THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE CHURCH

“So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”  (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV)

What do you think is the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ? Hypocrisy? Apathy? Bad preaching? Sexual immorality? Persecution?

My take? Thanks for asking. I think it is immature faith. Paul is especially concerned with those who lack maturity in faith – “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”

In terms of faith, maturity has little to do with how long one has considered oneself a Christian. Many times, people who have ardently followed Jesus a short time are more mature than those who have sat around in church all their lives. Maturity is the fruit of a life consistently immersed in the Word of God and the Spirit of God. It is not signaled by a certain level of knowledge but by a growing discernment. The metric for Christian maturity is not competent skills or great gifts, but humility and holy love. The secret to maturing in Christ comes in the quality of one’s trusting abandonment to Him.

When Paul says “infants” don’t think kids, but people who aren’t yet mature in their faith. Immature faith works like a magnet to attract false teaching. Immaturity can be like a weak immune system. False teaching is like a virus, taking advantage of the body’s weakness. The trouble with false teaching is it has an air of plausibility to it. People not steeped in Scripture and the Spirit are most susceptible to buying into false teaching or following after false teachers. There’s only one way to deal with false teaching: maturity.

We must grow in maturity by consistently immersing ourselves in the Word of God and the Spirit of God so that we can discern the truth from the lies, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

-- Excerpted and adapted from “Wake-up Call” by J. D. Watt

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