spiritual maturity – Grace Evangelical Society

How Do You Know If You Are Spiritually Mature?

February 1, 2021 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - community, Discipleship, spiritual maturity

How do you know if you are spiritually mature? Assurance of eternal salvation comes from believing Jesus’ promise of everlasting life (John 3:16). But knowing if you are spiritual mature is a different issue. It is not something you can easily decide for yourself, and maybe you shouldn’t decide for yourself. Instead, that seems to

You Must Grow Up (Ephesians 4:11-24), Part 2

November 30, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Ephesians, spiritual maturity, spirituality

You must grow up. That’s what Paul told the Ephesians. They should not remain as spiritual children. The question is, how does that growth happen? As I explored in the last blog, Paul said that growth takes equipping. For example, that’s what pastor-teachers are for—not to do all the ministry themselves, but to equip the

Not Everyone Is Ready to Receive Blessings

September 17, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - blessings, Green Letters, Miles J. Stanford, Moses, Sanctification, spiritual maturity, spiritual theology

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:22). And with all that pagan learning, what was the first thing Moses did out of the gate to serve God? He murdered an Egyptian! Moses was forty years old at the time (Acts 7:23)—my age.

Are You Usable? (Hebrews 5:12)

October 8, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Hebrews, service, spiritual maturity, teaching

Have you ever prayed for God to use you? Maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe there’s something you need to be asking yourself first. As Samuel Brengle put it, “Instead of praying so much to be used, people should search themselves to know whether they are usable” (Helps to Holiness, p.69). Are you usable? The author of

Two Burials (Exod 2:11-14)

August 2, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - major ian thomas, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity

There is a big difference between acting in your strength, according to your plans and acting in God’s power, according to God’s plans. Think of Moses and two very different burials that happened in his life. Remember when he killed an Egyptian who was attacking a Hebrew? Now it came about in those days, when

The Arrogance of Control (James 4:13)

June 29, 2018 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - arrogance, Fellowship, pride, spiritual maturity

The Epistle of James was addressed to carnal Christians. James urged them to come back into fellowship with God. “Submit…to God,” he wrote (4:7). “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (4:8). Clearly, these believers were far from God. That distance was reflected in their actions, in their speech, and in