Pastor Herk continues: the Apostle Paul is telling us that being acquainted with the teaching about righteousness is the solid food for the mature Christian, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Being equipped as saints [those sanctified] for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man or woman, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. This is the godly path and plan of sanctification to spiritual maturity and fruitful lives. Christians are not to stay as children of the faith.
There are two types of characteristics in spiritual infants. (1) First, they are unstable. Uneducated in the Christian teachings of the Bible, lacking wisdom against the distracting and deceitful lies and temptations of the devil and the God-rejecting world system, unexperienced in contending for the faith, and too trusting of the secular society and culture, they are easy targets and susceptible to being tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of false doctrine, by the trickery of the devil and ungodly people to lure them away in sin, by sinful craftiness in deceitful scheming to lose sight of the Lord. Children have very short attention spans and easily distracted. They have a hard to concentrating on any one task for an extended period. They become bored quickly and believe that they needs constant change. Newborn Christians are the same way. It is exciting when they first discover and come to Jesus, wanting to know everything there is about the Bible, read the hottest Christian books and join a small group study on the newest topics. There is a tendency to get drawn into the latest Christian fads or trends.
(2) The second characteristic of spiritual infants is that they are easily deceived. They simply do not have enough spiritual discernment yet to really identify and avoid deception that comes from indoctrination by divisive and destructive propaganda, programming and brainwashing instruction from the rebellious God-rejecting world. Children trust their teachers, and as godly Christian parents, we are concerned about what they are being taught by their teachers, that besides the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, “In God We Trust” biblical values and godly standards of manners, morality, ethics and civility of society be instilled; not atheistic, secular humanism and naturalism that worships the creature and the creation, but holding these Truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness aligned with His holy Word, Will and Way. There are predators out there so beware of strangers. There is false teaching that goes on out there that attempts to draw people away from true faith in the true God.
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
There is a reference here to Satan [the grand adversary of man; the devil or prince of darkness; the chief of the fallen angels], who uses lies and deceit as his main weapons. The Hebrew word “satan” literally means "adversary". Jesus tells us in John 10:7-11, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep [to the safe sheltered sheep pen]. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Satan ruins many, by putting those “a mile wide, but only an inch deep” out of conceit with the Word and ordinances of God. But, God has something better in store for His people.
Let's conclude Pastor Herk's message on deepening our faith in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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