Stages of True Christian growth

[BeauJangles]

11 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Steps? Progress? Sorry I don't buy into such a line of thinking. Salvation is instant, justification by Jesus alone, no steps, and sanctification that is not a progression toward sitting back and going for a snoozing ride along, not by a long shot.

 

5 minutes ago, Betha said:

The point I made was  -you can not be a co-pilot while you are ASLEEP/DEAD....especially if you are only in training yet. Wake up christians !

Perhaps making attempts for encouragement got misconstrued. If that stinks, kindly over-look it. My bad. Of course salvation is instant, and no we can't rely on cruise control as believers. Sanctification is a progress of faith, as we allow the Lord to work His will for our lives, however. If you want to pick that apart, you're entitled I suppose. God bless. 

Shalom, 

David/BeauJanlges 

[Blood Bought 1953]

 

Stage 1..........Holy Spirit pays you a visit 

Stage 2..........Holy Spirit convicts you of sin

Stage3............You experience the horror of your lost condition 

Stage4...........You realize that you are on your way to Hell and it is a just sentence

Stage5.........You see that you need a Savior ( metanoia-Repentance, a change of mind) You previously thought you were OK— the sin of self- righteousness

Stage 6........You put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior

Stage 7.......pray any equivalent of “ Jesus, save me”

Stage 8.......Jesus saves you and puts His Holy Spirit in you

Stage 9.......God uses a combination of Grace and Chastisement to mold you into the image of His  Son

Stage 10......You “ find yourself” living a life that pleases God, without having to work at it

Stage 11....You die

Stage 12........You go to Heaven and the ONLY reason you got there was because you put your faith in the Shed  Blood Of Christ .

If all of this sounds a little too complicated....it’s not. Just say, “ Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,a sinner” and all of these things will unfold in your life naturally. “ Anybody who asks for mercy will receive mercy”. Trust God and He will get you Home.God bless

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by Blood Bought 1953

[BeauJangles]

2 minutes ago, Blood Bought 1953 said:

 

Stage 1..........Holy Spirit pays you a visit 

Stage 2..........Holy Spirit convicts you of sin

Stage3............You experience the horror of your lost condition 

Stage4...........You realize that you are on your way to Hell and it is a just sentence

Stage5.........You see that you need a Savior

Stage 6........You put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior

Stage 7.......pray any equivalent of “ Jesus, save me”

Stage 8.......Jesus saves you and puts His Holy Spirit in you

Stage 9.......God uses a combination of Grace and Chastisement to mold you into the image of His  Son

Stage 10......You “ find yourself” living a life that pleases God, without having to work at it

Stage 11....You die

Stage 12........You go to Heaven and the ONLY reason you got there was because you put your faith in the Shed  Blood Of Christ .

If all of this sounds a little too complicated....it’s not. Just say, “ Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,a sinner” and all of these things will unfold in your life naturally. “ Anybody who asks for mercy will receive mercy”. Trust God and He will get you Home.God bless

 

This is really good! I especially like Stage 12, and looking forward to it. Thanks for posting this. God bless! 

[Blood Bought 1953]

Just now, BeauJangles said:

This is really good! I especially like Stage 12, and looking forward to it. Thanks for posting this. God bless! 

 

Amen !!!

[Neighbor]

36 minutes ago, Blood Bought 1953 said:

 

Stage 1..........Holy Spirit pays you a visit 

Stage 2..........Holy Spirit convicts you of sin

Stage3............You experience the horror of your lost condition 

Stage4...........You realize that you are on your way to Hell and it is a just sentence

Stage5.........You see that you need a Savior ( metanoia-Repentance, a change of mind) You previously thought you were OK— the sin of self- righteousness

Stage 6........You put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior

Stage 7.......pray any equivalent of “ Jesus, save me”

Stage 8.......Jesus saves you and puts His Holy Spirit in you

Stage 9.......God uses a combination of Grace and Chastisement to mold you into the image of His  Son

Stage 10......You “ find yourself” living a life that pleases God, without having to work at it

Stage 11....You die

Stage 12........You go to Heaven and the ONLY reason you got there was because you put your faith in the Shed  Blood Of Christ .

If all of this sounds a little too complicated....it’s not. Just say, “ Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,a sinner” and all of these things will unfold in your life naturally. “ Anybody who asks for mercy will receive mercy”. Trust God and He will get you Home.God bless

 

Stage 1 through 7 - was but a twinkling of time for me

Stage 8 ? - His Holy Spirit? ???  I think the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to me. I did not see Jesus until I had been turned about by the Holy Spirit who is God, as Jesus is God, as the Father is God. I don't see the Holy Spirit as an attribute  of God the Son nor God the Father, but as God the Holy Spirit, a person distinct, but also one with the son and the father.

Stage 10 -pleasing to God without having to work at it.   Oh no! It is work, work indeed. It is duty, it is standing one's post as a soldier stands his or her post in service to his commander.

Stage 11, You die.   To be born again; yet the flesh dies but once (with a couple of notable exceptions).

Stage 12- Heaven.   Because Jesus foreknew and predestined that it is so. He has been given all who will enter the kingdom of heaven by His father, and He loses not a one.

[Neighbor]

4 minutes ago, Neighbor said:

Stage 7.......pray any equivalent of “ Jesus, save me”

 

That may have been longer than a twinkling. For how long does it take the mind and mouth to say and ear to hear, "If that is true, I want it!" longer than a twinkling? Less than the speed at which the ear can perceive what the mouth has spoken I suppose.

[Neighbor]

BUT, as to Christian growth or if one insists, "true" Christian growth. I ask is it not like asking when does the worship stop? Sanctification like worship is ongoing as one does all that they do to the glory of God, sometimes well sometimes not so much. What is the end game? Is there even one? Do all not continue to learn, are we to remain as one seeing darkly now? Will not personal enlightenment continue perhaps eternally forward? What stage number shall that be, ah where is the infinity symbol key on my keyboard?

[GandalfTheWise]

4 hours ago, alaric_w said:

It takes true humility to understand that even with our best foot forward, we are still unable to please God. God considers our righteousness as filthy rags.

If this refers to our lives before Christ, then this is completely sound Christian doctrine and why Christ's atonement is our only path to God.  However, if this is referring to our lives in Christ with the Holy Spirit within us and changing us, I think it needs to nuanced and phrased differently.  As written, this gives the strong impression that God is displeased with everything in a Christian's life.

[jsimms615]

3 hours ago, Neighbor said:

That does not seem to be humility.

There is much that man can do that pleases God.

 1 Timothy 2, Job 1, Genesis 4, Ephesians 2, Romans 12

 

I believe what is being referred to is that by our own efforts we cannot please God because the flesh is hostile to God.  

As it says in Romans 8:7-8

⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

[gordon7777]

Nobody can wake up. It is to awake from the dead. God awakens us from the dead as we saw in Lasarus.

Neither does everybody fail from time to time, they fail completely, or not at all.

How can we fail to hate, when satan the hateful spirit is in us ? We cant fail.

 

How can we fail to love, when the Lord who is love, loves through us ? There is no failure, the Lord does not do less than satan, it is very wicked to think so.

Lets look at growth, and what it means.

Born again is not a growth. Being born again is everything new. On this new path, with a new conscience, new heart,. new mind of Christ, renewing of the Holy Ghost, we are in a new marriage with the Lord,  becoming  sons and daughters, and the growth is not in unholiness. Faith is strong it is not weak, anything that is weak is of the flesh, which needs to be dead crucified, otherwise we will not be in faith. Growing in faith, we understand even more, as the Lord reveals His testimonies, but we see the Apostles of the Lord understood His parables even before they were given the Spirit, so if anyone thinks they are to not understand all things when they receive the Spirit, how does that work to be backwards ? When somebody does not understand, it is because they have no Spirit to understand with. But that is how Jesus had His disciples at first, He kept them in His word.

 

For anyone to then receive the Holy ghost, it is not in the faith of men, it is in the faith of the Son of God who gave himself for us, so the advice is, hear only Him, but then again, all His sheep will do. They will immediately know, growth is dependant on how much you cherish yourself, and how much you want others to do well to you, if you want that very much, your growth will be the same very much right then too.

Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

1 Corinthians 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

 

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

 

Ephesians 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

 

1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: