It’s Time to Grow Up
Scriptural Reading: 1 Corinthian 3:1-7
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in
Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and
even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and
divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am
of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave
to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
Paul begins this section with a backhanded comment. He tells the Corinthians that he
can’t speak to them like spiritual grown-ups but like babies in Christ. He knows they’re
still babes because of their fruit; the envy, strife, and divisions among them. Those
things are not what make them remain as babes but are what signify that they have
not matured in Christ. Now for the past few weeks, on Sunday mornings, we’ve being
working on a couple of basic concepts. The first comes from James 4:7, Submit
therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And then last week we
talked about the concept of seeking God’s face. Now, in order to lay a foundation for
today’s discussion, I’d like to analyze the maturity levels necessary to do those three
things. And when I speak of being a babe, I’ll be considering up to about 5 or 6.
Let’s first look at submission. Can a babe submit? Well, not all do but the majority of
small children will submit to authority. I remember when Kristen (my oldest – now
almost 17) was only a year or so, we would set her up on a blanket with some toys
and tell her to stay there and she would. She was such a mild mannered child that we
would actually have people call us up and ask if they could watch her. I thought it was
because I was such a good parent. I couldn’t understand why other parents seemed
to have such a difficult time. Then I had my next two children and thus realized that I
had very little to do with it. So, in relation to spiritual maturity, can a babe in Christ
submit to God? Absolutely! In fact, Jesus tells us that we must be born again which
would make us as new babies in Him. Then after we are born again we are to submit
to God.
Now. Let’s look at resisting. Can a babe resist evil? Sure! Every time they do right
instead of doing wrong they are resisting evil. I remember once when Kristen was
about 7 and in 2nd grade. We lived about 2 blocks away from the elementary school
so she would walk home after school. One day she came running into the house
breathing hard from running so I dropped what I was doing to find out what was
wrong. She told me that someone in a car had driven up to her and rolled down the
window and said, “Hey little girl!” She didn’t even look back at them, just ran full
speed home because I had taught her that grown ups don’t ask children for directions
or to help find puppies or anything like that. She had been taught that when in doubt,
she should run; which is what she did. Just as I was comforting her, someone drove
up into the yard. I believe it was my step-brother and his wife. As it turns out they had
been playing around. I commended Kristen for how she handled the situation. I felt
she’d done just as I’d recommended. Now let’s look at this from a spiritual standpoint,
can a babe in Christ resist the devil. Sure they can!
The last concept we’re analyzing is seeking someone’s face. Can a babe seek
someone’s face? That goes without saying. I know sometimes when Jeff (my
husband) gets home from work, he’ll lie back on the bed to relax and Kimberly (our 5
yr old) will run full speed into the room and jump directly onto him. A babe definitely
knows how to seek someone face. So, again, spiritually can a babe in Christ seek
God’s face? Without a doubt! So, you may wonder why I bothered to go through all
this? Why is it important? Unfortunately, much too many Christians are being content
to exist as mere babes without maturing, and wondering why they don’t see the
blessings and don’t feel the power the should have. The sad part is that they don’t
even know they’re still babes because they feel they are doing certain things that are
spiritual. As I pointed out here, you can do many spiritual things and still be a babe.
Kimberly can submit to authority, she can resist evil, and she can seek her father’s
face but she can’t go down the street on her bike by herself to play with her friend.
Cameron (8 yrs old) can go down the block by himself to his friend’s house but he can’
t drive a car to the mall like his sister Kristen. As their parents, we allow them to do
certain things based on their maturity level. When Cameron gets to be 16 he will be
allowed to drive by himself only if his maturity level shows me that he can be trusted.
It has nothing to do with the number of his age. The same will be true with Kimberly.
She will only be allowed to go down the street on her own when her maturity level
dictates it, not because of the amount of time she’s been alive on the planet.
God is our parent and in similar fashion will only bless us with certain things as we are
able to handle the responsibility. If I were to give Cameron a $10 bill and the keys to
my car to go to the store to get milk, I would be considered an irresponsible parent.
We have to understand that the power of God in our lives can only be limited by our
level of spiritual maturity. So, you say, “Okay, I see that envy, strife, and division are
still in my life so I know that I am still immature in Christ. So, now what? What do I
need to mature?” 1Peter 2:1-3, 1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy,
envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may
grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Peter makes it very clear
what we must do. We have to put aside those evil emotions and reactions and desire
the pure milk of the word of God. If you have tasted and know that the Lord is
gracious you will desire His word that will sustain you and cause you to grow.
You can come to every Bible study, to our Sabbath services, and our Lord’s Day
services and stay as a babe only. It will not be until you begin to pick up the Bible on
your own with no prompting from anyone that you will mature in Him. If you are
satisfied in God’s spiritual stroller being taken places you don’t want to go, this is of no
concern to you. If you’re content being in the Holy Spirit playpen with no power over
the circumstances in your life and no authority over the enemy, then this is
unimportant. I could talk until I’m blue in the face telling you to read your Bibles on
your own but the bottom line is that if you ever want to get out of the playpen and get
the keys to the car, you have to mature in Christ. And the only way you’re going to do
that is by reading His word.
I’ve been doing a study of Psalm 119 recently and one thing I want to share with you
before I close is that it is not a chore or a punishment to have to read God’s word, it is
a right and a privilege to be allowed to read God’s word. Jesus tells us plainly that His
yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). It is not a difficult thing to seek
after the things of God with all your heart, mind, and strength. That’s a deception that’
s been twisted into the minds of men by the enemy for countless generations. As I
close I’d like to share with you a few verses from Psalm 119.
119:9-16
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD!
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
I want to see us all get the keys to that spiritual car as we mature in Him. I certainly
want to get them myself and get off the bike!
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: June 25, 2006