SPI

RITUALMATURI
TY

Whent hinkingaboutt heChr istianl i

fe,
theBi blespeaksofspi r
it
ualmat urit
y
i
nasi mi larway.Forexampl e,Paul
descr i
best he chur ch i
n Cor inth as
“infantsi nChr i
st,”whocoul dnotbe
given “ sol i
df ood” because “ [they
wer e]notabl etor ecei
vei t
.”[i
i]Inhi s
bookSt agesofFai t
h:ThePsy chol ogy
of Human Dev elopment and t he
Questf orMeani ng,James Fowl er
not es t hat “we al l begi n t he
pilgri
mage of f aith as i nfant s.”[
ii
i]
Howev er,we ar e noti ntended t o
remai n“ inf
antsi n Christ”orev en
chi
l
drenf
ort
hatmat
t .I
er nt
hel
ett
er
totheEphesi ans,Paulwr it
es,“Asa
result
,we ar e no l onger to be
chil
dren,t ossed hereand t hereby
waves and car ri
ed aboutbyever y
windofdoct r
ine,byt het r
ickeryof
men, by cr aft
iness in decei tf
ul
schemi ng;butspeaki ngt het r
uthin
l
ove,wear etogr owupi nallaspects
i
nto Hi m who i st he head,even
Christ
.”[i
v]Clearl
y,Paul’
sdesi r
eisfor
t
heChurchto hav
eagr
ownup or
mat
uref
ait
h.
Whenspeakingofspi ri
tualmat ur
ity
,
Pauloften uses the wordt el
eios
(whi
chcanbet ransl
atedas“ mature,
”
“per
fect
,” or “ complete”)
. I n
Ephesians4:13,Paull ongsfor,“all
[t
o]at t
aintotheuni tyoft hefaith,
andoft heknowl edgeoft heSonof
God,t o a matur e person,tot he
measur e of t he st atur
e whi ch
belongs t
ot he full
ness ofChr i
st.”
Howev er,i n t he letter to t he
Ephesians,spi r
itualmat uri
tyis not
j
ustani ndivi
dualgoalbutt hegoalf or
the entir
e body ofChr ist
.St ephen
Rankin,inhisbookAi mingatMat uri
ty:
TheGoaloft heChr i
sti
anLife,defines
“a spiri
tual
ly mat ure Christ
ian [as]
one whose whol e
character—dispositi
ons,wor ds,and
acti
ons—emul ates the characterof
Jesus Chr i
st hi mself.”
[v] I n
Ephesians 5:
1-2,Paulcal ls on the
churchinEphesusto“ beimitator
sof
God,asbelovedchildren;andwal kin
l
ove,j ustasChr i
stal so l
oved[ us]
and gave Himsel f up forus,an
off
eringandasacr ifi
cet oGodasa
fr
agrantaroma.”Spiri
tualmat uri
tyis
agoalthatallChr
ist
iansshoul
dbe
st
ri
vi
ngafterastheyseektoimit
ate
Godandli
veoutChri
st’
slov
e.
Thethemeofmaturi
tyi
smostclear
ly
seen in Ephesi
ans 4:1-
16. Paul
descri
bes the gif
tsthatGod has
giventhechur
ch“ t
oequi pthesaints
forminist
ry”and“ to[buil
d]upt he
body of Christ” so that allcan
become spiri
tual
ly mature( 11-
13).
Paulcal
lsthechur
chinEphesusto
haveagrownupfai
th,
li
keJesus(
14-
16). In Ephesi
ans 5:1-
2, Paul
i
mplorest
hechur
cht o“beimit
ator
s
ofGod”and to“ wal
ki nlove”in
Chr
ist
’s example. Fi nall
y i n
Ephesi
ans6: 10-17,Paulcommands
thechurcht o“putont heful
larmor
ofGod”whi chwillhel
pthem t
ostand
str
ongint heirfait
hagainstspi
ri
tual
att
ack.
6.How toGrow i
nSpi
ri
tualMat
uri
ty
(James1:19-
21)

Understand this,my dearbr others

andsisters!Leteverypersonbequi ck
toli
sten,slowt ospeak,slowtoanger.
For human anger does not
accompl i
shGod’ sr i
ghteousness.So
putawayal lf
il
thandev ilexcessand
humbl y wel come t he message
i
mpl antedwi t
hinyou,whichisablet o
savey oursouls.
James1:
19-
21(
NET)
Howcanwegr
owspi
ri
tual
l
y?

InJames1: 18,Jamesdescr i
bedt he
new bi rthofChr i
stians.Hesai d,“By
hissov ereignplanhegav eusbi rt
h
throught hemessageoft ruth,thatwe
woul dbeaki ndoff ir
stfr
uit
sofal lhe
created.” Ev en bef ore ti
me, God
plannedt osav eus.I t’samy steryin
Scripture cal l
ed election (Eph 1: 4).
Howev er,int i
me,byGod’ ssov ereign
plan,we encount ered the gospel ,
accept edi t,anditsav edus.Wewer e
bornint ot hefamilyofGod.

Whenaper
sonaccept
sChr
ist
,iti
sa
wonder f
ult hi
ng.Scr i
pture sayst he
angelsr ej
oice in heaven ov erone
person’
s conv ersi
on ( Lk 15: 10).
Howev er,l
ikenaturalbabies,spir
itual
babiesar epronet ovariousdanger s
because ofa l ack ofwi sdom and
mat ur
it
y. For exampl e, wi t
h t he
Corint
hianchur ch,Paulsai dt hi
st o
them:

So,brother
sandsi sters,Icouldnot
speaktoy ouasspi ri
tualpeople,but
i
nstead as people oft he f
lesh,as
i
nfantsinChr i
st.Ifedy oumi lk,not
sol
idfood,foryouwerenoty etready.
Infact
,youar esti
l
lnotr eady
,fory ou
arest i
llinfluencedbythef l
esh.For
since t here i s sti
l
ljeal
ousy and
dissensionamongy ou,ar
ey ounot
i
nf l
uencedbyt hefl
eshandbehaving
l
ike unr egenerate people? For
whenev ersomeonesay s,“Iam with
Paul,”or“ Iam wi t
hApoll
os,”ar
ey ou
notmer elyhuman?

1Cor
int
hians3:
1-4

Sincet hemajor
it
yoft hechurchwas
spiri
tual i
nfant
s, they could not
receive deep doctr
ine—they could
only handle mi l
k. They wer e in
discord wi
thoneanot her
,and they
wereov er
lyexalt
ingt
eacher
sint he
church,
whichmeanttheywereprone
both t o idolat
ry and spi r
itual
decepti
on.

Li
kewi se, manyofourchur chestoday
are full of immature
beli
ever s—spi rit
ualinfants.Theyhav e
alowunder standingofdoct ri
ne.They
arepronet of ighti
nganddi scordwith
other
s( includingGod,cf .Jam 1:13)
and ar e pr one t o i dol
izi
ng
people—t hei r past ors, wor ship
l
eader s,Chr isti
an r ecording arti
sts,
etc.Becauseoft hisunduewor ship,
manyf allawayf r
om Godwhent heir
spi
ri
tual l
eader
s si
n or make a
mist
ake. The chur
ch can never
complet
ewhatGodhascal l
editto
unl
essit
smember smat
ureandgr
ow
upinChri
st.

In1John2: 13-14, Johncl assi

fi
edthe
chur chaschi l
dr en,y oungmen,and
father s.He saidt hatt he chi
ldr
en
knew God—t hey had a sav i
ng
relationshi
pwithhi m.They oungmen
wer e conquering t he dev i
lbecause
theWor dofGodwasst ronginthem.
Finally,hesaidt hef athers,li
kethe
children,knew God.Howev er,thi
s
knowl edgewasmuchdeeperbased
onexperi
enceandt heirknowledgeof
God’sWord.Also,becauset heywer e
fat
hers,t
heywer el eadi
ngot herst o
Chri
standment ori
ngbel ievers.This
i
st hespir
it
ualpat hwayGodhasf or
all of us—ul timat ely becomi ng
spir
it
ualmothersandf at
hers.

AfterJamesr emindst hesebeliever s

oft heirnew birt
h,inJames1: 19- 21,
hewr i
testothem abouthowt heycan
grow spir
it
uall
y. They wer e
exper i
encing t ri
als as scat tered
Jewi sh Christi
an refugees.Int heir
scattering,Godwasusi ngtheirtrials
toper fectandmat urethem (Jam 1: 2-
4);howev er
,tomat ure,theyneeded
tor espond wel lt ot heirt rials.In
James1: 19-20,hegi vest hem f urt
her
i
nstructionsonhow t odoso.They
neededt obequi ckt ol i
sten,sl ow to
speak,and sl ow t o become angr y
.
Theni nJames1: 21,hesummar i
zes
thesecommandsbysay ing,“ Soput
awayal lf i
l
th and ev ilexcess and
humbl y wel come t he message
i
mpl antedwi thiny ou,whi chi sabl eto
savey oursoul s.”Byget t
ingr idofev i
l
and wel comi ng God’ s Wor d,t hese
beli
evers coul d be sav ed. Si nce
Jamesi swr it
ingt obel i
eversandhe
previ
ousl yt alked about t heir new
bir
th( 1:18),t his sav ing seems t o
refertoapr esentandfuturetenseof
sav i
ng ( cf. Phi l 2:12-
13, Rom
13:11)—becomi ng sanct i
fi
ed by
growingi nspiri
tualmaturi
tyandone
daybei nggl
or i
fi
edatChr i
st’
scomi ng,
as t hey persev er
ed in the f ai
th.
Jameswascal li
ngf ort
hem togrow.

I
n t his st
udy, we wil
l consi
der
pr
incipl
esaboutgrowi
nginspiri
tual
maturit
y.

Big Quest
ion: How can bel
ievers
grow i
nspiri
tualmat
uri
tyaccording
toJames1:19-21?
To Gr
ow Spi
ri
tual
l
y,We MustBe
Qui
ckt
oLi
sten
Under
stand this,my dearbrothers
andsist
ers!Letever
ypersonbequick
tol
ist
en,slowtospeak,slowt
oanger.

James1:
19

Tobe“ qui
cktolist
en”hast hesense
of“hurryup and li
sten!”or“r
unt o
l
ist
en.”Wheny oufindsomeonewho
i
s a good l i
stener,y ou wil
lfind
someonewhoi smat ureorwhowi l
l
maturequickl
y,iftheykeepbeinga
goodl
i
stener
.

Int
erpret
ati
onQuest
ion:Inwhatways
shouldbeli
ever
sbequicktol
ist
en?

1.Bel
iever
sshoul
dbequi
ckt
oli
sten
toGod’sWord.
Sincet hesur roundingcont extt alks
aboutbei ngbor nagai nbyt hewor d
oft ruth( v.18),being sav ed byt he
messagei mplanted( v.21)
, andbei ng
doersofGod’ sWor dandnothear ers
only(v .22),thecommandt obequi ck
tolistenmustf i
rstbeappl iedt oour
hearingofGod’ sWor d.Unfor tunately
,
thisi swhymanybel i
ev ersar enot
growi ng.Theydon’ thur r
yupt ot ake
par tinoppor t
unitiestoheart heWor d!
Theydon’ thur r
yupt oreadScr ipture
daily, bei nvol
vedi nsmal lgr oupsand
wor shi p ser v
ices,orr ead Chr i
st i
an
l
iterat ure! Today , we hav e mor e
oppor tuniti
est hanpastgener ations
tost udyGod’ sWor dbecauseoft he
Internet , TV, r adi
o, and moder n
transpor t
ation,and y et,i t’
s hi ghly
l
ikel yt hatbelieversarel essbi blicall
y
l
iterat et han pastgener ations.To
reallygr ow spi r
itual
ly,we mustbe
zeal ous i n t aking adv antage of
oppor tuniti
est ohearandst udyt he
Wor d.( 1)Todot hismeanst hatwe
mustgetr idofapat hy.In1Pet er2:2,
Pet eract uall
ycommandsbel i
eversto
“crav e”or“ yearn”f ort he spir
itual
milk ofGod’ s Wor dl i
ke an infant.
Pet erdoesn’ tcommandbel i
eversto
readi torst udyi t.Hecommandsus
todesi r
ei t,becausewhenwedesi r
e
i
t,wewi llreadi t.We’ llhurr
yupt o
heari t.Thi s means when we f i
nd
oursel ves apat heti
ct owar ds God’s
Wor d,bor ed i nt he mi dstof t he
sermons,wemustr epentofourhar d
hear ts.( 2)Notonl y mustwe be
caref ulofapat hy,wemustbecar eful
ofbusy ness.As i nt he Mar y and
Mar thast ory( Lk10: 38-42),it
’sv ery
possi blet o be busy doi ng good
thi
ngs,incl
udingmi nist
ry,whichkeep
us from t he bestt hi
ng—si tt
ing at
Jesus’feet,heari
ngandst udyinghis
Word.Ar eyouhur ryi
ngupt olistento
God’s Wor d?Or ,arey ou apat het
ic
andtoobusyt ospendt imei nGod’ s
Word?Bei ngz eal
ousf orGod’ sWor d
i
scrucialforspiri
tualgr
owt h.

2.Bel
iever
sshoul
dbequi
ckt
oli
sten
toot
hers.
(1)Notli
steningt oothersprobabl
y
l
eadst omostofourar gumentsand
fi
ghtsinsociety
,whet herthatbein
famil
i
es, chur ches, wor k, or
gover
nment.Thi s was a problem
amongst t he scat t
ered Jewi sh
Chr i
stians,asJamessay st heywer e
war ri
ngandf ighti
ngwi thoneanot her
(4:1-2)—no doubtpr ompt ed by t he
stressoft hei rpersecution.I nt hei r
situati
on,l istening t o ot hers and
reall
y hear i
ng t hem woul d be v ery
i
mpor tanttohav epeace.Li steningi s
diffi
cult because we ar e nat ural l
y
pridefulandsel fi
sh.Becauseoft hi s,
wet endt obel i
evethatt hewaywe
viewt hingsiscor rectandhowot her s
view thingsi swr ong—whi chl eadst o
discord wi th ot hers who l ikewi se
thinktheyar ecor rect
.Ty picall
y,when
peopl ear ef i
ght i
ngov ersomet hing,
each per son i s cor r
ect t o some
extent—t hey arej ust focusi ng on
diff
erent angl es. I n t he chur ch,
somet imest hereisanar gumentov er
theemphasi sofpr eachingt hegospel
versussoci aljust i
ce( caringf orthe
poor , et c.
). Bot h ar e act ually
i
mpor tant and t he Chr isti
an dut y.
Christpr eached t hegospel ,buthe
alsoheal edthesickandf edt hepoor .
Certainly,aper son’set ernaldest i
ny
mustbemor eimpor t
antt hanhi sor
hert empor aryneeds,butbot h ar e
i
mpor tant.In pol i
ti
cs, somet imes
there ar ef ights ov er t hings l i
ke
nationalsecur i
tyont hebor der—not
all
owi ng criminals or t error i
stst o
entert hecount r
y.Noonewoul dsay
thisisunimpor tant .Butont heot her
side,mostbel iev eacount ryshoul d
alsobehospi tabl e( cf.Lev19: 34,Ps
146:9)—prov i
ding a pl ace ofr efuge
for the per secut ed,oppr essed,or
mar gi
nali
z ed. Both are
i
mpor tant—pr otect ing t he count r
y
andbei nghospi tabl et othosei nneed.
In ordert o av oid needl ess di scord
and fighti
ng,whi ch lead t o si n,we
mustl earntol i
st en.I thasof t
enbeen
saidthatGodgav eust woear sthat
always stay open and one mout h
which we can cl ose,so we coul d
l
istentwiceasmuchaswet alk.
(2)Li steningi snotonl yimpor tantto
avoid di scor d and f ighting,buti t
’s
also i mpor t
ant t o hel p ot hers,
especi all
y when counsel i
ng or
ser vi
ngt hem.Weneedt ol i
stent o
whatpeopl ear esay i
ng.Weneedt o
l
isten t o what t hey ar e not
say i
ng—of tenpeopl eleav eoutt hings
i
nt entional l
yf orfearofr ejectionand
somet imesev ent odecei v e.Weneed
to consi der t heir body l anguage.
Sev entyper centofcommuni cationi s
nonv erbal ,soi nlisteningweneedt o
wat chwhataper son’sbodyi ssay ing.
Weal soneedt opr ayerfullylistento
theSpi r
itwhi lemi nisteri
ngt opeopl e.
Godhasspeci alt hi
ngshewant sto
speak and do i n peopl e’s l
ives;
therefore,wemustbesensi ti
vetohi s
l
eadi ng whilemi ni
st eri
ng to others.
WhenNehemi ahwast al
kingtot he
Persianki ng,hepr ay edinhi shear t
beforer espondingtohi m( Neh2).We
shoul dbepr ayi
ngandl i
steningtothe
Spiri
twhent alkingt oot hersaswel l
.
List
eni ng i s v ery i mpor t
ant f or
counsel i
ngandser vingpeopl e.

(3)Being a good l i
steneri ncludes
practi
cing“act
iveli
stening”skill
sl i
ke
asking foll
ow-
up quest i
ons so t hat
wecanl ear
nmor eandal sorepeating
whatwas sai df orclar i
fi
cation.As
peopl
e under stand that they are
bei
nghear d,itbuil
dst r
ustandt hey
aremor elikel
yt o sharemor eand
l
ist
entowhatwesay .It
’sof
t enbeen
sai
d,“Peopledon’ tcarehow much
youknow unt i
ltheyknow how much
youcare!
”

Are we qui ck tolisten? To grow

spi
ri
tuall
y,wemustbequi cktoli
sten
to God’s Wor d and also quick to
l
ist
ent oothers—bothoft hesewil
laid
i
nkeepi ngusoutofsi nanddi scord
andalsoinser v
ingothers.

Appl
i
cat
ionQuest
ion:Whyi
sli
steni
ng
so import
antf orspi
ri
tualgrowt
h?
Whyi sli
steni
ngsohardt odowell?
How hasGodhel pedyougrow asa
l
ist
ener?Whataresomegoodtipsfor
l
ist
ening?

ToGrowSpi
ri
tual
l
y,WeMustBeSl
ow
toSpeak
Under
stand this,my dearbrothers
andsist
ers!Letever
ypersonbequick
tol
ist
en,slowtospeak,slowt
oanger.

James1:
19

Pr
over
bs 10:
19 say
s,“
When wor
ds
abound,t ransgressi on isi nevi
table,
butt heonewhor estr
ainshi swor ds
i
s wi se.”Also,Pr overbs 13:3 say s,
“The one who guar ds hi s wor ds
guards hi s l i
fe, but whoev er is
tal
kat i
vewillcomet or uin.
”Whenwe
tal
kt oo much,we won’ tbe good
l
istenersandt hereforewi llbemor e
pronet osin.Fort hatreason,i norder
togr ow spir
ituall
y,wemustbesl ow
tospeak.

Int
erpret
ati
onQuest
ion:I
nwhatway s
shouldbeli
ever
sbeslowtospeak?

1.Bel
i
ever
sshoul
dbesl
ow t
ospeak
whenl
i
steni
ngt
oGod’
sWor
d.
Again,si nce the cont exti sdeal ing
withScr iptur
e(1:18,21,22) ,wemust
fi
rst appl yt he command t o our
l
istening t o God’ s Wor d. In t he
ancientcont ext,peopl eownedv ery
few books because t hey wer e so
expensiv e,andev enl esswoul dhav e
ownedaBi bl
e.Ty picall
y,peopl ewent
tochur chorsy nagoguet oheart he
Wor dr ead and pr eached.Howev er
,
theanci entwor shipcont extwasl ess
formal t
hanmoder nwor shipset ti
ngs.
Peoplewoul dcommonl yinterr
uptt he
sermonst oaskquest ionsorcont est
theteachi ng.Thisispr obabl ypar tof
the reason Pault oldt he ladies at
Cor i
nt ht o ask t heirquest i
ons at
homet ot heirhusbandsi nsteadofat
chur ch( 1Cor14: 34-35) .Somewer e
obv i
ousl y di srupt i
ng t he wor ship.
Li
kewi se, i n smal l gr oups and
i
nf ormal t
eachi ngser v i
ces, weshoul d
besl ow t ospeakandi nst eadf ocus
onl ear ning.Unf ortunately,ininformal
Biblest udyset tings, someneedl essly
domi nat e t he conv ersat i
ons, not
al
lowi ngot herst otalk,andal sonot
addi ngmuchv aluablecont ent.Being
sl
ow t ospeakdoesnotf orbidgood
dialogue and conv ersation whi lein
Bible st udy—i tj ustmeanst hatour
wor dsshoul dbet hought ful,st
rategic,
and edi fy
ing t o ot hers.We shoul d
prayerfull
y consi derourwor ds so
thattheycl ari
fyGod’ sWor dandbui l
d
others up. Remember , i n t he
mul t
itudeofwor ds,sinisnotl acking.
Inaddi t
ion,whenhear i
ngGod’ sWor d,
wemustbecar efultonott alkinour
mind—hav i
ng a r unning di alogue
while Scr i
pturei st aught.Of ten in
regularconv ersati
ons,peopl edov ery
l
itt
le l ist
ening because t hey ar e
thi
nkingaboutwhatt heyar egoi ngt o
saynextorsomeot herbusi nesst hey
need t o at t
end t o.Peopl e do t he
samewhenhear ingScr i
pturet aught .
Fort hatr eason,when r eading or
l
istening to God’ s Wor d,we must
quietourmi ndsandf ocusonwhat
Godi
ssayi
ngsowecanl
ear
n.Thi
sis
cr
uci
alf
orourgr
owt
h.

2.Bel
ieversshoul
dbeslow t
ospeak
whent eachi
ngorcounsel
ingot
hers
accor
dingtoGod’sWor
d.
Asment ioned,beingslow tospeak
doesn’ tmean t o neverspeak.God
want sust oaskwi sequesti
onsand
strat
egi callyshareGod’ sWordwi th
others.InJames3: 1,Jamessaidthat
notmanyshoul dseekt obeteachers
becauset heywi l
lrecei
veahar sher
j
udgment . Obv i
ously, some wer e
pri
def ul
ly mishandli
ng God’s
Wor d—causi ng di
visi
on and hur
ting
peopl e. The Wor d of God i s
power f
ul—bot hwhent aughtcor r
ectly
and when t aughti naccurately.Our
wrongconcl usionsonScr iptur
ehur t
peopl e, and we’ ll be judged f or
i
t—bot hbypeopl eandGod.Paulsai d
het aughtGod’ sWor dwi t
hf earand
tr
embl i
ng ( 1 Cor 2: 3-4). Many
beli
ev ers don’ thav e a healthyf ear
when speaki ng God’ s Wor d.They
speak pr idefull
y, hast i
ly, and
somet i
mes angr i
l
y, whi ch hur ts
peopl e.The Bi bl
ei sat wo-edged
swor d,whi chcanbot hhur tandheal
(Heb 4: 12).When a doct or does
surger y,hemakessur ethathei snot
only knowl edgeable butcl ean and
soberbecauseper formi ngsur geryis
amat terofl ifeanddeat h.Bel i
evers
shoul d l i
kewi se ai m to be
knowl edgeabl e,mor all
y clean,and
soberi nhandl i
ngGod’ sWor d.When
i
nsi n,whi chi ncludesspi rit
ualsi ns
l
ike pr i
de, l ust, anger , and
unf orgiveness, we’ l
lbemor epronet o
mi sinterpretandabuseScr i
pture( cf
.
Jam 1: 21,1Pet er2: 1-2,1Ti m 4:1-2)
.
Somet imes,i t’swi set onotspeakor
teach God’ s Wor d unt i
lwe hav e
repent edofcer tai
nsi ns.Inaddi ti
on,
weshoul dhol dbackf rom t eaching
ont opicst hatwear eunsur eabout
from abi blicalper spect iv
e.It’swise,
ev en f ort eacher s,t o say ,“ Idon’t
know.Ineed t o studythatmor e.”
Personall
y,therearesomet opicsI
won’tteachpubl i
clyonbecauseI ’
m
sti
llwrest
li
ngt ounderst
andthet exts
anddoct ri
nes.IfIdot eacht hem,I
sharet hev ar
iousv i
ewsand wher e
I’
m atinmycur r
entunderst
andingof
thetextordoctri
ne.

Togr ow spiri
tual
ly,wemustbesl ow
toteachGod’ sWor d.Weshouldhave
aheal t
hyf earandt r
embli
ngbecause
God’s Wor d is powerful
,our sin
aff
ects our abi li
ty to properl
y
understandandt eachit
,andbecause
Godwi llholdusaccountabl
eforwhat
wet
each(
Jam 3:
1,Mat
t5:
19)
.

3.Bel
ieversshoul
dbeslow t
ospeak
i
nregularconver
sati
ons.
We ar e made i n God’simage,and
God cr eated t he ear t
ht hrough hi s
Wor ds.Ther efor e,t
hereist hepower
oflifeanddeat hi nourwor ds( Prov
18:21)—t o bui l
d and dest roy. No
doubt ,because oft hi
s,Chr i
stsai d
thatwewi llbej udgedf orev eryidle
wor d( Matt12: 36).Fort hatr eason,
wemustbesl owt ospeak.Weshoul d
carefull
y consi der t he pot enti
al
outcomesofwhatwesay .Wi l
lthis
encour ageot her s,buil
dt hem up,or
discouragethem?Weshoul dr
efr
ain
from cri
ti
cizi
ngother
s.Wemustkeep
our t ongues f r
om l ying and
exaggerati
on. We must keep our
tongues from boasting.We must
l
ear ntoonl yspeakedi f
yingwords.
Ephesians4:29-
30says:

Youmustl etnounwhol esomewor d

come outofy ourmout h,butonly
whatisbenefi
cialforthebui l
dingup
oftheonei nneed,t hati tmaygive
gracetothosewhohear .Anddonot
gri
evet he Holy Spiri
tofGod,by
whom youwer esealedfort hedayof
redempti
on.
Whenunwhol esomet alkcomesout
ofourmout hs,wegr ievetheHol y
Spir
it
—meaningwepai nt heLordand
hi
nderhisministr
yinandt hroughus.
We can’ t grow when speaki ng
ungodly wor
ds,and i thindersthe
growthofothers.Therefor
e,togrow
wemustbesl owt ospeak.

Appli
cati
on Question:Why i si tso
i
mpor t
antt o be slow to speak?I n
whatway sdoy oucommonl yfailin
yourspeech? Whatt ips havey ou
foundhelpf
ulinbeingslowt ospeak?
ToGrowSpi
ri
tual
l
y,WeMustBeSl
ow
toAnger
Understand this,my dearbr ot
hers
andsisters!Letever
ypersonbequick
toli
sten,slowtospeak,slowtoanger
.
For human anger does not
accompl i
shGod’ sri
ght
eousness.

James1:
19

Anger i s anot her t remendous

hindr
ance to spiri
tual growth. In
Ephesians 4:26-
27, Paul war ned
beli
everstonotgotobedangr y,l
est
they gi ve Satan a f oothold.
Unresol
vedangerhindersourgr owth
bothindiv
iduall
yandcor porat
ely,as
communi t
ies and local chur ches.
Many chur ches are not gr owing
spi
rit
uall
y because ofdi scor
d and
fi
ghti
ng,whichopensthedoort othe
enemy .

Jameswar nsthathumanangerdoes
notaccompl ishGod’srighteousness.
Again,thi
smeanst hatitwi l
lhinder
our spiri
tual growt h and ot hers’
.
Seeds ofangersown i nto others
typi
call
ypr oducedest r
uctivef r
uitin
them.Infact,Christt
aughtangerwas
theseedofmur der(Matt5:21-22).
Int
erpret
ati
onQuest
ion:I
nwhatways
shouldbeli
ever
sbeslowtoanger
?

1.Bel
i
ever
sshouldbeslow t
oanger
whenhear
ingGod’
sWord.
Throughoutthe st ory oft he Bible,
God’speopleof t
enbecameangr yat
the prophets for speaki ng God’ s
Wor dtothem.Theyev enki l
ledthem
at times! Likewise, i n the New
Testament,Paulsai dt hi
st ot he
Galati
ans,“So then,hav eIbecome
yourenemybyt el
li
ngy outhet r
uth? ”
(5:
16).SincetheWor di saswor d,i t
cutsuswhenwer eadi torheari t
preached. When i t chall
enges us
aboutsomesi n—i ll
egaldownl oading,
cheating on t axes, har boring
unforgiveness, not submi t
ting t o
l
eader ship, sexual i mmor al
ity
,
etc.—ournat uralr esponse of ten is
anger ,especi ally when t he Wor d
comesf rom apr eacher,memberof
thechur ch,orf riend.Thisi snotj ust
truewhenGodspeakst ousabouta
sinfulactbutal sowhenGod’ sWor d
conf r
onts us t heologically about
somewr ongv i
ew wehar bor .Of ten
when t opics l i
ke God’ s r ole f or
women i nt hechur ch orhomear e
taught, peopl e i mmedi ately st art
struggli
ng wi t
h anger dur ing t he
study .WhenScr i
pturet alksaboutour
need t o submi tt ot he gov erning
author it
ies,especi allywhent heyar e
ungodl y or oppr essiv e, peopl e
commonl yst rugglewi thanger .They
woul dr athercr it
ici
zeorr ebelagai nst
thel eader s.Today ,whent hesexual
ethicsoft heBi blear et aught—how
Godf or bi
dsl ust,incl udingsame- sex
attraction and sex out si
de of
mar riage—agai n, peopl e often
struggl ewi t
h anger .Bel ieverscan’ t
grow spi r
ituall
ywhent heyar eangr y
atGod’ sWor d.Ourj obi snott oj udge
theWor d!Itist ocor rectlyinterpretit
and t hen submi tt oi t.I nstead of
becomi ngangr yatt hosewhot el
lus
thetruth,weshoul dhonort hem and
encouraget hem becausei t
’sahar d
j
ob ( 1 Ti m 5: 17) .As ment i
oned,
othershav ebeenki l
ledforpr eaching
trut
h.Andot hert eacherssi mpl yskip
hard truths—t o pr
otect
themselves—r athert han l oving God
andot hersbypr eachingGod’ sWor d.
Paulwar ned thati nt he l astday s,
preacherswoul dsi mpl yitchpeopl e’s
ears—teachingf eel-
goodt opi csand
buil
dingupagr eatf oll
owing—i nstead
ofpr eachingsounddoct rine( 2Ti m
4:1-
4).The pr ophet ,t ypically,has
neverbeenl oved.
2.Beli
eversshoul
dbesl
ow t
oanger
i
nrelat
ionshi
ps.
Again,Chri
sttaughtt hatangerwas
theseedofmur der,andPaulwar ned
thatitopenedthedoort oSatani n
ourli
ves.Evenwhenpeopl eharm us,
Scri
ptur
e calls us to bless them.
Romans12: 19-
21say s,

Do not av enge y oursel

v es, dear
fri
ends,butgiveplacetoGod’ swr ath,
foritiswrit
ten,“
Vengeancei smi ne,I
willrepay,
”say stheLor d.Rat her,if
yourenemyi shungry,feedhi m;ifhe
i
st hir
sty,
givehim adrink;f
ori ndoing
thi
sy ouwillbeheapingbur ningcoal s
onhishead.Donotbeover
comeby
ev
il
,butover
comeevi
lwi
thgood.

Instead ofbei ng angry,we shoul d

servet hosewhohur tus.Christsaid
thatweshoul dpr ayforthem instead
ofcur singt
hem (Mat t5:44)
.Godi sa
j
ustGod.Hewi l
lpur suejusticefor
how wehav ebeenhar med—eitherin
thisli
feort henext.Inthemeant ime,
we shoul d bless ourenemi es,and
overcomeev i
lwit
hgood.

3.Beli
ever
s shoul
d be r
ight
eousl
y
angr
y.
Inthesameway ,beingsl owt ospeak
doesn’tmeant onev erspeak,bei ng
slow tobecomeangr yal sodoesn’ t
meant onev erbeangr y.Thereisa
ri
ghteous anger we shoul d hav e.
Certai
nly,weseet hisinChr ist
.When
Christwas l i
ed aboutand mocked
whilebeingt r
iedbyt heSanhedr i
n,he
saidnothing(Mar k14: 53-65).Hewas
gentleli
keal amb.But ,whenpeopl e
wer e cheat ing t he poor and
dishonori
ng God’s house—the
temple—hewasf erociousl i
keal i
on.
Hepul l
edoutawhi p,f l
i
ppedt ables,
andkickedt hosesi nningoutofGod’ s
house( John2) .Li kewise,thereisa
ri
ghteousangert hatweshoul dhav e.
Someti
mes,we si
n by not bei
ng
angr
y(Eph4:
26)
.

What ’
s t he di ffer
ence bet ween
ri
ghteousangerandsi nfulanger ?In
general,asdemonst ratedbyChr i
st,
si
nful anger i
s t
y pi
call
y
sel
fish—concer ned pr imar i
ly wi th
ourselves and our r ights. But
ri
ghteous anger i s t y pi
call
y
concernedwi t
hGodandot hers.We
shouldbel ikelambswhenper sonall
y
off
ended and mi str
eated and l i
ke
l
ions when God or ot hers ar e
mistreatedorof f
ended.
Self
ish anger doesn’ tl ead t o a
ri
ghteousl if
e—itt ypical
lyl eadsbot h
usandot hersintosi n.Butr i
ghteous
anger—whi ch fightsf orot hers and
for God’ s honor—leads t
o
ri
ghteousness.I t cares about t he
poor,t heabused,andt henegl ected
andt hatburningpassi onst irspeople
upt odosomet hingabouti nj
ustice.
When sel fi
shly angr y
, we must
humbl eour selv
es.Whenr ight
eousl y
angry,wemustwi sel
ydi scer nhowt o
use t he angerf ort he benef i
tof
othersandGod’ sgl ory.

Appl
i
cat
ion Quest
ion:I
n whatway
s
doy oustrugglewi t
hanger ?How i s
Godcal l
i
ngy out or espondt oy our
angerandbet t
ercont r
olit?How can
we discern whet her our anger is
si
nfulorr ighteous? How can we
prot
ectour selvesf r
om sinning,even
whenrighteousl yangry(cf.Eph4:26-
27)?

ToGrowSpir
it
ual
l
y,WeMustJoy
ful
l
y
Recei
veGod’
sWord
Soputawayal lfi
l
thandevi
lexcess
and humblywel come t
he message
i
mplantedwithinyou,
whichi
sableto
sav
ey oursouls.
James1:
21

Notonl ymustwebequi cktolistent o

God’ s Wor d and not angr y when
hearingi t
,butwemustal soj oy fully
receivei t. When James say st o
“welcome t he message,”t he wor d
“welcome” has t he sense of t o
“receive wi t
h hospi t
ali
ty” or t o
“receivefavorably.
”1Therefore,likea
goodhost ,wemustal waysr ecei ve
God’ sWor dj oyful
lyintoourhear ts.
One can const antlyread Scr i
pt ure,
heari tpr eached,and y etnott ruly
receiveitandal l
owi tt
ochanget hem.
Cer t
ainl
y,t hatwas t he sin oft he
Pharisees.Theywer eal way sr eading
andst udyingbutnott r
ulyr eceiv i
ng
what God sai d. They ul timat el
y
rej
ectedChr ist—whowasGod’ sWor d
i
ncarnat e( John 1: 1).Likewi se,we
mustj oyfull
yr eceivet het ruthst hat
God t eaches us when st udy i
ng
Scri
pt uref orourmor ni
ngdev ot i
ons.
Wemustj oy full
yreceivei twheni tis
preached.Wemustj oyful
lyr eceivei t
whenwear ecor rected becauseof
oursinf ulactionsorbel iefs.Pr overbs
9:8say s,“…r eproveawi seper son
andhewi l
llovey ou.”

Obser
vat
ion Quest
ion:How can we
j
oyf
ull
yrecei
veGod’
sWor
d?

1.Wejoyf
ull
yrecei
veGod’
sWor
dby
get
ti
ngri
dofallsi
n.
“Putaway ”i
not herplacesi susedof
taki
ngof fdi
rtyclothes.I nthesame
way ,i
fwear egoingt or eceiveGod’s
Wor d,we mustgetr i
d oft he old
clot
hes we’ v e been hangi ng
onto—ungodl y act i
ons, t houghts,
entert
ainment ,etc.I n additi
on,“put
away ”isder i
vedf rom aGr eekwor d
thatreferstowaxi nt heear.2Itmay
have t his sense i n the r eadi
ng.
Therefore,Jamesi scal li
ngust oget
ri
d ofsi n whi ch clogsourear st o
God’ sv oice.In1Pet er2: 1-2,Pet er
saidsomet hingsi milar.Hesay s,“ So
getr i
dofal levi
landal ldecei tand
hypocr i
syandenv yandal lslander .
And y earnl i
kenewbor ni nfantsf or
pure,spi r
itualmi l
k,sot hatbyi ty ou
may gr ow up t o salv ati
on.”Si nce
Peterconnect sget t
ingr idofsi nwi th
yearning orcr aving God’ s Wor d,i t
tel
lsust hatsi naf f
ectsourappet ite.
Whenbor nagai n, i
tisv erynat uralfor
aspi rit
ualchi l
dt owantt oeat —just
l
ikeababydoes.Butpr acti
cingand
enjoying si n negatively af f
ects our
spiri
tual appet i
te. Enj oying si nf ul
entertai
nment , conv ersations, or
actions af fect
s ourdesi r
et or ead,
study , andobeyGod’ sWor d.It’
soften
been sai d,“ The Bibl e willmake a
per songetr idofsin,orsi nwi l
lmake
a per son getr i
d oft he Bible.
”Si n
makesusst opdesi ringGod’ sWor d
andenj oyingit.Itmakesusst artto
disobeyt heWor dwehear .Then,i t
ev entual l
y st ops us f rom goi ng
placesordoi ngt hi
ngswher ewear e
hear i
ngorl earningaboutt heWor d.
Thi si sacommonpr ocessmanygo
through. Therefor e, James
essent ial
l
y say s getr i
d ofsi n—by
bei ngqui ckt ol i
sten,sl ow t ospeak,
slowt obei ngangr y,andt urningaway
from any ot hersi nfult hought s or
act ions—sowecanj oyfull
ywel come
God’
sWor
d.

2.Wejoy
ful
lyrecei
veGod’
sWor
dby
humbl
ysubmit
tingt
oit
.
The wor d “humbl y
” can al so be
tr
anslated“ meek.”Itwasusedofa
wil
dhor sethatorigi
nal l
ycoul dn’tbe
ri
ddenbutwasev entuall
yt amedby
i
ts owner .Af t
ertami ng,t he owner
could make t he hor se run,wal k,
speedup,sl owdown,andev enst op.
Li
kewi se,we mustsubmi tt o our
Master ,God,byhumbl ysubmi t
tingt o
hi
sWor d.Weshoul dbequi ckt ohear
whatourMast ersay st hr
ough t he
Word.Weshoul dn’
tbet hi
nkingabout
tomor row’sbusinesswhi l
el i
stening
towhati tsays.Weshoul dn’
targue
wi t
h what i tt eaches.We shoul d
sober l
y and discer ningl
y sharei ts
truthswi thothers.Weshoul dn’tbe
angr ywhen itconf rontsoursi n or
wr ong ideol
ogies.We shoul dt urn
from si n when itconv i
cts us.We
mustst udytheWor dt o“ master”it
,
so i tcan “ mast er” us.We must
humbl ysubmi tt
oi t.Psalm 25:
9( NIV)
say s,“
Hegui dest hehumbl einwhat
i
sr ightandteachest hem hisway .
”

Ar
ey ou joy
ful
ly wel
comi
ng God’
s
Wordinyourli
fe?Thi
sishow God
savesus—changesusi ntohi sv ery
i
mage.Romans12: 2say s,“Donotbe
conformedt ot hi
spresentwor ld,but
bet ransformed byt her enewi ng of
yourmi nd,sot hatyoumayt estand
approvewhati sthewi l
lofGod—what
i
s good and wel l-
pleasing and
perf
ect .
”We’ r
et r
ansformed as we
rej
ectwor ldl
inessandsin,hearGod’ s
Word, andhumbl ysubmi ttoit.

Appli
cati
onQuestion:How havey ou
seenorexperiencedthestatement ,
“TheBibl
ewil
lmakeusgetr i
dofsi n,
orsin wil
lmake usgetr id oft he
Bibl
e?”Inwhatway shasnott ur
ning
awayf r
om sin(includi
ngsinwi t
hin
yourenter
tai
nmentandr el
ati
onshi
ps)
aff
ectedyourspi
ri
tualappet
it
e?

Concl
usi
on
Howcanwegr owi nspiri
tualmaturit
y?
Godgav eust henew bi rt
ht hrough
hi
sWor d;howev er,itwasnev erhis
i
ntention f or us t o stay spi ri
tual
chi
ldren.Chi l
drendon’ tknow God’ s
Wor d.They ar e prone t o discord,
i
dolatry,f alse teaching,and ev en
becomi ng angr yatGod.Ther efore,
Jamest eachest hesebel i
ever
show
togr ow spi ri
tual
l
ywhi chwasGod’ s
purposebehi ndt hetrial
st heywer e
exper
ienci
ng(
Jam 1:
2-4)
.

To Gr
ow Spi
ri
tual
l
y,We MustBe
Qui
ckt
oLi
sten
ToGrowSpi
ri
tual
l
y,WeMustBeSl
ow
toSpeak
ToGrowSpi
ri
tual
l
y,WeMustBeSl
ow
toAnger
ToGrowSpir
it
ual
l
y,WeMustJoy
ful
l
y
Recei
veGod’
sWord
Appli
cat
ion Quest
ion:Which ofthe
fourpoi
ntsdoyoustruggl
ewithmost
andwhy ?How isGodcal l
ingyouto
growinthatar
ea?
Pr
ayerPr
ompt
s
 Prayforgr
aceov
erourli
steni
ng
(
toGod’
sWordandother
s).
 Pr ayforgr
aceoverourwor
ds
(f
orthem t
oglor
if
yGodandedif
y
other
s).
 Pr ayforgr
aceov erouranger
(t
hatitwould bui
l
d up and not
dest
roy)
.
 Pr ay f
or gr
ace to gr
ow i
n
hol
i
nessandobedi
ence.