Act Like Men (Be Mature)

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. And do everything with love." In this post we'll focus on the third command.

3. Act like men (Be mature)

Ladies, this doesn’t exclude you. Paul here is telling the Corinthians (both men and women) to grow up spiritually and become mature. Because spiritually speaking - the Corinthians were acting like babies.

This is why...

• In 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 Paul wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people [that is: as I would to spiritually mature Christians]. I had to talk....as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger.” 
• In 1 Corinthians 4:14 Paul refers to the Corinthians as his spiritual children and in 4:21 asks them if they needed a spiritual spanking? 
• In 1 Corinthians 14:20 Paul admonishes them “Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” 

Do you see now why Paul ends his letter by telling the Corinthians to grow up (spiritually speaking)? God wanted the Christians at Corinth to grow up spiritually, and he wants the same for you and me. In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul wrote “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” Paul is saying: God wants to grow your faith! And that’s true of us too. So let me ask you...

• Are you more kind this year than last? 
• Are you more patient this year than last? 
• Are you more of a servant? 
• Are you more generous? 
• Do you have a better understanding of Scripture this year than last? 
• Have you invited more people to church? 
• Have you participated in more semesters of growth group? 

Now don’t be too tough on yourself - it’s about direction, not perfection. But are you growing? At the same time, don’t be too easy on yourself either. If you can’t answer “yes” to any of those questions, God is saying to you “Act like men”, that is: Grow up! You aren’t supposed to stay stagnant in your faith. Like a tree, the roots of your faith are supposed to grow deeper (and your branches higher).

How do we grow up spiritually? 1 Peter 2:2 says “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation...” Friends - it’s impossible to grow up spiritually apart from reading your Bible. 2 Peter 3:18 says “...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” How do you do that? By reading your Bible! Here's how this works...As you read the Bible you become aware of the areas in which you need to grow up.

• Maybe you have trouble getting along with others. Well as you read 1 Corinthians 1-4 God is going to challenge you to grow up in regards to quarreling with other believers. 
• Maybe you're doing something right now the Bible calls immoral. Well as you read 1 Corinthians 5-6 God is going to challenge you to grow up in regards to holy living. 
• Maybe you're not taking into account how your decisions affect others. Well as you read 1 Corinthians 8-10 God is going to challenge you to grow up in regards to selfishness. 

But you'll never know where you need to grow up apart from reading the Word of God. Through the Bible God speaks to us, telling us where we need to become mature. If you don't have a Bible reading plan I would encourage you to visit www.youversion.com on your smartphone or computer, where you will find a variety of Bible reading plans. Get in the Word and God will show you where you need to grow.