The names of persons in the following illustration are fictitious and do not in any way refer to living individuals.
Peter and Margaret were over the moon when their first-born, John, was born. He was the most beautiful baby in the whole world, perfectly made in everyway. As with all mothers the first thing Margaret did was to see if he had all his little toes and fingers and whether there were any physical dificiencies on his little body. He was just perfect and so adorable. When the time came for them to go home daddy arranged a wonderful welcoming party for mother and son. Both John’s grandparents on Peter’s and Margarte’s side were there as well as most of the family and lots and lots of friends. it was a real feast.
Mom was able to breast feed John regularly everyday and later when he was able to be fed more solid baby foods, she gave him only the best. And John was a really good eater. Margaret had no problems having to feed him. There was only one problem and it was a really big problem. John remained a little baby. After six to eight months he hadn’t grown a single inch and remained cloistered in his little cot.
What would you do if you had a son or a daughter who didn’t grow normally and remained confined to their cots? Of course you would be greatly disturbed. Could we for a moment shift this most tragic and disconcerting scenario to the spiritual realm? Are we as equally concerned about our own spiritual growth and that of others as we are about babies whose physical growth are stifled? The Bible very empathically warns against spiritual stagnation and the necessity for spiritual growth. In fact Paul says in Hebrews 5 from verse 7 through to chapter 6 and verse 3:
In the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his devotion to God. Son though he was, he learned obedience through his sufferings and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. We have much to say about this, but it is difficult to explain because you have become too lazy to understand. In fact, though by now you should be teachers, you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God’s word. You have become people who need milk instead of solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and is inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about Christ, let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. (Emphasis added).
If it was necessary for Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, to grow in wisdom and maturity (Luke 2:52) how much more shouldn’t his followers strive to grow in wisdom and maturity in order to become like Him more and more? Here now follows some verses from Scripture that admonish us to grow in our spiritual lives and not to remain stymied.
For this reason, since the day we heard about this, we have not stopped praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the full knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might live in a manner worthy of the Lord and be fully pleasing to him as you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the full knowledge of God. (Col 1:9-10)
And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers, to perfect the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of Christ until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God’s Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in Christ. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray. Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we will grow up completely into the one who is the head, that is, into Christ, in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied. As each individual part does its job, the body’s growth is promoted so that it builds itself up in love. (Eph 4:11-16)
A stifled spiritual growth is a veritable sowing land for false doctrines and inevitably leads one into labyrinths of serious deception. Isn’t this the very reason why men like Stephan Joubert and a multitude of other pastors and preachers in our country have fallen prey to deception and erroneous doctrines? Stephan Joubert, for instance, contrary to the teachings of Jesus and Paul and all the other apostles, believes that Ultimatetly, spiritual growth is not what its all about. Like so many of his former thought provoking discoveries (or is it brain provoking discoveries), he has now discovered that there is something that is even more important than spiritual growth. Ironically he places the reasons for a lesser important spiritual growth squarely in the court of institutionalized church programs, but conveniently praises the church programs of a couple of Emergent Churches who have made an impact in their immediate vicinities and helped to make the world a better place. In Die Burger of 18 March 2009 he said that the Kingdom of God is a sowing land and not a business enterprise. I can agree with that, but the question is: What do you sow?
To defend his apathy towards business and program driven churches, STEPHAN JOUBERT referred to a church in Roodepoort whose pastor is Pieter-Nel Klopper. One Sunday he decided to launch a fundraising program for the needy (Stephan is not apathetic about these kinds of church programs) and asked the members of his church to place their donations in two containers in front of the church. Enough money was collected to help someone who had been robbed of R800 and to pay for another person’s debt of R2000. In addition two cars were given to two members who had been having problems with transport. Now, this is wonderful; Christians should help one another. The only problem is that it was splashed on the pages of some newspapers and also on the infamous “Kletsklerk” (an Afrikaans chat forum where mostly atheists and haters of God mock the evangelical Christian faith) while Jesus explicitly commanded his followers not to splash their giving of alms in public.
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (Mat 6:1-4).
Is this Joubert’s discovery of something that is even more important than spiritual growth – a reward winning patent of how to skillfully circumvent Jesus Christ’s commandments? They have already received their reward which is the accolades an praises of men. Stephan calls this hypocritical act of giving your alms in the public eye IMPACT. He says
It is time for a new term, one that moves the focus away from myself. I am talking about the word IMPACT! . . .
Impact happens when my life is poured out like water in service of Christ and other people.
Impact causes me to no longer care whether I am growing spiritually or not. Like Paul in 1 Corinthians 4, I no longer have time or energy for monitoring my own growth. That I leave to God! Impact causes me to prayerfully fetch my life coordinates obediently from the Lord every day and to report for duty in his kingdom. All that matters now is that the Lord is glorified.
Stephan is full of surprises, especially when he refers to (please note: NOT quotes) Scripture in order to substantiate his IMPACT agenda. He wrongfully impacts an eisegesis (reads his own interpretation into) 1 Corinthians 4 that is nowhere near the meaning of which Paul wanted to convey. Paul does not speak about spiritual growth in chapter 4; this he had already done in chapters 2 and 3. His entire rhetoric revolves around the mysteries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the things that relate to the Cross which only the Holy Spirit can reveal) which we are commanded to proclaim with fortitude and loyalty. Paul’s main concern in chapter 4 was that he and ministers like him proclaim the Truth of the Cross faithfully in the interest of their Master. If Paul hadn’t been concerned about his own spiritual growth and that of others, as Stephan Joubert asserts, he would never have had reprimanded the Corinthian church for her infantile spirituality in chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. Indeed, he seems to be so upset with them that he compares their childish behavior to a spiritually mature man who judges (evaluates, discerns, examines, investigates, inquires into) all things (1 Corinthians 2:15). To be able to do this you must know the Truth and how to rightly divide the Truth. Not so, says Stephan Joubert: We no longer need to stand up for the truth and there is something that is more important than spiritual growth — IMPACT.
The impression one gets is that the Emergent Church fraternity do not want their church members to grow in the Lord, in his grace and in his Truth. They seem to deliberately keep them in their little toddler shoes so that they can manipulate them at will.
