Making Christian Progress
Have you ever felt like you weren’t making any progress in an endeavor in this life? I’m sure we all have. In every venture we’ve undertaken, we have had to make the necessary adjustments to achieve a desired goal. This is not to say we must compromise. If we compromise in our efforts to reach a particular objective, we are actually redirecting our attention to a different target altogether.
Those that are Christians should have the goal of heaven in mind. In order to reach such a lofty goal, a certain number of things must occur. First, one must “become” a Christian. You have to “become” before you can “be”. In John 1:12 we see that part of the reason for the coming of Christ was to provide the “power” to become “sons of God”. Notice that only those who “receive Him” are those who access this power. It is also of note that the “power” is in the Word. This can be shown by looking at a couple of passages. 1) Rom. 1:16 clearly declares that the gospel is the “power of God unto Salvation”. 2) Acts 2:41 unmistakably shows what the first folks did when they “received” that power. They immediately obeyed the instructions and were “baptized into Christ”. 3) Acts 2:47 declares that God “added” those who were baptized into Christ to “the church”. This means that all Christians are “in the church”, but this does not mean they have reached their goal.
Once we have “become” Christians, we can’t simply sit back and wait for a reward. We must “make progress” toward that goal. In Phil. 2:12b we find the Spirit had the apostle Paul write: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Were they not already Christians? Of course they were! But this passage indicates they needed to make progress as Christians so they might reach the goal of heaven. Christian progress begins as we “become” a child of God and should not diminish until the close of our lives.
Perhaps this is the idea behind yet another poem, written by my wife’s father and inserted below. I have no idea exactly when or what prompted him to write this poem. I do know that part of Christian progress is admitting our faults and seeking to overcome them. This can only be accomplished by reading, studying, meditating upon, and living by the Word of God. Christian growth is part of the progress we should see in our lives as we sojourn here, awaiting our reward. We are also reminded in the poem, and in God’s Word, that we don’t make this journey through life alone if we are “in Christ”.
Making Christian Progress
Closer and closer, Lord would I be,
I’ve found the answer, learning from Thee.
Where would I be if I’d never heard?
How would I know Thee without Thy Word?
Stronger and stronger, Lord would I grow,
With Thee beside me, I can, I know,
One single cross I don’t bear alone,
You help me bear them like they are Thine own.
Purer and purer, Lord would I be,
More of Thyself, and far less of me.
Crossing the “river”, I’ll have no fear,
For I know my Savior will always be near.
Longing and hopeful of wearing a crown,
When faith is sight, and the sun has gone down.
Reunion with those who have crossed to that Shore,
Rejoicing in knowing we’ll part never more.
O.D. Wilson – deceased
Failure to progress is to lose that which was once gained. As we became Christians, we gained the “promise” of eternal life - (Acts 2:39). Without Christian progress we forfeit that promise. The Holy Spirit had the beloved apostle John pen the Words written to Christians in 2John verse 8 to warn them against a lack of Christian progress. God does not want any to fail of the reward promised to the faithful (2Pet. 3:9). He wants us to overcome and remain victorious to the end. This is why 1Pet. 2:2 mentions the “milk of the Word that we may grow thereby”, and why 2Pet. 3:18 admonishes Christians to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Proper Christian growth can only be viewed as progress, and such progress will lead us to our eternal goal. This goal cannot be attained unless or until a person acknowledges their faults, embraces the truth, and adjusts themselves in accordance with that truth. If we don’t have heaven as a goal, the only alternative available to us is eternal condemnation. This is where lack of Christian progress leads.
Won’t you do as God’s Word directs and “become” a Christian, and then be ever focused on progressing toward maturity as a child of God?
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
