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Mature Faith Does Not Pursue Worldliness “What a friend we have in Jesus,” a classic hymn rejoices, “all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” Who wouldn’t want our loving...

Mature Faith Understands What Is Eternal “What a tragic waste,” wrote John Piper in Don’t Waste Your Life, “when people turn away from the Calvary road of love and suffering. All the riches of the glory of God in Christ are on that road. All the sweetest fellowship with Jesus is there. . . . All the deepest discoveries of God’s Word. All...

Mature Faith Does Not Pursue Selfish Pleasures The first sermon in American history was preached at Plymouth, Mass., on December 9, 1621 by Robert Cushman, a deacon and Puritan leader. His text was 1 Corinthians 10:24, “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” In his sermon he warned against “swelling pride, self-love and...

Mature Faith Accepts God’s Word In Redeeming How We Talk, Ken Wytsma and A. J. Swoboda write: “Next to prayer, listening is perhaps the best way to create a positive context for conversation. Listening forces us to exchange hats with others, to walk in their shoes. When we exchange hats, we develop empathy and understanding. Then we can more...

Mature Faith, Good Deeds, and Godly Wisdom What is wisdom? It dwells with God, meaning that our wisdom depends upon our relationship with Him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). The phrase “fear of the Lord” signifies reverence, worship, and obedience. “The fear...

Mature Faith Is Seen in Good Deeds Commentator Zane C. Hodges described the relationship between faith and good works: “[W]orks are in fact the vitalizing ‘spirit’ which keeps one’s faith alive, in the same way that the human spirit keeps the human body alive. Whenever a Christian ceases to act on his faith, that faith atrophies and becomes...

Mature Faith and Self-Control in Speech The Yik Yak app, now thankfully defunct, allowed users to post anonymous comments and to agree or disagree with other users’ comments within a five-mile radius. For example, students on a university campus could share opinions about teachers, courses, or classmates. The app’s anonymous posts degenerated...

Mature Faith Understands God’s Justice In his commentary on James, Douglas J. Moo explained that today’s verses condemn a sinful use of wealth. “We cannot avoid the serious reminder about money and possessions that we confront in this text. One of the sins for which God condemns these people is their selfish accumulation of money and things...

Mature Faith Submits Humbly to God The narrative climax in John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the choice made first by Eve and then by Adam to give in to the serpent’s temptation and disobey God. In Milton’s Paradise Regained, the story’s climax is Jesus’ perfect resistance to the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–13). Christ’s...

A Scary Challenge to Our Faith Why do bad things happen to good people? Rabbi Harold Kushner answered that question in his bestselling book by arguing that God is loving but not omnipotent. Prominent atheists have said this is proof there is no god at all. The book of Job, however, offers a different answer: God has His own reasons that we...