Marks of Maturity Sermon Series Starts This Sunday

One of the questions our staff has wrestled with for a few years is the question of desired outcomes. We know that our congregation’s mission is to “Grow gospel-centered disciples of Jesus Christ for life,” (Matthew 28:18-20). But what does this growth look like?

Coaches train athletes to execute agility, speed, and skill toward the ultimate goal of winning games. Educators develop curriculum to form in students the specific knowledge and skills that lead to higher learning and competency in adult vocations.

What about the church? What’s the ultimate goal of discipleship? What do growing, maturing Christians look like? What knowledge and skills are marks of a maturing Christ follower? What are some of the “desired outcomes” of discipleship at Holy Cross?

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit’s work is to make us more like Christ. St. Paul writes in Romans 8:30, “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” To be “glorified” means to be made like Christ, or as Paul put it in the previous verse, “conformed to the image of his Son” (8:29). This “conformity to Christ” will only be perfectly fulfilled in the resurrection. However, even now, the Spirit is at work, gradually maturing us toward greater Christ-likeness. But, once again, what does this maturity look like?

Last summer, as our staff wrestled with this question, I started to look for answers in a specific portion of Holy Scripture—the Epistles of St. Paul (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon). I chose Paul’s letters as a space to explore what Christian maturity looks like because Paul wrote these letters to offer specific guidance and encouragement to congregations experiencing the joys and growing pains of maturity.

From Paul’s letters, I identified seven themes or “marks” of maturity. Of course, one could easily make this list more expansive or concise, but the number seven is a biblical number and seems to be about the right length for a sermon series. Starting this Sunday, July 12, we will explore each of these biblical marks of maturity:

July 12: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am rooted in the Gospel.
July 19: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am growing in love.
July 26: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am embracing community.
August 2: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am pursuing holiness.
August 9: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am serving in vocation.
August 16: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am growing in bearing witness.
August 23: As a maturing disciple of Christ, I am growing in perseverance to the end.

I imagine that this sermon series will impact each of us differently. For some, perhaps we haven’t thought much about growing in our faith. Christ is not the center of our lives, and we’ve been trying to maintain friendship with the world while following Jesus. In this case, the series might function as a wake-up call. Yes, a wake-up call to our spiritual condition. But, more importantly, a wake-up call to the very real, personal love of Jesus Christ for each of us—a love that gives all and calls for our all. As Jesus once spoke to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

For others, especially those who have a sensitive, introspective conscience, this series might provoke some anxiety or doubt. We might already be asking ourselves, “Do I pray enough? Do I serve enough? Do I love enough?” We experience the call to discipleship as an anxious burden. And so, each of the marks of maturity in this series might become marks by which we grade the quality of our discipleship or that of others. The concern here is valid. Any series on discipleship ought to come with a warning label or some initial precautions:

Let’s not use marks of Christian maturity to judge ourselves or one another. Let’s recognize that these qualities are only perfectly embodied in Jesus Christ and given to his church as a gift, not a reward. Discipleship is not a ladder to climb or a box to check; it’s a living relationship of love. Each of these marks of maturity is what happens when we come under the good and gentle authority of Jesus. Maturity takes place when we learn to daily take off the old self and put on the new self, freely given to us in our baptism. Maturity means we are learning to see all things in and through Christ—ourselves, others, and the whole world.

If you see these marks of maturity lacking in your life, don’t despair. Repent. Turn to Christ. Receive, enjoy, and live in his complete forgiveness and acceptance.

If you see these marks of maturity lacking in others, don’t judge. Pray for their maturity, ask God to remove the plank from your own eye, and if necessary, God may use you to gently remove the speck from another’s eye.

If you see that God has worked these marks of maturity in you, don’t become prideful. Be humble. Give thanks to God for his work in you, not your work.

If you see that God has worked these marks of maturity in your neighbor, give thanks to God and take some time to tell them of the growth. Lest we become prideful, the Holy Spirit often hides our growth from us and reveals it only through another’s observation.

I look forward to our first sermon of the series this Sunday! Remember that you can listen to this online if you are out of town!