Stages of Spiritual Growth, Part 2

[saint701]

Hello All,


Blessings!

Just remember, all things are possible with God.

We have been discussing the stages of spiritual growth and common experiences one might have at each stage of development. We have pointed out that such is all the work of our loving heavenly father. Here are a few more scriptures that bear this out.

Rom.2

[4] Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

John.15

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

After our initial encounter with the Spirit of our Lord, our spirit may fall asleep for a time, as we are not prepared for more dangerous territory. During this time we may engage in quite a bit of wrong behavior and find ourselves heavily weighted with guilt. Indeed we are so burdened we begin to search the scriptures for the answer for our problem. We may read many books. Ultimately we discover that Jesus has born our sins on the cross and when we see that as true, our sin is purged, and we find peace. That great weight lifts off our shoulders. We will say that this is stage 2. But notice that this individual did not repent. A true conversion has not yet occurred, but belief in the Lord has been strengthened. This person may fall away again as he has not truely repented of his sins. He has only seen that Jesus has born them.

At this point we must say that all the spiritual possibilites we discuss in these articles do vary from person to person, but we write to let those that have fallen away and become hopeless know that they may have hope. He that has begun a good work in you will perform it to the end. This person is neither lost forever or hopeless, for there is yet another stage all must encounter at some point in their spiritual journey.


Blessings!
Love, In Christ Jesus, Saint701.