Maturing In The Lord

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Romans 6:1-2

Have you ever known a child who was waited on hand and foot by his or her parents? I don’t mean a toddler. Of course we do almost everything for them. But some parents take such pleasure in being needed, they fail to train their growing children to do what they can for themselves.

Similarly, have you ever run into a Christian who seems to take God’s forgiveness for granted? They willingly admit their mistakes but are so quick to claim God’s grace, they sound like a kid who has made a mess and flippantly says, “Oh well, Mom will take care of it.” They seem to give no thought to how much it cost our Lord to secure our forgiveness, or of what He expects in response.

We do need to trust in God’s forgiveness, as was discussed here. But Christianity is not here to indulge our longing to feel that everything in our life is fine. It’s going to cost us something too.

When we really consider the sacrifices that Jesus made so that we can be forgiven, it should lead to sorrow for our sins; not the “sorrow of the world [that] produces death,” but “godly sorrow [that] produces repentance to salvation,” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

What does godly sorrow look like? In response to the greatness of his sin with Bathsheba, David penned the words of Psalm 51, begging God in verse 11, “Do not cast me away from Your presence.” In Acts 2:37 the Jews who realized they had crucified the Son of God were “cut to the heart.” At his conversion, the Philippian jailer “fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,” (Acts 16:29). I can say with confidence that these are examples of godly sorrow because in each case the result was a demonstration of humility followed by changes in behavior.

Those who have bought into “cheap grace,” as Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it, want all the benefits of forgiveness without any effort on their part. Now, hold on, you might be thinking, our efforts cannot secure salvation, and you’re right. But godly sorrow does produce repentance, a turning away from sin. Though we need God’s help for that too, it will require some work on our part. Christianity is a relationship, a two-way street, where God does the work of salvation that we cannot do, and where we respond in humble and thankful obedience. It’s just like the parent who does for a toddler what he or she cannot do for him or herself. Yet there are things a child can learn to do as he or she grows, and God expects His children to grow too.

We’re commanded in 1 Peter 2:2, “as newborn babes, [to] desire the pure milk of the word, that [we] may grow thereby.” Can someone grow as a Christian without “partaking” of God’s word?

In 1 Corinthians 14:20 Paul said, “do not be children in understanding… in understanding be mature.” How can we mature in our understanding? The psalmist said in Psalm 119:104, “Through Your precepts I get understanding.” Of course studying God’s word is not the only thing we need to be doing as Christians, but it is essential if we want to be spiritually mature.

Children that are waited on hand and foot will develop a sense of entitlement to those services rendered by the parent. God forbid that we should view ourselves as entitled to God’s forgiveness. God has promised it, but that doesn’t mean we should “sin that grace may abound,” (Romans 6:1). Sin is too serious, and it cost Jesus too much for us to think that nothing is expected in return. That’s not how mature relationships work.

“.. so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves.… Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” –Ephesians 4:14-15

Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times I have taken Your forgiveness for granted. I know that Your amazing grace did not come cheap and that Jesus has paid the high price for my sins. Help me to feel the gravity of what has been done for me that I might respond with godly sorrow and repent of any sin I’m holding on to. Please show me where I need to grow. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins