“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Lately, God has so impressed this truth on my heart. I have felt led to continue to bring messages on growth, spiritual knowledge, etc. Somehow, as Baptists, we have bought into the idea that you can be saved and never learn, or never grow in the Lord, and spend your life ignoring your Master. “The most important is salvation!” What God has been impressing on me is that you cannot separate the two concepts. If you are saved, you will grow. Some have the idea that the things we “first learn” in our spiritual journey will never be “unlearned.” I had given the example of the Catholics who were saved, but felt that they still needed to have their baby sprinkled so he wouldn’t go tohell. I emphasize, TRUE SALVATION RESULTS IN GROWTH THAT WE GAIN AS WE GAIN MORE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORD OF GOD AND OF GOD HIMSELF. We might find that some things we used to believe, we don’t believe them anymore. We have learned! God’s Word will transform, re-create the saved person. We will be a new creature. In the past, we measured growth as a few outward changes that take place. “I don’t cuss anymore, or I don’t smoke anymore.” While these should be evident in the life of a Christian, there is so much more to growing in the Lord. Growth leads to knowledge, faithfulness, service, and peace! Are you growing in the Lord? Are you learning? If not, there might be something seriously wrong in your understanding of salvation. Let us examine ourselves.
