their minds they are right and they will not accept anything else. They know what they know and they are sticking with it. As a child we are expected to speak, think and reason as a child. However, when we become adults we set aside those childish things because we are expected to know better. Now imagine trying to carry on an adult conversation with an adult who is talking and reasoning like a child. Can you see how frustrating that would be? This is one of the reasons people often tell me how they could never be a pastor. They expressed how frustrating it would be to deal with some of the issues that pastors must deal with. The reason these issues exist in most circumstances is because we must deal with baby Christians. Mature Christians know how to work through difficulties because they understand the foundations for handling conflicts because they studied! If you want to be a blessing to your pastor, whether you are a member of this Church or another one, grow up. Start studying your Bible. Do your homework. Stop showing up empty handed or with an empty plate waiting for someone to put some food on it! Bring something with you. That my friends would help your pastor! We are supposed to grow up and put away the childish things in our lives. Let’s move on and examine the first way you can identify a baby versus a mature Christian.
1. How You Are Able To Eat!
The first way you can identify a baby Christian is by how they eat – either they are drinking milk or they are eating solid food. Let me explain. Hebrews 5:11-14 says, “Concerning Him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary 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 not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
Brother Jarell taught Bible study this past Thursday evening and did an outstanding job. As he was teaching he made me proud when he said, “we should study the Bible not because we have been called to teach, but so that we are “able” to teach those who don’t know. We should have the knowledge.” He stated that he understood that the reason I rotate individuals teaching the lesson is not because I think they have been called to teach, but so everyone can learn how to study. You really study when you have to teach it. And let me share this now and I will go into more detail next week. I want you to hear me clearly because this applies to all of us. If you have ever been a child then you know that at some point your parent had to “make” you do your homework. When you were in elementary school they would sit you down and help you. As you got older, they helped you less and less. They allowed you the space to do what you needed to do until you showed them that you could not do it. When your report card came out with low to failing grades that was when they would be on you about doing your homework. Well guess what, no one is making you do your homework for Sunday school, Bible study, men’s or women’s meetings! That is on you. Regardless of the reasons (excuses) you may have, that’s all they are, excuses. We do whatever we want to do. Not doing your homework in preparation for your Church lessons is child behavior. You have your assignments, you have the books, and yet you walk into the class with the answers not being completed and the book with no creases because it has not been opened. Grown up behavior is exemplified by our doing what we are supposed to do. It’s time to grow up so stop coming with your work undone!
The writer of Hebrews said in these verses that while he had much to say to them about Christ, they (those he was addressing) were dull of hearing. In other words, when they should have been acquainted with the higher truths of what it meant to be a Christian, they demonstrated that they were dull of apprehension and there was a severe lack of understanding. He stated, based on how long they had been Christians, they that had been Christians long enough to be expected to understand the doctrines of Christianity and be able to teach it. OUCH! The writer was not writing to new converts, but to supposedly seasoned Christians. Even though they had been saved for some time, they were still babies as Christians. What we need to see here is that the writer was not having pity on them, he was calling them out! He was not allowing them to remain in their current state and be happy not growing. He was pushing them to grow. He called them out by telling them, “You should be teachers; you should be able to instruct others and yet you are still in need of being taught!” Do you see what he was telling them? He was telling them the same thing that Jarell said in Bible study. He was not saying that they should all become public teachers, or preachers of the gospel, but that they should be able to explain to others the truths of the Christian faith. As parents, they should be able to explain their faith to their children; as neighbors, to their neighbors; or as friends, to those who were inquiring the way to life. They should be able to explain their faith based on the Word of God and their life experiences. If a person cannot explain to you why they accepted Christ as their personal Savior through the Word of God then they are truly a baby Christian because this is the starting point of our testimony.
The writer said that while they should be teachers, they are still in need of being taught. Again, this shows that at some previous point in time they had been taught the first principles of the Christian faith but like many of us, they had not grown much beyond their initial exposure to the Word. They had not built on their teaching as they should have done. They did not do anything with what they had learned except wait to be taught more. There was no ownership of their growth or the Word that had been planted within them. Think again about that child in elementary school. If they do not learn to read and write there, they will not be able to do it as they move up through the grades. When we were in school it was not uncommon to see a child failing a grade. We did not have all of the additional resources to help a child who was struggling or was too lazy to do the work. That additional support was supposed to be given at home. If a child did not make the grades that child was not passed along to the next grade. If we took this stance as Christians, we would have grown adults in the children’s bible study class, sitting in the small chairs with their coloring books and bible stories. Are you seeing this? We do not do this in the Church, adults learn with adults regardless of where they are spiritually. If we did this in the Church most Church would either be extremely strong in the Word or empty of members.
Ok, I need to take a side not just to make this very clear. What if everyone had to take a test on their biblical knowledge and the results of that test determined what class you would be assigned. Let’s say the classes were adults, older teens, younger teens, pre-teens, children and preschoolers. Each class was set up based on the age group (preschoolers had small chairs to fit them, and adults had chairs to fit them.) Everyone took a similar test based on their age and reading and comprehension abilities. You know ahead of time that how you do on this test will determine what class you will be assigned. If you are an adult and you knew there was a potential that you could be assigned to the preteens’ class, would you not spend a lot of time studying so that you could be assigned to the adult class? Would you not be totally embarrassed to be sitting with the children and having to color in coloring books and having bible stories read to you? Would you not be totally ashamed to have a little child ask you why you were in their class and you have to tell them it’s because you never studied your Bible? If this were to happen it would play out this way for many Christians because we do not see the need to progress from being a baby to an adult Christian as we just do not have that kind of time and still do everything we have to do in this life. There are many seasoned Christians still sucking on the bottle because all they can grasp right now is the milk of the word and not the solid meat! This is the first identifier of someone who is a baby Christian – how they ingest the Word of God.
The writer said “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Vss. 13-14) I want to make this perfectly clear this morning – we must move from only being able to receive milk to being able to receive the full meat of God’s word. This understanding comes through our personal study and development as Christians. It will not happen with you just attending Church and Bible study and doing nothing on your own. Just as children have homework assignments while they are in school, we have homework to do if we are to grow into mature Christians.
In these verses the writer explains the difference between someone being able to drink milk (the food of children) versus those who are able to handle the solid food (the food of adults.) He says that the one who receives milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness. That word “unaccustomed” is translated as unskillful. It means someone without experience; unlearned/ignorant. It does not mean that they were not true Christians, but they did not have the experience and/or skill required to understand the higher mysteries of the Christian faith. In other words, they were still babies. No one would take an infant and expect that infant to drive a car. That infant would need to grow physically and mentally in order to do that. The same applies here, in order to understand the deeper things of being a Christian; we have to spend time studying outside of these four walls.
Finally he says that the solid meat is for the mature. These individuals are able to understand and appreciate biblical teachings that move beyond the basics of Christianity. For example, they search the Scriptures to understand how to live today, versus just knowing that Jesus had twelve disciples and died on a cross so that we could have eternal life. They search the Scriptures to identify how to have a relationship with Christ and how that relationship grows with our obedience versus just believing everything that is said from the pulpit and/or on TV. This verse describes a full grown Christian whose senses have been “trained” to discern good and evil. Do you see this? A full grow Christian has trained their senses to discern between good and evil. It refers to the delicate taste which an experienced Christian has in regard to those doctrines which teaches the truth of God’s word versus what is fitted to the soul of man (my desires). This discernment elevates and purifies those things that tend to draw our hearts nearer to God. This training comes through their consistent study and searching out the word of God. They might not have understood everything they read, but they were reading and searching. The first way you can identify a baby Christian versus a mature adult Christian is by watching what they eat – in this case, are they able to digest the word of God in its fullness with a fork and spoon or are they taking small slurps through a bottle?
All Christians should be teachers. I am not saying that they should all be preachers; but they should all live in such a way as they can teach others about Christianity through their personal study and their personal experiences. This they should do by their example, and by their daily conversation. Any Christian is qualified to impart useful instruction to others. The servant of lowest rank may teach his master how a Christian should live. A child, and we have seen that happen in this church, may teach a parent how he/she should live, and their daily walk may furnish to the parents very valuable lessons. Neighbors may teach neighbors; and strangers may learn from other strangers. Every Christian has knowledge of the way to be saved, which is the highest value to others to know. We are qualified to tell the rich, the proud, and the learned sinner, of the final destiny of man, of which they may be ignorant. Remember, the world develops its views of the nature of Christianity from the lives and conduct of its professed Christian friends. It is not from the Bible, or from the pulpit, or from books, that men learn what Christianity is; it is from the daily walk of those who profess to be Christians. How important, therefore, it is that we live to be able to communicate to them what Christianity truly is and why they need Jesus in their lives!
I know I said this was a two part, but there is more. Next week we will look at the second way we can identify a baby Christian. Please read and meditate on 2 Timothy 2:15 and Hebrews 4:12.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)
“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
“The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
