Time to grow up!

Gerry · #1 21st January 2003, 05:44 AM

I see these days teenagers, barely old enough to shave, and barely out of puberty, claiming to be EX Christians, with all the answers, and far wiser than any Christian. This is nothing more than simple rebellion, plain and simple. And why? Because of Mothers and Fathers and older siblings, and yes even some Pastors and other role models and leaders, Failing to grow up and become mature Christians capable of setting the proper example, and Failing to study and be prepared to answer HARD questions these young ones have.

In too many Families you cannot tell the parents from the Children, for they are on the same spiritual level of maturity. THAT is a shame. There are Christians who have been saved for 15, 20, 25 or even 30 years or more and have NEVER led even one soul to Christ! That is NOT a mature Christian. That is a Babe, on milk. THAT is a SHAME!

Hebrews 5:12: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
14 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."

Need that to be plainer? Here is how JB Phillips translated that:

"There is a great deal that we should like to say about this high priesthood, but it is not easy to explain to you since you seem so slow to grasp spiritual truth. At a time when you should be teaching others, you need teachers yourselves to repeat to you the ABC of God's Revelation to men. You have become people who need a milk diet and cannot face solid food! For anyone who continues to live on "milk" is obviously immature - he simply has not grown up. "Solid food" is only for the adult, that is, for the man who has developed by experience his power to discriminate between what is good and bad for him."

So why then are we here in this forum? Because we desire something MORE than that. I LOVE milk, it is true, but I also love MEAT and I have a need and desire for it. My body was built for it. Milk alone won't do!

We are here because Christ also has a desire for us:

Ephesians 4:14: "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"

here again in a plainer translation the same words:

"We are not meant to remain as children at the mercy of every chance wind of teaching and the jockeying of men who are expert in the craft presentation of lies. But we are meant to hold firmly to the truth in love, and to grow up in every way into Christ, the head."

In other words Christ also desires to have a deeper fellowship with us! But He cannot have a deeper fellowship with us until we get off the milk only diet we are on and start eating Meat! Then and ONLY then will we be able to speak the TRUTH in love, because only in God's Word do we find the TRUTH He has chosen us to speak.

And make no mistake about it. He has called EVERY Christian into Evangelism. In Matthew 24:19,20, He told His Disciples, whom we are, to go into all nations teaching and baptizing. In John 15:16, He said this:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

That isn't Billy Graham He is talking about. That is me and you He is talking to. HE chose us and set us apart (ordained) us to go and bring forth fruit.

Well we can't do that, if we are ill prepared and don't know how! And we wont learn aside from a serious study of His Word and a rich prayer life led by the Holy Spirit!

It is time to get serious and be about the business of "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16)

It is time that we come out and set ourselves apart and dedicate ourselves to obeying Him. It is time we obeyed His COMMANDMENT to: "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

In other words to stop wasting our time and grow up in Jesus, and through our obedience bring Glory and Honor to Him Who loves us and gave Himself for us.

ZiSunka · #2 21st January 2003, 11:56 AM

Hye Gerry, I was one of those, ex-Christian teenagers. I discarded Christianity because I knew that everything I had been taught about God was wrong, and I knew if I kept believing what I had been taught (not that I ever believed it, really), I would never be able to find out the truth about who God is and what He is like.

I became an atheist, and was proud of it, and preached against Christianity and embraced science whole-heartedly, just like those teens you are talking about.

I sought the truth about God from every possible source, but I found them all lacking any real substance when tested.

One day I was listening to the radio, and I used to tune into Christian radio to make fun of it an of what Christians believe. But soon it became clear that Christ IS the only WAY to God. I became a follower of Christ, without really knowing what that all meant.

Doubt is the beginning of faith sometimes.

GraftMeIn · #3 21st January 2003, 01:46 PM

Amen Gerry! We all need to come off that baby formula at some point. And there is much meat to found in Gods Word, We only need to pray for understanding, and guidance, while we study His Word in order to dine on that meat.

A baby christian is like a seedling in many ways, after a seed sprouts you need to be careful about not keeping it to moist or it will dampen off at the base fall over and die. It sort of just rots at ground level. I guess the same could hold true if we let young Christians sit in a wet diapers too long.

When plants reach different points of maturity they require different types of feeding and nutrients in order to produce fruit, so do we as Christians.

Quiet Storm · #4 22nd January 2003, 12:32 AM

Lamb, I've got a PM for you.