Sinners Made Saints — I Won’t Grow Up!

Text: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Theme: Once a person experiences the New Birth they are commanded everywhere in the Scriptures to grow into spiritual maturity.

Date: 07/25/2021 Title: 1_Corinthinas_05 ID: NT07-03

This week, as I was studying for this morning’s message, I learned of a new mental malady that afflicts some Americans. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association lists approximately 200 mental conditions of some kind. This includes short-term depression to schizophrenia and everything in between. One of those in-between disorders is something I had never heard of. It’s called Adult Baby Syndrome. These are adults who feel compelled to dress up and act like babies. They will wear diapers, drink from baby bottles, shake rattles, suck their thumbs and crawl around on their hands and knees. They will coo when they’re happy, and whine and cry when they are not. There is actually a web site for these folks called Diaper Pail Friends. It has 15,000 members. The interesting thing to me is that men make up 93% of those diagnosed with Adult Baby Syndrome. I think most wives here this morning know that husbands can be big babies at times, but this takes it to a whole new level!

In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul is critical of some of the believers in the Church at Corinth. He writes that he cannot address them as spiritual — that is, as mature Christians — but merely as infants in Christ (3:1). Too many of them have failed to mature properly in their spiritual walk with Jesus Christ. They were not attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ that Paul refers to in Ephesians 4:13. They have never graduated from the elementary teachings about Christ (Hebrews 6:1), and moved on to Christian maturity.

All we have to do is look at the natural world around us to understand that it is God’s will that things grow, develop, and mature into that which God has planned for them. Plants grow and mature and provide oxygen and food. That’s their purpose. Animals grow and mature and provide food and clothing. That’s their purpose. People, likewise, grow, and develop into mature functioning adults who go to work, get married (usually) and have families. That’s their purpose. As Christians, we are born again, become a new creation in Christ, and ultimately are to work toward a conformity to Christ. The Biblical word for this is sanctification. We just usually call it Christian growth or Christian maturity. Today, however, the church is rife with Adult Spiritual Baby Syndrome.

God’s Plan — Birth, Growth, and Maturity of His Children

Corinth’s Plight — a Congregation full of Baby Believers

Our Passion — Conformity to Christ

I. GOD’S PLAN

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, ... ” (1 Corinthians 3:1, ESV)

God’s Plan — Birth, Growth and Maturity of His Children

1. here is the fundamental issue in the Corinthian Church; Paul cannot address the people of this congregation as spiritual people

a. he would like to address them as “spiritual people” but they were not and so he cannot — years after he has left, too many believers in the church have remained infants in Christ

2. God’s spiritual plan for His children has three parts to it ...

A. GOD’S PLAN — SPIRITUAL BIRTH

1. Jesus explained the necessity of the new birth to one of Israel’s most important spiritual leaders — his name was Nicodemus

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”” (John 3:1–8, ESV)

a. families traditionally grow in two ways by birth or by adoption

2. Christianity teaches that God adopts us into His family by causing us to be born a second time, that is by experiencing a spiritual rebirth

a. the theological term for this is regeneration and is the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus refers to in John 3:8

3. the Christian life begins with this second birth — if you’ve never experienced it, you’re simply not a Christian

B. GOD’S PLAN — GROWTH IN CHRIST

1. just as physical children grow up, spiritual children should grow up

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18, ESV)

a. when children fail to grow physically or intellectually parents become concerned and will intervene in their child’s life to get them medical help

2. the Church ought to have an equal concern when we see so many of God’s children failing to flourish spiritually

a. there is a reason, I think, why the early believers referred to themselves as disciples and not Christians

b. a disciple is someone who learns from a master teacher

3. the early Christians didn’t merely intellectually ascent to the death and resurrection of Jesus, they followed a Savior who taught them about God the Father and how to live

a. do you understand the difference?

b. many professing Christians don’t

1) the former can be done with little or no change to one’s life

2) the latter cannot be done without significant change to one’s life

ILLUS. In America we have a lot of “Christians” but we don’t have a lot of disciples. Years ago In his book, Evangelism: Christ's Imperative Commission, Roland Leavell provided some interesting statistics about Christians in America. Listen to a few of these:

• 5% do not exist (that is they’ve died, but their name is still on a church roll)

• 10% cannot be found (they are alive and on a church roll somewhere, but where they are nobody knows)

• 20% never pray

• 25% never read the Bible

• 30% never attend Church services

• 40% never give a dime to Christian causes

• 50% never go to Sunday School or Bible study

• 60% never attend Sunday evening worship

• 70% never give to missions

• 80% never go to prayer meetings

• 95% never tell anyone they are a Christian

c. is it any wonder that so many churches in America are spiritually anemic?

4. a disciple is a learner —they will grow in the faith

a. there are so many things a growing Christian should know but let me give you five that will change your life

1) a growing Christian needs to know how to study the bible

2) a growing Christian needs to know how to pray

3) a growing Christian needs to know how to worship

4) a growing Christian needs to know how to serve

5) a growing Christian needs to know how to be a good steward

5. are you a growing believer?

ILLUS. In 1971 Wilbur Rees, a Baptist pastor and campus minister now deceased, wrote a book with an interesting title: $3 Worth of God. It’s a devotional book, and the title comes from the first devotion where the author says he wants to “buy” just enough religion to make him comfortable. He writes with biting sarcasm: “I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I'd like to buy $3 worth of God, please. How much of God do you want?” (With inflation since 1971 that would be $20.13 worth of God today)!

C. GOD’S PLAN — MATURITY

1. 2 Peter 3:18 says, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

a. Christian maturity means more than simply knowing the “ABC’s” of the faith

1) a lot of Christians understand, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so” but they never get much beyond that, and outside of John 3:16 might not be able to tell you where in the Bible it says that Jesus loves them!

2) there’s a whole lot beyond that

ILLUS. I’ll bet there are Christians here this morning who can give me chapter and verse on the Britney Spears saga, but you can’t have an intelligent conversation about the doctrine of atonement.

2. what’s the difference between Christian growth and Christian maturity?

a. Christian maturity is when you become a reproducing believer — it’s when you are helping others to grow in their faith even as you continue to grow in your faith

God’s Plan — Birth, Growth and Maturity of His Children

II. CORINTH’S PLIGHT

“But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1, ESV)

Corinth’s Plight — It Was a Congregation Full of Baby Believers

1. God’s Plan is the Birth, Growth and Maturity of His Children

a. but the Corinthians had a problem: They were born again, but they were not growing

A. PLAGUED BY IMMATURITY

ILLUS Jeff Foxworthy is an American comedian who became famous in the early 1990's with his one-liners, “You might be a redneck if ... “ One of my favorites is, “If you’ve ever cut your grass and discovered a car ... you might be a redneck.” So, in a shameless imitation of Jeff Foxworthy’s one-liner: You might be a spiritual baby if ...

1. 1st, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Find Yourself Often Fighting with Other Christians

a. babies will fight about anything and everything

1) left to themselves, young siblings will slap, pull hair, kick, poke, punch, argue and scream

2) they haven't really learned that they aren't enemies, so they live as though there were

b. as a Christian, your enemies are the world, the flesh, and the Devil not fellow church members

c. are you presently ticked off and fighting with another Christian about something?

1) is the cause of your fight something that Jesus would also fight about?

2. 2nd, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Demand Being the Center of Attention

a. a baby delights in being the center of attention

1) if someone else is receiving attention, then a baby will often do or say something to put himself in the spotlight

2) in his third epistle the Apostle John wrote, “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.." (3 John 1:9, NIV)

3) here in 1 Corinthians Paul says that these infants in Christ were characterized by jealously and strife

b. Diotrephes was a spiritual baby, so he misbehaved by rejecting the Apostle

1) John would have received too much attention, so the spotlight baby turned him away

c. is this you? Do you push for attention, or do you rejoice when other believers are receiving attention?

3. 3rd, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Are Shallow in Your Knowledge of the Scriptures

a. babies have very little knowledge and understanding, so they will drink poison, eat insects, play in the streets, and even jump into water far over their heads

1) they have a great lack of knowledge and understanding, so they must rely on others to teach them

b. if you are shallow in your knowledge of the Scriptures, then you are just as shallow about applying the Scriptures to your own life

1) you can't possibly be obeying the Bible if you aren't faithfully reading it

c. this makes you a spiritual baby

1) God wants you to GROW UP to be a mature, faithful follower of Jesus Christ

4. 4th, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Are Easily Offended

a. babies are very sensitive, and their feelings are easily hurt

1) when things don't go their way, they will whine, cry, pout, sulk, and even throw tantrums

2) they haven't learned to endure affliction, so they only know to be offended when trouble comes

b. does this describe you?

5. 5th, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Are Never Satisfied

a. a baby never ceases to whimper and cry for things

1) he's hungry, so you feed him

2) then he's tired, so you give him a nap

3) he then wakes up and needs his diaper changed

4) you change the diaper, then he wants to play

5) you refuse to play, so he cries

6) a baby is just never satisfied

b. we see this in the lives of the Hebrews ... The Bible says in the Book of Numbers

“And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD ... , and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.” (Numbers 11:1, ESV)

c. God is displeased with your constant murmuring, and He will judge you for it if it doesn't stop

1) throughout the New Testament God’s people are expected to be Content, thankful and rejoicing in the Lord, not a bunch of perpetual whiners who always think they deserve something more or something better

6. 6th, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Focus on Church Leaders and Not Jesus

a. this is one of the problem at Corinth

“For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?” (1 Corinthians 3:4, ESV)

1) Christian leaders are ... well, they’re human which means they are fallible and will, at times, disappoint their most ardent followers

2) the Apostle Paul reminds them they are merely servants through whom you believed

b. if you focus on church leaders, you’ll always be disappointed, but if you focus on Jesus, you’ll never, ever be disappointed

7. 7th, You Might Be a Spiritual Baby If ... You Have Trouble Staying Clean

a. a baby simply cannot stay clean — they are inherently messy

1) you can give him a bath, but if you aren't careful, he'll be a mess before you can drain the bath water

a) he will play in the flower pot

b) he will play in the toilet

c) he will play in the cat litter

2) he will spill the apple juice all over himself and be a sticky mess

b. a spiritual baby will not stay clean — they’re always falling into sin

1) like the infants in Christ they are people of the flesh

8. infant Christians need to grow up!

B. PATIENCE WITH THE IMMATURE

1. let me quickly say, that — as frustrating as infants can be — a good parent, a godly parent never stops loving their child

a. you know that growth eventually comes, and so your patient — teaching and instructing, and yes, even disciplining when necessary — in the hope that your child will grow up into a responsible adult

2. the Body of Christ must love those believers among us who have not yet grown up into the fulness of the stature of Christ

a. sometimes that can be hard, but we teach them, and we instruct them, and sometimes we discipline them in the hope that they will grow up in a responsible, Christ-honoring believer

b. Paul expresses this goal in his letter to the Ephesians

“until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” (Ephesians 4:13–15, ESV)

Corinth’s Plight — It Was a Congregation Full of Baby Believers

III. OUR PASSION

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6, ESV)

Our Passion Ought to Be Our Conformity to the Character of Christ

1. in his letter to the Christians at Rome Paul talks about negative conformity and positive conformity

a. he writes that believers are not to be conformed to the world

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

1) the world, the flesh, and the devil are working hard to conform you to the culture

b. he also writes that believers are to be conformed to the image of the son

“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 among many brothers.” (Romans 8:29, ESV)

2) the Spirit and the Word and the Church are working hard to conform you to the Christ

ILLUS. Eliza Edmunds Hewitt penned a hymn, in 1887 that ought to be every believer’s daily prayer — More About Jesus

More about Jesus let me learn

More of His Holy will discern

Spirit of God, my teacher be

Showing the things of Christ to me

2. there is no “magic formula” for “instant sanctification” in the believer’s life

a. just as there are forces that hinder or stand in the way of Christian growth and maturity so there are forces that promote Christian growth and maturity

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23, ESV)

b. there it is ... that’s the formula ... it’s a daily effort to live for Christ

A. DENYING SELF OVERCOMES THE FLESH

1. everyday you must say farewell to the old self, put on the armor of God and walk in the Spirit

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24, ESV)

2. Christ-likeness will never be yours as long as you indulge the flesh with whatever it craves

B. TAKING UP YOUR CROSS OVERCOMES THE WORLD

ILLUS. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said that taking up your cross simply means to say "yes" to God each and every day of your life.

1. when Jesus willing went to the cross he was saying in effect, "I do not belong to myself, but to my Father who is in heaven."

2. everyday our prayer ought to be, "Father, not my will, but yours be done in my life today. Make me receptive to it."

C. FOLLOWING JESUS OVERCOMES THE DEVIL

ILLUS. A Chinese proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

1. our conformity to Christ begins and continues as we place our steps in the footprints of Jesus

2. following Jesus means ...

a. trusting him day-by-day

b. obeying his commands

c. fellowshiping with him continually through prayer

d. worshiping him in Spirit and in truth

Our Passion Ought to Be Our Conformity to the Character of Christ

Conclusion. One of the most delightful stories of my early childhood was about a family whose children befriended a young, courageous and magic filled boy named Peter Pan.

Peter Pan and his fairy side-kick, Tinkerbell, lived on an island far out to sea where they had all kinds of adventures and thrills dodging the infamous Captain Hook and his band of pirates.

Peter convinces his new found friends to come with him to his island home which he calls "Never Never Land." It's called Never, Never Land because it's a place where they'll never ever have to grow up. There they can have fun and adventures and never have to worry about the problems, pains or the responsibilities of growing up. It sounds exciting, so they fly off to Never Never Land with Peter Pan. They discover, however, that not growing up is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Like this childhood story, many Christians are living in a Spiritual Never Never Land. They have not, and do not want to ever grow up! Their theme song is the same as Peter Pan's — "I Won't Grow Up!" How many Christians do you know who have never "grown up?" Who knows, maybe you are one of them!?