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Sunday 13 July 2003 - "Christian maturity"

(Summary of sermon by Peet Botha)

Hebr 6:1

1 ¶ Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

As introduction to the sermon, rev Botha used the following illustration of Prof Paul Tillich who knew a lot about theology, but has never 'tasted Jesus'.

The book of Hebrews was written in about 70AD, before the destruction of Jerusalem. It was a time when the Jewish Christians were persecuted by Jews and Gentiles alike for their faith. The Jewish religion was not a second-rate religion, but very prominent. Christ came in that time and fulfilled the prophesies of the Bible about Himself, but because of the Jews' tradition of centuries, it was very difficult for them to accept their Messiah, for they expected Him to come in another way. So the author of Hebrews wrote this letter to the Christians to comfort and encourage them to stay faithful to Christ. He shows to them Christ's superiority to angels, the Jewish leaders, and the priesthood. Christianity has a better covenant and sanctuary than the previous covenant. Christ also offers a better and sufficient sacrifice than the previous covenant.

So in Hebr 2:1 we read how the author takes us back to our beginning as Christians; those first moments when we commited ourselves to Christ and were touched by Him. In Chapter 3 he urges us to look to Christ as our true High Priest. Then in Chapter 4 he addresses a common problem found in our churches - people knowing about Christ and salvation, but it does not help them, for they do not take hold of it in faith.

All of these things are the elementary principles of Christianity. We read in Chapter 6 that all of these things are necessary to know Christ, and every Christian should know it, but there are much more to Christianity than this, and we must go beyond these things to maturity. What is it to be a mature Christian? The author to the Hebrews reveals 9 points whereby one may measure a Christian's maturity.

1. A mature Christian is able to teach others, rather than being taught himself all his life. A Christian must grow and be able to lead others to Christ and teach them in the way of Christ. The whole purpose of education is to take a child of 6 and over an extended period of time mould that child into a responsible young person, able to educate and teach others too.
2. A mature Christian has developed depth of understanding of the Christian faith. He has insight in Christ's work on earth, and the will of God in an individual's life. He also understands God's will for a family, nation and the world. He is able to make choices from his understanding and insight according to God's will.
3. A mature Christian is able to evaluate himself in the light of scripture and grow thereby, rather than criticising himself in the light of other Christians.
4. A mature Christian deliberately chooses to seek unity in Christ's body.
5. A mature Christian will desire spiritual challenges, rather than desiring entertainment. If we look at lukewarm Christians, we see that they rather seek entertainment than winning souls for Christ, and sacrificing their life for Christ and the Gospel's sake. It is easy to let disunity continue, but challenging to seek a solution to bring unity to Christ's body. It is easy to fall into self-criticism, but a challenge to evaluate yourself in the light of scripture. It is easy to stay with the Christian basics, but a challenge to develop understanding and insight about God's will for yourself. It is easy to go with the trend, but a Christian challenge to stand even in the face of persecution for your faith.
6. A mature Christian will study the Bible carefully and the lives of others who claim to follow Christ, rather than following the opinions of people and half-hearted efforts to realise God's Word in their live. He would desire fellowship with Christ, rather than waste his time with the trivial things of this world. He would desire fellowship with other Christians who love the Lord as he does, rather than to have light talk.
7. A mature Christian has active faith, rather than doubt or cautiousness concerning the Christian faith. He lives his faith in Christ, and is bold to venture risks for Christ's sake. He can truly testify of his walk with Christ, and Christ's continual faithfulness.
8. A mature Christian has confidence in Christ, rather than fear for the world, because Christ lives in him. He has confidence, because he knows the One who overcame the world. He no longer has continual doubts and fears about the things that cross his path from day to day, but has Christian hope for the future.
9. A mature Christian chooses to evaluate his experiences in the light of scripture, rather than in the light of his own feelings, opinions and knowledge. He runs to God for guidance in each situation.

Take these 9 principles and evaluate yourself in God's light. It takes time to become mature, but daily commitment and service to Christ and the brethren will bring maturity. If you trust Christ for your complete salvation and obeys Him in all things, He will work maturity in you and transform you into His image. A mature Christian will not be swayed by the fashions and temptations of the world.

It is vital that each of us become mature in Christ, do His work and proclaiming His Gospel. Later on in Hebrews the author warns of the consequences of not growing in Christ. Christians who have once known Christ, but then grow lukewarm and eventually reject Christ will go lost.

Hebrews 11 is a wonderful example of Christian endurance and teaches us how to endure and overcome as Christians. We must fix our eyes on Christ, and see the unseen as they saw it.