19.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The nineteenth mark of a mature Christian is that he is experienced in the Christian life.
• It takes time to become mature, because “the old man” (the old, sinful person in us) is alive and strong.
• Every day we have work to do:
  - We must lay aside the old man,
  - be renewed in the spirit of our minds,
  - and put on the new man (the person whom God’s Spirit is busy creating).
• It is God who gives us the desire and the strength to do this.
• Pride is the greatest and deepest of all sins.
• It takes time to learn humility.
• God uses his Word, the church, and suffering to teach us humility.

19.2 Ephesians 4:20-24←⤒🔗

^20. But you did not learn about Christ like this,

^21. if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus.

^22. You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires,

^23. to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

^24. and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

© NET Bible

19.3 – 1 Timothy 3:6←⤒🔗

^6. He must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

© NET Bible

19.4 It takes time!←⤒🔗

In the previous lesson, we looked at 1 Timothy 3:4-5. In this lesson we will focus on the next verse, verse 6:

He [the overseer] must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

Here God says that a church leader must not be a new Christian (“not be a recent convert”). In other words, a church leader must be experienced in the Christian life.

This verse teaches us an important truth about Christian maturity. It is a very simple truth, and that is: it takes time to become a mature Christian.

A Christian who is above reproach, holy, a servant of God at home, and all the other things we have talked about, is not created in one day. It takes days, months, and years to become this kind of Christian. A mature Christian is someone who is experienced in the Christian life.

So, be encouraged when you see many things in your life that need to change. If you belong to Christ, God will not leave you just as you are. He will keep on teaching you and helping you, until you are mature like Christ.

19.5 Why does it take time?←⤒🔗

Why does it take time to become a mature Christian? To answer this question, we must understand how sinful we are.

In Ephesians 4:22 we read about “the old man.” The old man is a person who rebels against God. He lives only for himself. He pretends to be good, but in reality he is evil, selfish, and proud. He is addicted to all kinds of sin.

This old man is inside of you. He is inside of me. We are sinners. Our sin goes very, very deep. It affects the way we think. It affects everything we do. As Paul says, “when I want to do good, evil is present with me” (Romans 7:21).

But by God’s grace, there is also a “new man” in our lives! The new man is the person whom God’s Spirit is busy creating. It is a person who wants to serve God. It is a person who is able to serve God!

So, what must we do? Must we sit back and wait for God to create this new man in our lives? Must we wait for the old man in us to die? No. Look again at Ephesians 4:20-24:

But you did not learn about Christ like this…. You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

We have learned about Christ: his love, his holiness, his sacrifice on the cross. Through the knowledge of Christ, the “new man” inside of us was born.

Now we have work to do. Every day, by the power of the Spirit, we must “lay aside the old man.” Every day we must “be renewed in the spirit of [our minds],” by thinking about Christ and his teaching. Every day we must “put on the new man,” just as we put on new, clean clothes.

The old man in us is still alive and strong. That is why it takes time–and effort– to become a mature Christian.

Yet we can have great hope. We are not fighting the old man in our own strength. We are not putting on the new man in our own strength. It is God who gives us the desire and the strength to do it. God is all-powerful, and he is faithful to complete the good work that he began in us (Philippians 1:6).

19.6 The danger of pride←⤒🔗

In the first part of the lesson, we saw that there is an old, sinful person living in each of us. That is the reason why becoming a mature Christian takes time.

In this part of the lesson, we will focus on one of the sins of this “old man.” It is the sin of pride.

Pride can be called the greatest and deepest of all sins. We can even say that every sin begins with the sin of pride. Adam and Eve’s sin did not begin when they ate the forbidden fruit. It began when they believed Satan’s promise, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).

“I can be like God. I can live without God’s help. I can make my own rules.” That is what a proud person believes, deep in his heart. That is what the old man in us believes.

The danger of pride is the reason why a new believer may not become a church leader! Look again at 1 Timothy 3:6:

He [an overseer] must not be a recent convert or he may become arrogant and fall into the punishment that the devil will exact.

Remember that Paul wrote in the Greek language, not in English. In Lesson 11 we looked at the word “arrogant” in Titus 1:7. There Paul uses a Greek word that means “living for yourself and your own pleasure.” But here, in 1 Timothy 3:6, he is using another Greek word. It is a word that means “blinded by pride.”

When you are arrogant (blinded by pride), it means that pride has taken over your life. Pride has made you blind to the truth. You may say that you believe in God, but in reality you believe your own, foolish ideas. You do what you think is right, not what God says is right.

This can happen to any of us if we are not careful. According to Paul, it can happen especially to a Christian who becomes a church leader too soon. It takes humility to be a church leader. And it takes time to learn humility!

19.7 Becoming humble←⤒🔗

Thankfully, God uses many things to teach us humility. First of all, he uses his Word. When we listen to God’s Word, we become “renewed in the spirit of [our minds]” (Ephesians 4:23). We learn the truth about God and about ourselves.

God also uses the church. In the church we learn to love and serve many kinds of people. We learn to confess sins and ask each other for forgiveness. We also see the examples of other, humble church members. Through all these experiences, God teaches us humility.

Finally, God uses suffering to teach us humility. In Psalm 30:6-7, David says, “In my self-confidence I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’… Then you rejected me and I was terrified.” With time, through suffering, David learned how much he needed God!

You and I are no better than David. We need to learn the same lessons that he had to learn. Some of these lessons can only be learned through suffering (Hebrews 12:7-11).