Charles Stanley - Growth

In this message, Dr. Stanley tells us that, as believers, if we don’t grow, there’s something wrong with us. He teaches us how to judge, test, and gauge ourselves as we grow as Christians - or become stagnate. He provides lessons on how we can change in our conversation, conduct, and character. It was predetermined that we would be saved to grow and conform in likeness to Jesus Christ.

When a baby is born, he naturally grows; and if for some reason he doesn’t, we know immediately that something is wrong. The same is true of each of us when we are born again as children of God. No matter how young or old we are at the time of salvation, we should continue to mature spiritually until the day we die. None of us ever reaches a point when we’ve grown enough and can retire in the Christian life. If we stagnate in our spiritual development, we don’t just stay where we are in our relationship with the Lord; we actually drift further away from Him.

How do we know if we’re growing spiritually? It’s not something tangible that can be recorded with a measuring tape. Nor can it necessarily be evaluated by the sins we avoid or the religious practices we observe. Although these are important and can be evidence of growth, genuine maturity is determined by our relationship with the Lord.

From God’s perspective, spiritual growth is imperative. Peter tells us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). The tense of this Greek word signifies continuing action— keep growing.