Dear Friends,
I hope you had a good start to you week! This is a devot. that I found sometime ago and have been anxious to send. It's about our every walk, how we live with the Lord in our lives everyday.
Do we have a personal everyday relationship where we talk to God at random, ask for His opinion or wisdom on daily matters, enjoy reading the Bible, learning, praying?
Has there been an inside to outside difference since we have trusted Jesus? Or is it that we just asked Jesus into our lives as our way to Heaven and that's it -we the same as we were before? We have not grown spiritually since receiving Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: (new creation upon receiving Jesus as Savior) old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
This devot. asks us to examine our hearts and lives in the light of having received Jesus.
I look forward to sharing more devots. of this nature
so we can all grow more! Lord bless you and yours this week!
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| | June 2, 2016
Stunted Growth in Carnal Christians
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2)
The apostle Paul here makes a clear distinction between “spiritual” Christians, controlled and led by the Holy Spirit, and “carnal” Christians, still controlled by the desires of the flesh. A carnal Christian is a baby Christian. Baby Christians are a cause of great rejoicing when they are newborn believers, just like baby people. But if they remain babies indefinitely, they become an annoyance to hear and a tragedy to behold.
Each born-again believer needs urgently to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). That spiritual growth comes only through study of the Word, accompanied by belief and obedience. First there must be “the sincere [or ‘logical’] milk of the word” (1 Peter 2:2), but that is good only for the first stages of growth. “For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14). Scripture encourages us to grow to maturity and then to continue growing.
Carnal Christians are not necessarily pseudo-Christians, although they should examine themselves to determine whether their profession of faith in Christ is genuine (2 Corinthians 13:5), but they should not be content to remain spiritual babes. Every Christian should be able to say with the prophet Jeremiah: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). HMM
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