291. SPIRITUALLY STUNTED?

(The Information & Edification Series – Batch 9)

There are Christians that remain at the stage of a baby spiritually and for a long time, when they ought to have developed to a more advanced stage, so as to be able to consume spiritual meat. Paul spoke of some of them in 1 Corinthians 3: 1-3., lamenting over the fact that, when he should have been feeding them with deep spiritual truths, that which he refers to as “meat”, he still had to feed them with milk because they were nowhere near where they ought to have been spiritually. One could sense his disappointment, as they had not grown spiritually due to the sin that they were refusing to part ways with, embracing envy and strife and discord, when they should have had the maturity to rise above it.

He wrote to them:

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

It is a fact therefore, that there are genuine Christians who sometimes manifest spiritual immaturity and a slow pace of growth, them being referred to in the scripture as carnal Christians. There are Christians who, instead of pursuing after peace are embroiled in mayhem and discord, envy and strife.

There are however, some people in the pews, in the membership and even on the pulpit, who seem stunted in their spiritual WALK, not because they are are still babes in Christ but because there is no spiritual LIFE in them. That is, they’ve never really met Christ and surrendered their hearts to his Lordship by faith. They have heard about him and keep hearing about him in the Church services they religiously attend but they have never had a relationship with him. If you ask such a person if God ever communicates to them, they will most likely look at you quizzically. They know about saying a prayer to God but they know nothing of hearing God’s voice. Yet, Jesus himself stated, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Undoubtedly, while Christians may not hear an audible voice today, God still speaks and finds ways to communicate to his children, whether this be directly through his Word or indirectly, about his Word. When he does so, his Word says that they hear his voice. Due to relationship, they can hear when their Lord is speaking to them and can decipher his voice from that of the enemy. This is not the case with the person who has never been saved. He has never been reborn spiritually and therefore, cannot hear God’s voice, other than his call for salvation and he cannot grow spiritually as there is no well within as generated by the Holy Spirit, springing up into everlasting life. The fact of the matter is that faith can’t be grown if it was never cultivated in the first place. You can’t GROW SPIRITUALLY if you’re not yet REGENERATED. It is salvation first, spiritual growth after.

Church membership, doesn’t make one a Christian. Being baptized doesn’t make one a Christian. Regular Church attendance and being involved in Church activities, doesn’t make one a Christian, nor does living what seems to be an upright and moral life, make one a Christian. Alas, looking like a Christian, fitting in and fooling everyone or almost everyone, into thinking that he is one of the fold, even his own self-deception in this regard, does not make one a Christian.

Sadly, there are many like this today. There are people who fall into these categories who have never been saved and we wonder in bewilderment, why they are not growing spiritually.

While sitting in the Church and among genuine believers, such persons never lie dormant, even if they have the whole or many of the congregation fooled. They are busy stirring up trouble and undermining God’s work, sometimes blatantly, sometimes subtly. They may chip away at a particular doctrine, subtly try to introduce false teaching or diabolical music, under the guise that it is good Christian teaching and music. Sometimes, they will go after some Christians in the congregation or just one Christian, trying their best to derail that Christian’s God-given purpose, by reminding him of his wicked past, his faults, his mistakes and his shortcomings. They hope that in so doing, that that person will walk around burdened, guilty, depressed and sad and therefore be useless in God’s work. This is the commission that they have received from their master the devil and they have no choice, while under his control, to obey his evil bidding. Such people sit as tares among the wheat, week after week and they cannot grow spiritually because they do not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal and indwelling Saviour.

Ultimately, God is the Judge as to whether a person is saved or not but the Word of God also tells us to judge righteous judgment. Some people give bountiful evidence as to where their allegiance truly lies and in such a case, I do not believe that it should just be ignored. Discernment is key. It is not impossible in my view, for God to reveal to a Christian or to some Christians, who are actively exercising discernment, that, based on the consistent actions, words, conduct and believes of a particular person, as have been expressed, that that person is not a Christian but an imposter. I am of the firm view that God does this, even if the general congregation is duped.

Sometimes, the prayer of the Christian therefore, ought not to be that a person who is spiritually stunted, become more mature and grow in the Lord spiritually but that that person be spiritually reborn and come to know the Lord as Saviour. If the Christian is not sure as to the true spiritual state of the person, he can rest assured that God knows and so, he can pray for both. That is, on the one hand, he can ask the Lord that if the person is saved, that he will help him to overcome the challenges that he is facing, so that he will not be stunted but will grow spiritually in God’s knowledge and grace. On the other hand, he can also pray, in the event that the person is merely religious but not saved, that if he is not saved (which God knows), that the Lord will keep him from undermining the Church and the truth of God’s Word, that he will protect his people from this individual but cause him to have an encounter with Jesus and that he will save his wretched soul.

(Written on 26th December, 2023)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Article to be informative, beneficial or edifying, you may also be interested in reading the following:

Note 246 – ‘Imposters Among Us’
Note 42 – ‘Ten (10) Red Flags That That Speaker Or Teacher Is A Wolf Disguised In Sheep’s Clothing Or Operating Under The Devil’s Deception’
Note 272 – ‘False Worship – Elevation, Hillsong, Bethel, Jesus Culture And Others’

Additionally, under the ‘SINGLE Daughters’ Page: