aAbounding Joy!j
 

The Antichrist

 

Indicators of Christian Maturity

Developing Critical Christian Skills

 

One who calls himself a Christian, but who does not wish to grow to be more like Jesus should seriously examine himself to see whether he is really in the true faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Just because one has responded to an invitation after a great message; just because one has wept at an altar; just because one has joined a church or been baptized does not mean one is a true Christian. A living baby does not remain a baby forever. It grows!

 

As Christians mature in the Lord Jesus Christ, they learn and grow and attain (by God’s grace) certain Christian skills. These skills are wrought in us by the Grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, He accomplishes these things by enabling us to exercise self-discipline (a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit). The following list of Skills of Christian Maturity are not listed in order of importance. Neither is the list complete. My prayer is that it will be a starting place for Christians who have a serious desire to grow in the Lord.

 

Consider the list prayerfully. Ask God, “Lord, is this an area where You would wish me to experience growth at this time in my life?” And listen to Him!

 

You may wish to evaluate your current skill level (maybe “1 to 5” with “5” being a strong “yes”) , then evaluate when God might want you to start working on that skill (maybe “1 to 5”—“5” being a strong “now”) . Remember—growth is a process. It cannot be done all at once! But far too many professing Christians are not giving evidence of any growth at all! Listen to God!

 

Mature Christians must be trained, ready, willing, and able to obey God in the implementation of these skills as God leads.

 

Steve and Vickie Hall

February, 2007

 

 

Skill

Current Ability

Work on this now?

 

Bible Study

 

 

 

Find what other Bible passages say about a particular topic or verse

 

 

 

Find whether a statement is in the Bible, and if so, where it is found

 

 

 

Find all the verses where the same Greek or Hebrew words are found in the Bible

 

 

 

Find what other Bible students have to say about this passage

 

 

 

Discover my understanding of a verse by personal paraphrasing

 

 

 

Identify and memorize passages of Scripture

 

 

 

Know how to find more information about Biblical places and people

 

 

 

Know how to do Greek and Hebrew word studies on Bible words

 

 

 

Understand the basic principles for correct Biblical interpretation

 

 

 

Recognize and point out when others use Bible verses out of context

 

 

 

Recognize and point out when others twist the meaning of Bible verses

 

 

 

Manage my time effectively in order to make time for effective Bible study

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible Knowledge

 

 

 

Have an understanding of the general flow of Bible history

 

 

 

Name the books of the Bible from memory

 

 

 

Identify the major sections of the Bible

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about sin and salvation

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about the Bible itself

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about the end times and the return of Christ

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about baptism and the Lord’s supper

 

 

 

Understand and communicate basic Bible doctrine about Satan and his demons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer

 

 

 

Know how to recognize God’s voice and listen to Him

 

 

 

Learn the Biblical principles for effective prayer

 

 

 

Practice the virtue of waiting on God

 

 

 

Pray effectively for others (intercession)

 

 

 

Know how to find God’s will and live and pray according to it

 

 

 

Discern how and when to pray aloud for others in their presence--and do it

 

 

 

Pray Scripture back to God

 

 

 

Manage my time effectively in order to make time for an effective prayer life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

 

 

List attributes of God from memory 

 

 

 

Sing songs of praise to God from memory

 

 

 

Discern between songs of praise and songs with other Christians themes

 

 

 

Discern the difference between praising God and enjoying good Christian entertainment

 

 

 

Praise God no matter how I’m feeling emotionally

 

 

 

Learn to read music in order to be able to sing new songs of praise

 

 

 

Find and read passages of praise as an act of worship to God

 

 

 

Become comfortable with expressing praise through my body language (kneeling; lying prone; uplifted hands; clapping hands; dancing before God)

 

 

 

Become comfortable praising God with uplifted voice

 

 

 

Manage my time to make time for effective personal worship and praise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Gifts

 

 

 

Understand the overall teaching of the Bible about Spiritual Gifts

 

 

 

Understand the basic motivational spiritual gift God has given me

 

 

 

Understand the correct uses of my spiritual gift

 

 

 

Exercise my spiritual gift to bless the church and glorify God

 

 

 

Realize the potential misuses of my spiritual gift

 

 

 

Know how to appreciate and learn from others with different spiritual gifts

 

 

 

Practice ministry gifts as God opens doors. Stay alert for new opportunities.

 

 

 

Expect God to give manifestation gifts according to His perfect will and timing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Relationships

 

 

 

Understand basic Biblical principles for being a Godly spouse, child, or parent

 

 

 

Identify and memorize the specific felt needs of my spouse, children, or parents

 

 

 

Distinguish between my own felt needs and my family’s felt needs

 

 

 

Avoid the trap of misdiagnosing the needs of others

 

 

 

Study Christian writers who have written material for practical applications of love for my family

 

 

 

Practice both saying “I love you” and demonstrating love.

 

 

 

Practice Biblical love for family members even when that love is not reciprocated

 

 

 

Listen to family members in order to identify my own blind spots

 

 

 

Learn Biblical principles of authority and submission and how to extend these principles to relationships with authorities in church, school, work, and government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationships with Other Christians

 

 

 

Use Scripture to encourage other believers

 

 

 

Lovingly confront other believers whom we have discovered to be in sin

 

 

 

Recognize the danger that sin in a professing believer has on weakening the body of Christ and seek to deal with it in a Biblical manner

 

 

 

Lovingly apply the Biblical principles of church discipline in the body of Christ

 

 

 

Give wise counsel to those seeking it

 

 

 

Draw out wise counsel from other Christians

 

 

 

Be sensitive to the emotional, spiritual, and material needs of others

 

 

 

Focus on how I can meet the needs of others, instead of how they can meet my needs

 

 

 

Recognize the importance of fellowship, Bible study, and worship with other believers

 

 

 

Use my spiritual gift to bless other Christians

 

 

 

Stand boldly on convictions even when others do not understand

 

 

 

Tithe to support God’s church and ministry to others through the church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conquering Sin Problems

 

 

 

Identify the sins that are most likely to cause me to stumble

 

 

 

Memorize Bible verses that will give me victory over temptations in these areas

 

 

 

Recognize situations that may trigger temptations and learn to avoid them

 

 

 

Reject my tendencies to rationalize, excuse, or explain away the sin problem

 

 

 

Refuse to accept defeat, no matter how many times I have fallen

 

 

 

Ask for a significant person in my life (spouse, parent, best friend) to hold me accountable and ask me probing questions

 

 

 

Realize the horrible destructiveness of sin and the danger of minimizing it

 

 

 

Learn how to let my sources of irritation help me to recognize my own selfishness

 

 

 

Take it seriously when a family member or church member tries to help me recognize a personal sin problem that I may be minimizing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relating to Culture and Society

 

 

 

Take a strong and assertive public stand for Christian values

 

 

 

Identify the Biblical position of candidates running for public office

 

 

 

Be courageous in the face of criticism and intimidation

 

 

 

Learn names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of elected officials who represent me

 

 

 

Communicate effectively with elected officials

 

 

 

Thank them when they stand for Biblical principles

 

 

 

Stay informed of current issues that require a Christian response

 

 

 

Learn new ways to be effective “salt” and “light” in the confused and sinful world all around us

 

 

 

Identify ways the world is encroaching on and influencing the church

 

 

 

Warn other believers of the dangers of conforming to the world

 

 

 

Recognize secular humanist propaganda that comes through television, movies, music, schools, news media, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Warfare

 

 

 

Know all the weapons given in Scripture for spiritual warfare

 

 

 

Put on the whole armor of God—effectively and regularly

 

 

 

Regularly make use of the weapons God has provided for defense against the enemy as well as to attack the enemy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Evangelism

 

 

 

Share effectively what the Bible has to say about sin and repentance

 

 

 

Share effectively what the Bible has to say about grace, faith, and eternal life

 

 

 

Share effectively what the Bible has to say about the nature of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

 

 

 

Share effectively what the Bible has to say about commitment and Lordship, in contrast to emotional experiences

 

 

 

Know how to share the entire Gospel in a meaningful and effective manner

 

 

 

Know how to use illustrations to clarify various parts of the Gospel

 

 

 

Know how to be alert and recognize opportunities to share the gospel with people God brings into my life

 

 

 

Steer conversations to spiritual things and to a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missions

 

 

 

Learn what the church has done and is doing throughout the world to carry out the Great Commission

 

 

 

Get a burden from God for a particular area of missions for personal involvement

 

 

 

Support specific missions through prayer and giving

 

 

 

Be open to leadership from God for other involvement in missions, including serving as a missionary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Christian Apologetics

 

 

 

Be ready and able to answer common questions asked by sincere skeptics

 

 

 

Be ready and able to share basic evidences that point to God as Creator and that expose evolutionism

 

 

 

Be ready and able to share basic evidences that point to the trustworthiness of God’s Word (e.g., archaeology, fulfilled prophecy, ancient manuscript evidence)

 

 

 

Know how to present the powerful evidence God has left us to convince honest skeptics that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiery Trials

 

 

 

Learn why God allows us to undergo trials, testings, adversity, affliction, and persecution

 

 

 

Respond to fiery trials according to Biblical commands and promises

 

 

 

Be prepared in advance to face trials from God’s perspective

 

 

 

Give Biblical answers to others who ask, “Why is this happening to me?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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