.... that we should no longer be children,
tossed to and fro and
carried about
with every wind of
doctrine,
by the trickery of
men,
and the cunning
craftiness of deceitful plotting,
but, speaking the
truth in love,
may grow up in all
things into Him
who is the head --
Christ -- from whom
the whole body joined
and it together
by what every joint
supplies, according
to the effective
working by which
every part does its
share, causes growth
of the body for the
edifying of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:14 -- 16
Jesus
Christ used children to show that Christians are to come to Him like children: "Then Jesus called a little child to
Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless
you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18: 2 -- 3). Paul is saying that we should no longer be as children who are
tossed to and fro easily. How are we to
understand this? Two things here:
1. Some want to use the verses in
Matthew 18 to prove that children should be baptized, this is not the
context. 2. Some would say that to be childlike is wrong. Both scriptures are telling us exactly the
same thing: children have a mind that is open to learn and to become a child of
God one must be a learner, that is, a disciple. On the other hand children can be easily misled, as they are when
they have been taught ideologies and philosophies that are in contradiction to
Scripture. When a person grows in the
faith of the Lord Jesus Christ and becomes mature they are to leave behind
child be attitudes and the desire to learn anything and hold it as truth. We come to the Lord as a child but we grow
in maturity in the Lord so we are no longer children who are tossed to and fro
by any doctrine that is presented.
Authentic Christian believers should not be like children in knowledge
and experience when they lack of firmness in judgment and have a weakness of
true faith for they are the ones who will be tossed to and fro a lot like ships
on a heavy windy sea. Paul uses a very
interesting word we translate properly and that word is
"convert." Anyone can believe
upon the Lord Jesus Christ but that does not mean that they are a
Christian. Until a person converts
their Christianity is in question.
Conversion includes with in its definition belief, but conversion is
more it is to change into something of a different form or property, to be
transformed. So Paul adds this:" This I say, therefore, and testify in
the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, and
the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being
alienated from the wife of God, because of the ignorance of that is in them,
because of the blindness of their heart; who, being passed feeling, have given
themselves over to lewedness, to work all uncleanness with greediness"
(Ephesians 4: 17 -- 19). Mature
authentic Christians who have converted the Lord Jesus Christ our transformed
and the question is transformed from what into what. A mature authentic Christian is transformed from a life that
they'd lead before conversion and our transformed into the image of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We should all grow up
into Christ in all things. This can
only be done when one did not use them sell and picks up their cross and follow
Jesus Christ. This means that that
person who does this is no longer a child but a monk for person. This does not happen all at once but it
should be happening for those who are growing up in Christ are improving their
Christian walk.
This is not
something that is done in isolation or a loan for as brothers and sisters in
Christ we should be helping one another.
There is a battle world and that battle is to destroy Christianity and
all one has to do is watch the news in today's news and see that Christianity
is under a brutal and a frontal attack.
More than ever is there a need for authentic Christians to influence
their world and marriage their world, and this is to begin at home teaching
their children that Jesus Christ is there had and their savior. It is this teaching of truth of the Bible
that will keep children from remaining children and following after every
doctrine that seems to have some sort of Christianity attached to it. We have churches today that are teaching all
sports of weird doctrines, doing such things as laying on great to get some
sort of virtual enlightenment. They're
running about to and fro trying to do all sorts of things to heal people, and
teaching people that they should be speaking in some sort of gibberish language
as though this is a spiritual act. This
edification that is being presented is a false edification for you to be the
person to believe in themselves and removes them from actually believing in
Jesus Christ as a proper and mature and authentic Christian.
As a person
with tours in their conversion to Jesus Christ they will find themselves
inclined to improve even more. They
will use those gifts that God has given to them for the one reason they were
given: you were called to be sent and that sending is to bring the Gospel your
world where ever that may be. God love
you and his love compels you to improve yourself in the knowledge of Him and to
do the same for others. Question will
you?
Move from the midst of Babylon,
go out the
land of the Chaldeans;
and be like the Rams before the flocks.
Jeremiah 50: 8
God is calling you to service
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