An Object Lesson Illustrating the Steps to Spiritual Maturity

During a summer staff counselor training session in Ironwood’s early years, a question was asked that I realized had been asked before and would likely be asked again. The question was along these lines, “After I counsel campers and they make a decision for the Lord, what’s next?”

The answer that first comes to mind is to help them solidify their current decision by implementing a practical plan. But while that needs to be done, it was not really the answer to the question. The real question was, “What’s the next decision we should be pointing our campers toward?” In the discussion that followed, we brainstormed a huge list of possibilities. As we did so, two ideas began to be apparent.

No one-size-fits-all list answers this question—it really depended on the decision the camper had just made. Salvation, assurance of salvation, devotions, surrendering to the Lord, forsaking certain types of sinful behavior—all had logical next steps to implement their decision. So the answer quickly became too complicated as we tried to put a list of 50 plus decisions into some sort of practical order. And, if we did accomplish that correctly, it would be too complicated to be of any practical use.

The huge list could be divided into four or five common areas, assuming that we start at the beginning with a decision to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Savior. The four common areas after salvation are the following:

1. Identification with Christ
2. Fellowship with God
3. Full surrender—a decision to become pleasing to God; yielding to God by presenting myself to Him as a living sacrifice
4. Consistent Christian living—decisions that result in a transformed life; yielding to God in a continuing process

The normal spiritual growth pattern seems to be that after salvation comes public testimony, baptism, and being “added to the church”
(Acts 2:41). Then comes fellowship with God in the form of daily devotions including Bible reading, prayer, and confession of sin (Acts 2:42). In order to then keep the transformed life from becoming a works-dominated road to sanctification by working off a checklist of do’s and don’ts, it was important to place a yielded spirit through a full surrender to the will of God (Romans 12:1) before beginning to deal with life changes needed (Romans 12:2). Thus the decisions for change were made because one wanted to please God, but not done in order to please the expectations of man.

The transformed life is an absolute must for believers, but decisions related to consistent Christian living must occur with a willingness and desire to please God and not man. These last two steps do not need to be separated by much time, but while concentrating on the transformed life first may result in amazing early changes in behavior, it is often followed by a falling away as time goes on and the cost of following Christ increases (Mark 4:16–17). It is important that lifestyle changes are a result of wanting to please God, not in order to please God (Galatians 1:10).

After those four steps are taken, believers must continue maturing in their spiritual lives as they grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18), yield to the Lord’s changing them through the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18), learn to exercise biblical discernment (Hebrews 5:12–14), and become equipped for the work of the ministry (2 Timothy 3:17; Ephesians 4:12–13). Much of this work continues from the time of salvation all the way until we see Him face to face (1 John 3:2).

Why a Ladder?

We are using the illustration of a ladder as a window through which we can view truth and help us remember the order. The ladder in and of itself is not truth, and as an illustration it will break down if we try to give it too much weight and endeavor to equate it to truth. It is simply an illustration, a tool to help us perceive the truth of God in an understandable format. The Scripture often uses similar illustrations as teaching tools—object lessons as the vine and branch connection, physical birth and new birth, growth from babe to maturity in the spiritual life, seed time and harvest, and building by mentoring (foundations, cornerstones, stones, jointed, fitted together.)

In the spiritual ladder object lesson, the purpose of a ladder is to move upwards from where we are to where we want to be. The ladder illustrates the basic goal of progressive sanctification: believers making progress in their sanctification from a newborn “babe” in Christ at the time of being born again to the goal of becoming spiritually mature—“that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17).

In the illustration of a ladder, the two legs represent what God does for us by providing us both a supernatural instrument in the Word of God and a supernatural agent in the person of God the Holy Spirit. Both are absolutely essential for a Christian’s spiritual growth:
2 Thessalonians 2:13b says, “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” Each provides different aspects of the power and ability necessary for believers to grow through “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Continuing with the object lesson, the rungs of the ladder illustrate the role man plays in his progressive sanctification. They illustrate human action and progress up the ladder toward spiritual maturity. They illustrate both the role of the one climbing the ladder and the role of those in the local church in supporting, teaching, and encouraging believers to take the next step up.

As with any ladder, it is useless if it just sits against the wall. Unless someone actually uses the rungs and climbs the ladder, there will be no progress made in one’s spiritual growth. The rungs of human will and effort are a necessary ingredient, but are absolutely useless without the legs of the ladder to support them. The rungs would do no good just lying on the ground; they must be supported by the legs (that which God does) for them to be effective. The rungs of human effort when encouraged by the local church body, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and guided by the Holy Scriptures are the “stuff” of the believers’ decisions to obey, to yield, to put off, to put on, and to
present their bodies a living sacrifice unto God.

The Spiritual Ladder is a teaching tool to help us understand the truth. However it has no intrinsic value as truth itself, and no effort should be made to force the truth to fit this illustration; yet it is a good illustration of the interdependence of the believer’s heart, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit’s use of the Word, and the role of other believers in teaching, encouragement, and preaching. As the Holy Spirit prompts the believer to make choices (decisions) consistent with God’s will, the believer has a free will to accept or reject all of those helps and choose to follow the  temptations of the flesh, the world, and Satan. This is a spiritual battle that must be continually bathed in prayer (Ephesians 6:10–18), wisdom, and much labor though the power of the Lord (Colossians 1:28–29) as we seek to help young people grow in grace toward spiritual maturing.

The ladder sits firmly on the rock of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8), a salvation without works (Ephesians 2:9), and without the law (Romans 7:4–10; Galatians 5:1–4), and is supported by God’s sanctifying grace—through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and Christ’s bride the Church.

Steps to Spiritual Maturity

In using the object lesson of the Spiritual Ladder, we must remember that the legs of the ladder, which represent the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, are absolutely essential for spiritual growth, but there is another aspect to a ladder—the rungs or steps. In this illustration, the steps of the ladder represent the human aspect of spiritual growth. One aspect on the human side is the help, teaching, and encouragement of the local church body of believers. This aspect can be likened to one who stands by and supports the ladder as the believer climbs up the stairs. This aspect is a wonderful gift that God has given to believers as the local assembly ministers to one another (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:1–16; Hebrews 10:24–25; Matthew 28:18–20).

The other aspect of the human side is the individual believer’s responsibility to know and understand the Word of God, to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and then to exercise his free will and make decisions related to his spiritual life growth. It is imperative that believers begin this growth immediately upon their new birth, or they will eventually become carnal believers at whatever point they stop the growth process.

The Christian counselor’s goal is to discern where the believer is on the ladder and counsel with them regarding the understanding of the next step and the necessity of making that decision for their Lord.

1. Identification with God (Acts 2:41)
   1. Public testimony of salvation (Romans 10:11; Matthew 10:32)
   2. Believer’s baptism (Acts 2:41; 8:35–38)
   3. Church membership (Hebrews 10:24–25)
2. Fellowship with God (Revelation 3:20; Acts 2:42; 1 John 1:5–9)
   1. Daily devotions decision
   2. Bible reading and study (1 Peter 2:2; Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 3:15–17)
   3. Prayer (John 16:24; Hebrews 4:14–16; Matthew 6:5–13; Matthew 7:7–11; Ephesians 6:18)
   4. Sin account clear with the Lord (1 John 1:9)
   5. Sharing burdens with thanksgiving (brings peace to the soul—Philippians 4:6–7)
3. Full surrender—decision to become pleasing to God (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:20–21)
   1. All believers are called upon to be willing to yield to God.
      1. Presenting themselves to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1)
      2. Being willing to obey the Word of God (John 15:14; 1 Samuel 15:22–23)
      3. Yielding to God and not to sin (Romans 6: 10–14; Colossians 3:1–10)
      4. Being willing to pay the cost of following Christ (Matthew 16:24)
      5. Being willing to use one’s spiritual gifts in the local church (1 Peter 4:7)
   2. Some believers are called upon to be willing to serve God as a way of life as a full-time occupation (e.g., pastor, missionary, teacher, camp or church staff) (2 Timothy 1:9).
      1. The volunteer (Isaiah 6:7–8)
      2. The special call (Acts 26:14–19)
      3. Call to a ministry received of the Lord (Colossians 1:17)
      4. Call from the Lord to do His will and please Him (Philippians 2:13)
4. Consistent Christian walk (Romans 12:2)
   1. Not conforming to the world (Romans 12:2)
   2. Not loving the world (1 John 2:15–17)
   3. Not befriending the world (James 4:4)
   4. Deciding to live a transformed life (Romans 12:2)
      1. Change at time of salvation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
      2. Put off / put on lists (Colossians 3:5–10; Ephesians 4:22–32)
      3. Willing and eager to live a life consistent with the gospel (Philippians 1:27)
      4. Daily denying self and taking up his cross for the Lord (Luke 9:23)
      5. Being a maturing Christian as Christ ordained (Ephesians 2:10)
   5. Forming biblical principles and convictions to live by through discernment from the Word and application of Scripture—a yielding to the specific areas of change God desires in a believer’s life. The following is a small sampling of the areas the Holy Spirit may lead a believer to consider. For a more complete discussion of this topic, see “Developing Biblical Principles for Life” starting on page 96 or the “Put Off and Put On” lists starting on page 72.
      1. Friends (Ephesians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Proverbs 1:10; 13:20)
      2. Talk (Ephesians 4:29)
      3. Attitude (Philippians 2:5, 14)
      4. Money and/or life goals (1 Timothy 6:6–11; Matthew 6:19–33)
      5. Sex (1 Thessalonians 4:3–8; Proverbs 23:26–28)
      6. Entertainment (Proverbs 23:26; Psalm 101:3; 1 Corinthians 10:31–33)

What the Legs of the Ladder Do for Believers

The Word of God

• Prepares believers to be people of God, spiritually mature and ready for service (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
• Changes believers as they obey the Word (Romans 6:17).
• Enables believers to put off and put on as they change their thinking as they understand the Word.
• Helps believers become exemplary in their lives as they seek to influence and teach others (1 Timothy 4:12–16).
• Teaches believers to be approved unto God and not ashamed of their beliefs (2 Timothy 2:15).
• Sanctifies believers through the truth of the Word (John 17:17).
• Helps believers grow and develop discernment (Hebrews 5:11–14).
• Helps new believers grow in their spiritual lives (1 Peter 2:2).
• Washes and cleanses believers (the church) and aids in their sanctification (Ephesians 5:25b–27).
• Aids believers as they share the Word with unbelievers, making unbelievers “wise unto salvation” so they understand the gospel and can call on the name of the Lord for salvation (Romans 10:10–13; 2 Timothy 3:15).

The Holy Spirit

• Helps believers grow and change into Christlikeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).
• Enables the production of the fruits of the Spirit in a believer’s life (Galatians 5:16–26).
• Fills believers with the power to live the Christian life, the walk—a believer’s lifestyle or manner of life (Ephesians 4:1, 17; 5:2–21).
• Dwells in the believer’s body, called the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).
• Empowers believers for service and gives boldness to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7).
• Assures believers of salvation (Romans 8:15–17).
• Aids believers in prayer as an intercessor (Romans 8:26–27).
• Helps believers understand the Word (2 Corinthians 2:10–16; John 14:26).
• Comforts believers (John 16:7).
• Indwells believers at the moment of salvation without the believer having to do anything other than believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
• Aids believers as they witness to unbelievers—they can be assured that the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts of the unbelievers, reproving them of sin, and convicting them of righteousness and of judgement.