Making Disciple Makers- Spiritually Dead and Infants
Making Disciple Makers- Spiritually Dead and Spiritual infants
From Death to Life: Understanding Your Spiritual Journey
Have you ever stopped to consider where you are spiritually? Not where you sit in church, but where you truly stand in your relationship with God? It's a question that might make us uncomfortable, but it's one worth asking.
The Stages of Spiritual Life
Just as we grow physically from infancy through childhood to adulthood, we also progress through distinct spiritual stages. Understanding these stages isn't about judgment—it's about recognizing where we are and where God is calling us to grow.
The journey begins in a place none of us like to acknowledge: spiritual death.
Starting Point: Spiritually Dead
Every single person begins their existence spiritually dead. No exceptions. No exemptions. This isn't simply about our actions or behaviors—it's about our fundamental condition, our separation from God.
Jesus made this crystal clear in John 5:24: "I tell you the truth. Those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins. But they've already passed from death into life."
Notice that word "listen." It doesn't mean merely hearing sounds. In both Hebrew and Greek, the word carries the weight of listening, understanding, and obeying. It's an active engagement with God's message, not passive reception.
Paul reinforces this reality in Ephesians 2, reminding us that "once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins." This spiritual death is the genetic disease we inherited from our first biological parents, Adam and Eve. When sin entered humanity, it created a separation from God that affects every person born into this world.
Some people actively reject God. Others simply don't know—they've never been exposed to the gospel or haven't understood it. Still others may even claim to be Christians while remaining spiritually dead, attending church and performing religious activities without ever truly surrendering to Christ.
The hard truth? You can attend church your entire life, serve in ministry, know the Bible inside and out, and still be spiritually dead if you haven't been born again.
The Requirement: Born Again
In that famous nighttime conversation with Nicodemus—one of Israel's most respected religious teachers—Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God."
No alternative routes. No loopholes. No exceptions for good behavior or religious pedigree.
Being born again requires coming to the end of yourself—recognizing your desperate need for God, surrendering completely, crying out for forgiveness of sin, and pledging your allegiance to follow Jesus Christ. In that moment, you breathe in the Holy Spirit for the first time, experiencing spiritual birth.
Romans 10:9-10 describes this alignment: "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved."
What we believe must align with how we live. How we live declares what we truly believe. And becoming a Christian is not a covert operation—it's something that becomes evident in our lives.
Next Stage: Spiritual Infancy
Once born again, believers enter spiritual infancy. This is a beautiful stage—new life has begun! But it's meant to be a starting point, not a permanent residence.
Spiritual infants may be brand new believers still learning the basics, or tragically, they might be long-time Christians who have never grown. The writer of Hebrews addresses this sobering reality: "You've been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's Word. You're like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food."
Spiritual infants are characterized primarily by ignorance—not stupidity, but simply not knowing what they don't know. Life tends to revolve around their own needs and desires. They may believe in Jesus but resist deeper community, claiming they don't need close relationships with other believers. They might say their "church" is in the woods or on the lake, or that their ministry is simply providing for their family.
Peter reminds new believers: "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation." Milk is essential—but it's meant to nourish growth, not sustain us indefinitely.
Identifying Spiritual Stages
How do we know where someone is spiritually? Jesus provides the key in Luke 6:45: "What you say, the words that come out of your mouth, flow from what is in your heart."
Each spiritual stage is characterized by common phrases:
**Spiritually dead** might say: "I don't believe there is a God," or "The Bible is just myths," or perhaps most deceptively, "I'm a Christian because I go to church and I'm a good person."
**Spiritual infants** might declare: "I believe in Jesus, but my church is in the woods," or "I don't have time to be in relationship with other Christians," or "My ministry is my work—I provide for my family and don't have time for church."
These phrases aren't meant for harsh judgment but for compassionate understanding. Recognizing where someone is spiritually helps us know how to engage them effectively.
The Call to Share
So how do we help others move from death to life, from infancy toward maturity?
We must share.
Acts 4:12 declares, "There is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." Salvation isn't about religion, rituals, or denominations—it's about a person. Jesus. Period.
Romans 10:14 asks the penetrating questions: "How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they've never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?"
We share through authentic relationship—the same method Jesus used. We share the gospel message. We share our testimony—our personal story of how God has changed our lives. First Peter 3:15 encourages us to "always be ready to explain" the hope we have as believers.
Start with good conversations that build authentic connection. Move toward God conversations that naturally open doors. Share your testimony about what God has done in your life. Then share the gospel—the story of creation, the fall, humanity's failed attempts to fix the brokenness, the incarnation of Jesus, His crucifixion paying sin's penalty, His resurrection conquering death, the salvation available through surrendering to Him, and the promise of His return.
Share your life. Share biblical truth. Share new habits like reading Scripture, prayer, and gathering with other believers.
Where Are You Sitting?
The question remains: Where are you sitting today?
Are you in the graveyard, spiritually dead, going through religious motions without genuine relationship with Christ? Are you in the nursery, born again but stagnant, not growing beyond spiritual infancy? Or are you maturing, growing, and helping others on their journey?
There's no stage that's superior to another—we all start somewhere and grow from there. But we're not meant to stay where we begin.
The invitation stands: Come to the end of yourself. Surrender to God. Cry out for forgiveness. Pledge your allegiance to Jesus. Breathe in the Holy Spirit and be born again.
And then grow.
From Death to Life: Understanding Your Spiritual Journey
Have you ever stopped to consider where you are spiritually? Not where you sit in church, but where you truly stand in your relationship with God? It's a question that might make us uncomfortable, but it's one worth asking.
The Stages of Spiritual Life
Just as we grow physically from infancy through childhood to adulthood, we also progress through distinct spiritual stages. Understanding these stages isn't about judgment—it's about recognizing where we are and where God is calling us to grow.
The journey begins in a place none of us like to acknowledge: spiritual death.
Starting Point: Spiritually Dead
Every single person begins their existence spiritually dead. No exceptions. No exemptions. This isn't simply about our actions or behaviors—it's about our fundamental condition, our separation from God.
Jesus made this crystal clear in John 5:24: "I tell you the truth. Those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins. But they've already passed from death into life."
Notice that word "listen." It doesn't mean merely hearing sounds. In both Hebrew and Greek, the word carries the weight of listening, understanding, and obeying. It's an active engagement with God's message, not passive reception.
Paul reinforces this reality in Ephesians 2, reminding us that "once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins." This spiritual death is the genetic disease we inherited from our first biological parents, Adam and Eve. When sin entered humanity, it created a separation from God that affects every person born into this world.
Some people actively reject God. Others simply don't know—they've never been exposed to the gospel or haven't understood it. Still others may even claim to be Christians while remaining spiritually dead, attending church and performing religious activities without ever truly surrendering to Christ.
The hard truth? You can attend church your entire life, serve in ministry, know the Bible inside and out, and still be spiritually dead if you haven't been born again.
The Requirement: Born Again
In that famous nighttime conversation with Nicodemus—one of Israel's most respected religious teachers—Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God."
No alternative routes. No loopholes. No exceptions for good behavior or religious pedigree.
Being born again requires coming to the end of yourself—recognizing your desperate need for God, surrendering completely, crying out for forgiveness of sin, and pledging your allegiance to follow Jesus Christ. In that moment, you breathe in the Holy Spirit for the first time, experiencing spiritual birth.
Romans 10:9-10 describes this alignment: "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved."
What we believe must align with how we live. How we live declares what we truly believe. And becoming a Christian is not a covert operation—it's something that becomes evident in our lives.
Next Stage: Spiritual Infancy
Once born again, believers enter spiritual infancy. This is a beautiful stage—new life has begun! But it's meant to be a starting point, not a permanent residence.
Spiritual infants may be brand new believers still learning the basics, or tragically, they might be long-time Christians who have never grown. The writer of Hebrews addresses this sobering reality: "You've been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's Word. You're like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food."
Spiritual infants are characterized primarily by ignorance—not stupidity, but simply not knowing what they don't know. Life tends to revolve around their own needs and desires. They may believe in Jesus but resist deeper community, claiming they don't need close relationships with other believers. They might say their "church" is in the woods or on the lake, or that their ministry is simply providing for their family.
Peter reminds new believers: "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation." Milk is essential—but it's meant to nourish growth, not sustain us indefinitely.
Identifying Spiritual Stages
How do we know where someone is spiritually? Jesus provides the key in Luke 6:45: "What you say, the words that come out of your mouth, flow from what is in your heart."
Each spiritual stage is characterized by common phrases:
**Spiritually dead** might say: "I don't believe there is a God," or "The Bible is just myths," or perhaps most deceptively, "I'm a Christian because I go to church and I'm a good person."
**Spiritual infants** might declare: "I believe in Jesus, but my church is in the woods," or "I don't have time to be in relationship with other Christians," or "My ministry is my work—I provide for my family and don't have time for church."
These phrases aren't meant for harsh judgment but for compassionate understanding. Recognizing where someone is spiritually helps us know how to engage them effectively.
The Call to Share
So how do we help others move from death to life, from infancy toward maturity?
We must share.
Acts 4:12 declares, "There is salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." Salvation isn't about religion, rituals, or denominations—it's about a person. Jesus. Period.
Romans 10:14 asks the penetrating questions: "How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they've never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?"
We share through authentic relationship—the same method Jesus used. We share the gospel message. We share our testimony—our personal story of how God has changed our lives. First Peter 3:15 encourages us to "always be ready to explain" the hope we have as believers.
Start with good conversations that build authentic connection. Move toward God conversations that naturally open doors. Share your testimony about what God has done in your life. Then share the gospel—the story of creation, the fall, humanity's failed attempts to fix the brokenness, the incarnation of Jesus, His crucifixion paying sin's penalty, His resurrection conquering death, the salvation available through surrendering to Him, and the promise of His return.
Share your life. Share biblical truth. Share new habits like reading Scripture, prayer, and gathering with other believers.
Where Are You Sitting?
The question remains: Where are you sitting today?
Are you in the graveyard, spiritually dead, going through religious motions without genuine relationship with Christ? Are you in the nursery, born again but stagnant, not growing beyond spiritual infancy? Or are you maturing, growing, and helping others on their journey?
There's no stage that's superior to another—we all start somewhere and grow from there. But we're not meant to stay where we begin.
The invitation stands: Come to the end of yourself. Surrender to God. Cry out for forgiveness. Pledge your allegiance to Jesus. Breathe in the Holy Spirit and be born again.
And then grow.
No Comments