How to Guarantee You WON’T Grow Spiritually

By Daniel Darling

How does a person grow? Specifically, for followers of Jesus, how does a person grow spiritually?

Another word for growth is sanctification — that supernatural process by which the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and forms us into Christ’s image. Growth is primarily a work that God does in us — I can’t, essentially, make myself grow.

And yet you can’t escape the New Testament’s overwhelming pulse that God commands us to intentionally pursue Him, that growth is, in some ways, our job as Christians.

There are quite a few texts that illuminate this, but 1 Timothy 4:7 comes to mind. Paul here tells us to “discipline ourselves to godliness.” In other words, yes the Holy Spirit does the work in us, but we also will not grow if our Christian life consists of us sitting on the couch and waiting for growth to happen.

So how do we grow? What are the tools God uses?

That question could fill up a year’s worth of blog posts. It certainly has motivated the writing of many books, sermons, etc. But maybe a better question is this: What are some ways to ensure that we DON’T grow spiritually? Read More