Spiritual Maturity Tag

February 12, 2017

Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation?

I not only believe in the security of the believer, but I believe in the insecurity of the unbeliever. There might be people whose names are on a church roll but they haven’t darkened the doors of a church in decades. If they are hiding behind a “once saved always saved” belief, they are deceiving themselves.

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March 2, 2008

Don’t Waste God’s Grace

WPaul warns us about receiving God’s grace in vain, because there is the possibility that we can actually waste God’s grace. Grace has been defined as “God’s unmerited favor.” But that definition isn’t enough. To say that God’s grace is “unmerited favor” is like saying Niagara Falls is a trickle. It’s like saying the Grand Canyon is a ditch. It’s like saying the Amazon is a creek. Grace is so much more than unmerited favor.

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August 19, 2007

Keep it in the Fairway

As in golf, our job is to make our way around all eighteen holes of God’s course for our lives. In golf, the first nine holes are called the “outward half” because in early links courses, the first nine holes always went away from the clubhouse. The second nine is called “the inward half.” Some of you are still on the “outward half” but many of us are on the “inward half.” We’ve already lived more of our lives than we have left. But age really has nothing to do with which hole you’re on. We’ve all seen young people who finished the course. You might be on your last hole, or you might be facing your final putt on the 18th hole. Only God knows.

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February 8, 2004

Will You Grow Up?!!

A religious hypocrite is someone who talks about praying but seldom prays. They talk about how the Bible is the Word of God, but they seldom read it or carry it to church. People who don’t go to church often use the presence of hypocrites to keep them away. When someone says to me, “I don’t go to church because it’s full of hypocrites,” I usually respond, “Well, come on anyway, we’ve always got room for one more!”

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May 14, 1995

Are You Growing Up or Just Older?

We do not create unity; it is something the Holy Spirit creates. We ought to protect it and strive toward it. I don’t think as a church you ever come to the place where you say, “We have found unity.” It is always striving for more and more unity. Does that mean unity in a church is that a sign nobody ever disagrees? That nobody has their own opinion? No, that’s part of the diversity. You can disagree with me sometimes. Many times, and that’s okay, as long as you love me and I love you and Jesus is our Lord, there can still be unity. I think churches have unity sometimes and unity is not even demonstrated until you get threatened from the outside.

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