The 12 Keys to Spiritual Maturity

The Apostle Peter’s final words can be found in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” Peter’s dying wish was to see Christians growing! If you think about it, it’s not too difficult to understand why this might be his concern. After all, Peter had let Jesus down, he’d betrayed him three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest, despite adamantly denying that he wouldn’t. Peter had firsthand experience of the consequences of spiritual immaturity. And so, almost 40 years later, as a spiritually mature apostle, Peter was eager to see that others be spared the pain–not to mention, the guilt and shame–that spiritual immaturity had brought him.

This call to spiritual growth and maturity can be seen throughout the New Testament. In Ephesians 4:11-13 the Apostle Paul tells us that we are given spiritual gifts in order to “… to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” James 1:4 puts it this way, “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And in Hebrews 6:1 we find this exhortation, “Let us…become mature.”

In some places, Christian maturity is presented as a fact; in others, as a goal to be achieved. There’s a sense in which we’ve already achieved something very significant in terms of maturity in our initial union with Jesus Christ. We’re not what we once were! However, there’s also a tension between what we are now and what we have yet to become. And, in 2 Peter, the call to maturity is an imperative-a command that assumes we haven’t yet attained the fullness of what we ought, and what one day we will be.

Scripture is clear: we’re not meant to be static in our faith, but rather we’re called over and over again to grow, mature, and bear fruit. Christian maturity is important because growth is evidence of life. In fact, lack of growth is a serious condition that robs Christians of the joys and privileges of the Christian life, and can ultimately lead to hypocrisy, false profession, and apostasy.

The primary goal of spiritual growth and maturity is to be transformed into nothing less than the likeness of Jesus, Himself. As Paul writes in Romans 8:29, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.” And in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

To assist us in this process of growth and transformation, this Fall sermon series will look at the 12 keys to spiritual maturity. Although this might sound somewhat mechanical, as if spiritual maturity was something that can be obtained by the mere application of a formula; it’s important to establish right from the beginning that spiritual maturity is anything but formulaic. In fact, it can be quite complex because we’re complex. We’re not carbon copies, mass produced on an assembly line, but rather unique individuals, created by God with our own unique gifts, talents, and abilities, our own unique psychological make up, temperament, learning style, life experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and short comings. And so, it would stand to reason that we’d all come to spiritual maturity in Christ in our own unique way. That being said, this series will be looking at some of the basic parameters of spiritual growth and maturity. These 12 “keys,” taken together, rather than individually, can assist us, in the longing of our hearts, to grow and be more like Jesus.

I encourage you to pray that God would use these sermons to speak to your heart, and to create in you, or strengthen within you, the desire to grow, mature, and to be more like Jesus. Always mindful that incredible things can happen when we open ourselves up to the transforming power of Jesus!

Title: “Key #1: Desire”

Preacher: The Rev. Canon Christopher Doering

Date: Sunday, September 8, 2024 ~ The 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Handout: Part 1.HO