When Faith Refuses to Grow
A biblical look at spiritual stagnation and the steps necessary for renewal.
Scripture's Sobering Message to Stagnant Believers
Scripture’s most severe warnings are not exclusively for those who reject Christ.
It also speaks with sobering clarity to believers who resist spiritual growth.
Unfortunately, this resistance has become the defining characteristic of far too many Christians.
Romans 6:4 powerfully illustrates the key aspects regarding true salvation:
“We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Why This Verse Is Important
This passage demolishes the “fire insurance” gospel that reduces salvation to merely escaping hell.
Paul connects three inseparable realities:
Union with Christ in His death: Through Him, we die to our old life.
Burial with Christ: Our old self is permanently put away, not temporarily suspended.
Resurrection to new life: Salvation means transformed living, not just avoiding judgment.
The Transformation Principle
The phrase “in order that” reveals God’s purpose.
Salvation isn’t a rescue from judgment followed by optional transformation.
It’s a rescue from judgment resulting in transformation.
John MacArthur explains this perfectly in The Gospel According to Jesus: “Salvation is not addition; it is transformation. A person who is saved is a new creation.”
The Practical Application
If someone claims salvation but shows no evidence of walking in newness of life, Romans 6:4 questions the reality of that conversion.
R.C. Sproul taught that genuine conversion always produces what the Puritans called “the fruit of repentance” - visible evidence of inward transformation (Chosen by God).
The verse doesn’t say we should walk in newness of life.
It says we do walk in newness of life.
That’s the nature of true salvation - transformative, not transactional.
The danger for the professing Christian then is not merely falling into sin.
The greater risk is refusing to grow.
To the Corinthians, Paul writes:
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.” (1 Corinthians 3:2, ESV)
The author of Hebrews echoes the same concern:
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12, ESV)
There’s nothing wrong with milk. It is necessary at the beginning.
But it was never meant to be permanent.
Over time, an unwillingness to listen becomes an unwillingness to grow.
An unwillingness to grow becomes an unwillingness to change.
And an unwillingness to change becomes a quiet acceptance of spiritual barrenness.
Jesus warned that branches which bear no fruit do not remain indefinitely.
Hebrews cautions believers not to be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
This is not written to terrify tender consciences.
It is written to disturb comfortable ones.
Because faith that refuses to grow eventually stops responding.
And a heart that stops responding will, in time, stop recognizing the light that once called it forward.
The call of Scripture is not simply, “Did you believe once?”
It is, “Are you still listening, still repenting, still bearing fruit?”
Not as a means of earning salvation —
but as the evidence that the life of God is truly at work within you.
Biblical Recovery From Sanctification Stagnation
What should you do if you recognize spiritual drift?
1 John 1:9 details a starting point:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Immediate confession without rationalization is essential.
Psalm 32:3-5 warns that unconfessed resistance to sanctification creates internal spiritual decay - “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away…my strength was dried up…I will confess…”
David’s physical symptoms from avoiding confession mirror the soul-crushing weight of resisting God’s transforming work.
Romans 12:2 defines the transformation mechanism:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Recovery requires returning to what the Puritans called “the means of grace” - Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and the Lord’s Table.
You cannot just drift into sanctification; you must actively pursue mind renewal through sustained Scripture intake.
Paul Washer teaches that stagnation can also result from “hearing without doing” - accumulating biblical knowledge while refusing application.
Recovery demands moving from knowledge to immediate obedience, pursuing accountability with mature believers, and remembering Philippians 1:6: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Hebrews 12:14 claims a sobering reality:
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” True believers may stumble temporarily, but they cannot remain content in spiritual mediocrity.
If you’re genuinely converted, the Holy Spirit will not let you rest comfortably in sanctification avoidance.
The question isn’t whether you’ve stumbled; it’s whether you’re responding to conviction with repentance and a renewed pursuit of holiness.
To His Glory,
Thad
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