All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to
fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to
prayer. -- Acts 2: 42 (NLT)
Early on in the establishment of the church we see the formula for Christian maturity as outlined in the above verse. If you want to see spiritual growth as a Christian, the answer is simple. God does not hide this from us. The modern day church has lost its way in these end times, focusing on self help, motivation, or prosperity instead of the truths outlined above. The answer for maturity is always -- Scripture, fellowship and prayer. Not surprisingly, these are three areas the enemy tries his best to work against us in because he knows if he can poison just one of these areas; we are significantly weaker.
The apostle's teaching mentioned here is the study of the Word of God. The Bible says we need to study the Word to show ourselves approved. It also says that the Word prepares us for everything we are going to face in this life. People often lament not hearing from God, yet His Word lies dusty on their end table. The Bible is the primary means of God communicating to us! Which is why the devil attacks this area vociferously. The devil spends so much time in leading people astray into false doctrines. Doctrines that do not have the power of the Holy Spirit working behind them. Without that power, many are not truly being saved. I think sometimes people start to believe that because they attend a church, they must be going to heaven. It does not work that way. Narrow is the way to heaven. Wide is the gate to destruction. Churches today can tend to focus too much on money, secular relevance, and trying to please everyone instead of sound doctrine.
The next area of importance in spiritual maturity is the fellowship of the brethren. The Bible says that iron sharpens iron beloved. We are meant to edify and encourage one another in this walk. Ecclesiastes says that two are better than one and a three strand cord is not easily broken. The enemy knows this and attacks us in two specific areas regarding fellowship. First, he tries to convince us that we do not need fellowship. Realize that it is the enemy that wants you alone. Alone you are more susceptible to the lies of the devil. If that tactic does not work, then the enemy loves to lure people into fellowships that are dysfunctional towards the true Gospel, as outlined above. It has become chic in modern churches to preach the verses on unity in response to any legitimate criticism. If your unity is based on prosperity then your fellowship is meaningless. If your unity is based upon secularizing what God has made holy, then your fellowship is meaningless. In fact, if your unity is based on anything other then Jesus Christ and Him crucified, then the fact that you are fellowshipping may indeed be irrelevant.
Lastly, prayer is an integral part of maturing as a Christian. Prayer is our lifeline to God. We have the privilege to have the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead living inside of us. Do we treat the Holy Spirit as our guide or as a tenant? It is the enemy again that attacks us in this area. The devil will try and convince us that the heavens are brass, to give up in prayer and not persist, or to find any number of excuses to not make prayer and active part of our daily routine. There is power in prayer. It builds our relationship with God and strengthens our faith.
While this is not a comprehensive analysis, most issues with spiritual maturity revolve around a deficit in one or more of these areas. Either we do not spend enough time in the Word to ascertain correct doctrine, we do not fellowship with those who will correctly edify and encourage our development, or we have an impotent prayer life. A strong prayer life develops a strong relationship with God. A strong fellowship life develops strong relationships with each other. The Word of God or sound doctrine is what binds it all together. These are links in the chain of Christian maturity. Make sure to not give the enemy any weak links to exploit.
Rev. Anthony
