"Open my eyes to what You know, so I can stretch, so I can grow." Those are the words of a hymn that depicts the singer praying for the Lord to provide spiritual insight. Wouldn't it be great if people spent more of their time seeking that kind of thing? Another song says, "Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die." People who give themselves to the Lord come saying that they want to learn, grow, and develop spiritually. Then the question becomes, do they want to continue pursuing those things for the rest of their days?
What Baxter says in this chapter about the sheer mass of secular, non-spiritual activities tending to crowd out spiritual growth is extremely significant. The responsibility of the family of God is to counteract spiritual inertia, no matter what the reason for it, and to promote spiritual growth in the members. That, says Baxter, is the second of three major tasks of the church, the task of edification, known in scripture as equipping the saints.
There are numerous passages in the New Testament to show the desirability of growth and maturity, or to show the problems that come from not incorporating those qualities into one's character. The saying is taught, "If you are not growing, you are dying," and here we can see the truth in it. Followers of Jesus should be well acquainted with the parable of the sower, as found in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, because we are in it. Someone has sown the teachings of Christ into our hearts, and now the struggle is to bring those teachings to fruition. Daily cares, the illusions of life, and our own spiritual shallowness must be overcome so that the soul may prosper in God's sight.
What are the best tools to help us in t6his task of producing a bumper crop of spiritual fruit? Baxter suggests five things that the church should use.
- Elders - Hebrews 13:7 and 17 show that the leadership and spiritual-mindedness of elders is good for the members of a congregation. The general observation is correct that elders do what Christians should do, and committed Christians do as elders do in many ways. Therefore, elders help not only by being responsive to spiritual needs, but by upholding Christian principles.
- Worship - Where do we get worship from? We put it together from scriptural example, but we do it with a purpose, and that purpose is growth--edification. Congregational, small group, and personal private worship all play a part. Baxter correctly emphasizes that the significance of worship becomes apparent when we look back on our lives and take stock of our activities.
- Teaching - 2 Timothy 2:2 and Titus 2:1 describe the church very well. Baxter comments that Christianity is a teaching religion, and neglect results in serious problems.
- Association - When we think about how the apostles were able to propagate the church worldwide, all we have to do is look back to the time when they were in close association with Jesus and one another to see where their strength came from. We grow by association with our fellow church members, with Christians from other times, with Christ, and with God. Thus we avoid conformity with the world and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, as in Romans 12.
- Suffering - What? How did this get in here? Whatever kind of Christlike approach we can bring to times of suffering and sorrow helps greatly in allowing God to use our trials to refine our spirit, just as pure gold must be refined by fire. Discipline comes to us as God shapes our attitudes, and it comes as we properly apply those attitudes, even in the worst of circumstances. Hebrews 12 says that God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. Suffering then becomes not so much a fate as a means to a glorious end with Christ in heaven.
Do you think your congregation is working in all these areas for the good of its members? Can you point to experiences of your own in all five areas? Maybe you can, and now you see them all as the means of your edification.
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