Have you ever seen a puppy or a kitten which wasn’t cute? If you leave out what some of you adults know about mature dogs and feral cats, isn’t true that every kitten or puppy is cute? Yesterday, I went out to Clayton and got to meet Sahalie’s new puppy – as cute as a button, as they say. And then there are the puppies which have showed up here every week for the last month – cute.
Human babies are usually just as cute – but in different ways. I am told that it was a doctor of some sort who said, “Babies are cute on purpose.” If you stop and think about it, he might be right. Babies are demanding, if not actually dictatorial, mean, nasty, noisy, smelly, icky creatures. For months and sometimes years, they don’t let their parents get a good night’s sleep. They are expensive from the day that they are born, until long after they leave the house. They spit up, throw up, and mess up everything from diapers to expensive suits. You can’t take them to fancy restaurants or weddings, because they’ll make a scene. You CAN take them to church, but they’ll STILL make a scene. BUT they are so cute that we completely overlook their negative qualities – for a while. That doctor was saying if babies weren’t so cute, we might not be quite as interested in caring for them. Unfortunately, even those cute little things outgrow their babyhood AND their cuteness.
God demands, and nature expects, maturity. The bud becomes a flower, which becomes a green apple, which becomes a red apple filled with seeds. The ultimate purpose of that bud is to produce seeds that will eventually become more apple trees. Peter exhorts us to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” He says, “Come on Christian, grow up.” Listen to Ephesians 4 – “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may GROW UP into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Hebrews 6:1 says, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.”
Maturity is the goal we have as Christians and churches, but how can we determine that it’s happening? Is there a spiritual maturity IQ test? I’ve seen professional football players who were nothing but big babies. And I’ve known 15-year-olds who were mature beyond twice their age. At least that was my opinion. By what criteria can we judge maturity?
How about checking that person’s DIET.
As we probably all know, babies eat different foods than adults. At first they don’t have teeth and couldn’t handle a piece of steak if we gave it to them. And the baby’s tongues and throats are different from ours. Then even if we did get that piece of steak down their throats, a baby’s digestion is different from an adult’s. There are some foods and condiments which, I am told, are actually poisonous to infants. And then they are constantly spitting up even what is good for them.
Some of this is true in baby Christians too. There are some doctrines which infant saints find very hard to swallow. They are born again by the Spirit of God, out of various educational and sociological families. They have been taught some doctrines they need to unlearn before they can stomach other doctrines. There are certain things which are honey to our palates which would be poison to the babe in Christ. I have seen human babies spit out new forms of food just because they felt funny on their tongues. Colors, flavors, what the other kids are eating – or not eating – all have an effect on whether or not the newest kid is going to take this doctrine. New born babes naturally desire the sincere milk of the Word, but they can be very slow at swallowing the really meaty things.
A mature saint, still loves the milk, but relishes the meat – and even his medicine and vitamins. By milk, I mean what the Bible means – the most simple and rudimentary principles of Bible doctrine. That would include some of the most basic things about God Himself, and salvation by grace. It might include things like the return of the Saviour. After the milk comes the more difficult and substantial things of the Word of God – the meat. I Corinthians 3:1-3 – “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” Some Christians want to stay in the milk stage forever. Not only is it because they are babes in Christ, but this persistence contributes to their immaturity. They actually like being children and want to remain that way – life is more simple for infants. There are wonderful studies of the decrees of God, the covenants, the intricacies of prophecy and the deeper aspects of salvation that should thrill our sanctified hearts.
And then comes the medicine. Timothy “preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, EXHORT with all longsuffering and doctrine..” I suppose that there are some differences between being a babe in Christ and being immature. Someone may be a spiritual child, and be submissive when the Holy Spirit convicts him of sin or a backslidden condition. But the spiritually immature, no matter how long they have been Christians, react differently to that kind of ministry. “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” – Hebrews 13:7 and 17.
Hebrews 5:12-14 bring us to the next point – DISCERNMENT.
“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Isn’t it true – the more mature we become, the more quickly they can see danger and make wise decisions? Only the immature take free gifts of marijuana from that stranger on the street. Only the immature take candy or free rides from the stranger. And likewise the more mature the Christian becomes the quicker he can discern sin and heresy.
Every once in a while there is a blurb in some church bulletin to the effect that the church is a soul-saving station and not a nursery for immature or retarded saints. I’m not going to disagree with part one, but I do disagree with part two; we should be a nursery. What was that earlier quote from Ephesians 4:11-15? – “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
Do you remember Solomon’s great prayer when the Lord granted him that wisdom? I Kings 3:9 – “And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”
The problem that so many have is that they are subject to just about everything. They take their orders from their flesh, from the world, from their friends, from their government. The key to determining which voices to hear is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because YE CANNOT HEAR my word.” “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
DUTY is our third major area of maturity.
When our children are growing, we begin by giving them certain simple tasks. It might be picking up their toys when they’ve finished playing with them. Pretty soon, they get to do the dishes, or some simple yard work. Eventually, they are not only given more than one chore, but sometimes some pretty difficult jobs. Hopefully when they leave home and get out on our own, they know how handle money, how to get up and go to work, how to treat others, and how to serve the Lord. Duties help us mature, and they are proof that we are already mature.
And how many duties have been given to the child of God? A bunch. Rather than make a list, let’s just summarize them into four groups: APPROPRIATION: there are things that we need to be constantly adding to our lives. Biblical instruction for example: Solomon said, “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” We need the constant input of the strength of the Lord. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” – but nothing without Him. We need to take up our cross daily and follow Christ. We need to seize the unique opportunities that come our way to glorify the Lord – “Carpe diem.” Then we have the never ending duty of FORMATION. Following the patterns that we see in the people of the Word of God. Third, we have the duty of RENUNCIATION. “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” And our fourth kind of duty is that of DONATION. “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” – Matthew 16. “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” – I Peter 4. If we are consistent in completing our duties it might be said that we are mature.
The fourth mark of maturity is DISCIPLINE.
A mature person has full control over himself. There are a lot of things outside of ourselves which we can’t control; things like the weather. But we can control our reaction to the weather. We can’t control the national economy, but we can control our own spending patterns. Some people never have any money, because they are wasting it on useless or sinful things. And others just can’t say “no” and discipline themselves into saving a little. We have a choice whether or not our disappointment turns into depression. We don’t have to sin, when we lean upon the strength of the Lord. We can begin new and good habits.
There are people who believe that when the Holy Spirit comes over a person those people loose their ability to control themselves. Some of them start laughing uncontrollably, some faint, some start speaking gibberish. We used to call certain Pentecostalists “Holy Rollers” because they would literally fall down in the aisles of their churches. But “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
I believe that God wants us to be in control of ourselves, and in control for His glory – self-disciplined.
And lastly, DEVOTION is a mark of Christian maturity.
A mature athlete doesn’t need to be pushed to train or to play well in his sport. And the Christian should not need to be pushed to serve the Lord according to the pattern of the Word. He doesn’t have to be coerced or cajoled into attending church or prayer meeting. He doesn’t have to be bribed to walking into the lion’s den or the burning fiery furnace. If God wants him there, then in there he goes. He doesn’t have to be horse whipped into reading God’s Word. And prayer comes as easily as talking to a friend.
These sorts of things ought to be a regular part of our lives.