God's Grace at each
Stage of Spiritual Development
From Faith To Faith
by Robert Brush
“For therein
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is
written, The just shall live by faith.” —Romans 1:17
Suppose a hospital did away with
its prenatal care unit and its pediatrics department. What if they
had no interest in the child's development either before or after
birth. "We will devote all of our attention to see to it that new
babies are being born," the hospital states. Would those babies be
as healthy as they could be if they had supervision and direction
throughout the developmental process?
Many churches which emphasize
being born again neglect to care for the new life either before or
after birth. Most of their pastors would report a high infant mortality
rate among converts.
38% of all Americans claim to
be born again. Research by George Gallup, Jr. indicates that most
of them do not know the basic teachings of the faith. They do not
act significantly different from non Christians in their daily lives.
The practice of both groups includes cheating, tax evasion and petty
theft. Gallup found fewer than 10% of all Americans are committed
Christians.
Our generation has reduced conversion
to four spiritual laws presented by a high-pressure salesperson. We
have not said enough about God's grace at work even before conversion.
Wherever you are in the salvation process, God's grace is at work
in your life. I'm inviting you to ask yourself what God is doing in
your life and what you can do to cooperate with His program.
Grace which
precedes salvation
We are sinful and powerless to
do good on our own. We need a new beginning. Everything which can
be called good in us before that new beginning is the work of the
Holy Spirit. God in His goodness brings us to salvation (Titus 2:11).
He does not bring full
restoration in one broad sweep. Grace comes in smaller intervals which
we can absorb. Prevenient grace is the grace which goes before
or precedes salvation. Sometimes it is also called preliminary grace.
Several references in Acts are
to God fearing people who worshipped God before they experienced the
new birth. The list includes the disciples before Pentecost (Acts
1:14),
the Samaritans (Acts 8:14-17),
Saul (Acts 9:4-5),
Cornelius (Acts 10:2),
Jews and proselytes (Acts
13:43),
Lydia (Acts 16:14),
Apollos (Acts 18:25),
and the Ephesians (Acts
19:2-5).
In each instance the Holy
Spirit led them into a more comprehensive understanding of salvation.
Natural birth/Spiritual
birth
To answer the questions of Nicodemus,
Jesus used being born as a baby to teach him about being born as a
baby Christian. We often quote "You must be born again" (John 3:7)
without considering all
that is involved.
When does life begin? Life exists
in the womb before birth. 'Today expectant mothers can even watch
that life move on a screen in their doctor's office.
Paul wrote to the Galatians that
he was in the pains of childbirth until Christ was formed in them
(Galatians 4:19).
Peter called the Word of
God a "seed" which leads to the new birth (1 Peter 1:23
-the original word was "sperm").
As we hear the Word of God, truth
is planted in our mind. And as we hear the Word,. the Spirit of God
calls us to salvation. This awareness of the will of God leads to
a conviction that we are sinners and unable to do His will.
We are aware that we are guilty
and may attempt some feeble reformation of our life. We may start
going to church. We may go forward at church and "accept Christ" or
even be baptized without yet experiencing the new birth. We are in
a pre-birth state like a developing fetus in the womb.
Not only does the Bible use birth
to describe the salvation process; Paul uses adoption to explain the
same process in Galatians 4:1-7.
An underage child represents
pre-Christian experience. Although a son, he is treated more like
a servant. The child is enslaved by the ways of the world and held
prisoner because he breaks God's law.
But when the child reaches a set
age there is an adoption ceremony, he receives the full rights of
a son and is no longer a servant. God's Spirit assures him of his
adoption into God's family.
Let's look in
more detail at the salvation process.
STAGE 1
Unaware
Like a fetus having never experienced
life outside the womb, we cannot grasp "the things that come from
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Even after birth, an infant perceives
the world is centered in him. He cannot even make a distinction between
himself and the rest of the world. Like a newborn child, we are only
aware of our own impulses and appetites.
Are you indifferent to God? Are
you living only for the here and now? God's word to you is, 'Wake
up, 0h sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!'
(Ephesians 5:14).
Careless
As children grow older they become
more aware of the outside world. They may conform when they are forced
to do so, but they have no internal conscience. They are driven by
self-interests and will only do what they must do to get what they
want in return.
People who are in this spiritual
condition are careless. They violate God's law regularly, sinning
more or less every day with little remorse. Their spiritual senses
are not alert. They are ignorant of God and have no concept of holiness.
Those who fall under stage 1 are called in Scripture "natural people."
They are unaware of God.
STAGE 2
Awakened
When God gives us a "wake-up call"
we become conscious of our sins. We begin to feel sorry because of
them. We realize we are in a condition of bondage and fear (Romans
8:15).
This leads to a desire
for the forgiving and renewing grace of God. The process is called
awakening.
The Bible tells about people whose
alarm clock" went off. The prodigal son woke up in a pigpen.
When Jesus looked at Peter
just after Peter denied he knew Jesus, Peter was "awakened."
Saul got his "wake-up call"
on the Damascus Road.
The Holy Spirit may use circumstances
such as sickness or the loss of a loved one to get through to us.
He may work through the influence of a godly person or the struggles
of youth with all its confusion. He may speak to our mind through
the reading of biographies or the influence of good music. We may
wake up as we meditate or hear a gospel sermon.
Something happens as you are growing
up. You become conscious of how important people really are. "Being
good" is now important. For the first time ever you think about how
other people see you and how they must feel. The world runs according
to rules. The desire to please others drives you and when you fail
your first response is to justify yourself.
We also sense a growing awareness
of God and we really want to please Him. But people often try to please
God through "legalism." Legalism is an attempt to earn God's favor
through our good deeds.
For the legalist, religion
consists in keeping the rules we have made about how we should please
God.
A certain amount of time must
be spent here to develop a conscience, but we are not to remain here.
While many Christians accept this condition as the normal Christian
life, it is only the servant stage. The Bible makes a distinction
between a servant who works for God and a child of God who is part
of God's family.
If this description fits your
condition, then you have made progress. Remember that change does
not occur without pain. Your discouragement and doubt should not be
misread as symptoms of failure. They are signs of life and promise.
We do not grow when we are contented. Becoming conscious of your performance
is necessary in order to change it.
However, Paul warned that the
letter of the law kills (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
Don't get bogged down in
legalism. Paul wrote in Romans 7 that the harder he tried to do right,
the more conscious he was of his sin.
Paul points us to a higher
level-life in the Spirit.
We will not receive spiritual life until we die to self-righteousness.
We will not know resurrection until we have first suffered and died
(Philippians 3:10).
We cannot bypass conviction.
Guilty
At this state we fear God and
make a real effort to obey Him, but we fail over and over. Paul confessed,
"When I want to do good, evil is right there with me" (Romans 7:21).
Have you experienced this? I certainly
remember when I did! I was under the condemnation of the law. I felt
I was a guilty, lost sinner deserving hell. I was scared to death
not wanting to do one thing to offend God. I worried whether every
move I made met with God's approval. I watched every word I said and
condemned myself over the slightest action that did not quite measure
up.
The effects of awakening and guilt
differ according to personality. With quiet persons, the effect may
be slow and gentle. However, with strong personalities, it can be
forceful and even sudden. If our sense of right and wrong has become
blurred, we may receive a loud wake-up call!
We cannot judge the impact of
the Spirit's work by our tears or distressed actions. Some temperaments
may appear more deeply convicted, but the impression may be as quickly
forgotten.
Other types may show little emotion,
but may be driven to overreact. They may become super strict or even
despondent. They may go to extremes to make sure every restitution
is made. When salvation came to Zacchaeus, the Bible tells that he
did what he could to correct the imbalance which his greed had caused.
We may need to correct
a lie we have told, return stolen property, or replace damaged property.
While we must repent and make restitution where possible, we can never
remember every sin for which we need to repent. We cannot correct
every wrong we have done. Our acceptance with God can never be based
on what we do. We are saved by grace through faith.
God will give us faith
when we turn from sin and turn toward Christ.
We need not seek to duplicate
someone else's experience. Testimonies which emphasize "what I had
to do to get saved" are misleading. You need enough conviction to
turn from sin and to turn toward Christ.
Losing ground
Just when it seems we are making
progress things often go from bad to worse. I tried hard to reform
my ways, but then under stress and pressure I lost it becoming angry
and exploding. Sometimes I used bad language while angry. Under pressure,
I told a lie. I would feel guilty and depressed for days, even after
I repented. Paul explained, "Once I was alive apart from law; but
when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died" (Romans
7:9).
With Paul, I could also
say, "What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:24).
Are you awakened, but attempting
to serve God out of fear? God wants to pour out His love. "Love comes
from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" (I
John 4:7).
John Wesley, an evangelist
God used in the eighteenth century, explained, A natural man has neither
fear nor love; one that is awakened, fear without love; a-babe in
Christ, love and fear; a father in Christ, love without fear [notes
on 1 John 4:18].
Servant or Son?
John Wesley also said that the
distinction between a servant and a son was "a point of no small importance"
["On the Discoveries of Faith"]. In Galatians 4,
Paul compares a servant
to a son by comparing the old way with the new and living way from
the life of Abraham. He makes four contrasts:
1. Those under the old way
were not born from above. Ishmael, Abraham's son was born naturally;
Isaac was born to Abraham supernaturally.
2. Those under the old way
did not have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of
an inheritance (Ephesians 1:14).
Servants do not have the
Holy Spirit and have no assurance (Galatians 4:30).
3. Those under the old way
do not see continued growth (Galatians 4:27).
Abraham had two wives.
I-His wife, Hagar, represents the old way. Sarah, his other wife,
represents the new way. Although Hagar's son, Ishmael, was born first,
Sarah's descendants outnumber Hagar's.
4. Those under the old way
persecute the new way (Galatians 4:29).
When they hear that all
their good deeds cannot earn God's favor, they become angry.
Jesus said, "I no longer call
you servants" (John 15:15).
Seek Christ to give the
assurance of salvation as a divine revelation from God. 0 servant
of God press your claim until God reveals His Son in you.
If you are guilty, cry out to
God for mercy. All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved
(Acts 2:21).
You can pass from a servant
to a son with the Spirit of adoption in your heart crying, "Abba,
Father" (Romans 8:15).
God will pour out his love
into your heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).
Then, we are no longer
under the condemnation of the law.
STAGE 3
The new birth
The final giving up of our efforts
to change ourselves, of trying to believe on our own, that final abandonment
of ourselves and complete trust in the merits of Christ's suffering,
death, and resurrection does not come without struggle and pain. When
people struggle to find God, they are trying to save themselves, although
they may not realize this. Often they are confused over the guilt
of sin and they try to reform their life and quit sinning. Sometimes
they are encouraged to "exercise" a faith they have not received.
A child will not be born without
pain, but when it is ready it will be born. In a final act of faith,
deliverance will come'
Many people claim to be born again
before they are. The scriptures teach that it is the Spirit who produces
the new birth.
Through the Spirit of adoption,
we become the children of God.
'For we were all baptized
by one Spirit into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The baptism by Christ with
the Holy Spirit results in our adoption into the body of Christ or
the church. As a child of God, we belong because of our relationship,
not because of our works.
A born again Christian is filled
with the Holy Spirit. According to 'Titus 3:5-6 we are saved by the
washing of regeneration "and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured
out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior."
"And if anyone does not
have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" as a child
of God (Romans 8:9).
For the born again Christian the
law of God has been internalized. You may have once done right because
you wanted to please other people. Jeremiah 31:33 indicates that God
wants to write His law on our heart
and Ezekiel 11:19; 36:27
ties this inner principle with receiving the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling Spirit leads
us to conform to God's law and empowers us to say "no" to sin.
Spiritual retardation
Growth is not automatic. Some
do not develop past a certain point.
In brain development when
a person becomes "stuck" at a certain level he is said to be "retarded."
Furthermore, it is possible to lose ground. Psychologists observe
that people who cannot accept traumatic events tend to regress-returning
to immature behavior patterns.
Even in some traditional churches
people may be awakened to their need.
But where leaders do not understand
or accept the new birth,
they may be "stuck" and
only much later go on to a crisis experience of the new birth.
In churches which pride themselves
in their doctrine of salvation, there is also a danger that we mistake
human effort for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Didn't I start coming to
church? Didn't I accept Jesus? Wasn't I baptized? Am I not sincere?
Yes, all this can be true without the new birth. Jesus warned that
except we are born again we cannot enter the kingdom of God (John
3:5).
Even churches which emphasize
a changed lifestyle can have a problem. You might adopt certain standards
of the church and even change your conduct. This emphasis on careful
living can become a substitute for a real inner change produced by
God's work in your heart.
Among certain churches, the awakened
state is often confused with regeneration. It is possible to be convicted
of sin, to see truths taught in the scriptures, and begin to serve
God without the Spirit of adoption. Living in a legalistic state they
realize a deeper need. They are taught that they need a second work
of grace. When they are given saving faith they sincerely think they
have the "second blessing."
So you see, there are two or three
ways to get "stuck" or mixed up. We may speed up the process, slow
it down, or stop it. In each case, we get out of step with the Spirit
and fall into confusion.
Premature deliveries
None of us can respond to God
until He calls.
When God calls anyone to
follow Him that person becomes His responsibility. From the moment
we determine to seek God the Holy Spirit will lead and protect us
until we are brought into the kingdom.
Everyone is saved who dies seeking
God.
Our hunger for God shows
that God's life is at work in us already. The statement made by Jesus
that we cannot enter the kingdom unless we are born again
is a general statement
usually true under normal conditions. It does not include infants,
children, the mentally retarded, or other unusual conditions. Though
children are not born again Jesus said of them, "The kingdom of heaven
belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14; Luke 18:16).
While infants and small
children are not born again or regenerated, they are safe within the
kingdom of God until they consciously choose to rebel.
The awakened sinner seeking God
is under what we call "the prevenient grace" of God.
You are safe, however,
only while you are seeking God. You must do all within your power
to respond to this Prevenient grace.
Some "ran well" but became discouraged and development was blocked.
It is possible to experience
a spiritual miscarriage.
Romans 1:17 tells us that God
has revealed in the gospel a righteousness that is "by faith from
first to last." Literally it reads "from faith to faith."
Preaching "on the discoveries
of faith," Wesley exhorted the hearer to "press on by all possible
means, till he passes 'from faith to faith; from the faith of a servant
to the faith of a son; from the spirit of bondage unto fear, to
the spirit of childlike love."
Just as God revealed Himself to
the world a little at a time, so He reveals Himself in our lives the
same way. John divides the family of God into three groups: young
children, young men, and fathers (1 John 2:12-14).
It is possible to receive even
more grace than we experience in the new birth. We can reach a point
of - maturity in - the will of God where the Spirit of God perfects
what He has already been developing.
"Instead of remaining infants,
let us grow up in every respect" (Ephesians 4:14-15).
"Let us go on unto maturity"
(Hebrews 6:1).
It is a mistake for people
to claim this perfecting grace, however, when they barely have grasped
what it means to be justified by grace through faith.
'In the New Jerusalem," a gospel
song about heaven declares that we will continue to 'grow in perfect
love in the new Jerusalem." Do not limit the possibilities of God's
grace. Wherever you find yourself in this blueprint of God's grace,
remember there is more grace for you. Paul wrote that he could pray
with joy because he was "confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).
FOR FURTHER
READING:
Engel, James F. and H. Wilbert
Norton. What's Gone Wrong with the Harvest? Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1975. Especially note chapter 4, "The Great Commission in Modern Dress"
and model on p. 45 that lists eight stages before regeneration.
Fletcher, John. "The New Birth:
A Discourse." The Works of the Reverend John Fletcher 1833;
Rpt. Salem, OH: Schmul, 1974. 4 vols. 4:97-117. Also published in
booklet form by Allegheny Publishers.
Fowler, James W Becoming Adult,
Becoming Christian. San Francisco: Harper, 1984.
Joy, Donald M. "Toward Christian
Holiness: John Wesley's Faith Pilgrimage." Moral Development Foundations.
Ed. Donald M. Joy. Nashville: Abingdon, 1983. pp. 207-232.
McClintock, John and James Strong,
eds. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
1867-1887; Rpt. Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1981. 12 vols. 1:570-571.
Reasoner, Vic. The Hole in
the Holiness Movement. Evansville, IN: Fundamental Wesleyan, 1991.
Pp. 21-24.
Seamands, David A. Healing
Grace.
