What is the Key to Maturity?

Tonight I was reading and came to a section in the book Bait of Satan where John Brevere comments that the key for maturing in the Christian walk is obedience, not knowledge of Scripture. He was not saying that knowledge is unnecessary, but only that the key to maturity is obedience.

As I thought about it, I think I understand what he was trying to say, that is, that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). But rather than helping his argument I think he made a fatal flaw and cut the limb upon which he was attempting to make his argument. Obedience is not the key to maturity, knowledge is. Obedience is the fruit of true knowledge. Obedience can never circumvent knowledge, rather it grows out of it. Notice the relationship between obedience and knowledge:

1) Those who do not control their bodies for holiness and honor but disobey through the passions of lust do not know God. Therefor, if one knew God they would obey him and honor him with their body.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God (1Thes 4:5)

2) Idolatry is due ignorance of God. Knowledge of God, or rather to be known by God, liberates a man to obey.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? (Gal 4:8-9)

3) Love is the fruit of knowing God. Not to love means not to know him.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 Jn 4:8)

So how do we mature? It is no good just to say ... "Obey God!" That's like telling a blind child, "Read the book!" He cannot read it until his eyes are opened. Even then he must know how to read before he can obey.

Paul's logic is not, "Obey God, and then you will know him," but, "Know God, and then you will obey him." The objection to this is that there are plenty of disobedient people who claim to "know God."

I have two responses: First, I don't think they truly know God, or at least they do not know him as they ought. The unbelieving Gentiles acted in dishonorable ways with their bodies precisely because they did not know God (1 Thes 4:5). Paul exhorts the Ephesians to no longer walk as the Gentiles "in the futility of their minds" (Eph 4:17). he then goes on to explain that this Gentile mindset is because of their ignorance (v18). But the Epesians are different, they have learned Christ and been taught in him (v20-21).

Second, I think that Galatians touches on an important aspect of "knowing God." It is far better to be known by God than to claim to know God. One could claim to know Tiger Woods, but the mark of truth comes when Tiger acknowledges that he knows that person. Jesus comments on this when he speaks of those who will profess to have known him and have even done many great miracles in his name. But Jesus will look at them and say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Mat 7:23). If they had known Jesus, or rather, had been known by him, they would not have been "workers of lawlessness."

So let us press on to know Him. Let us discard the myth that ignorance is bliss. No, ignorance is slavery. Knowledge of God leads to obedience which is a sign of maturity.

Philippians - Counting It All Loss

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil 3:8)

What is my desire?

I find that my heart is a factory of idols. With little effort, what begins as a perfectly harmless desire can grow into an overwhelming craving ... cheesecake, exercise, career, relationships, sleep. The evil in my desires typically lies not so much in what I want, but that I want it too much (Calvin), because these desires compete against Christ for supremacy. That which is my greatest delight is my God. We are controlled by what we desire. Therefore, if we satisfy our desires with temporal goods, then our desires will themselves be ephemeral ... like the seas that are fed by the rivers, always longing but never satisfied.

The heart of sin

To be ultimately satisfied in anything other than God is the heart of sin. This is what it means to fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), we have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the glory of mortal man (Rom 1:23). We have all loved other things more than God and thus have fallen short of this glory. So how then do I love Christ more than his creation? How then do I consider everything else as rubbish compared to Christ?

A Superior Satisfaction

According to Philippians 3:8, Paul says that he considers everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. The only way to fight desire is with desire. The only way we can joyfully give up our goods for the sake of gaining Christ is if we see Christ as superior to his gifts. We see this all the time in children. You can give a little boy a Hot Wheels car and he will be content with it ... that is, until another boy walks in with a bigger better car. And suddenly, the first boy is no longer satisfied with his car, he wants the other car. If you had asked the boy to give up his car at first he would have struggled to let it go. But had you asked him after he was mesmerized by the other boy's car, he would have paid no mind. Why is this? Because his first desire was eclipse by a desire for something greater. This is the only way we can consider everything as loss and rubbish compared to Christ: we must see Christ as a superior satisfaction.

Know Christ

How does one begin to grow in their desire for Christ. Paul says, "know him." Knowledge of Christ should be the kindling of our affections for him. The more we know him the more dim the allurements of this world become and the more desirous of his presence we become.

Oh that you would increase, Lord, that I my affections for these fleeting pleasures would decrease.

Friday Night Evangelism: Acts 2:1-13

Acts 2:1-13

Purpose of the Signs

Tonight I want us to study Pentecost and answer a few questions.

· What is being filled with the Holy Spirit

· What is speaking in tongues

· What is the purpose of tongues

· Are tongues a necessary evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

I think these questions are relevant to evangelism, because if the gifts are for today, which I think they are, and we are attempting to evangelize without them, then I think we are limiting our effectiveness and robbing God of opportunities to be glorified. According to scripture signs and wonders are intended to confirm the authority of the spoken word (Acts 14:3). Jesus himself illustrates this when he asked the Pharisees, “Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins I say, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” (Mat 9:4-6)

What is being filled with the Holy Spirit?

We have talked about a number of the terms, but I want us to focus on what Luke says in Acts 2, namely, being filled with the Holy Spirit. I believe it is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that enables the recipient to preach with boldness and/or to perform signs and wonders:

1. 2:4 – people were filled with the Holy Spirit. Effect: speaking in foreign languages, Peter preaches and the audience is “cut to the heart.”

2. 4:8, 13 – Peter was filled. Effect: he preached with boldness

3. 4:31 – Peter and John and friends finish praying and the Holy Spirit fills them. Effect: they “continue to speak the Word of God with boldness.”

4. 9:17 – Ananias prays for Saul that he may regain sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Effect: Paul regains his sight

5. 13:9 – Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit. Effect: rebukes the magician causing him to go blind

Notice the numerous connections of being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking with boldness – whether it is preaching with authority or rebuking the magician, the Spirit comes upon the person with power. The majority of the texts indicate that the filling of the Holy Spirit was for the furtherance of the gospel through bold preaching and signs and wonders. What I find that is interesting, is that we only have one reference of being filled with the Spirit resulting in speaking in tongues.

What is speaking in tongues?

I believe that according to Luke, tongues are the supernatural ability to speak foreign languages. I'll show you where I'm getting that by looking at the three accounts in Acts:

According to Acts 2 tongues must refer to foreign language, not a heavenly language: 1) The disciples were not speaking one “heavenly tongue” but different tongues, 2) men of different regions understood them in their native tongue, and 3) no indication of an “interpretation” was necessary.

Acts 10 records the Gentiles experiencing their own “Pentecost.” Luke uses similar language by recording that the disciples were “hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God” (v46). I believe Luke intended the reader to make a parallel with Acts 2, therefore indicating that tongues hear is also a reference to foreign languages.

The last account in Acts 19:6 is the most vague. The effect of the Holy Spirit coming upon them is speaking in tongues and prophesying. I think this one is intentionally non descriptive because Luke intends the reader to connect this experience with the previous two. He no longer needs to define these terms because the first account in Acts 2 acts as the reference point.

What is the purpose of tongues?

I believe that according to Luke, the purpose of tongues is the immediate empowerment of the Spirit to communicate the mighty works of God in another known language.

- 2:11 The Jews in Jerusalem heard the disciples telling in their own tongue “the mighty works of God.”

- 10:46 The disciples were hearing the Gentiles speaking in tongues and “extolling God.”

Those who heard the tongues were able to understand it and needed no interpretation.

Are tongues a necessary evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

I do not think that tongues are a necessary indication of being filled with the Spirit since there are numerous accounts of people being filled with the Spirit in which speaking in tongues did not occur (or at least that scripture does not record).

Ephesians - Praying in the Spirit

And take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (Eph 6:17b-18)

In light of Paul's prayer in Philippians, I have been inspired to study his prayers throughout the epistles. I am amazed at how often "praying without ceasing" and "pray for our deliverance" were embedded in his petitions. Ephesians was a rich deposit of prayers, especially chapter six. This is the well known section where Paul informs the church of our true battle, not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of this age (v12), therefor we need spiritual armor and weapons. Paul informs the church of the one spiritual offensive weapon they have and how to use it.

The church is given the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Scripture is to be our saber in the battle against unbelief. This is clear, but what seems unclear at first glance is how we are to pray in the Spirit. Some may take this to mean praying in tongues or simply asking the Spirit to direct your prayers so that whatever you ask is "in the Spirit." Although I don't think that these conclusion are excluded as possibilities, I think the immediate context demonstrates that praying in the Spirit is in conjunction with the Sword of the Spirit. We pray in the Spirit by wielding the Sword of the Spirit. In other words, we inform our prayers with the Word of God. Scripture because the launching pad for our petitions and praise. We anchor our faith in the promises of God revealed in his word. The Spirit of God will always work in conjunction with the Word of God. Therefore, we must have more of the Word in us that we may pray in the Spirit.