The Need for Christian Maturity (Part Two)

From the desk of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D. I’ve encountered many believers who’re not fully aware of what it means to live by faith in Jesus. That’s because of being immature in Christ. They’re not aware of the truth that Scripture calls and encourages them to mature in Christ because that maturity is evidence of a deepening relationship with God which enables them to live out their faith more fully. An inaccurate view of what it means to live by faith is similar to a faulty foundation. It gives no stability to your life. According to Paul, immature believers are gullible and will believe just about anything! Paul says, “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, 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 men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:13-14). Many believers are snared by the Word of Faith Movement. Just what is the Word of Faith movement? It is a movement that teaches distorted and false views of biblical faith. It distorts what the Bible teaches about what it means to walk in faith. The movement is heavily influenced by teachers who take verses out of context, name, and claim things which they say, agree with God’s will, concluding that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy, prosperous, and more. They do this based on their false understanding of faith. They say faith is a force, believing spoken words have power to bring about whatever they desire. But this isn’t biblical, it is not what Scripture teaches. Faith is believing God, it has God and His Word as the object of our faith. What God says is true, it’s Him and His words we believe. Nowhere does the Bible, God’s Word, teach that God’s people will always be healthy and wealthy. These teachings by the Word of Faith movement are a distortion of the truth. They have a distorted view of God, the Scriptures, and a distorted view of the Christian life. Christians who embrace this distorted view of faith are immature regardless of how long they’ve been saved! Paul said, “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 men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.” Be encouraged!