Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
In one phrase found in 2 Peter is our goal as believers. The new year provides a natural time to reflect upon where we have been and where we are going. I have been prayerfully thinking through that over the holidays from a personal stand point, and also from the stand point of the church. For me the two are intimately connected, because no church can rise higher than its leader. If I stop growing spiritually I can put a lid on the church. Its a sobering thought and a challenge to me personally to strive toward growth.
This verse reminds me that real Christian growth is inseparably connected to growing in the understanding of grace. Understanding grace is what really frees us up as believers to live obediently for Christ. A misunderstanding of grace leads to a performance based Christianity. A person who misunderstands grace is compelled to serve because they are trying to earn the favor of God. The result is either spiritual pride or despair. Spiritual pride results when such people perform well according to their own evaluation. People who fall into spiritual pride become like the Pharisees, thinking more highly of themselves than they ought, looking down on those that do not measure up to their exacting standards. On the other end of the spectrum is despair. Despair results in those who do not perform well. They feel like miserable failures and tend to give up all together on living for God. Both of these are extremes to be avoided, and an understanding of grace is what keeps us from spiritual pride and despair. It helps us to live out the command of Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment,
Seek to understand grace more.....It will set you free, and it will cause you to grow spiritually.
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