Maturing in Christ: Its Necessity I. Introduction A. Hebrews 5:12-6:3 1. The Hebrew author establishes a need for maturation 2. There is a need to develop in the faith B. Development is a necessity in Christianity C. It is good to understand why it is that we must develop in the faith 1. Why is it not sufficient to just be a Christian, but that we must also develop and grow as Christians? 2. Let us examine the Scriptures to establish the necessity for maturing in the faith II. Perpetual Motion A. One of the few constants in life is motion B. We are perpetually in motion! 1. Even though we may seem to be motionless, sitting or some such thing, we are in reality always moving! 2. The earth is constantly rotating on its own axis and rotating around the sun 3. Gravity, and other factors, make sure that we do not feel that movement, yet it constantly continues C. What if the earth simply stopped moving? 1. We would be in great trouble! 2. Half of the earth would be scorched by the perpetual sunlight, while the other half would die in perpetual darkness! D. Therefore, even though we do not feel it, we are constantly moving, and it is a good thing indeed! E. The same concept is true in spiritual terms 1. Although we may not feel as if our lives, either physical or spiritual, are moving, we are always in motion 2. The Bible expresses the motion in metaphorical terms 3. Let us examine those metaphors III. Metaphors of Movement A. Metaphors are effective means of teaching 1. Many times it is difficult to convey a spiritual teaching to humans in the flesh 2. Metaphors allow us to use physical, easily understood concepts to illustrate spiritual truths 3. Metaphors are often used in the Scriptures for this purpose, and they can help us understand our constant spiritual motion B. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2: Christianity as a race C. Philippians 3:14: Christianity as an upward calling D. Matthew 7:13-14: Christianity as a narrow, difficult path E. We must be careful to not combine metaphors 1. The idea of Christianity being an upward race on a narrow, difficult path may assist in understanding some ways... 2. ...but also hinders us from gaining the full effect of each metaphor F. Let us examine what we can learn from each metaphor about movement in Christianity IV. Lessons from the Metaphors A. All: Determination to Move 1. While it may seem evident, all the metaphors speak in terms of movement 2. To run in a race, to proceed upward, or to take a narrow and difficult path requires some motivation to do so! 3. What is the motivation to run the race, or proceed in the upward call, or to take the narrow and difficult path? 4. Some are motivated by fear a. The horrible tsunami disaster on 12/26/2004 provided images of people running for their lives! b. The rushing water was sufficient motivation for thousands to run c. There is no greater motivation to run than fear for one's life d. People run far faster and longer than they would normally be able to due to their fear e. In spiritual terms, if you saw the fires of hell coming toward you, would you run as fast as you could in the opposite direction? f. Our adversary is described as a lion (1 Peter 5:8); on nature shows, when a lion is hunting, does its prey stay motionless or run as quickly as they are able? g. In the end, however, one can only run so hard and so long based on fear h. What happens if such a one is overtaken? Or if, over time, their fear diminishes? What will motivate them then? i. Fear may start one in motivation, but can it carry one to the end? 5. Some are motivated by future glory a. Some people take the opposite approach and are allured by the promise of exaltation and glory (Philippians 2:5-11) b. Future heavenly rewards motivate such a one to continue on the path c. Yet what if the clouds of persecution and/or trial obscure the heavenly promise? When the reward seems further and further away, how will such a one remain motivated? 6. Some are self-motivated a. Some do not require an external factor to motivate them; they have the gumption within themselves to continue on a path b. Such is honorable and probably one of the best springs of motivation c. Yet what happens when one faces temptations, or stumbling blocks? What can motivate during troubled times? d. What if, over time, the self-motivation withers? 7. Some are motivated by others a. God, in His wisdom, instituted the church, in many ways, for the encouragement of the saints to continue on God's path (Hebrews 10:24-25) b. Many times brethren can provide the encouragement and motivation to continue on the path c. But what if brethren do not motivate, or are unaware of the need to motivate? 8. While all forms of motivation can help, all of them do have some detractions and some times when the spring may dry up 9. In the end, all of us are motivated by multiple drivers: a little bit of fear, the promise of glory and exaltation, a personal affirmation to continue on the path, and the further encouragement of brethren 10. If we share in all kinds of forms of motivation, if one or two fail there will be another source of motivation to keep us going! B. The Race: Need for Continual Movement 1. When one engages in movement for some distance (walking, running, or hiking), there is a need to keep moving! 2. Once I was on a 10-mile hike, and a few of us got ahead of the rest, and when the trail markers became obscure we stopped and waited 3. A bad decision: the wait was fairly long, and the rest of the hike was far more difficult because my muscles tightened up! 4. Out of many hikes, this one remains the worst in my memory: had I not stopped for a long time, the hike would have been much easier! 5. Continual movement also keeps the predator wary! 6. Returning to 1 Peter 5:8 and Satan as a lion: prey that is not moving is far easier to catch than moving prey 7. To run the race effectively, we must keep going! C. The Race: "Run so you may obtain the prize" 1. When Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 9:24 is heard, what is the mental image? a. Running at breakneck speed? b. Such is effective for a short sprint, but Christianity is manifestly a long race: however long you live! 2. The key for effective running in long distances is pacing oneself: keeping a constant speed that is not so fast as to wear out the runner, but not so slow as to lose a race 3. We may win the prize by pacing ourselves! 4. Those who begin their lives as Christians by going as fast as they can are comparable to the rocky soil of Matthew 13:5-6, liable not only to persecution but also to burnout! 5. The pace also must be tailored to the individual a. You may find that some people progress more quickly in the faith, and others slower b. While we all are to develop in the faith, some of us may have faster or slower paces than others c. We must each run so as to obtain the prize, and that pace might be different for different persons d. The greatest need is to continue the race! 6. There may be bursts of speed and some slowing down, and such is natural over the course of a long race: but we must always keep going! D. The Race: Fans 1. The Hebrew author in Hebrews 12:1-2 speaks of running the race with a great cloud of witnesses urging us on 2. Both 1 Corinthians 9 and Hebrews 12 are metaphors directly relating to track races, and we can imagine, as did Paul and the Hebrew author, such a race taking place in a stadium, with fans all around 3. The testimony of those fans are preserved for us in the Word, and we ought to derive encouragement to run the race from them 4. We must also not think, however, of our race merely as an oval on flat ground; life ends up being a path marked more by hills, valleys, and impediments 5. The imagery of the "stumbling block" comes into play (cf. Romans 14, etc.): is a stumbling block an issue for those who do not move, or for those who are moving? 6. Whatever the terrain may be, we must keep moving! E. The Upward Call: Movement Up and Down 1. The concept of the upward progression presents the picture of a mountain or a hill, with the ability to go up, stay at the same place, or go downward 2. In spiritual terms, as in life, there are really only two modes of progression: you either are climbing higher or descending lower a. Staying at the same point really means descent! b. This may seem strange, since in physical terms we can very easily stay at the same point on a hill or mountain 3. Why is this so in life and spirituality? The constancy of change! 4. The world around us is constantly changing a. New technologies, new events, new paradigms b. Change is the only constant! 5. We, as people, constantly change a. As we get older, we gain experiences and learn from them b. We change physically 6. Everything around us changes a. Relationships: marriages, friendships, etc. change for those who comprise it change b. It stands to reason, therefore, that no matter what we do, as time progresses spiritual change occurs 7. Change is inherently neutral; it can be good or bad a. Upward change, generally termed “growth,” is good, and spiritually advisable (Ephesians 4:15-16, 2 Peter 3:18) b. Downward change, “loss,” is generally not good, and spiritually disadvantageous 8. Spirituality, just like life, relationships, and money, must continually grow and develop to be beneficial and good a. In economic terms, keeping the same amount of money is actually a loss, since inflation continually weakens the power of money b. In relationships, if the couple does not grow together, they will grow apart and the relationship will collapse c. In spiritual terms, therefore, we must continually climb higher in the upward calling of Christ Jesus, or backslide, which may lead to dire spiritual consequences! F. Narrow Way: Need to Ascertain Path 1. Many times, as we travel, we come to a fork in the road a. Hopefully we have maps and therefore know which path to take b. If we do not have a map, how do we know which to take? 2. In life, we often come to forks in the road a. We may daily need to make decisions that will impact how we live b. When we come to forks in the road of life, do we have the map? 3. The map has been given to us: the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17) a. Thanks to His Word, we may know which paths to take b. His insights allow us to ascertain good and evil and therefore make the right decisions (Hebrews 5:14) 4. Let us continually use the Word to direct our paths G. Narrow Way: Path not Easy 1. Jesus confirms that the path to eternal life is narrow and difficult 2. The way of worldly compromise and sin is wide, and many take it 3. Christianity is not easy to follow, for one must be separate yet live in the world (Romans 12:1-2) 4. There are many impediments in the road, temptations to sin, hostility from the world, brethren letting down, but regardless, we must always keep going on His path! H. In the end, therefore, we see that we must always continually progress in the faith, growing and maturing in His precepts! V. Conclusion A. We have seen the need for Christians to be constantly maturing B. We are always moving 1. We may not feel like we are always moving, either physically or spiritually, yet in truth we always are 2. We are either moving forward, developing and maturing in the faith, or we are moving backward, allowing ourselves to be more easily tempted to fall C. Change is a constant in our lives 1. The world around us changes, people in our lives change, we ourselves change 2. Change cannot be resisted; one either grows and develops and turn change into a benefit, or one tries to stay the same or go backward and turn change into possible destruction D. We cannot turn back, nor can we stay the same E. Let us continually strive for the upward calling in Christ Jesus! F. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1. Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain (1 Corinthians 9:24). Jesus and the Apostles frequently use metaphors of motion to explain the Christian life. Paul encourages Christians to run so as to receive the prize. As Christians, we must keep on progressing; we must pace ourselves to endure. Let us run the race set before us to the glory of God in Christ! 2. Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). The Hebrew author encourages Christians to run the race set before us. To do so we must put aside hindrances and sin. We are to gain encouragement from all the people of God who have lived and died in faith before us. Let us run the race, looking to Jesus, and gain the victory! 3. I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). Paul speaks of himself and his goals in order to exhort his fellow Christians. He envisions his life in faith as pressing on to the high calling of God in Christ. We must constantly seek to progress upward. We cannot imagine that we can stay in one place, for not growing is declining. May we ever press on to the resurrection of Christ! 4. “For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it” (Matthew 7:14). Jesus described the Christian life as a journey through a difficult path and a narrow gate. The way of righteousness is challenging and difficult, and few are those who prove willing to pursue it. Such is the path of maturity; we must seek Jesus diligently despite the difficulties, and live so as to glorify God in Him!