The Causes of Immaturity

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5:12).
- Hebrews 5:11-14

For the past few days, we have seen how the Lord works through church officers to bring the church into “mature manhood” (Eph. 4:1–16). Thus, we have reached a good place to pause our study of Ephesians for two days and consider the importance of spiritual maturity, what hinders true growth, and the ways doctrinal understanding leads to mature faith. Dr. R.C. Sproul will help us consider these topics as we consult the introduction to his book Essential Truths of the Christian Faith.

In centuries past, the Christian church prized the diligent study of doctrine because pastors and laypeople alike followed Paul’s call to pursue the depths of God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15). Yet this emphasis is largely absent today. Surveys repeatedly show that theological knowledge is shallow even among evangelicals. Vast numbers confess Jesus as their personal Savior, but only a tiny percentage have a grasp of what this profession means. Making matters worse, too many care too little to rectify the problem.

Immature understanding of biblical doctrine leads to immature thinking and living; thus, many believers do not live up to their calling in Christ to be salt and light to the world. There are numerous reasons for this immaturity. One of the most common is the failure of many churches to grasp the true meaning of childlike faith. When Jesus says we must become like children to receive the kingdom (Mark 10:15), He demands that we become like the typical child in our attitude toward Him, not in our knowledge. To be childlike in matters of faith does not mean that our knowledge of facts is as deficient as a small child’s; rather, it means that we are wholly dependent on the Lord, just as little children rely wholly on their parents. Unfortunately, many believers think childlike faith requires childlike knowledge when, in fact, the opposite is true. Only as we begin to understand the greatness of God do we realize our utter weakness, which prompts us to live as children absolutely dependent on our Father.

Another contributing factor to the pervasive immaturity we see in the church today is the antirational spirit of the current culture. The importance of critical thinking and the need for our minds to inform our feelings and emotions have all but fallen by the wayside. Yet Scripture places a premium on loving God with our minds, so Christians must never succumb to this antirationalist spirit (Mark 12:30).

Coram Deo

Prayerful cultivation of the knowledge of God leads to a greater love of Him. As we study the depths of God’s Word, we begin to get a better glimpse of His awesome majesty, our own unworthiness, and the immense grace that He has shown in saving His people. Let us pursue the study of biblical doctrine with the aim of knowing more about the Lord’s character so that we will serve Him more faithfully and love Him more deeply.

Passages for Further Study

Proverbs 28:26
Ecclesiastes 12:9–14
1 Corinthians 14:19
Titus 2:1

When Jesus says, "Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven in perfect," does that mean we can attain perfection, and should we?

There are a couple of things we need to understand about this statement. In the first place, the word that is translated “perfect” literally means “be complete.” So often, the New Testament and the Old Testament will describe people as being upright and righteous—not in the sense that they have achieved total moral perfection, but rather that they have reached a singular level of maturity in their growth in terms of spiritual integrity. However, in this statement, it’s certainly legitimate to translate it using the English word perfect. For example, “Be ye complete as your heavenly Father is complete.” Now remember that your heavenly Father is perfectly complete! So if we are to mirror God in that way, we are to mirror him in his moral excellence as well as in other ways. In fact, the basic call to a person in this world is to be a reflection of the character of God. That’s what it means to be created in the image of God. Long before the Sermon on the Mount, God required the people of Israel to reflect his character when he said to them, “Be ye holy even as I am holy.” He set them apart to be holy ones. The New Testament word for that is saints.

Now to the question of whether we can, in fact, achieve moral perfection in this world. If Jesus says to be perfect, the assumption would be that he would not require us to do something that is impossible for us to achieve. Therefore, there are Christians, many Christians, who believe that, indeed, it is possible for a person to reach a state of moral perfection in this life. That view is called perfectionism, and people develop a theology whereby there’s a special work of the Holy Spirit that gives them victory over all sin or all intentional sin that renders them morally perfect in this world. The mainstream of Christianity, however, has resisted the doctrine of perfectionism chiefly because we see the record of the greatest saints in biblical history and in church history who to a person confessed the fact that they, to their dying day, struggled with ongoing sin in their lives. Not the least of which, of course, was the apostle Paul, who talked about his ongoing struggle with sin.

Can a person be perfect? Theoretically, the answer to that is yes. The New Testament tells us that with every temptation we meet, God gives us a way to escape that temptation. He always gives us enough grace to overcome sin. So sin in the Christian life, I would say, is inevitable because of our weakness and because of the multitude of opportunities we have to sin. But on a given occasion, it is never, ever necessary. So in that sense, we could theoretically be perfect, though none of us is.

Conforming To The Image Of Christ

The obvious fact that we all sin can create an atmosphere of false security among us, leading us to accept with ease the idea that sin is so commonplace that we ought not to be too bothered by it lest we surrender our mental health to a self-deprecating neurosis. Yet in our desire to console ourselves and maintain a good self-image, we may push to the back burner the mandate of God, “Be you holy, even as I am holy.”

Evangelical Christians are most vulnerable to succumbing to this distortion. We stress the fact that our justification is by faith alone and insist that our righteousness is found in Christ alone. Though these assertions are true, it is equally true that the faith by which we are justified is a faith that brings forth fruit in our lives. The slogan of the Reformation was that we are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

The instant true faith is present in the heart of the believer, the process of sanctification begins. Change begins at once. The Christian begins to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are becoming holy. If we are not becoming holy, then Christ is not in us and our profession of faith is empty.

Coram Deo

Reflect on the final statement of this reading: “We are becoming holy. If we are not becoming holy, then Christ is not in us and our profession of faith is empty.”

Passages for Further Study

1 Peter 1:15–16
1 Timothy 2:8

Putting Sin To Death

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming” (Col. 3:5-6).
- Colossians 3:5-6

Christian living is frustrating when we forget Scripture’s basic ethical imperative: “be what you already are.” Our repeated sins lead us to conclude that we are fundamentally unholy, as opposed to righteous in Christ. This often leads us to think that we must simply work harder. Such moralism pushes true sanctification far away, and it breeds discouragement, apathy, and the lowering of God’s standards. To view holiness as entirely future highlights the gulf between where we are and where we want to be, making real spiritual progress seem impossible. Believing the principle that even those in Christ are not already in some sense holy, we may give up killing our sin — why bother if God is disgusted with us all the time? The downward spiral of sin and discouragement can make us redefine sin, calling evil “good” or prizing external righteousness to convince ourselves that we are growing in grace.

Of course, it is foolish to believe God ignores our thoughts and deeds. Sin’s presence remains until we are glorified, and we need to repent of our transgressions daily (1 John 1:8–10). We are not yet perfectly holy in practice, and passages like Colossians 3:5–8 that call us to put sin to death exist because disobedience is a reality for us. Still, the Bible defines Christians as already holy, “sanctified … in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11). In Christ we have made a decisive break with unholiness. Our Creator declares us holy in His Son — we are saints of God Most High, and He sees us as pure through Jesus’ blood (Col. 1:2; Heb. 9:13–14).

God’s message to Christians is not “you are not yet holy, work on it until you get there,” but “you are holy, be what you already are in Christ.” This viewpoint fosters confidence, passion, and a true understanding of sin. Knowing our Father sees us as holy in His Son, we are encouraged to make real, though fitful, spiritual progress. God by His grace declares us holy, so believers cannot fail utterly to make what we do line up with who He says we are. Understanding that we are holy citizens of a holy kingdom, we are eager to fulfill our civic duty to mortify sin. Finally, knowing that we are now saints reminds us of the gravity of evil. Sin is so horrendous and powerful that the only way we could ever be pure was for God to intervene and do the work needed to declare us holy. We underestimate sin at our own peril.

Coram Deo

Understanding that we are already holy in Christ should not be confused with the perfectionism that we often see in other theological traditions. We will not be free from the struggle with sin before we are glorified, but knowing that God sees us as holy in Jesus encourages us to live according to what we already are. It makes us realistic about the sin that remains in our hearts and more eager to purge it by the power of the Spirit.

Passages for Further Study

Isaiah 35
Zechariah 14:16–21
John 13:1–11
Hebrews 13:12

Renungan mengenai kasih Allah Tritunggal

Renungan mengenai kasih Allah Tritunggal

Allah Tritunggal adalah dasar kita mengasihi
- By Jeffrey Lim –

“Jadi karena dalam Kristus ada nasihat, ada penghiburan, kasih, ada persekutuan Roh, ada kasih mesra, karena itu sempurnakanlah sukacitaku dengan ini: hendaklah kamu sehati sepikir, dalam satu kasih, satu jiwa, satu tujuan, dengan tidak mencari kepentingan sendiri atau puji-pujian yang sia-sia. Sebaliknya hendaklah dengan rendah hati yang seorang menganggap yang lain lebih utama dari pada dirinya sendiri; dan jangan tiap-tiap orang hanya memperhatikan kepentingannya sendiri, tetapi juga orang lain juga.”
( Filipi 2:1-4 )

Di jaman postmodern sekarang ini banyak yang dinamakan Virtual Community seperti Friendster, chatting, blog, dll. Apakah komunitas maya ini sungguh-sungguh komunitas ? Apakah ini sungguh-sungguh persekutuan ? Apakah komunitas ini real ? Apakah komunitas ini menyentuh kedalaman persekutuan pribadi ?
Ada juga pertanyaan : Apa itu komunitas sesungguhnya ? Apa dasar dari komunitas ? Apa dasar dari masyarakat di dalam dunia ini ?
Kembali ke ayat di atas. Kita orang percaya hidup di dalam gereja an Gereja adalah komunitas orang Kristen. Yang membuat gereja bersatu adalah kasih. Tuhan Yesus juga mengajarkan kepada murid-muridNya yaitu : “Kasihilah sesamamu manusia seperti dirimu sendiri”. Dan Rasul Paulus ,seorang yang pernah menganiaya jemaat Kristus, setelah dia bertobat dan mengenal kasih Allah maka dia mengajarkan kepada jemaatnya supaya mereka saling mengasihi saudara seiman di dalam Kristus. Di dalam surat Filipi ini Paulus mengajarkan bahwa di dalam Kristus ada nasihat, ada penghiburan, kasih, persekutuan Roh dan kasih mesra.
Di dalam Kristus berarti di dalam Dia dimana orang percaya adalah tubuh Kristus dan Kristus adalah kepalanya. Kristus adalah kepala jemaat yang menyelamatkan tubuh. Kristus mengasihi jemaat dan telah menyerahkan diriNya baginya untuk menguduskannya ( Efesus 5 ) Di dalam Kristus kita semua satu. Kita semua satu tubuh di dalam Kristus. Kita yang berbeda-beda, yang beragam semua satu di dalam Kristus.
Lalu apa dasar kita sebagai sesama saudara seiman untuk mengasihi ? Apa dasar kita yang beragam ini untuk satu di dalam Kristus ? Kita semua ada banyak dan berbeda-beda tetapi dalam satu tubuh.
Ada lagi pertanyaan yang lebih umum : Apa dasar dari komunitas di dalam dunia ini ? Mengapa manusia yang beragam saling berelasi satu sama lain sebagai mahluk sosial ?
Dasar komunitas, dasar masyarakat di dalam dunia dan Dasar kita orang percaya saling mengasihi ada di dalam pribadi Allah Tritunggal. Allah orang Kristen adalah Allah Tritunggal. Allah Tritunggal menciptakan manusia menurut gambarNya dan manusia menyerupai penciptaNya . Firman Tuhan mengajarkan bahwa Allah adalah satu.
“Dengarlah, hai orang Israel : Tuhan itu Allah kita, Tuhan itu esa ! Kasihilah Tuhan Allahmu, dengan segenap hatimu dan dengan segenap jiwamu dan dengan segenap kekuatanmu” ( Ulangan 6:4 )
Namun selain satu Allah juga mempunyai 3 pribadi. Yesus Kristus berkata :
“KepadaKu telah diberikan segala kuasa di sorga dan di bumi. Karena itu pergilah, jadikanlah semua bangsa muridKu dan baptislah mereka dalam nama ( satu ) Bapa dan Anak dan Roh Kudus.” ( Matius 28:18-19 )
Allah satu sekaligus banyak. Ini adalah misteri. Allah Tritunggal juga pribadi yang bersosial. Allah Tritunggal merupakan satu misteri yang tidak dapat dipahami sepenuhnya oleh kita manusia. Namun bukan berarti kita tidak bisa memahami sama sekali. Kita dapat memahaminya dengan kerelaan Allah sendiri yang menyatakanNya kepada kita. Allah Tritunggal inilah yang merupakan dasar kita saling mengasihi saudara seiman kita, yang merupakan dasar saling mengasihi di dalam tubuh Kristus. Apa maksudnya ?
Alkitab mengajarkan bahwa Allah adalah kasih. ( 1 Yohanes 4:8 ) Berarti Allah Tritunggal adalah kasih. Kasih merupakan atribut Allah yang sangat penting. Pemazmur sering berkata “Kasih setiaNya untuk selama-lamanya”. Kasih Allah adalah kekal adanya. Sebelum Dia menciptakan bumi beserta isinya yang juga termasuk manusia, Dia adalah kasih adanya. Siapakah yang Dia kasihi sebelum ada manusia yang Ia kasihi ?
Allah mengasihi diriNya sendiri. Allah Tritunggal saling mengasihi satu sama lain. Allah Bapa mengasihi Allah Anak dan Allah Roh Kudus. Allah Anak mengasihi Allah Bapa dan Allah Roh Kudus. Allah Roh Kudus mengasihi Allah Bapa dan Allah Anak. Ketiga pribadi Allah saling mengasihi satu sama lain. Di dalam tiga pribadi ada kesatuan. Dan di dalam tiga pribadi ada satu kasih, satu jiwa, satu tujuan. Hubungan Allah Tritunggal merupakan hubungan yang harmonis. Benar-benar harmonis. Hubungan Allah Tritunggal yang harmonis ini dimana ada keragaman namun ada kesatuan yang harmonis merupakan dasar hidup kita sebagai orang Kristen.
Alkitab juga mengajarkan bahwa ada saling menghargai, saling melayani, saling mengasihi dan saling menganggap yang lain lebih utama di dalam ketiga pribadi Allah Tritunggal. Allah Tritunggal tidak mementingkan pribadiNya sendiri terlepas dari pribadi yang lain namun saling memperhatikan. Perhatikanlahlah Allah Bapa mengasihi dan memuliakan Allah Anak. Di atas gunung Allah Bapa berkata “Inilah Anak yang kukasihi, kepadaNyalah Aku berkenan, dengarkanlah Dia” ( Matius 17:5 ). Yesus Kristus berkata “BapaKulah yang memuliakan Aku” ( Yohanes 8:54 ). Allah Anak juga memuliakan Allah Bapa. Yesus Kristus berkata :”Bapa, muliakanlah namaMu” (Yohanes 12:28 ). Yesus Kristus mengajarkan doa Bapa kami yang berisi “Bapa kami yang ada di dalam surga, dikuduskanlah namaMu” ( Matius 6:9). Alkitab juga mengajarkan bahwa Allah Bapa dan Allah Anak saling memuliakan :”Jikalah Allah dipermuliakan di dalam Dia, Allah akan mempermuliakan Dia juga di dalam diriNya, dan akan mempermuliakan Dia dengan segera.( Yohanes 13:32 ). Yesus Kristus berkata “Bapa, telah tiba saatnya; permuliakanlah AnakMu supaya AnakMu mempermuliakan Engkau.” ( Yohanes 17:1 ) . Alkitab mengajarkan Allah Bapa dan Allah Anak saling mempermuliakan satu sama lain. Yesus juga menganggap Allah Bapa lebih besar walaupun Dia setara dengan Bapa: “Aku pergi kepada BapaKu sebab Bapa lebih besar dari pada Aku” ( Yohanes 14:29 )
Allah Anak juga memuliakan dan menganggap Allah Roh Kudus lebih besar dari diriNya. Yesus Kristus berkata “Segala dosa dan hujat manusia akan diampuni, tetapi hujat terhadap Roh Kudus tidak akan diampuni. Apabila seorang menentang Anak Manusia, ia akan diampuni, tetapi jika ia menentang Roh Kudus, ia tidak akan diampuni, di dunia ini tidak, dan di dunia yang akan datangpun tidak.” ( Matius 12:32 ). Demikian juga Allah Roh Kudus memuliakan Allah Anak. Alkitab mengatakan bahwa Roh Kudus mengajar dan mengingatkan orang percaya kepada Kristus : “Tetapi Penghibur, yaitu Roh Kudus yang akan diutus oleh Bapa dalam namaKu, Dialah yang akan mengajarkan segala sesuatu kepadamu dan akan mengingatkan kamu akan semua yang telah Kukatakan kepadamu.” ( Yohanes 14:26 ). Alkitab mengajarkan mengenai Roh Kudus :”Tetapi apabila Ia datang yaitu Roh Kebenaran, Ia akan memimpin kamu ke dalam seluruh kebenaran; sebab Ia tidak berkata-kata dari diriNya sendiri, tetapi segala sesuatu yang didengarNya itulah yang akan dikatakanNya dan Ia akan memberitakan kepadamu hal-hal yang akan datang. Ia akan memuliakan Aku ( Kristus ), sebab Ia akan memberitakan kepadamu apa yang diterimanya dari pada Ku” ( Yohanes 16:14 )
Kembali kepada kitab Filipi 2:1-4, Alkitab mengajarkan supaya kita sehati, sepikir, dalam satu kasih, satu jiwa, satu tujuan dan saling mengasihi satu sama lain. Alkitab mengajarkan supaya kita menganggap saudara seiman kita lebih daripada daripada kita. Alkitab mengajarkan supaya kita tidak hanya memperhatikan kepentingan kita tetapi juga kepentingan saudara seiman kita. Dan dasarnya adalah di dalam Kristus sebagai satu tubuh. Tetapi dasarnya kita yang banyak saling satu hati mengasihi adalah juga Allah Tritunggal dan kasih di dalam Allah Tritunggal.
Seperti Allah Tritunggal saling menghormati dan memandang pribadi lainnya, kita juga harus saling menghormati dan memandang saudara seiman kita. Seperti Allah Tritunggal yang saling mengasihi dan melayani pribadi lainnya, kita juga harus saling mengasihi dan melayani saudara seiman kita. Kita bersyukur bahwa Allah Tritunggal menjadi contoh dan juga teladan bagi kita untuk hidup saling mengasihi. Kita bersyukur bahwa Allah Tritunggal menjadi model bagi umat manusia bagaimana umat manusia harus berelasi satu sama lain. Allah Tritunggal menjadi model mengenai komunitas. Allah Tritunggal menjadi model mengenai apa itu komunitas dan masyarakat. Komunitas yang sejati itu di dalam tubuh Kristus merefleksikan keberadaan yang menjadi modelnya yaitu komunitas di dalam Allah Tritunggal.
Kiranya kasih Allah Tritunggal menjadi dasar kita untuk mengasihi.

Don't forget to Give Thank to Lord for every Miracles

Luke 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,  
Has been described in the previous topic that the ten lepers was experiencing the healing when in the middle of the road to the Priests. But when they experience the healing, only one man who returned to Jesus to give thanks for the miracles that have been receipt. I'm sure before this one came back, surely have been happened a debate among them. This one surely ask the nine others come again to Jesus to say thank you and give thanks, but the nine others still insist on continuing their journey to the Priests.
Why do they insist to meet the Priest? Because the Priests has right to verify that they has been healed or not. If they have recovered then they will be cleansed, and they will be received again join in their community.

Leviticus 14:2-4 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 

In this case we see that the nine lepers who has been healed more interested seeking recognition from priest than came to Jesus to give thanks. This means they are more important to seek recognition from the world than give thanks to God. Miracles just change their bodies from the sick body into a healthy body but not changing their habits. They still remain on the old life that focused on the things of the world.

Things like this are still we see today. There are people who have experienced the blessing of God even miracles, but did not come to glorify and serve the Lord. Perhaps they have been saved from an embarrassing bankruptcy same like disease of leprosy, some of them maybe has been cured from illness which the can not be cured by doctor, or some of them maybe rescued from a broken family, but when the situation has been restored, they did not come to the Lord to give thanks and serve him. On the contrary they go to the world and proudly tell their new circumstances and re-live the old life pattern.

My brother and sister, be like this one. When the miracle happened in his life, he came to the Lord and glorify the Lord more than glorify himself by seeking recognition of the world. Let us count how many blessings and miracles that we have received from God. Have you come to Him to say give thanks and serve him?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for blessings and miracles that have a lot we received from thee. Teach us to be like the one leper who returned to you to give thanks for the miracles that he had received. Let we serve you as a thanksgiving for all Thy goodness. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

Christ as Mediator

if i could hear Christ praying for me in the next room,i would not fear a million enemies. Robert M. McCheyne.

God is good

start where you are in serving the Lord, claim His sure promise and trust in His word; God simply asks you to do what you can, He'll use your effort to further His plan. _Anon_

quotation about worship

"If we only ever sing about our feelings for God, we'll tend to worship our worship and be passionate about our passion." ~Bob Kauflin~

The Love Of The Lord when He give His Son

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