To be a Christian one must be "born again". Jesus said that those who repent and recieve him as Saviour and Lord are "born again" -- John 3:3 This is not physical but rather spiritual. This is what is called the spiritual birth. With this spiritual growth is a must. A baby born cannot stay as a baby forever. A baby will grow and learn. The same way spiritually, once the spiritual birth happens, spiritual growth follows.
To be a christian is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. No relationship can flourish and be sustained if there is no heartfelt, regular communication. This is what we call prayer. The health of ones prayer life is a reflection of ones spiritual maturity.
In a relationship it is also essential to spend time reading and studying God's Words, the Bible, His revelation of himself. The Word of God provides the foundation for a healthy prayer life as well as for all other aspects of ones christian living. So prayer is a person communicating with God while , the Bible is God communicating with a person/s. The reading and study of the Bible is like the daily meal for the spiritual body. So therefore without it there will be death or starving spiritually, lack of it will lead to malnourishment and unbalanced diet will lead to other consequences.
The last basic essential element for spiritual growth is the active participation in a church that is healthy, well balanced, Bible believing, Christ centered Church. The Church as the scripture says is the body of Christ for which He is the head. Once one becomes "born again", he immediately is born to a family of faith, the universal church.
Hebrews 5:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
0 comments:
Post a Comment