How to Grow in Grace

The Christian life should be a pilgrimage of sanctification while we are walking in the light of God’s presence, having fellowship with the Lord Jesus and being continually cleansed by His blood from every sin (1 John 1:7): “The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18). Dedication is called for: “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

There follows, to the end of the booklet, a summary of a guide to growth in grace by the revivalist preacher, Charles Finney, from his books, Lectures on Revival and Power from on High. These directives were given to new converts who accepted Christ as Saviour during his revival meetings:

“But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

Grace is favour. In the Bible the word grace often signifies a free gift. The grace of God is thus the favour of God, His free gift to us.

The command to grow in grace does not mean that we should gradually give up sin. Strangely enough, some people think it means that. But nowhere does the Bible command us to leave sin bit by bit. Rather, every word requires us to break with it instantly and completely. We are to grow in God’s favour, in His estimation of us and satisfaction with us and in worthiness of His favour.

Conditions of spiritual growth

The following are some of the basic conditions that must be met if we are to grow in grace:

We must already be in grace. Just as growth or increase in anything implies a beginning, growth in God’s favour implies that we have found favour in His sight. We are already indebted for grace received; as one of God’s favoured ones we are already in grace.

Our sins have been abandoned and forgiven. Growth in grace presupposes that we have already repented of sin, that in practice we have abandoned all known sin. Being approved by God implies that we are pardoned and favoured by Him for the sake of our Lord, Jesus Christ. His favour assumes that we have renounced rebellion against God. We can never stand in favour with God while we knowingly indulge in sin against Him.

Continuous growth. Once grace has started, there is room for everlasting growth. As we know God more, we will be capable of loving Him more, displaying broader and deeper confidence in Him. God reveals Himself to us through Christ Jesus, and in Him we discover the true personality of an infinite God. The text therefore says, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” The more we love, believe and know God – if we conform to this knowledge – the more God will be pleased with us; and as we stand higher in His favour, the more He will bless and use us in His service.

Entirely committed to God. To grow in grace we must increase in knowledge of what it means to be entirely given to God. True conversion involves consecrating ourselves and all we have to Him. New believers are not aware of everything involved in consecration’s highest forms. Fully surrendering everything we are, have, desire, and love, as quickly as these objects come to mind, is a condition of growth in God’s favour. As you receive new light your consecration must enlarge by each day and each hour, or you will stop growing. Whenever you hold back, not leaving all on the altar of consecration, at that moment you cease growing. Let this truth sink deep into your heart.

Conformity to the Holy Spirit’s teaching. A further condition of growth is constant conformity to the Holy Spirit’s teachings. We are to deepen our Christian practice by seeking spiritual light through the Holy Spirit’s illumination. You will not gain any effective spiritual insight except through the inward teaching of the Holy Spirit. You must constantly, earnestly pray for His teaching, and guard against resisting and grieving Him. You must also continue in the attitude of a disciple of Christ. He will not teach you by His Holy Spirit unless you renounce self, live continually surrendered to Him and follow His instructions in the Bible.

Unwavering faith in God. More and more implicit faith in God leads to growth. We need a confidence in God’s character so profound that we trust Him in the dark as well as in the light, as deeply when we understand His ways and requirements as when we do not. Implicit faith is unwavering, unquestioning faith, a state of mind that rests in God, His promises, His faithfulness and love – no matter how trying and apparently unreasonable His commands or guiding circumstances may be.

Complete sanctification. A more thoroughly sanctified soul – the seat of our desires, affections, emotions, feelings, appetites and passions – is another condition of growth in God’s favour. In its depraved condition, the human nature as a whole is hideous. Even though the will is surrendered to God, the soul may still be unsightly to those who can see its desire, passion and lust. And it is through our soul that temptation attacks us. The will battles these appetites to keep them subjected to God’s will, and if the human will maintains its integrity and clings to God’s will, sin does not occur. Nevertheless, these rebellious leanings hinder the will in serving God: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5: 17). As the soul becomes more and more subdued and in harmony with the will’s devotion to God, we are free to give God unhampered service. So the more thorough the sanctification of the soul the more thoroughly we will be in God’s favour.

Filled with the Holy Spirit. Growing in God depends on an increasing presence of the Holy Spirit. Every step in the Christian’s life must be taken under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that in all things we will be led by God’s Spirit. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Remember that to grow in grace you must grow in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

A more intimate knowledge of Christ. A deeper personal, experiential knowledge of Christ and how He works and relates to us must come before growth in grace. The Bible introduces Christ as a living Person. What is said of Him should lead us to seek intimacy with Him, for through a personal relationship with Christ, God makes us like Him. Know Him in His fullness, by faith personally appropriating Christ in each area of our relationship with Him. Clothe yourself with Christ, taking Him as your own, for He is your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption; your Prophet, to teach you; your King, to govern you; your High Priest, to atone for you; your Mediator, your Advocate, your strength, your Saviour, your hiding-place, your high tower, your Captain and Leader, your shield, your defence, your reward. Know Him personally in each of these areas, appropriating Him by faith. This is an indispensable condition of growth in His favour.

False signs of growth in grace

A number of things can mislead us into thinking growth is taking place when it is not. These are false signs of spiritual progress:

• Growth in knowledge is not conclusive evidence of growth in grace. Knowledge is indispensable to walking in God’s favour, being one of the conditions of growth in grace. But knowledge itself is not grace. A person can explode in knowledge, yet have no grace at all. Knowledge of the Bible must lead to a deeper dedication to God and thus be transformed into a spiritual asset.
• Growth in gifts is not proof that an individual is living nearer to God. One who professes Christ can pray more fluently, preach more eloquently, exhort more powerfully without being any more holy. It is common for people who have no favour from God to excel in outward religious practices.
• Just because a person thinks he is growing spiritually does not mean he is. A person can be impressed with his spiritual progress when others clearly see his spiritual decline. Someone who is rotting spiritually seldom knows it. This is natural. The conscience of someone in spiritual decline will become increasingly calloused as he resists the light. He thinks he is on his way up precisely because he has less sense of sin, and while his conscience sleeps on he may continue in fatal delusion.

Proofs of growing in grace

There are also several proofs that we are growing in God’s favour and making progress in our spiritual lives:

• If you are conscious that you exercise more childlike and complete confidence in God, this proves that you are growing in grace. As your life, attitude, and spirit manifests this ever-expanding faith in God, you demonstrate to everybody that you are increasing in the favour of God.
• If you are weaned from the world and its temptations, you have grown in grace. A soul crucified to the world signals spiritual progress.
• Fewer feelings of reluctance when called to exercise self-denial reveals growth in grace. It shows that the feelings of the believer are less despotic, that the will is gaining mastery of them and that the soul is blending into harmony with the will’s intent and the mind’s dictates.
• Less temptation to sins of omission is another sign of growth. Less temptation to shy away from the cross, from unpleasant responsibilities, from prayer, Scripture reading, private and family devotions, displays growth.
• Deepening intensity and steadiness of zeal for God’s causes reveals growth in God’s favour. Sometimes a Christian’s zeal cools, and at other times it warms; sometimes it is committed, at other times it is fickle and fleeting. As Christians grow in devotion, their zeal becomes deep, intense and steady.
• Withering self-consciousness and respect for self in every action of life reveals growth in God’s favour. Some people are so self-conscious about everything they say and do that it hinders their Christian life. New Christians, for example, sometimes cannot speak, pray or do anything in public without being either proud or ashamed of having performed in front of others. As they lose sight of self and consistently work for God’s glory with spiritual confidence, they grow in His favour.
• Deadness to flattery or condemnation signals growth in grace. Paul counted it a small thing to be judged by others. He sought only to find God’s approval.
• A growing graciousness in accepting the whole will of God reveals spiritual growth. Some rebel against His will or His ordering of events. But those Christians growing in grace embrace His entire revealed will with greater and greater love for it.
• Calmness in hardship evidences growth. It shows that the soul is firmly anchored in Christ, being thus able to withstand the storms of life.
• Tranquillity in the face of sudden, crushing disasters and losses. The more tranquil the soul when storms of circumstances suddenly overwhelm it, sweeping away its loved ones and destroying its earthly hopes, the greater its proof of being favoured by God.
• Patience under provocation and less temptation to worry.
• When you find that you not only tolerate but accept God’s will when it calls you to suffer, when you can endure patiently and joyfully, this shows you are growing in God.
• An increasing deadness to all the things that the world offers and to all its threats.
• Less temptation to focus on troubles or talk about them to others shows that we think less of self and accept our trials with more submission to God.
• Dwelling less on other’s faults and shortcomings by becoming focussed on biblical solutions to problems.
• Speech that is gentle rather than sarcastic, uncharitable or severe. A growing delicacy and tenderness in speaking of other’s real or supposed faults.
• An increasing reluctance to think of or treat anyone as an enemy, and an increasing ease in treating them kindly, praying for them heartily and working to do them good.
• An ability to forgive rather than hold grudges, and a lack of desire to retaliate for injuries.
• Conformity to God and growth in His grace is clearly displayed by a growing jealousy for God’s honour, and for the church’s purity in a corrupt world.

Becoming strong in faith

We can grow in grace by fulfilling the conditions of spiritual growth noted in the discussion above. Remember that every step of spiritual growth must be made by faith, not by works. Some good Christians have made truly amazing mistakes on this subject. Many teach that the way to be sanctified is to work for it, calling sanctification by faith an absurdity and describing growth in grace as the formation of habits of obedience to God.

This is quite surprising. The fact is that every step of progress in the Christian life is taken by a fresh and fuller appropriation of Christ by faith, a deeper filling of the Holy Spirit. As our weaknesses, infirmities, and recurring sins are revealed to us by the circumstances we face, our only help is found in Christ. We grow only as we step by step appropriate Him more fully, as we more fully “put Him on.” We mature only as fast as we are emptied of self-dependence, as we renounce any expectation of forming holy habits through our own obedience, as we partake by faith of deeper and deeper fillings of the Holy Spirit, and as we more thoroughly put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sanctified by faith as truly as we are justified by faith.

I say it with sorrow: The teaching of many pastors is a stumbling block to the church. Under their instruction converts are never established in grace, and they never become useful or live lives honourable to Christ. Such teachers do not know how to grow themselves. In order to instruct converts and keep the church moving on in holiness, the pastor himself must move forward. He must be a truly vital, growing Christian. Churches should refuse to ordain or call a pastor who has not made progress in Christian experience and who lacks the spiritual ability to keep the church awake.

Many churches in many places weep for lack of living devotion and growth in their pastors. Their ministers are intellectual, literary, philosophical, and theological in their teaching, but are sadly deficient in unction, having little power with either God or people. They instruct the intellect but not the heart because they preach an intellectual rather than a spiritual gospel.

It is obvious why so many people backslide. The reason for this is the lack of timely and proper instruction on sanctification and discipleship. But to be timely and proper, instruction must be anointed by the Holy Spirit so that people may be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). New converts should be guided into spiritual experiences that will make them stable and efficient workers for God. That is the only way to be filled with Christ and to render effective service in His kingdom. (End of Finney’s contribution).

The end of the journey

The destination of the Christian’s pilgrimage from darkness to the light is our eternal home in heaven – in the new Jerusalem where the Lord Jesus is preparing a place for us (John 14:2-3). During the difficult days of our earthly lives, when we are strangers in an evil world, faith in God and the assurance of our wonderful future gives us strength to resist temptations and to persevere in holiness to the end.

The hope on Christ’s coming and our glorification is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God at His throne of grace (Heb. 6:19). The Lord Jesus Himself is our anchor. We know that our future is secure in His hands and that He will guide us along the way. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Unfortunately, there are those who become discouraged and grow cold in their love (Matt. 24:12). In Ephesus, most of the believers have forsaken their first love but remained devout members of the congregation. It is not acceptable at all to the Lord Jesus that His church on earth should degenerate into an organisation with only a form of godliness, in which He is only nominally worshipped but, in effect, has been pushed aside by office-bearers, ecclesiastical structures and human organisation. He clearly expresses His dissatisfaction with this state of affairs and says that if they persist with their backsliding He will remove their lampstand from them:

“I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent” (Rev. 2:4-5).

Discard the filthy rags of human righteousness (Isa. 64:6), kneel down at the cross and confess every sinful deed and attitude that separates you from the Lord Jesus. Renew your commitment of faith and surrender yourself unconditionally to the Saviour – the One who loves you with an everlasting love.

The continued cleansing by the blood of the Lamb and the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit will enable you to go from strength to strength on the way of the Lord. If we become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph. 6:10) we will never be counted among the carnal, weak and backslidden believers. While growing up to the stature of the fullness of Christ we will develop senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Eph. 4:13; Heb. 5:14). Then we will make quick progress on the way of the Lord while dedicating ourselves to doing works that have eternal value.