Because of God’s forgiveness in Christ, we can finally put the past behind us. Because of Christ, the past no longer imprisons us. We have finally been set free. Our sins have been nailed to the cross. They have been washed away. We have been unshackled and given a fresh, new beginning. The guilt. The shame. The crushing burdens of yesterday. They are all history. Our sins can never again be dug up and used against us. In Christ, God acquits us and accepts us as his very own sons and daughters. We are now family.
It is important to evaluate our spiritual progress.
This morning, with the past behind us we are left to focus on the present. Where has God’s forgiveness in Christ brought us? How are we progressing? Are we growing in the grace of Lord Jesus Christ? Are we being effective and productive in our knowledge of Jesus Christ? Are we the same today as we were yesterday? Will we likely be the same tomorrow as we are today?
It is very important that we evaluate our spiritual progress. All of us undergo evaluations from time to time. You go into your boss’s office for an annual performance evaluation. You go to the dentist to have your teeth picked over. You go to the doctor for a physical examination. You go to a counselor for a psychological assessment.
I remember one of the first times I was evaluated. It was the middle of the summer and a neighbor offered me a job in a factory. I was bored, unemployed, and desperate for cash. I thought, "Why not?" The next day I traveled to the factory and they put me to work sorting and boxing mundane items like books and toothpaste. That first night I worked my heart out. Whenever they called break, I kept working. By the end of the night I was exhausted, so I decided to go ahead and take my break. I went to the break room, bought a soda, sat down at my workstation, kicked my feet up, and relaxed for about ten minutes while my friends kept working. I didn’t think anything of it and no one said anything to me either.
The next day I was getting ready to return for my second day of work when the phone rang. To my surprise it was the supervisor from the factory. She told me that I wouldn’t need to come to work today. When I asked why they didn't need me she said, "I don’t like your attitude. You're fired. You didn’t meet your quota. You sat around sipping soda and eating candy bars at your own discretion. You are not the kind of worker I want in my factory." I was devastated! I couldn’t believe it. I thought, "How could they fire me? I’m a nice guy. I have a good attitude. I’m a hard worker."
That night I went to work anyway and walked right into the manager’s office. My notorious reputation preceded me, but I explained myself. I told the big man behind the desk that no one had laid out any expectations. I told him that I didn’t take any of my breaks that entire night until the very end. That night he explained his expectations and gave me a second chance. Things worked out great after that!
Evaluations aren’t always pleasant, but I think we would all agree that they are necessary. Without evaluations we would be ineffective and unproductive. We would never realize our potential. We would idle in ineffectiveness. We’d stay the same, or more likely we'd disintegrate into a worse condition. When it comes to spiritual things, evaluations are just as important. If we don’t have a performance evaluation we may lose our job. If we don’t have a dental evaluation we may lose our teeth. If we don’t have a physical examination we may lose our health. If we don’t have a psychological assessment we may lose our mind. But if we don’t have a spiritual evaluation, guess what? We may lose our soul and that would be the greatest tragedy of all!
One of the problems we Christians have is that we don’t often evaluate our progress. We don’t have any clear guidelines by which we can measure spiritual success. Sure, we throw around vague generalizations like, "Be holy" and "Be godly." But we don’t do any serious spiritual evaluation of one another or even of ourselves. We don’t peel back the veneer of busyness to see what’s under the surface. Instead we just assume everyone is growing and that everything is fine.
But in order for us to be effective and productive we need to have clearly defined standards of what holiness and godliness is! We need to specifically address the question of what Christian maturity consists of so we can evaluate whether or not we are hitting the mark. We need to assess the areas in which we need to grow and improve so that we can determine if we are being faithful to Christ’s command.
Last year a large group in our church, seventy plus people, began an important study. We assigned portions of the entire New Testament to various groups of people throughout our congregation. We asked each team to study their passages and make a list of the values, beliefs, behaviors, habits, and attitudes Jesus commanded his disciples to possess. When the work was complete we had an overwhelming list off our thousand statements detailing what a disciple of Jesus Christ is to look like. Over the last year an editing team, and then the staff, have boiled these four thousand statements down into a concise, comprehensive, phased, definition of what a mature Christian disciple looks like. The idea is that such a definition will help us evaluate our spiritual progress so that we can avoid becoming ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge. This morning I want to share this phased description of a disciple with you. But then I want us to take a few moments to evaluate our spiritual progress.
Stages of spiritual growth.
In recent months I have taught that a disciple progresses through four general stages. In the first stage a disciple resembles a seed that must be cultivated. The goal is for the seed to germinate and for new life in Christ to begin. In the second stage a disciple resembles a seedling that must be nourished. During this stage the disciple deepens his roots and fortifies his faith. In the third stage a disciple resembles a tree that is starting to produce fruit, both in Christian character and in ministry to others. In the fourth stage of development a disciple resembles an orchard. In this stage a disciple is multiplying new life beyond himself or herself.
The point of this metaphor is to create a picture in our minds concerning God’s will. God’s will is for all of us to be growing, life-giving Christians. As we receive new life in Christ we are to multiply that new life in everyone around us. The measure of Christian maturity is becoming an orchard. It is for all of us to grow into life-giving Christians who infect people with the blessings that we have received in Jesus Christ.
When we began to categorize the four thousand plus statements, a clear picture began to emerge. First, we noticed that a disciple matures and graduates through different stages. But we also noticed that there are four distinct areas in which a Christian matures as he progresses through the various stages of spiritual growth.
Our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Consider a first major area of development. As a seed we focus on knowing Christ. We learn basic beliefs and gain knowledge about Christ’s identity, life, work, death, and resurrection. As a seedling we focus on growing in Christ. We deepen basic beliefs. We develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for who God is. Our knowledge is less cerebral and more heart-felt. As a tree we focus on maturing in Christ. We develop deep convictions about Jesus. We pursue a deep knowledge of him, striving to know him fully in every way. We stand firm in our relationship with Christ. As an orchard our focus is on remaining in Christ. We abide in him. We are resolute. We are unshakeable! He is the vine and we are the branches. You might think about a husband and wife relationship as demonstrating these concepts.
When I first met Lara I learned information about her.I learned her name, interests, favorite food, pets’ names, and her parents' rules. I started to know her. But then I began to understand her and appreciate her. You know, as best I could! Men can never fully understand women! I can see that I am in trouble now. In time our love progressed toward deeper commitment. We got engaged. We began building our lives and began to grow with each other in mind. Our love began to mature. Eventually we got married. We formed a permanent union, unto death. We pledged to remain together forever. We formed an inseparable bond. As a disciple matures, the same things happen in his relationship with Christ.
Our relationship to God's family.
Consider a second major area of development in our development and progress as Christians. As a seed we simply experience Christ’s character and ministry. As a seedling we train to make Christ’s character our own. We develop basic habits like daily prayer and Bible study. As a tree we train to make Christ’s ministry our own. We learn the mechanics of ministry and we receive training to carry out a specific ministry. As an orchard the focus shifts from being developed toward developing others. We train others to be godly. We train others for ministry. We shepherd the flock.
Our relationship to God's Spirit.
Consider a third major area of development. As a seed we make a basic response to Christ’s life and work. We respond with faith, basic repentance, confession, baptism, and basic acts of obedience. As a seedling we begin practicing Christ’s lifestyle. We begin loving God and loving people. We are inconsistent at first because we are doing something new! As a tree we begin living Christ’s life with greater consistency. Living as Christ lived becomes more like second nature to us. As an orchard we begin modeling Christ’s life. We invite others to follow our example. We say what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)."Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
Our relationship to God's world.
Consider a last example of our development as Christians. As a seed we receive new life in Christ. We are forgiven. We receive salvation. As a seedling we prepare to give life. We learn that God wants to use us to share our new life with others and not just keep it to ourselves. As a tree we practice giving life. We are coached and led in making other disciples. As an orchard we multiply new life. We develop life-giving Christians. We give birth to spiritual children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
You can see how this grid can help us evaluate our progress toward Christian maturity. Where are you? Are you a seed struggling to germinate, to know Christ, to experience Christ, to respond to Christ, or to receive new life? Are you a seedling struggling to establish deeper roots, to grow in Christ, to train for godliness, to practice living as Christ, or preparing to give new life? Are you a tree struggling to bear fruit, to mature in Christ, to train for Christ’s ministry, to live like Christ consistently, or to practice giving new life? Are you an orchard struggling to multiply new life beyond yourself, to remain in Christ, to shepherd the flock, to model Christ’s life to others, or multiply new life ten, or even a hundred fold?
God’s will is for you to keep on making progress in the gospel. God doesn’t want you to be the same today, yesterday, and forever. Only God can get away with that because he alone is perfect! For the rest of us, we must progress through a process of maturation whereby God molds us and shapes us into his likeness.
Spiritual journey evaluation.
Last year our entire church completed a spiritual journey evaluation. This morning I would like us to fill out that same questionnaire. But this time I want us to fill it out together and I want to explain some of the questions. Do not write your name on this.
Take a few moments to answer only questions numbered one through ten. These questions will tell you if you are still a spiritual seed. If you mark very many of these questions with a one or two, you need to look at the first row of the blue sheet and concentrate on knowing Christ, experiencing Christ, responding to Christ's life, and receiving new life.
Take a few moments to answer only questions numbered eleven through seventeen. These questions will tell you if you are still a spiritual seedling. If you mark very many of these questions with a one or two, you need to look at the second row of the blue sheet and concentrate on growing in Christ, training for Christlikeness, practicing living Christ’s life, and preparing to give new life to others.
Take a few moments to answer only questions eighteen through twenty-four. These questions will tell you if you are still a spiritual tree. If you mark very many of these questions with a one or two, you need to look at the third row of the blue sheet and concentrate on maturing in Christ, training for ministry, living Christ’s life consistently, and practicing giving new life. Take a few moments to carefully answer only questions twenty-five and twenty-six. These questions will tell you if you are still a spiritual orchard. If you mark very any of these questions with a one or two, you need to look at the fourth row of the blue sheet and concentrate on remaining in Christ, shepherding other Christians, modeling Christ’s life, and multiplying new life in others.
Take a few moments to accurately answers questions twenty-seven through thirty-one. These questions will help you evaluate your spiritual progress in the present. They relate to the spiritual disciplines and basic habits that should be common to all Christians. These are the disciplines through which God’s Spirit molds us and shapes us. If you mark high answers on very many of these questions, you are quenching the work of God’s Spirit in your life and you need to develop godly habits.
Now go ahead and answer the rest of the questions numbered thirty-two through thirty-seven. Some of these questions are general in nature, while others are more specific. They force us to think about the difference we make in others' lives. Are we leading people to Christ? Are we growing? Are we going strong? Are we static? Or are we backsliding?
In a moment we want everyone to turn their surveys in to the ushers. But before you do, you need to do two things. First, if you want this survey back, draw a smiley face on the front. This week we will score your survey and give you some personal feedback about what the results mean. You will find it quite helpful, I think! Second, if you want this survey back, you need to remember the page numbers on the lower right hand corner. No one has the same page numbers. Everyone has an even/odd page number (1-2,3-4, 5-6, 7-8).
In the coming weeks, we are going to talk about how to grow through these phases. I think, I pray, and I hope that you will find this series of messages to be helpful! God bless.