Spiritual Growth

As I was reading this past week, I came upon one author who pointed to the four gifts of the Gospel that were announced by Peter in Acts 2. 

1.       Gift of forgiveness of our sins (v. 38)

2.       Gift of the Holy Spirit and the new heart and new life of Christ (v. 38)

3.       Gift of membership into the body of Christ, the new community called the church (v. 41-47)

4.       Gift of participation in the mission of the church to join God’s mission to rescue the world from sin and condemnation through the gospel (v. 47)

He then states, “Tragically, many Christians have lost the understanding of the new life of the Spirit.  They do not preach or live the regeneration of believers.  Than living out a joy-filled life flowing from their deepest desire to be like Jesus, they settle for being sinners saved by grace, obligated to do all they can to keep the law of God by duty rather than by delight.”

I mention this because a while ago I was in conversation with a Christian friend, and we were talking about smoking.  He said that he’s wanting to stop smoking because it is a sin.  This prompted my next question, “why is it sin?”  Ultimately, the reason he felt it was a sin was because it was unhealthy and it was a bad example to his kids.  I’m thrilled he wants to make this change for his kids and for himself, both physically and spiritually.  

As I reflected over that conversation, I can’t help but think of the times I have struggled with something and wanted to change because of a sense of duty for my own benefit.  And then I think of the many times that I willingly allowed God to convict and remove sin from my life so I can become more like Jesus.  When I compare the two, I notice something interesting.  The sins that I willingly turn over to God, so I can become more like Jesus, are sins that I really don’t struggle with anymore.  Sometimes, the temptation to repeat those sins lurks around, but it is not a struggle to resist them. 

The thing I really want to point out is my friend’s desire to quit smoking is fruit of spiritual growth.  I am not saying that people who smoke do not grow spiritually.  Spiritual growth can occur a number of ways, and for my friend, he feels like God is convicting him that this particular thing in his life is a sin.  And when God convicts us of sins, he asks that we act on that conviction and turn it over to him.  Oswald Chambers once said, “Obey God in the thing he shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up.  God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you know already.  Now, my friend hasn’t quit yet.  But, God revealed something to him and that’s awesome in my book.  God, the author of everything still speaks to people.  When we are convicted of sin, that is God’s invitation to experience him.  The reason he convicts is to make us more like the image of Jesus. 

Hebrews 12:11 – “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”