by Elder Peter Lim

After having dealt with the prerequisite for Spiritual Maturity, we now move on to the phase of life that will consume all Christians until the day we die: Growing in the Lord. According to Gal. 1:15-18 , soon after Paul first saw the light, he went away to Arabia for three years. There is no scripture that tells us exactly how he spent those years but it’s not hard to guess what he did there. He no doubt went down and reflected how he had spent much of his life as an enemy of Christ. Perhaps he struggled with how he was the chief of sinners since he had blasphemed and violently persecuted Christians. How remorseful he must’ve felt! These thoughts would’ve led him to become even more aware of God’s abundant grace in his life and potentially in the lives of those he would reach with his message of the gospel. He would grow by studying the Old Testament and seeing Christ in passages which now held a much deeper meaning, knowing that his Messiah had come and even revealed Himself to one such as he. What wonderful times of meditation and growing! Did he experience fatigue? Did he experience laziness? Was he distracted by issues such as what to eat or how to entertain himself? Perhaps not in the same way that we might be tempted in today’s society but Paul was still a sinner so it stands to reason that he must’ve had struggles too. Was he confused why a redeemed person would struggle with sinful thoughts? If Romans 7 is any indication, I would say yes. But just as Paul’s conclusion of these thoughts in Romans 7:25 and 8:1 indicates, he celebrates the fact that thanks to Jesus, he doesn’t have to look forward to condemnation but rather a freedom from bondage to sin. What could be more fun and more joyous than this freedom?

When I was in college, I remember growing by leaps and bounds through the Biblical exposition of Scripture and through the living out of Christian love by my peers. I had been a Christian for a few years before this but I had never experienced growth like this. Oh what joy it was to experience the deepening understanding of God’s Word! But predictably, it was easy for a young Christian like me to grow in an unbalanced way. It was hard to understand why others didn’t grow as I did. It was easy to think too highly of myself and look down at others who didn’t seem to be as committed to the Lord as I was. While I was having these kind of thoughts, I still struggled with some desires to sin! How could this be, as I was growing in the Lord? Why would I be tempted by sinful thoughts and actions? I felt like a spiritual schizophrenic because on one hand I was really enjoying growing spiritually, but on the other hand I still struggled with sinful desires. So as Christians, it’s not like we lose complete touch with our sinful tendencies and are oblivious to hedonistic pleasures. Instead we agree with God’s definition of right and wrong, good and bad, and we make a conscious decision that not sinning is better than sinning because sin offends the holy character of God. So in this sense, we enjoy not-sinning more than sinning, because we want to be holy as He is holy.

Have you seen this milestone in your spiritual journey? Have you experienced the joy that comes with the realization that sin is hideous and holiness is fun? If your joy is hindered by the reality of sin in your life, the struggle itself is a good sign that you are growing. If you stop struggling and simply give in to sin, that’s the time to worry because that’s a sign that you are not really a Christian. As Christians grow, we sin less than we used to as we learn to walk closer with Christ. However, we feel worse about the fewer sins that remain since we understand God’s holiness better. So we sin less and feel worse. That’s the way it should be. When you recognize this in your life, that’s a sign that you are indeed maturing spiritually.