Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow

by R.C. Sproul

By immersing ourselves in the Word of God, we begin to gain the mind of Christ and learn what discipleship is.

When we experience the "changing of the mind" that is repentance, we are not suddenly cleansed of all wrong thinking. The renewing of our minds is a lifelong process. We can accelerate this process by focusing

We must read the Bible existentially; that is, we must become involved in what we're reading. We must not just sit back as spectators, learning facts

while remaining untouched and unmoved by the text of Scripture. We must ask ourselves what the Word is saying to us as we read.

"I want people who, when they come to worship Me, come with their hearts fully engaged with what they are doing."

It is very important that we take time to prepare our hearts to worship God before we set foot in the sanctuary on Sunday morning.

If we don't feel like going to church, we are to do it anyway. It's a privilege to come near to God and to worship with other believers, but it's also a sacred duty.

This is a glorious story of redemption, but there is great irony here. We see what God redeemed His people from, but we must not miss what God redeemed them to. He called His people out of Egypt, out of slavery, not to become autonomous or to do whatever they please. He called them to serve Him. The Israelites were called out of service to Pharaoh and into service to God.

it should be our delight to obey God. We should be motivated to serve Him out of joy for what He has done for us, not out of grim obligation or as a means to gain heaven.

So what we are talking about, fundamentally, when we discuss biblical stewardship is responsibility for managing or allocating resources that do not belong to us. They belong, ultimately, to God.