Dynamics of Christian Growth: The Word of God

If you follow sports, you know that football season is about to begin. For weeks, coaches have been running practice drills, scrimmages and preseason games. Most importantly, they have been reminding players about the fundamentals of the game. Some have even repeated the familiar and fundamental line, “This is a football.”

As we prepare for our upcoming Fall and Winter ministries at Faith Baptist Church, I want to remind you about a fundamental of the game. In fact, the Christian life is far more serious than a game; it’s a matter of life and death. So let’s huddle together and talk about this fundamental fact of the Christian life: “This is the Word of God.”

Your attitude towards the Word of God matters. It makes all the difference between whether you are a child of God or not, and it makes all the difference between whether you grow as a Christian and accomplish God’s purposes or not. So, what is your attitude toward the Word of God today?

Weeding Out the Crowds (Mark 4:1-20)

During his earthly ministry, Jesus taught the Word of God to very large crowds of people, and they were fascinated by his miracles and intrigued by what he said. Though we might be tempted to call these crowds a success, Jesus knew differently. He looked past the impressive numbers and focused on peoples’ hearts instead. To do this, he told a helpful story (a parable) that explained what was really going on.

In this story, a farmer tossed handfuls of seed onto the ground around him. This seed represented the Word of God, the farmer represented the messenger who was teaching it, and the ground represented the hearts of the people in the crowd.

Four Kinds of Soil

This ground featured four kinds of soil. Some was flattened and hard, some was only a thin layer with large rocks underneath, and some was infested with weeds. The final kind of soil was fertile and conducive to growth. Ultimately, the type of soil determined the outcome of the seeds. That’s what Jesus emphasized as he told and explained this story.

Hardened Soil

When seed falls onto flattened, hard soil packed down by travelers’ feet, animal hooves, and wagon wheels, it lays there briefly before birds snatch it away to feed themselves.

This soil illustrates the hearts of people who hear the noise of someone teaching the Word of God. Yet as soon as the sound of Bible teaching enters their ears, Satan takes it away and they give it no thought whatsoever. They go on their way forgetting what they heard. They keep on thinking and living just as they did before, unmoved and unchanged.

Rocky Soil

When seed falls onto thin soil with a layer of rock underneath, it shows initial signs of life and a plant begins to appear above the surface. Before long, however, it withers and dies due to a stunted, undeveloped root system with nowhere to go.

This soil illustrates the hearts of people who listen to Bible teaching in an enthusiastic and receptive way. They like what they hear, think about it for a while longer, and even start to do some things as a result. Unfortunately, this positive response is only temporary. Why? Because they return to their former lifestyle when circumstances get difficult and people begin to mistreat them due to the changes caused by the Word of God.

Thorny Soil

When seed falls onto weed-infested soil, it also shows encouraging signs of life. Yet before long, it also dies from being choked out by the weeds. Other worthless plants steal its nutrients away and tangle themselves around these plants, preventing them from producing any fruit.

This soil also illustrates the hearts of people who listen to Bible teaching and respond favorably for a while. Yet one (or more) of three factors pull them away from living according to the Bible: (1) the cares and worries of everyday life, (2) the deceptive allure of financial wealth, and (3) a strong desire for other things besides money that make them feel like they’re “missing out.”

Fertile Soil

When seed falls onto fertile soil, it grows successfully and completely. It stays in place, develops a strong root system, and reaches full maturity. It also produces the flowers and fruit, vegetables and grain it was supposed to produce.

This soil illustrates the hearts of people who do more than just listen to the Word of God and respond to it temporarily. It illustrates people who take God’s Word to heart and respond to it over a long period – to the end of their earthly life. They reach full maturity as a Christian, becoming more and more like Jesus in their mindset and conduct, and they accomplish their God-given purpose for life (though to varying degrees).

Growing as a Christian (1 Peter 1:22-2:3)

Peter was a man who followed Jesus. He continued to mature in Christlikeness throughout his life and produced spiritual fruit. Through him, God provided us with teaching in a letter called 1 Peter. In this letter, Peter refers to the Word of God as seed, just as Jesus did (1 Pet 1:23). He describes it as “incorruptible” (“indestructible”) seed.

Peter goes on to quote from the prophet Isaiah, contrasting the temporary nature of human effort with the steady, everlasting effects of the Word of God, especially the gospel (1 Pet 1:24-25; cf. Isa 40:6-8). It is one thing to hear the gospel and respond to it in a temporary way; that’s what Jesus taught in the parable of the soils, esp. the first three kinds. But when the gospel takes full root in your life and you genuinely take it to heart by faith, your spiritual growth and change will continue into eternity; it will not fail.

Peter further underscores the importance of genuine conversion in 1 Peter 2:3 when he says, “if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” The word taste here does not refer to a temporary experience like “licking a lollipop”; it refers to the kind of tasting that swallows something, too.

Are you a true disciple or just an inquisitive spectator in the crowd? Have you embraced the gospel for yourself through faith and repentance?

If so, then here is how you should live. On one hand, you should remove destructive and dishonest attitudes, words, and behaviors from your life, as a baby kicks off his blankets in the crib (1 Pet 2:1). On the other hand, you should pursue the Word of God with an even greater desire, as a baby desires milk when it’s hungry.

Intensify Your Appetite for God’s Word

Christian growth is mutual process. God gives and the Christian receives. God feeds and the Christian eats. God speaks (through his Word) and the Christian pays attention. Yet Peter explains this process in a fascinating way. He urges believers to something more than just “eat” what God “feeds” us in his Word. We should “desire” the Word like a baby desires milk at feeding time.

How do babies desire milk at feeding time? Intensely, urgently, and to the exclusion of everything else. They don’t sit around and wait to be fed, and they certainly don’t get quiet when you skip a feeding. They desperately want to be fed and they want to be fed right now, then they ignore everything else until they’ve gotten a full meal. Does this describe your attitude for the Word of God? Or is your desire more casual?

Identify and Value Proper Bible Teaching

As you consider this question, notice how Peter describes the Word of God. He calls it the “pure” milk, which is milk that isn’t mixed together with other ingredients. Why is this important? Because we easily mistake other things for proper Bible teaching.

The pure Word is nothing more and nothing less than what the Bible tells us – the words, the statements, the paragraphs, the books, and the testaments of Scripture. This alone is the truth of the Word of God. That’s why Paul told Timothy to “preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2) and to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). Proper teaching reads, explains, and applies the Bible in an informative, accurate, and understandable way, offering wise applications to your everyday life.

So how do we know when we’re feeding on improper preaching? We do this when we:

1. Expect supernatural displays (like signs, miracles, healings, tongues, etc.) to accompany the teaching (1 Cor 1:22).
2. Want teaching that accommodates the prevailing philosophies, values and views of the secular world (1 Cor 1:22).
3. Choose teachers based upon their personal teaching style (1 Cor 3:4).
4. Crave teaching that promotes fictitious, fascinating things and caters to your personal “hobby horses,” “pet peeves,” and preferences (1 Tim 1:4; 2 Tim 4:3-4).
5. Place yourself under teaching that enforces legalistic rule-keeping and regulations as a gauge for spirituality beyond what Scripture teaches, even though these applications appear to be humble and wise (Col 2:20-23). (This is the potential danger of preaching that aims to be “practical.”)
6. Follow teachers who claim that godly living guarantees financial prosperity (1 Tim 6:5).
7. Turn to teachers focus on pointless, useless topics that sound intelligent but have nothing to do with sound Bible teaching (1 Tim 6:20).

When you seek out biblical teaching, are you looking for any of these mistaken things that often get mixed in and masquerade as the Word of God when they’re not?

To grow as a Christian, you must cultivate an appetite for the Word of God. You must study the Bible There is no other way. You must learn to identify true teaching that reads, explains, and applies what the Bible says. You must also learn to withdraw yourself from teaching that mixes in the other things that Scripture warns against. If you feed babies the wrong thing, they will die; but when you feed them proper milk, they will grow.

Warnings from Mark 4

“This is the Word of God.” Knowing this, then how should you respond? First, you should evaluate your heart in an honest, prayerful, and reflective way. The following questions can help you to do this:

• Are you paying attention in your heart? In the story Jesus told, the seed scattered onto the hard soil made no impact whatsoever. Your response to the Word of God is this like this when you don’t pay attention to the teaching that you hear. You hear it, but you don’t remember anything that you heard, and you don’t respond to it in any way.
• Are you backing away due to circumstantial difficulties and complications that are coming into your life as a result of following God’s Word? Are you backing away due to pressure and persecution from other people now that you have been following God’s Word? The thin soil with a rocky bottom illustrates this response.
• Are you backing away because the priorities and pressures of everyday life are getting in the way (or rather, because following the Word of God is getting in the way of the priorities and pressures of everyday life)? Are you backing away due to your pursuit of more wealth or your pursuit of other things that you want to have and achieve? The soil filled with weeds illustrates this response.

These illustrations are far more important than you may realize. If one of these illustrations describes your response to the Word of God, then be warned. If the description persists over time and extends to the end of your life, then it is very likely that you were not even saved at all, but only had a passing fascination with Christ instead.

Applications from 1 Peter 1:22-2:3

As you listen to these warnings and take them to heart, then respond to what you’re learning from the Word of God by applying what Peter tells us.

First, affirm that you are born again (2 Cor 13:5). Have you truly received the saving grace of the Lord? If you realize that you have only followed Christ out of a passing fancy or in a superficial way, then call upon him today for eternal salvation (Rom 10:13). Acknowledge your sinfulness before him, turn away from any other gods or religions, and believe on him as your God and your Savior.

Increase and intensify your desire for the Word of God.

• Begin each day with God (Psa 90:14; Psa 63:1). This will increase your appetite for his Word and decrease your appetite for other things. If you don’t know where to begin, then read the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to the day of the month. After you do that for a while, then read a new Psalm each morning. There are many other ways to read the Bible on a daily basis, but this is a good way to start.
• Ask God to “open your eyes” to what he says in Scripture (Psa 119:18; Eph 1:18). He answers this kind of prayer through the help of the Holy Spirit who lives within you.
• Think about the Word throughout the day (Psa 1:2; 119:17). Then let it influence the choices you make and shape the way you view and interpret the things you hear, see, and experience (Deut 6:6-9; Josh 1:8; Psa 119:105; Prov 3:5-6).
• Participate regularly in the teaching ministries of the church where God has placed you (Psa. 122:1, cf. Micah 4:2; Heb 10:25). If you participate inconsistently and in a casual way, then increase your consistency and move it to a top priority in your life.

Applications for Faith Baptist Church

Our church provides important opportunities to grow through the Word of God. In the morning worship service and in the afternoon groups, we provide expository preaching and Bible study. This means that we read, explain, and apply the Bible to our lives.

• Will you choose to participate in Sunday morning worship regularly and on time and ensure that your children can do the same in “It’s Grow Time!” Sunday School?
• Will you choose to participate in the afternoon Growth Groups Bible Studies and ensure that your children and teens can do the same in FrontLine and ProTeens?
• Will you consider participating in our Wednesday night Bible study, too?

Perhaps you know the feeling of starting a garden. When you plant the seeds in the soil, you’re filled with optimism. In your mind, you already envision full-grown plants and piles of fresh, colorful produce on your kitchen table. If you’re like me, you can already taste some delicious rhubarb pies! But for all these visions to happen, you need to apply yourself diligently. Regular watering. Regular weeding. Regular pest-control and lost of effort to expose your plants to the sun. Planting seeds is only the first step, but will you apply yourself to the diligent work that comes next?

The degree to which you prioritize and expose yourself to reading from and receiving teaching from the Word of God (esp. with your church) determines the quality and fruitfulness of your Christian growth. As you intensify your pursuit of the Word of God, you will grow as Christian, but halfhearted, casual, convenient attempts will not due, just as such attempts will lead to a disappointing garden. You do this by increasing and intensifying your exposure to the Word of God. Busy lives, laziness, and bad habits are no excuse. We give priority to so many things which are less important than the Word of God. If you are a child of God, then you will overcome these things and rearrange your priorities to elevate the Word of God to its proper place in your life.