The Mature Part 2

Hey everyone.

In my last post I started talking about what the Bible says to those who are mature.  We looked at a few scriptures.  In this post I will look at a few more.  We will start in Phil. 3:15.  It says, "All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things."  Now, to understand what Paul is talking about here we need to examine the context to see what view the mature should have.

Going back then to Phil. 3:1-14 should give a general idea of a mature point of view.  Here is what I get from it:

• Put no confidence in the flesh - In 3:3-6 Paul uses those words specifically and then points out that if anyone has a reason to put confidence in the flesh it would be him.  Paul had all the best credentials, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and in terms of righteousness under the law, he was faultless. However, he now recognized that all of his legalistic righteousness did not bring him any closer to God.  If anyone could have been saved through their own legalistic righteousness, it would have been Paul.  But he understood that his salvation and relationship with God was through Jesus Christ and not himself, so he boasted in Christ (v.3) and not himself.
• Jesus is better than anything he had to give up - In v. 8 Paul starts talking about "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus."  He says that for the sake of Christ he has lost all things.  In fact, he says that anything he may have given up is "garbage," in comparison.  This is certainly a viewpoint of the mature.  The mature recognize that the world has nothing to offer and would never look back at it longingly.  Because Jesus is better.  A whole lot better.
• A point under this is that the mature are not afraid of loss or suffering.  Paul goes on to say in v. 10-11, "I want to know Christ- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." The mature will endure loss and suffering for the sake of Christ, knowing that what awaits us is is far better than living this life without suffering.  This is challenging.  I don't want to suffer.  Who does?  It challenges me to accept whatever difficult things come my way without feeling sorry for myself.
• The mature keep moving forward - In v. 12 Paul says, " Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."  Paul had not arrived.  Nor have we.  Those of us who have been around for a long time get tempted to settle into our lives and stop moving forward.  This is not a mature action.  We, the mature, owe it the next generation to keep moving forward and set examples for the young.

Another mention of the mature comes from Hebrew 5:11-6:3.  According to these verses, solid food is for the mature, who have trained themselves with constant use of the word.  In other words, the immature still struggle with teachings about basic righteousness, but the mature are beyond elementary teachings.  How did they get that way? (5:13) through constant use of God's word.  Sadly is is possible for a person to be around the church for many years and still be a spiritual toddler, because they have not trained themselves through the constant use of solid spiritual food.  The mature can handle God's word.

Finally, according to James 1:3-4, maturity comes through perseverance.  Making it to maturity in Christ is not going to come easy.  Perseverance comes through the testing of our faith.  So we understand that God allows our faith to be tested, so that ultimately we grow into mature disciples.

Any way, these are some scriptures with a message for those of us who are mature.
Tom