Focus on the Symptoms

Often in the church progress is difficult because we focus on the symptoms of sin rather than the root of sin. We focus on the problems because they are easier to notice.

Often the issue when looking at sin is that the problems can come from many sources. We often underestimate the power of the gospel in transforming issues.

Often we fail to see growth in the church because we fail to see the gospel articulated in its most full power. The gospel is the basis for all law.

Our tendency is to skip over, so the speak, the majority of the first part of Romans and then to "get into the good part" after all the groundwork is laid. The reality is the second half rests entirely upon the first.

We cannot successfully move into the second part before grasping the first part the best that we can. And this is the issue often in the church is we move too quickly past grace.

We feel we have mastered the gospel and continue to law while we have still fully not understood the gospel and grace. We must always be remind of grace. Apart from grace the law is nothing, but a series of unfulfilled standard which are too high for us to keep.

It is only sin that makes us fail to understand the depths of our transgression. And only grace that enables us to begin to keep the law.

Growth and Admitting Flaws

Often in the Christian life our spiritual growth is hindered because we won't admit flaws. We cannot grow in areas if we refuse to admit we need to grow in areas.

The message of the bible is that man is under the curse of sin. The biblical ethic is so high that an honest understanding of its requirements tells us that we constantly fail.

God has grace on us and counts feeble attempts as a keeping of the law through the purifying blood of Jesus. Grace covers all our transgressions. We should not seek to sin because we have grace. If we are truly saved by grace the grace of God that saves us will naturally make us desire to do good works.

Grace which saves comes from our union with Jesus through faith in his death. The same union with Jesus that comes through faith also begins to change us degree by degree to be like Jesus.

It is faith in the cross which saves us and it is also faith in the cross which is the power which pushes us to grow in grace. Often it is easy to think that salvation and sanctification are caused by two different causes. We are saved and now need to figure out how to live.

Of course there is a need to figure out what Christian life entails, but the element behind both is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The link between justification and sanctification is that both events are tied together and driven by the same element faith in the work of Jesus.

Post: Our Way

Growth

Growing in the Christian life requires looking to God. Often people look to grow by looking at sin and then trying to avoid sin.

There is truth in the approach, but studying the problem does not help us as much to the solution as looking at God. If we look to God and learn about God and love God then we will make far more progress in faith than if we look at sin and try to avoid it.

Righteous living is very active in nature. This is also why looking to God is helpful. God is a God who acts.

Jesus' life was filled with righteous activity from start to finish. The need for the Christian to act is at least as important for righteousness as the avoidance of sin.

You see avoiding sin, without an active expression of love is meaningless. The bible says if we have all things, but lack love it is worthless.

Love is something which is active and must be expressed. We can avoid sin sitting in isolation in a room our who lives and the avoidance of sin is worthless without expressing love.

Love is active. We must go out and do. We must risk and be vulnerable. Love is more important for real righteousness than avoidance of sin.

Self Knowledge and Sanctification

Often in churches you see this great discomfort when people express what they struggle with. It is as if pastors fear that church attenders expressing their sins give credence that the sin is alright.

I personally do not think this tendency is correct. There is certainly an over sharing which is possible, but a knowledge of sin is necessary for growth.

I always find it far more concerning when you find church members whose lives are so perfectly together and seem to have no awareness of their sin. It is often just not true.

It is more often that their is a lack of awareness or a fakeness to the person than a lack of sin. We all need to grow and are all at different points in our journey. Some of us have started in worse places than others.

But all of us need grace daily and a lack of awareness of sin is always quite concerning. We cannot grow if we do not see that we need to grow.

It is difficult to solve a problem that one cannot see exists. And sometimes this is why God confronts us with ourselves.

We cannot grow in issues we do not see. And sometimes God purposely brings opportunities for issues to come to the surface for this reason.

Humility and Growth

To grow in the Christian faith we must be humble. We must admit the limits of our knowledge.

The bible says: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

To grow in the faith we must admit our smallness. We do not have the answers. We need to be taught and learn.

We often see many people in the church who think they have answers. Sometimes those people do have answers. But sometimes the people with all the answers are the most lost of all.

You see we stand before an infinite God. We are so tiny before him.

He is wise and we are foolish and in need of wisdom. He is strong and we are weak and in need of strength and protection.

Often people suggest that we bare a resemblance to God because we bare his image. This is true in a sense. But the image is marred by sin.

Even in the sense we carry the image of God it is only a shadow of the real thing. It is as if we are comparing watching a bunch of kindergarteners kicking a soccer ball around to the final of a world cup soccer match.

One problem with the analogy of course is that the degree is to week. The gulf between us and God is much bigger.

Of course is Jesus who bridges the gulf and fills the gap between us and God. His death is what gives us free access to God.