"Spiritual Infancy To Spiritual Maturity"

Can you imagine having a new born baby and then abandoning it at two months to care for itself? What do you think would happen to that infant? My guess is it would probably die. Well.. why would we leave a spiritual infant to nurture its self? A new convert needs to be walked with from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.

I have seen what I deem as a major issue in many churches. The issue that I am referring to is the lack of discipleship after a person is converted and changed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not the conversion was authentic our churches should have a ministry set up that walks with new converts and disciples them in the infant stages of conversion.

Billy Graham is quoting as saying “80% of those who make a salvation decision during his crusades are already on a church roll somewhere.” So they are on a church roll somewhere but they are just getting around to giving thier lives to the Lord at Bill Graham crusade? This leads me to believe that majority of the people in our churches are not believers even though they are faithful to church. This is what makes Matthew 7: 21-23 such a scary passage.

That passage states:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

Look at what these people said, “did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” These were people thinking they were on the right track for the Lord, when the Lord says to them I never knew you. I would hate for people in our churches to get before the Lord and He say “I never knew you”.

The great commission tells us to make “disciples” of all nations it does not say make “converts”. Our churches should actively be engaging people to spiritually grow in the Lord. God never called us to Himself to stay as infants. But Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians 3:1-5 that we should move from spiritual infancy to maturity.

Our churches should be training our members to be actively involved in the lives of our new converts. Abandoning an infant at the age two months is extremely wrong and will more than likely get you arrested and trailed for neglect and murder. We should have the same vigor and passion for our spiritual infants. Let’s tend to them, love them and nurture them in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.