by Elder Peter Lim

For the first real article in this series (as opposed to the introduction), I wanted to get us all on the same page with respect to the only real prerequisite for spiritual maturity by stating the obvious: one must be genuinely a Christian before one can truly recognize the signs of spiritual maturity. This point can’t be emphasized enough. Even if you’ve been going to church all your life, please examine yourself to see if you are truly a Christian. If you are feeling offended that your Christianity is being questioned, that’s one indication that you are not really one. Instead of taking offense, a true Christian would take it as an opportunity to reflect back on how sinful we are, and how God has rescued us out of our impending doom. We would be overwhelmed with gratitude, and any offense we would feel from a fellow sinner questioning our faith (or in any other situation) would pale in comparison to our offense before a holy God. This is why I would doubt the genuineness of salvation of anyone who is unwilling to forgive a fellow sinner. But that’s a topic of discussion for another day.

The first point of our examination is whether we recognize that each of us is a sinner. Sin is not merely “bad” things we do nor just mistakes that we make. It’s a condition of our heart that condemns all of us and renders us helpless to save ourselves. It’s easy to acknowledge that we made a mistake because after all, everyone makes mistakes. It’s not so easy to acknowledge that we have actually sinned against God because that’s who we are to the core. The actions that result from our condition (what most people call sin) give us a clue as to what we are truly like inside. Unfortunately, some who grow up going to church all their lives sometimes take the gospel for granted and never really come to a deep understanding of the depravity of their own sins. They do not feel excruciating remorse over their own sins but often dismiss their sins as something that just “happens” as it does to everyone else in the world. They give a tacit acknowledgement about the grace of God as if their mental acknowledgement is what saves them. Knowledge of our sinfulness in combination with an understanding of God’s holiness (sinlessness) helps us to understand that the penalty for sin (death) makes sense. So do you recognize your own sinfulness as something that is extremely offensive to God and not merely a bad thing that you’ve done?

The next point of our examination is to understand that this penalty for our sin has been paid by the only one who could’ve paid it for us. The death of Jesus Christ is the total fulfillment of God’s promise to us that “You will surely die” way back in Genesis. This promise can be fulfilled in people in one of two ways: by our death, or by the death of Jesus Christ. In either case, God’s wrath is satisfied. I’d rather accept the death of Christ for payment on my behalf rather than face judgement in my own death, wouldn’t you? It is this acceptance of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement which we call “conversion.” Now that we understand that the penalty of our sins was paid for, it naturally causes us to want to obey our loving God instead of sinning. The more we mature spiritually, the more we would want to please Him in all aspects of our lives instead of merely trying to avoid sin.

This last point of our examination, spiritual maturity, is the topic of study that I’d like to focus on for the next several months as I bring up several milestones in a Christian’s life. These markers will not come up in the same order for everyone. I hope and pray that you will recognize many if not all of these markers in your life. If you don’t, I hope you look forward to meeting them in your not-too-distant future. I have to warn you though, some of them won’t feel pleasant initially, at least in a humanly sense. There may even be some discouragements along the way and perhaps even some doubting as to whether you are truly saved in the first place. These are good struggles because they will result in clarity in growth or clarity in rejection of the gospel. Incredibly, the latter is a preferred state than someone who is self-deceived into thinking that he is saved. (Rev. 3:15) This is because then he clearly understands that it is his rejection of the gospel and denial of what Christ has done for him that will ultimately condemn, unlike those who are self-deceived, merely playing religious games. Friend, I don’t want you to be one of these. Please repent from your sins and let’s move forward toward the Light together while we encourage one another. Let’s all help, pursue peace, and love one another. A local assembly of us, committed to each other and to God is what we call church, and it’s a whole lot of fun.