The Perils of Not Progressing

"Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits" (Hebrews 6:1-3)

Paul lays out the characteristics of a mature believer in Galatians 5:22-25:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25)

This "fruit" is utterly unattainable without the Holy Spirit indwelling, and even with every good and godly intent; none of us can ever reach perfection, but God considers us perfect, if we remain in Him, as Jesus teaches in this verse in Matthew:

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Paul further illustrates this by comparing our being stagnant; not growing, to that of a child's natural immaturity:

"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)

Peter expounds upon Paul's teaching in 1Peter 2:2:

"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—"

Moreover, Paul also teaches spiritual maturity in 1Corinthians:

"I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready." 

Moreover, similar to Paul's teaching on the "fruit of the Spirit;" Peter teaches on the "qualities" of spiritual growth and maturity:

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. or if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." (2Peter 1:5-10)

AND Paul teaches similarly in his letter to the Colossians:

"Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ." (Colossians 1:28)

ALSO, both Paul and James encourage and remind us that we will face challenges, but with Christ in us, we can be victorious if we do not give up:

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring." (2Thessalonians 1:3-4)

The pursuit of spiritual maturity is good for us; it helps us grow closer to our Lord while supplying us with God's Wisdom to help us through our trials and learn the lessons God's has for our lives:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5)

Furthermore, the pursuit of spiritual growth supports us, as it takes a degree of maturity to remain steadfast through the trials of life, as Paul highlights in Philippians 4:12--

"I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Moreover, staying on the path of spiritual maturity keeps us and builds the body of Christ, as Paul teaches in this passage in Ephesians 4:

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 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, 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. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)

And one final point made by James, what good are teachings if we hear them and then just forget them?:

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." (James 1:22-25)

ESV