Keys to Christian Growth

Acts 2:42

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The day of Pentecost is always the measuring stick for the believer to see the great power of God working to see three thousand souls saved. This is certainly an amazing day that demonstrated the power of the Holy Ghost and what He can do through people who are yielded to Him. However, once these people got saved and baptized, they then needed to grow in the Lord. We know that the Great Commission was more than just people getting saved and baptized, but how did these people grow? God shows three keys to Christian growth that every person who has grown in the Lord did.

First, they continued. In other words, they carried on with the decision they made to trust Christ and to be baptized. These new believers made the choice to take the next step to continue serving the Lord. Getting saved and baptized was not enough for these new believers, but they believed that if Christ was worthy enough for them to trust Him and follow Him in believer’s baptism, then He is worthy enough to serve, and that is why they continued.

Continuing is a decision. Nobody can make the new believer continue; they must make that decision themselves. Does it mean that if they don't continue that they did not get saved? Absolutely not! God does not tell us how many of the three thousand continued, but we do know that those who grew in the Lord continued. You will never grow in the Lord until you determine to continue. You must continue by going to all the church services faithfully. You must continue by getting in the Word of God and studying it. You must continue by praying daily for God to help you to grow and do right. The first step of Christian growth is baptism, but the second step of Christian growth is to continue.

Second, they continued steadfastly. The word stedfast means to be resolute or fixed. Nobody continues to successfully serve the Lord who is not determined to continue. These new believers understood it would not be easy to continue in the doctrine of Christ because of the antagonistic atmosphere toward Christ in their day. If you don't make the determination to be steadfast in serving God, you will quickly quit when hard times come. Many new believers have quit when they faced the first hardship, but that hardship was there to test their steadfastness. A new believer must determine they will serve God no matter what comes their way. The believer who becomes resolute that they will serve God no matter what comes their way is the believer who learns the blessings of a lifelong service to God. You will not succeed in serving God for a lifetime if you don't determine to continue steadfastly in the Christian life.

Third, they continued daily. This is one of the greatest keys to growing in Christ. They not only served God the next day, and they not only determined to serve God for the rest of their lives, but they continued to serve God daily. You will not succeed in serving God as you should if Sunday morning is the only time you serve Him. Serving God should be for daily life and not just for the weekend. Those whom God uses the greatest are those who choose to make the Christian life a way of daily living.

Do you want to grow in the Lord? If you do, these three steps MUST be taken. You will not grow in the Lord without continuing steadfastly, and continuing daily.