Devotionals

In today's devotional, we examine the premise of Christian maturity. Question: Are you STILL a babe in Christ?

"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. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4 KJV) Are you spiritual or are you worldly? Are you a mere infant in Christ or an adult? There's a story about a preacher that kept preaching the same sermon over and over. Finally, the leaders of the church came to him and complained about hearing the same sermon over and over. The preacher responded by saying: "When you get this sermon right, then I'll preach another." We can know a lot about the Bible but still be mere infants in our faith. Unless we obey what God's word says, we will live and act just like the world does. Christians are in Christ and therefore should do all they can to live in unity. "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he thatwatereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." (1 Corinthians 3:5-9 KJV) All Christians are God's workers. Nobody is left out and everybody is needed. Nobody should think they are more needed or more important then others. "For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." (Galatians 6:3 KJV) This kind of thinking comes from "babes" in Christ, not mature Christians. Remember, Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5 KJV) The only way we can become mature Christians is by allowing Jesus to live His life in and through us. While apart from Him we can do nothing, in Him we can do anything He calls us to do. Remember, it's not how much you know about the Bible, but how much of the Bible you obey. As we look back at the Scriptures above, jealousy and quarreling should not be a part of a Christian's life. We are to be servants of God and are to live in unity with one another. We cannot do this in our own strength, but praise God He has given us the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom and strength we need to grow and become mature Christians. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13 KJV)