Maturing in Christ
Design for Discipleship • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:07
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· 1,330 viewsTerry Mackey leads in communion sharing from Isaiah 53 this morning. Afterwards Pastor Chase kicks off week one in our mini-series, "Walking with Christ". The topic is on "Maturing in Christ", and we dive into different ways in which we grow in Christ, as we work toward spiritual maturity. Grab your Bibles and open up to Colossians 2:6-7!
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Intro
Intro
Interesting enough culture does not paint a picture of this topic much at all today.
Today’s topic, if it is portrayed in culture today, is the thing that is something you try to delay or fear.
Most people might classify this under “adulting”, and you know what the ads say about adulting now, drink more wine.
It may seem like a joke and kind of is, however this mantra is lived out by so many people especially my generation today.
Unfortunately, today’s topic is shown in a light that is negative, but if understood correctly could help out your life substantially, and for sure those around you.
Today we’re gonna explore the topic of maturity- specifically spiritual maturity.
There is no such thing as instant maturity.
There’s also no such thing as complete maturity in this life.
But there is such thing as maturity and working towards spiritual maturity in this life as a follower of Jesus.
Now when I say spiritual maturity I could also say biblical maturity.
But I am certainly not talking about the cheap, lazy, self centered, drink more wine view of maturity.
I believe when it comes to maturity believers are in one of three categories:
Not growing, they are backsliding in the faith and living in sin.
New to the faith, slowly growing and living off of spiritual milk.
Maturing in Christ and growing on solid food.
Now a disclaimer would be that people could also be in a few of these categories at a time.
I have known many people in my life who would claim to be mature Christians and seem to be to a lot of others, but still struggle with basic hurdles in categories 1 and 2.
With that said let’s assume that categories 2 and 3 are forward motion.
However category 3 is the one to strive for.
Category is obviously the worst one to be in, however many Christians- including myself over the years- has found themselves here when they are not walking in fellowship of the Lord and with others.
The easiest time to jump into this category is when we are not growing in our personal spiritual life, and neglect going to church.
That is a recipe for spiritual disaster.
The sermon today could easily be our theme sermon, if there was such a thing, for our entire series.
Grab your Bibles and open up to Colossians 2:6-7.
READ COLOSSIANS 2:6-7
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
PRAY
This passage lays out our aim as a church, and lays the foundation for today’s message.
This passage also explains the way in which maturing in Christ looks like.
Are you ready and tracking with me today?
You can get out your bulletin inserts and follow along if you’d like.
Don’t skip ahead and look at the “Put off”, “Put on” chart yet- we’ll save that for later ;)
We’re going to pull apart Colossians 2:6-7 and see how it is our aim as a church and in our own lives as we strive to be mature followers of Christ.
Verse 6- Receive Christ, continue to live your lives in Him.
Verse 7- Rooted and built up in Him.
Strengthened in the faith, as you were taught.
Overflowing with thankfulness.
Weeks ago before we started this series we talked for 3 weeks regarding why we need to pursue discipleship.
One of the sermons was on the fact that as we pursue discipleship it, builds our faithfulness, and we looked at Colossians 2:6-7 as a “Faithfulness Checklist”, so today we’re going to break down that checklist..
So the first part of Colossians 2 in verse 6 tells us as we have received Christ, continue o live your lives in Him.
Receive Christ, continue to live in Him
The very first part of growing into spiritual maturity is of course receiving Christ.
We understand that our salvation is not by works, good deeds or by any way we try to earn it, but only through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
This is realizing that Jesus was and is both God and man and came to pay the penalty for our sin, from Genesis 3 and is the only substitute to satisfy God’s Holy wrath on our behalf.
And by confessing, and repenting of our sin to God, and asking Jesus to cleanse us from the inside out, we are made right before God.
At that moment we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives as Jesus promised in John 14:16-17.
This process is trading our old life and habits in for a new life pursuit of holiness, and righteousness before God.
It’s not living for the enemy anymore and submitting your life for God’s purposes.
It’s restored fellowship with the Father.
And it’s subjecting our thoughts, words and actions to bring glory to God and lead others to Christ.
This is what the first part of Colossians 2 means.
This is also the first and most important step into maturing in Christ.
We’ve taken the first important step, however there is still much more we can learn, and grow in so that we can know God more and be more like Christ.
The second step is in Colossians 2:7.
Rooted and built up in Him
We’ve received Christ and started living differently but the next step is to set our roots.
We begin to explore God’s Word more intentionally and it is very exciting!
We learn truths that we’ve never heard before or that are completely contradictory to the world we’ve experienced so far.
We gain a hope and perspective that we’ve never had and it is all good!
We might then pursue finding a Bible preaching/teaching church to help us in our understanding of God’s Word.
We also are looking for a church that displays authentic community which we later find out it’s what true Christian fellowship is supposed to look like.
We are certainly looking for a church that is striving ahead for spiritual maturity, rather than tradition or focusing on secondary issues!
We’re looking for community that displays what John is talking about in
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
This is the church that is almost impossible to find but should be of importance to every church- a confessing and forgiving church.
A church that is all about reconciliation and bringing people back to one another and to God.
At this stage where we are setting roots and building up our lives in Him we find community and become more intentional in our walk with finding other to help us grow stronger in Christ.
At this stage we are certainly growing- we’ve already understood the gospel and received the salvation message but begin to understand the process of the Christian life more clearly.
The process in theology terms is broken down into 3 things.
Justification
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Justification is being saved from the penalty of sin at the moment of our conversion.
We are free from sin and the penalty that goes with it, as we confess it the moment we give our hearts to the Lord.
This is our position in Christ.
Amen!
Sanctification
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sanctification or transformation is the continual confessing and repenting of our sin throughout our entire lives.
This is a process that happens as a Christian day in and day out until Jesus comes back.
This is our condition in Christ- that we are becoming more and more like Him as we are sanctified each day.
This is a beautiful thing because it truly means that God continues to work in us and refine us daily.
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The last step in the process of our Christian life is called the process of glorification.
Glorification
This the last part of the process and happens at our death.
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
This means that we have the promise of being saved from sin, forever!
Hallelujah?!
Saved from the presence of sin forever at our death.
This is our expectation in Christ- to be like Christ, perfect and complete.
So we have Justification, Sanctification and Glorification- got it??
Ok, lets move on to the next part of Colossians. (2:7)
Strengthened in the faith, as you were taught
While we are in Colossians, turn with me to chapter 3.
READ COLOSSIANS 3:1-4
Colossians 3:1-4 is the product of moving past relying on milk and going on to solid spiritual food.
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Spiritual milk is important, it’s what gets us started.
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.
Being teachable and not stuck in your ways enables you to move to solid food.
If we claim we have it all figured out, and do not stay teachable then we will not pursue solid spiritual food.
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
READ 1 CORINTHIANS 3:1-3
We work towards solid spiritual food as we shed off layers of worldliness.
We’ve understood the basics, we’ve started to allow the Lord to live in us and through us, but as Colossians 2:7 says that we continue to be strengthened in the faith, as we were taught.
And as we move to this stage we gain a more eternal perspective in life that sets our minds above on heavenly things verses earthly things.
It’s realizing daily that we died to our old self and striving for future glory in Christ.
That is our prize and most important reward in this life and the next.
At this stage in our Christian walk we begin to discern more maturely through prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We don’t go to Facebook, Google or self help books for answers but we go straight to prayer and God’s Word without a second thought.
We do not respond to others or life’s circumstances like we used to, which would be out of pure emotion.
We see things in a different light and perspective, a heavenly one verses worldly.
The apostle Paul explains the process of dying to the old self and living in our new identity this way.
READ COLOSSIANS 3:5-9
READ COLOSSIANS 3:10-16
READ EPHESIANS 4:22-5:11
READ ROMANS 6:11-14
I think from these passages we get a good sense of what’s going on here.
In Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:5 and Romans 6:11 Paul tells us as believers what we should “putt off” and in Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:17 he tells us what to “put on”.
Spiritual maturity grows as we rely on the Holy Spirit to put o n the new identity that we have in Christ.
We can not and should not as Christians try to do this on our own.
It would be impossible.
The Holy Spirit is the only person in our life that can allow this “putting on” to take place.
This identity that we are to live out is to recognize we are:
Sons (and daughters) of God
John 1:12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
2. We are a royal priesthood
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
3. We are a new creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
If John Wayne were a theologian he’d put it like this, “you are a son and daughter of God, live like it!”
Easier said then done though, right?!
Because we are still in the flesh and fall short each day.
But if we always use that excuse we will never pursue the putting off to put the new self on.
In your bulletin inserts I included a great chart from BlueLetteBible.org that can offer you guidance on different ways to put off and put on attributes of Christ.
I challenge you to work your way through them over time, or as the issues arise!
But how is it that we can apply these things in our lives and change once we begin to understand them?
The Holy Spirit ives in us and brings about this change in a few ways:
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
He creates in us clean heart and renews our spirit as we pray for this each day.
2. 2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Outwardly we perish as though it may seem, but inwardly we are renewed day by day.
Isn’t that a comforting feeling to know that the Lord renews us each day?
3. Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
The Holy Spirit helps us to put on this new self and teaches us more and more each day about our identity in Christ.
He renews our minds.
Meditating on God’s Word, prayer and true Christian fellowship are ways in which we build up and work towards spiritual maturity.
They also allow us to put on the new self, renew our minds in Christ and set our hearts on heavenly verses earthly things.
In our new self we count ourselves dead to sin, but alive in Christ as Romans 6 tells us.
We don’t entertain or pursue sin intentionally like we used to.
We learn the ways in which the enemy attacks us and set up parameters and barriers in our life as the Holy Spirit guides us into purity.
And we learn to submit them to the Lord for protection and guidance each day.
Romans 6:13 says
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
...in our old self we were instruments of wickedness, however as we work toward spiritual maturity and living out our true identity in Christ we become instruments of righteousness.
We daily offer ourselves to God and His purposes.
Spiritual Maturity at this stage of discernment looks like this:
We listen and pray more than we speak and offer earthly advice to others.
We love and forgive, work through things rather than hold a grudge with a brother or sister.
We see giving of our money and time to be giving back to God what’s His, rather than racking up debt and hold ing our money back from Him.
Spiritual maturity looks like stepping out of our comfort zone to serve the Lord, instead of taking a back seat and watching everyone else do everything.
It looks like reading the news, books and articles but discerning what is said through the lense of Scripture before we post or talk about our views.
It looks like not giving up on our marriage when there is no biblical reason for divorce, even if it seems like there is no hope- there is if you are a believer.
It’s not judging others quickly but seeing them as a son or daughter of God.
And spiritual maturity is certainly not thinking we’re more mature than others because no one is perfect!
So here’s a practical question for us all:
Where are you allowing sin to reign in your life and what ways are you needing to submit to God in order to put on the new self?
Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
tells us our purpose as believers.
That we are saved by grace, not by works, in created in Christ in order to do good works for God.
READ QUOTE ON PAGE 17 IN “WALKING WITH CHRIST BOOK”
Striving for spiritual maturity involves us to keep growing and risking to fail throughout our lives.
But it is never stunted or stagnant growth.
Spiritual maturity is forward, not backward motion.
The attitude when we start to become mature followers of Jesus should be as Paul describes in Philippians 3:13-15.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
We push toward the goal to win the prize as Paul says.
And we should daily live out 1 Corinthians 15:58 which says...
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
We are living out our lives, working for the Lord realizing that nothing we do for Him is in vain.
Towards the end of Paul’s life he wrote a letter to a younger pastor named Timothy.
He is passing on some wisdom and maturity.
He says
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
He’s encouraging Timothy to finish the race well and strive for the crown of righteousness.
This is the security of our salvation.
It’s the fact that by having a saving faith in Jesus Christ, enables us to be in right standing with God, to be with Him forever in heaven when we die.
Lastly we come to the end of verse 7 in Colossians:
Overflowing with Thankfulness
Mature believers should always keep a focus on what’s in store for the future and that is the basis for “overflowing with thankfulness”.
It’s understanding that no matter what happens in life to us we should always be thankful for what we have ahead.
In the past verses having to do with “putting off” and “putting on”, Paul ends in each of them with saying this...
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The product of living out Colossians 2:6-7, being renewed in Christ and striving for spiritual maturity is overflowing with thankfulness.
This is not the same thankfulness that both believers and nonbelievers portray - good life, spouse, job, money, security, etc.
It’s an eternal thankfulness, one that is not dependent on how we wake up in the morning or if unexpected bills come.
This is a thankfulness that is permanently engraved in us because we realize that we are bankrupt spiritually without Christ as Jesus tells us in Matthew 5, the first Beatitude.
This last question would require us to be honest with ourselves and before God.
Which category are you in- 1, 2 or 3 (Review) and are you willing to pray and commit to working towards spiritual maturity through the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
If you haven’t trusted Christ as your personal savior, why don’t you do that today?
And if you do, please make a note of it in your communication card o we can be praying for you.
If you’ve already trusted Christ as your savior but struggle in certain areas that we discussed today, please come up and prayer with me or grab Andy or Steve to pray with.
Please do not go home today without talking to one of us if you have a desire to move ahead in these areas.
Let’s Pray
Lead in salvation prayer
Lead in prayer for those who desire spiritual maturity