Mark 15:1-5 – And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed..

THEME OF THE DAY. SPIRITUAL MATURITY: TWO SIGNS. A couple of things happen in the Christian life as one grows older and deeper in the Lord. These things are signs of spiritual maturity. The first one is we grow humble and realize how little we know of the Christian life. It may seem like a paradox, but it is true – the more we walk with the Lord, the less we really understand the walk. We begin to feel like Job as we grow in grace, “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:3). That doesn’t mean remain in spiritual infancy or ignorance. We should be growing in knowledge. What I am saying is we realize we have talked a lot about the Christian life without really understanding or experiencing what we are talking about of the Christian life. Let me explain. Ever been in a lengthy talk over Biblical things like sovereign election, free-will, walking in the Spirit and abiding in Christ? And in the conversation, did you give a confident and passionate stand on your position, maybe even an emotionally-charged response? At the end of the conversation what was really accomplished? Not much. Why? We attempted to reconcile the irreconcilable. God has not told us to untie doctrinal and theological knots. He has stated His truth, allows us to know His truth, but does not allow us to fully understand His truth. To go beyond what He has revealed is immaturity, not maturity. Let’s give a real and sadly, an unnecessary sheep-hurting example among Christians; sovereign election and free-will in salvation. Does the Bible teach God is sovereign in salvation, electing a people before the foundation of the world entirely of His free choice and that irrespective of man’s decision or will toward Him? Absolutely and the doctrine of sovereign election is the ground of great joy in the Christian. Yet, does the Bible also teach every individual is responsible for their unbelief or belief in the Gospel? Absolutely. A person chooses Christ. No question. And what happens, to the harm of many, is the attempt to humanly reconcile these two Biblical positions. God doesn’t tell us to harmonize them, but to believe and submit to them. Even when we don’t understand, and spiritual maturity will do that.

A second sign of growing mature in the Lord is taken from Jesus’ example in today’s scripture and the amount of talk we do. Take a journey back in our Christian lives. Did conversations occur when we should have listened more and talked less? I am not sure many, if any of us, would be able to say, “No, Jim. I have never been in a situation where I talked too much. Nope. Not me.” Whether in a tense family or job situation, church conflict, or even with a customer service representative over something we have been displeased with, we often say too much, too fast. And the words of Solomon come with force to souls – “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19). And one other note we must acknowledge in this mark of maturity being a person of few words. Our personality doesn’t justify much talk. Extroverts as well as introverts are to have speech controlled by the Spirit of God and when He is in control of our tongue, our words will be fruitful and few.

Jesus is the Supreme Example, not only in living and loving, but in the control of speech. The old saying is true, “God gave us two ears and one tongue for a reason – to listen more and talk less.” Doing so is a sign of maturity.

PRAYER: “Lord, put a guard on my heart that my mouth doesn’t lead me to much sin with much words.”

QUOTE: “We get a good picture of our spiritual health by the way we talk and how much we talk.”