You Need to Grow Up (8 of 53)
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 2:6-3a
A mother had been teaching her son Psalm 46:1 which says, ''God is a refuge and strength and an ever-present help in times of trouble.'' One day when he had disobeyed and told a lie to protect himself from a spanking his mother asked him, ''Son do you know that the Bible says about a lie?'' He replied, ''Yes ma'am. It's an ever-present help in times of trouble.''
We would all agree that little boy was using a verse completely out of context. That's important to see because today's text includes a passage that is one of the most misused and misapplied verses of the NT.
If you have, or have ever raised children, you have had occasion to say, ''You need to grow up.'' The idea is, based on your age and experiences, you should be acting and behaving in a more mature manner than you are. Paul, no doubt, has that in mind as he continues his loving but firm rebuke of the Corinthian believers.
Paul had ministered in Corinth for 18 months then ended up in Ephesus where he stayed for 3 years. It was during that 3 year stay in Ephesus that Paul wrote this letter. So I remind you that these Christians had only been Christ-followers for no more than 4.5 years, most of them for even less time than that.
Yet Paul indicates his shock and disappointment at their lack of spiritual maturity.
With that in mind, I want us to lean our ear in to the text and hear it asking us some questions about our own spiritual maturity. As we hear and answer these personal questions, we will begin to answer the broader question, ''Do I need to grow up?''
Don't tune me out just because you've been saved a long time.
Chronological age in Christ has nothing to do with maturity.
Just like I've known 50 and 60-year old people who've never grown up socially, I've known some Christians who've been saved a long time but have never grown up spiritually.
They may have tru ...
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 2:6-3a
A mother had been teaching her son Psalm 46:1 which says, ''God is a refuge and strength and an ever-present help in times of trouble.'' One day when he had disobeyed and told a lie to protect himself from a spanking his mother asked him, ''Son do you know that the Bible says about a lie?'' He replied, ''Yes ma'am. It's an ever-present help in times of trouble.''
We would all agree that little boy was using a verse completely out of context. That's important to see because today's text includes a passage that is one of the most misused and misapplied verses of the NT.
If you have, or have ever raised children, you have had occasion to say, ''You need to grow up.'' The idea is, based on your age and experiences, you should be acting and behaving in a more mature manner than you are. Paul, no doubt, has that in mind as he continues his loving but firm rebuke of the Corinthian believers.
Paul had ministered in Corinth for 18 months then ended up in Ephesus where he stayed for 3 years. It was during that 3 year stay in Ephesus that Paul wrote this letter. So I remind you that these Christians had only been Christ-followers for no more than 4.5 years, most of them for even less time than that.
Yet Paul indicates his shock and disappointment at their lack of spiritual maturity.
With that in mind, I want us to lean our ear in to the text and hear it asking us some questions about our own spiritual maturity. As we hear and answer these personal questions, we will begin to answer the broader question, ''Do I need to grow up?''
Don't tune me out just because you've been saved a long time.
Chronological age in Christ has nothing to do with maturity.
Just like I've known 50 and 60-year old people who've never grown up socially, I've known some Christians who've been saved a long time but have never grown up spiritually.
They may have tru ...
There are 13083 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
