How to Become a Mature Christian

I've shown you in a previous post some of the benefits of becoming a mature Christian. That answered the 'Why?' question. This time I'd like to answer the 'How?' question. How do we grow to become mature Christians? I think that many believers would say something like, 'Be sure that you read your Bible'. And it's hard to find anything wrong with doing that. But let me challenge that response just a little bit with this question. How does the Bible answer that question? I think you will find yourself hard pressed to find the Bible's answer to be some variation on, 'Read your Bible'. There will be places in the Bible that extol the benefits of knowing your Bible, like Psalm 119. But those places don’t talk about how to get to know your Bible. 

Reading your Bible is a really good thing to do. But there is a theme in the Scriptures that is too often neglected when it comes to this question of how to become a mature Christian. As you read through the Scriptures you will find the theme of the ministry of the Church as God's primary means of maturing Christians. This starts early in the Bible with the teaching ministry of the priests and Levites. And as you read the apostolic letters instructing the saints in the faith you won't find any, 'Be sure to read your Bible'. What you will find are references to the ministry of the Church. So, to pick one example, Paul talks about the saints developing to 'mature manhood'. And what means to that goal does he point to? 'And Jesus gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists and the pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to ... mature manhood'. (Ephesians 4.11ff) Jesus gave these leaders of the Church to do the work of maturing the saints. 

So, what's the take away from this? Don't worry about reading your Bible? No. The take away is about the significance of the Church for the Christian. The emphasis is to be on pursuing maturity as a group project and not something you do essentially alone. The Church, with its ministry of preaching the Word and celebrating the sacraments, is Jesus' primary tool for your good and your growth. Enjoy it.