Keep Increasing

Christianity is a religion of progress and growth. The principles taught by Christ in scripture, when applied to your life, leave you changed dramatically for the good.

• "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men" (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
• "That you may excel still more" (4:1).
• "But we urge you brethren, to excel still more" (4:10).

Forget the erroneous notion that we can never "arrive", or that what we are doing is never good enough. Yet before we can excel to our full potential, we must avoid getting stuck in spiritual arrested development:

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ... for you are still fleshly" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

We must stand firm to avoid slipping away - falling backward - or losing ground previously gained.

"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God" (Hebrews 5:12).

And when we do slip a bit, we must take action to quickly strengthen our grip if we are to avoid getting worse:

"The last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 2:21).

Doing Great - Abound Still More

None of the above passages indicate any failure on the part of these Christians; in fact, they speak of the opposite. They were walking faithfully; "just as you actually do walk" (4:1), and they were doing a great job at being loving, "for indeed you do practice it..." (4:10). So when we are told to "abound still more" this does not mean that we have been failing, in fact, in all these verses, the exhortation is given to people who are already progressing spiritually. Being in the state of "still arriving" is not a bad thing. The apostle Paul was an excellent Christian and yet he said of himself, "Not that I have already attained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on..." (Philippians 3:12). With all your might, determine to do the same thing.

Something for People Doing Great!

Isn't it wonderful to know that when it comes to what really matters, there is an expected increase to those who are already doing great! Jesus mentioned this same principle when He observed in the gospels, "For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance" (Matthew 25:29). God does not ignore people who are doing great, neither does He punish them, rather, more is given to the person who is striving - more growth, more opportunities, more talents, more knowledge - more, all around, of everything that is good.

The Good News - There is More!

Christianity is not a lifestyle in which a person reaches a pinnacle or certain level of growth only to be stranded or stalled there with no place to go. Unlike the professional athlete who often reaches the height of their skills early in life, the Christian never has to reach or experience the long downhill slide of decline. Spiritually speaking, the Christian never reaches an "over-the-hill" point. Paul was probably in his sixties when he wrote the Philippian letter and he did not have to look back at all the "glory days", rather, he knew that all the glory was still ahead of him.

Never Stranded

It is encouraging to know that as a Christian I do not "hit the wall" of improvement and development. If I have read a book of the Bible I don't walk away kind of discouraged and say, "Well, that is all I can get out of that text". It is exciting to know that the wisdom of God has deep layers and because this is true, I will learn more the next time I study even the same text.

Every New Day

It is not a day to dread, but rather embrace. Every day will bring new occasions for growth; this is one reason why James told us to rejoice even when trials arrive (James 1:2-4). "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing" (2 Peter 1:8). In a sense, for the Christian, every day is a new of "increase". And after today's diligence, what will tomorrow bring? Yet more increase!

New Levels to Experience

The Thessalonians were doing a great job loving others (4:10), yet they could do even more in the future. New opportunities would arrive, there would be more people to help, there would be more occasions to express and show their love. Obviously, the Christian never reaches a point where they are no longer needed. There will always be in our future more people to help, more people to teach, and more young people to influence toward spiritual stability.

Something to Look Forward To

"One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14).

I am impressed that when Paul wrote these verses, his past was filled with all sorts of accomplishments. All the preaching journeys recorded in the book of Acts were previous to this letter. All the congregations that he had established, congregations in Asia Minor, in Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica and among the Galatians had all been done in Paul's past. The young men that Paul had influenced, like Timothy and Titus, all of that had happened in the past. Yet in spite of all those great accomplishments, Paul still reached forward and pressed toward the future. Like people in other professions, Paul did not sit around and dream about the old days. If I am a Christian, it means that no matter how great things have been in the past, and how God has created a lifestyle in which I can create happy memories, there remains an abundance of work, productivity and happy memories to be made as long as He gives me life.

Still Room for Growth

That is encouraging! Especially as one gets older as a Christian. I look at myself at 50 and say, "Is this it?" "Is this the maximum of love, patience, etc. that I will ever develop?" And the reassuring answer is "no"! In addition, when you see an admirable older Christian with rock solid virtues and faith, you can say to yourself, "One day I will be like that… and beyond".

If I have made this much progress - now what?

Paul had made tremendous progress spiritually since his days as a Pharisee and persecutor of the church (1 Timothy 1:13-15). It is helpful to briefly ponder the spiritual progress you have made over the years. You might remember how you used to react or not react. You might see big strides in the areas of unselfishness, patience, self-control or other areas. What all these verses are saying is that even with that much progress, yet with God's wisdom applied to your life, more will be seen in the future. If you have made big strides in the last 20 years, yet think what you can accomplish in the next 20!

Don't Stop

Consider the words that the Holy Spirit selected as Paul spoke of moving forward:

• "Reaching forward": The present tense is here used, he keeps up the chase. Paul was a man in pursuit of God. Like Jacob of old, he wouldn't let go of God until he received the blessing (Genesis 32:24-32). He was a man determined to not miss heaven, a man who wasn't content to just have "some" or "a little" of Jesus Christ. A man who wouldn't rest until he was resting with God Himself!
• "I may lay hold": To seize, to possess, to capture, and to overtake.
• "For which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus": On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Paul and "laid hold" of him. Christ laid hold of him for personal salvation and to be his messenger to the Gentiles. Paul now essentially said to himself, 'I must strive to make this desire of God, a reality". That is, my most primary goal is to become everything that God wants me to be - anything less than this would be a tragedy.
• "I press on": "Straining every nerve for that which lies in front" (TCNT). "The verb used here is very descriptive, and calls to mind the attitude of a runner on the course, who with body bent forward, hand stretched to the fore, and eye fixed on the goal, strains forward with the utmost exertion in pursuit of his purpose" (Muller, p. 124). "Live full out now... unceasingly reach out toward" (Hawthorne, p. 153). "Is used of a racer going hard for the tape... It describes the man who is going flat out for the finish" (Barclay, p. 66).

Jesus promised all those who serve Him an abundant life (John 10:10), and certainly we should not stop pursuing until we have the abundance.

The "Me" that the Devil Faces Today

I do not find any passages that speak of the devil "growing", "increasing in knowledge" or "learning", yet by the grace of God, you can do all this and more. Satan may have pushed me around in the past, yet you and I are not the same person we were 30 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Every day Satan faces in me a stronger, more determined and more knowledgeable opponent. He certainly tried to face you and me and destroy us as teenagers. He tried to take advantage of us when we were uninformed. He faced the "kid" before, now he faces the warrior. Put your armor on and fight valiantly. 

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net