The hypocrisy of the World

[jari]

Yes that does give a clearer picture,the closest I can come to explaining it is that some remain loved infants and some have their faith finished and go on to become sons.

faith starts from mustard seed size

or kingdom of heaven as we experience that in us:

(Mat 13:31) Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

(Mat 13:32) Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

i think we can certainly believe more and more to salvation and on to God.

In the end both are loved even if they failed.That may explain why some will receive stripes and some various rewards.I am not so certain "never knew you" is total condemnation,maybe just missing a wedding party for being a party pooper.

true as salvation is not of works.
eph 8:2

 

[will]

Yes that does give a clearer picture,the closest I can come to explaining it is that some remain loved infants and some have their faith finished and go on to become sons.
In the end both are loved even if they failed.That may explain why some will receive stripes and some various rewards.

A clear picture that is,
what a sight for these sore eyes! :shade:

When we disregard verses in the Scriptures that talks about different levels of spiritual maturity, it is so easy to get caught up in the idea that once we are saved, we are magically transformed into spiritually minded beings without any effort whatsoever.

No wonder so many Christians fall back to their old habits in total confusion as to where has the sense of wonder -- that they experienced when they accept the gift of salvation -- gone to? All the while it was clearly outlined in passages such as Romans 8 that we have to choose to set our mind to the Holy Spirit. The choice that will lead us into righteousness, the only way we can experience the change that we all seek for so much.

The combination of this distinction between different levels of spiritual maturity *and* the essential role of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, can help us navigate this life through a new perspective. Two real impacts that we will feel:

1. We will no longer feel superior to others, because our growth spiritually is totally independent of our own strength to "fix" ourselves. Instead we will feel liberated from the pressure to "manufacture/display goodness" on our own. And we are equally free to praise God way beyond the typical lip-service. Now we can start to understand what it means to worship God with our own lives.

2. We will start to feel genuine compassion towards others. We start to see ourselves in our brothers/sisters who stumbled, rather than wagging our fingers, we empathize with them. And we will be compelled to find a way to lift them up, instead of judging them.

To me, these are the tell-tale sign of a genuine spiritual growth. Not the slick, spit-polished behavior on the outside that does not deal with the real grueling struggle inside. And I believe if we do what we can to encourage this kind of growth amongst Christians, we will once again be the difference in this fallen world. The way God intended us to be.