Ingredients Of Christian Growth

by Chris Simmons

You can’t win a race you haven’t started but neither can you win a race you don’t finish. Becoming a Christian is certainly a day of great joy but it must be viewed as only the beginning of your new life as a child of God and only the start of “the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The Bible speaks of a new Christian as a “babe” (I Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12-14; I Corinthians 3:1) which illustrates the need for growth and maturity in a spiritual sense just as a baby needs in a physical sense. Peter’s final admonition to us in II Peter 3:17-18 is to be careful to not be “carried away by the error of unprincipled men” and “fall from your own steadfastness” but rather to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The Christian life is one of growth or regress. We are either growing stronger or we are becoming weaker; it is not possible to maintain the status quo. We know we need to grow, but we often do not understand what elements need to be included in our daily lives in order to achieve that growth. Consider the following ingredients of Christian growth and whether we have been including the proper portions in our lives.

The Word Of God. Perhaps most importantly, we need daily doses of the word of God in our lives for strong spiritual growth. Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:32, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” God’s word builds us up. An occasional application of God’s word will not suffice as David suggests in Psalms 1:2-3 that the “blessed man” is one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” David suggests that just as a tree which is planted by water will be steadfast, grow, produce fruit and prosper, so will be the man who meditates and studies God’s word (every) day and (every) night.

Unceasing Prayer. In order to grow, we must be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. Paul’s simple admonition in I Thessalonians 5:23 is to “pray without ceasing.” This means our life does not include any noticeable length of time without meaningful and heart-felt prayer to God. Jesus taught a parable in Luke 18:1-8 to teach the point that “at all times (we) ought to pray and not to lose heart.” Growth comes about through persistency in our prayers to our Father in heaven and we can pray with great confidence knowing that God hears our prayers and that we have our requests if they are according to God’s will (I John 5:13-15). Prayer certainly is an “effective” tool and will help us to “accomplish” much growth in our spiritual lives.

Worship Of Our Creator. God’s grace has been extended to each of us through the sacrifice of His beloved Son on the cross and in response He has asked that we offer our worship and praise to Him for His great loving-kindness. In John 4:24, Jesus tells us of the most basic guidelines of worship by saying, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Our worship must be from the sincerity of our heart and exactly according to the pattern which He has established. Growth will take place when we are committed to worshipping at every opportunity and never ask the question “do I have to?”

Fellowship With The Saints. God has directed that we not run the Christian race in solitude but rather in fellowship (literally, joint participation) with those of “like precious faith” (II Peter 1:1, ASV). After rendering obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must realize that we will be tempted, tried and tested by our adversary the devil and need the support of our brethren to stand strong. Solomon spoke of this need in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 which he concluded by saying, “and if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” We will not succeed alone! We need the encouragement of each (every) one of us; both at the assemblies (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25) and also “from house to house” as we grow together in social settings (cf. Acts 2:42-47). There is great encouragement and hope to be obtained by spending time with those who are committed to encouraging and building up their brethren (I Thessalonians 5:11).

Get To Work! No one has ever grown in any athletic endeavor by sitting in the bleachers or even standing on the sidelines. No one has ever grown professionally in a job without putting his hand to the plow and actually getting to work. Christians who don’t seek for every opportunity to get to work in a local congregation are never going to grow to become the strong and steadfast child of God that our Lord demands and deserves. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” From teaching Bible classes or leading singing, to preparing the Lord’s supper or visiting a brother or sister in the hospital, there is work to be done that will not only serve the needs of others but will also help us to become strengthened in Christ. It’s about putting into practice the principles taught in God’s word. This spiritual exercise will help us to make wise choices as we “have our senses trained to discern between good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). When the apostles asked Christ in Luke 17:5-10 what would help their faith to grow, He responded by telling them to humbly do what they simply “ought” to do. He told them to help their faith to grow by exercising. So must we; and we will if we do God’s will!

Never Stop. Finally, whether we’re a new Christian or we’ve been one for many, many years, there’s no place to stop growing. The admonition in I Peter 2:2 to “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” is not something just for babes in Christ but for all Christians. The verse says, “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk” ; not “you who are newborn babes, long for the pure milk.” We need that hunger and drive for the word of God and spiritual growth all the days of our lives.