Christianity was supposed to be about becoming like Jesus. We went in the wrong direction.
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What is the Purpose of Church?

 

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;   For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:   Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:   That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;   But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:   -  Ephesians 4:11-15

The idea of Christian maturity is defined by Christ-likeness.

2Co 5:15  And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Christ-likeness can also be defined by selflessness.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The selflessness of Christ might be summed up as love

1Co 13:4  Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5  doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;
1Co 13:6  rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
1Co 13:7  beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

We get a picture of the transition from immaturity (the flesh) to maturity (the Spirit) by reading  Romans chapter seven where Paul details the frustration he had trying to keep the law by the power of his flesh. This is in contrast to the victorious life he describes in chapter eight. An interesting transition verse is at the end of chapter seven.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?

Paul describes the solution to the frustration of the flesh as a “who” not a how or what.

Since the Galatians stumbled at this point Paul writes to more detail about the Flesh;

Gal 5:15  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Gal 5:16  But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18  But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal 5:20  idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies,
Gal 5:21  envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they which practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

In contrast Paul describes what one should observe in the work of the Spirit

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23  meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24  And they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof.
Gal 5:25  If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk.
Gal 5:26  Let us not be vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

We can get a little bit more of an understanding of how this transition is accomplished by considering A verse in Romans;

Rom 8:13  for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

The mortification (putting to death) of the flesh sounds like a one time event. However, the plural “deeds” are what are being put to death may be more a process of starvation. This might also be seen with another verse in Romans;

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

Letting the lusts of the flesh die a natural death by starvation might be seen with a drunk avoiding bars or a smoker not carrying cigarettes with him. However, more than with obvious “sins”, one might consider how our flesh brings us into contention with others or any of a number of other ways we seek after self.

Resources for Internal Inventory

1. Wisdom. Jas 1:5  But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

2. Mental acuity. Rom 12:2  And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

3. Discerning Truth. Eph 5:8-9  For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light   (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

4. Humility. Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the scripture saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.

5, Test and evaluate. 1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

We are all born helpless, ignorant, and selfish. Good parents can help us markedly improve upon this initial condition. We can even learn to discipline our selfishness to manageable levels. However, ambitions, lusts, and desires will always drive us until we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us such that what we desire is more what God wants.

Morality is like the ten commandments. It is a set of rules to limit the harm we cause each other. Godliness is to become like God and seek the best for others. As we grow into godliness, we  become concerned more about others.

1Ti 4:7  But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

Since the purpose of the pastor/teacher is to help us learn how to “exercise godliness” (as we grow in Christ-likeness), and since so few pastors even know this much less know how to teach it, we are often left on our own to figure out how to do this.

A group of boys in juvenile detention once asked what church they should go to. They were told that they could expect that upon showing up at most churches they would be put in a youth group and go bowling and have pizza. They might ask what that had to do with Jesus and that would be a very good question. Since it was likely that they would have to navigate the Christian life on their own, they might consider keeping an eye out for an older wiser Christian who showed the light and love of Christ in his life and ask him to teach them how to know Christ as well as he did.

With the Internet one has the opportunity to hear all sorts of teachers. However, it is a little like gold prospecting. One has to sift through several tons of waste to find even a small nugget. Perhaps the best tools to have are curiosity and skepticism. If one can consider a proposition or an assertion and subject it to examination to see what might support it or refute it, one can sift through that which is peripheral to find that of value.

Perhaps the best tool to use is the bible. It is both truth and supernaturally active. As one grows in familiarity, it works to give understanding, knowledge, and make one increasingly “of the truth” As one grows in truth, discernment comes more easily such that what is false can be quickly discarded.

The organizational machines that church systems have become often kill the relationships that should be the defining characteristics of Christians (us with God and each other). Christianity is too import to be left to die on the vine of institutionalized systems. We may have to seek out each other individually for fellowship and instruction.




  


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