Image via WikipediaGrow in maturity.The New Testament also commands Christians to press on toward Christ - Likeness (Phil. 3:12). All of us Christians are to strive to grow in spiritual maturity because growth doe not happen automatically. It is a gradual process by which Christians grow toward our home in heaven. In theology, this process of growth is referred to as sanctification. Prayer and Bible study are part of the process. Only through God can one become holy, but God has chosen to use his Word and our Communion with him in prayer as a means to that end. By communicating with God and reading his Word, we provide a way for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
The purpose of these topics is to suggest which theological interpretation may be best to meet your purpose in life.
"Belief" is a formulation of the knowledge we have of God through faith. There are many Christian beliefs, even though there is only one Christian faith (the knowledge of God through Christ).
Even so in the New Testament there is little sign of the deep vocational difference which would shortly show up in the Church. Quite plainly, the New Testament word for clergy (kleros) refers not to a special order among Christians. And the word for laity (laos) refers not to a receipient part of the congregation but to all Christians. All are called to one service, and all alike are God's people. 'And ye are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people (laos), that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light' (1 Peter 2:9)."
A primary reason, Christians become entangled in the web of servitude is the fear of not pleasing God enough. "Have you experienced this fear?" What other problems might this fear cause in a person's life? What is God's answer to this fear?
"Among the first Christians every man, however he lived and worked, ministered in the parish in which he lived and worked. There were leaders and teachers and special spokesmen, of course. But they did no more than show or set the direction of every Christian's obligation."
"Today, in a continuing effort to reclaim the priesthood of all believer, Protestants who note their own repeated failures are putting most emphasis on the common service to which the doctrine bids all Christians. 'Every shoemaker can be a priest of God, and stick to his own last while he does it,' said Luther. Whoever, wherever we are, whatever we do, we are ministers of God" (A Handbook of Christian Theology - Priesthood of Believers - Theodore A. Gill).
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