Four Major Obstacles to the Growth of Christ's Life Within Us

 

"Four Major Obstacles to the Growth of Christ's Life Within Us"

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

Matthew 7:14 "But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Philippians 3:8 "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ."

 

Obstacle	Root Cause	Explanation	Examples	Application	Related Scriptures
1. Not Knowing the Way of Life	Making things other than Christ our goal	The true meaning of being a Christian is to have Christ alone as our goal, but people often deviate from this narrow path	Pursuing worldly achievements or fame instead of Christ	Need to singularly pursue Christ and take Him as our life	- Matt 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate... narrow is the road that leads to life" - Phil 3:8-14 "I count all things loss for the excellence of knowing Christ" - Col 3:4 "Christ who is our life" - Rom 8:28-29 "conformed to the image of His Son"
2. Pretense	Focusing on outward spirituality rather than genuine relationship with Christ	True spirituality is not determined by external behavior but by how one treats Christ; some people's gentle nature is mistaken for spirituality	Naturally mild-mannered people being mistaken as spiritual; doing good works to gain praise	Focus on the reality of inner life rather than outward appearance	- Matt 6:1-6 "Do not do your acts of righteousness before men" - Matt 15:7-8 "Honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" - John 5:44 "Accept glory from one another" >- John 12:42-43 "Loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" - Josh 7:21
3. Rebellion	Disobedience to the leading of the indwelling Christ	Though outwardly zealous in service, ignoring Christ's inner leading and not obeying His prompting	Visiting others or serving without heeding Christ's inner guidance; disobeying inner promptings	Need to obey Christ's inner leading and be willing to pay the price to follow	- Lev 14:9,14-18 - Lev 11:1-2,46-47 - Rom 16:17 "Watch out for those who cause divisions" - 1 Cor 15:33
4. Natural Talent	Relying on one's own ability rather than Christ	Unbroken natural talents hinder the expression of Christ's life; people often treasure and rely on their own abilities	Gifted believers relying on their own abilities to serve rather than relying on Christ	Need to experience the breaking of the cross, not relying on natural talents	- 1 Cor 2:14-15 "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit" - 1 Cor 3:12,16-17 "If anyone builds... with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw" - Jude 19 - Lev 10:1-2

Key Summary:

• All these obstacles need to be dealt with through the breaking of the cross
• We need to let Christ in His Spirit of glory put these hindrances to death
• The goal is to allow Christ's life to grow and be expressed within us without hindrance
• Key related scriptures: 1 Peter 1:11, 4:14, Psalm 139:23-24

This table provides a comprehensive analysis of the four major obstacles that hinder the growth of Christ's life within believers, including their root causes, manifestations, and the biblical solution through the cross. Each obstacle represents a different way in which believers may unconsciously resist or limit the full expression of Christ's life, whether through misunderstanding, pretense, disobedience, or self-reliance.

*Please refer to the 2024 International Thanksgiving Conference  'Living the Christian Life and Church Life under God's Government for God's Economy'  Message Three: Life and Building in Peter's Epistles"