Sermon Central
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Week Seven Christian Maturity Series
Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Apr 28, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: As you received the Lord, so walk in Him!
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
I. INTRODUCTION
This seventh and final lesson is the target of the other lessons. This lesson and the other six can be foundational blocks to begin or continue your Christian walk, to begin or increase your service to our Lord. Spiritual maturity and God’s use of you increase in direct proportion.
If all you did was pick up some head knowledge, then I failed. You did not learn the most important thing. You should no longer view Chritianity as just a game, a fire escape or a creed based religion. Instead, you should know in your mind, soul and spirit that our God is an awesome God, that Christianity is a personal relationship with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
II. FEAR OF GOD: THE BEGINNING OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY
A God this powerful needs to be feared, but I John 4:18 teaches that perfect love casts out fear. (phobos) This verse in I John, however, is describing debilitating fear, not the healthy fear we should always have of God. Some call it reverential awe, but sometimes fear is a better word. We love our earthly fathers, but when we disobey them we have fear, or at least some of us do, and not reverential awe. We may speak in terms of "he is going to kill us," but we really do not expect such an extreme response. However, we are anxious about what he will do. We know it will not be pleasant and we dread to see him come home. We may hide to try to delay the confrontation, but we know it will come eventually. Christians will see their Father one day and some of us live in dread of it because we are disobedient, or because we have not been perfected in His love. Others need to have the fear of God put in them.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Also see Psalm 53:1)
5036 nabal (naw-bawl'); from 5034; stupid; wicked (especially impious):
KJV-- fool (-ish, -ish man, -ish woman), vile person.
To say there is no God is the profession of a fool, someone having no fear of God. (Psalm 14:1) A good example such a person is presented in I Samuel 25:3-39. He was so much a fool that he was even named Nabal, which means fool in Hebrew. Talk about living up to your name!
When we think of such a person we think of a lost person. There are times, however, when God’s children act foolishly. They profess faith in Him and acknowledge His Lordship, but begin thinking they have wisdom apart from God and His Word. They believe they have arrived in the Christian faith, when really they have only become foolish. They have lost their fear of the Lord
2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
3374 yir'ah (yir-aw'); feminine of 3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally, reverence: KJV-- X dreadful, X exceedingly, fear (-fulness).
Paul says that we do not know things as we ought to because we are limited in our ability to see the complete picture. We have blind spots. Because of those blind spots, it is easier to see someone else's faults or the answer to their problems than it is to see our own flaws. That is why there is safety in many counselors. (Proverbs 24:6) When you look that verse up, you might think it is only speaking about war. Well, we are in a spiritual warfare and God has given us many counselors for that war. The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, His Word and mature saints are provided for our counsel. We just need to realize that we need them and then use them.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Until we fear the Lord enough to receive salvation, we can never know anything at all. All our vast human knowledge or wisdom does not even equate to the first day of Kindergarten in God's School.
(I Corinthians 1:25) Indeed, He has said that He would use the weak and foolish of this world to confound the mighty and wise of this world. (I Corinthians 1:26-28)
Now, I am not saying that we should never study math, science, art, or other disciplines. We just need to start with the right foundation if we are to truly learn anything. If you start with anything other than a Theocentric/Christocentric worldview, your building of knowledge will be a house of cards and will not stand in eternity. An anthropocentric worldview will only lead to chaos and despair in this life and the next.
