Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow

by R.C. Sproul

That Scripture is “given by inspiration” refers not to the way God oversaw the writing of the Bible but to the source of the content of the Bible. The word that is translated “given by inspiration” is the Greek term theopneust—literally, “God-breathed.” When Paul wrote that Scripture is God-breathed, the idea was not one of inspiration but of expiration; that is, the Bible was breathed out by God. The whole point here is that the Bible comes from God.

This yields a practical help for Bible study: read the Bible with a red pen in hand. I suggest that you put a question mark in the margin beside every passage that you find unclear or hard to understand. Likewise, put an X beside every passage that offends you or makes you uncomfortable. Afterward, you can focus on the areas you struggle with, especially the texts marked with an X. This can be a guide to holiness, as the Xs show us quickly where our thinking is out of line with the mind of Christ. If I don’t like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don’t understand it. If so, studying it again may help.

We can accelerate this process by focusing on those passages of Scripture that we don’t like. This is part of the “instruction in righteousness” of which Paul speaks.

Finally, Paul explained the overriding purpose for Scripture study. It comes in the final clause, where the apostle wrote, “… that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I think one of the reasons many Christians never get to the meat of the Word but remain at the milk level is because they never really learned how to drink the milk. There is a reason why scales are important to the piano player and the grip to the golfer. We must master these basics if we are to reach higher levels of proficiency.

Here’s my recommendation: begin with an overview of the Bible. Get the basic framework first. If possible, enroll in a class that provides such an overview. At Ligonier Ministries, we have produced an audio and video series titled Dust to Glory. It gives the basic structure of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

In addition to this series, I collaborated with Robert Wolgemuth to produce What’s in the Bible? The goal of this book is to help the person who has never had a simple introduction to the Bible. In 1977, I published a book titled Knowing Scripture,

Martin Luther recommended that his students read through the whole Bible every year to keep the winds of the whole blowing through their minds while concentrating on a particular portion of the Bible.

I highly recommend using a study Bible. My preference is The Reformation Study Bible, for which I was the general editor. It’s an annotated Bible that includes helpful notes in the margins, at the bottoms of the pages, and in the sidebars to explain the text of Scripture.

Every student of the Bible should have a complete concordance. A concordance lists every word that appears in a given translation of Scripture

You can turn to your concordance and look up every reference to it in the Bible. By reading those passages, you soon have a good idea of what the concept means.

Another helpful resource is dramatic audio recordings of the Bible. It’s a marvelous thing to hear the Word recited in an exciting way. You can spend time in the Bible by listening to somebody read it to you aloud in a way that brings the proper emphasis to the text.

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,

We must ask ourselves what the Word is saying to us as we read.

titled A Simple Way to Pray. In that book, Luther offered a treasure trove of helpful advice on prayer, not just for Peter but for all believers.

Why should we pray? Of the many legitimate answers to this question, we will focus particularly on three. We should pray because prayer is a duty of every Christian; because prayer is a privilege; and because prayer is a powerful means of grace.

It bears a remarkable similarity to the Magnificat, the exultant prayer of Mary, the mother of Jesus (compare 1 Sam. 2:1–10 and Luke 1:46–55).

The apostle Paul frequently urges his readers to be diligent in their prayer lives. For example, he says: … rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. (Rom. 12:12) Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor. 7:5) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Phil. 4:6)

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.” (Luke 18:1–6)

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Eph. 5:25–33)

Our letters weren’t newsletters, they were love letters. That’s what prayer is. It’s a communication of love from the bride to the Bridegroom. It’s not enough to pray because we ought to pray; beyond the duty element, there should be a delight about being engaged in this kind of communication. What a privilege prayer is.

We pray not only because it is our duty and our privilege, but also because prayer is a powerful means by which God brings His will to pass.

Thus, prayer is a means that God uses to bring about His intended ends. Just as God uses the preaching of the gospel as the power unto salvation, so He uses the power of prayer to bring about redemption. Our prayers cannot force God to do anything, but He uses them as His own instruments to bring about His will.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:1–4) The Lord’s Prayer is a model. It gives us not only an actual prayer to pray, but also a pattern to follow in prayer.

So we need to begin our prayers by bowing in reverence before our God, acknowledging Him as our loving and holy heavenly Father.

Dr. Archie Parrish, the founder and president of SERVE International, led a seminar in our church on what is called “kingdom-focused prayer.” In this seminar, we learned that instead of spending most of our time in prayer telling the Lord what we would like for ourselves, the focus of our prayer needs to be on the work of Christ and the work of the kingdom, so that we begin to pray earnestly and specifically for the effective impact of the gospel in the world in which we live.

For instance: • Luther suggested to Master Peter that he set aside time for prayer every day. Because pressures frequently threaten to disrupt our prayer time, it is helpful to have a regular time or times scheduled. • The Reformer also suggested that, like Jesus, Peter go apart to a quiet place where it would be easier to concentrate. Luther told him: “Prayer is like your task as a barber. The last thing I want you to do is to have your mind wandering when you’ve lathered up my face and you take out that blade and start shaving me. I don’t want you to start wool-gathering and end up slitting my throat.” • Luther also recommended that Peter pray out loud. There is something helpful about articulating communication to the Lord aloud. Luther suggested emulating Jesus, who prayed out loud when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, even though He was by Himself. Perhaps the richest suggestion I gleaned from Luther’s booklet is to pray “through” three things: the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed. There is an important difference between praying the Lord’s Prayer and praying through the Lord’s Prayer. To pray through the Lord’s Prayer is to focus attention on each of the petitions for a time. For example, instead of simply praying, “Hallowed be Your name,” I might say: “O Lord, we live in an age where Your name is not only not revered or honored but is used as profanity. Bring such an awakening to Your glory that no one would think of dragging Your name...

Luther also suggested praying through the Ten Commandments. His method was to think first about what the law was teaching him, the instruction found in each of the commandments. Then he reflected on his gratitude for the law and for what each of the commandments does.

Finally, he would pray through the law with a kingdom focus, asking that the Lord’s name would be hallowed, that the world would be rid of idols, that the singular majesty of God would be so visible that there would be no other gods competing with Him, and so forth. Finally, Luther suggested praying through the Apostle’s Creed, which begins by saying, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” Each phrase of the creed would focus his attention on a matter for prayer.

Another simple way to structure prayer is by using the acrostic ACTS. The letters stand for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.

The five practices we are exploring in this book are all means of grace. A means of grace is a tool or instrument that God uses to strengthen and nurture us so that we grow in conformity to Christ. We don’t always think about service as a means of grace, but we grow as we serve. The more we are able to serve in the kingdom of God, the more Christ-like we become. So it was with my mother-in-law’s caregivers. I could see what it was doing for their Christian growth to be in a service ministry.

I knew that as a believer I was commanded to be a servant, but I didn’t like being treated like one.

So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:5–10)

Perhaps the single most important truth we can learn from this story is that we, who are God’s servants, are unprofitable servants. When Jesus said that we are unprofitable servants, He did not mean that our service is of no value. Jesus frequently called His disciples to be productive. Rather, He meant that we gain no “bonus points” or merit from our service.

Jesus’ words here in Luke 17 surely put this idea in its proper place. What deed could I possibly do that was not something God required of me in the first place? Remember, He commands us to be perfect, and we can’t improve on perfection. We can’t even hope to reach that goal. I have no “profit” of my own because I earn nothing by doing what I am required to do. That’s why our redemption is by grace and grace alone.

The motivation for Christian service is love for God. We serve not to earn salvation, but because Christ already has purchased salvation for us.

There are times when we don’t enjoy the prospect of obedience, but we can’t just wait until we feel like doing it. But John is absolutely right: 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.

Like the rich master who had to go away, Jesus has ascended into heaven and left us behind with certain treasures during His absence. What is His expectation? “When I come back, I expect to find that those things I have given you have gained in value, that progress has been made because My people have been productive servants.” We may be “unprofitable,” but that doesn’t mean we’re to be unproductive.

This is a heavy parable of service. It reveals that one of the worst things we can do is to waste the gifts that God has given us. Those gifts are given to us for Christ’s sake, for His glory and honor.

Stewardship is the last of the five means of grace we will consider in this book. Like Bible study, prayer, worship, and service, practicing good stewardship helps us grow in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems that what pleased God was the manner in which Abel gave his offering: he gave it in faith. Presumably, Cain did not. Indeed, his faithlessness was soon manifested in his jealous rage against his brother. We remember from our earlier look at worship that God seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Abel did that. He offered to God the sacrifice of praise by making his offering in faith. This is the essence of worship.

We see people continuing to tithe in the New Testament community in one of the earliest non-biblical books. The Didache—the so-called “Teaching of the Apostles,” written either at the end of the first century or early in the second—includes a significant portion that addresses the question of supporting the work of the kingdom. The tithe principle is clearly communicated there. Thus, we see that the primitive Christian community continued the practice of tithing.