Spiritual Erosion

“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:10-11

J.P. Phillips translates verse 11 this way:
“Let us keep the fires of the spirit burning, as we do our work for the Lord.” Rom. 12:11 (Phillips)

Like water cutting a channel through rock, spiritual erosion happens slowly but surely. The believer who started out with great zeal in adolescence is on the verge of complacency in his thirties. The heart that was once stirred by the Scriptures is now indifferent to them.

Such decline happens so subtly that we are often unaware of it’s deadly work. It often comes through these almost imperceptible means:

A gradual shift from devotion to performance. Christ commended the church at Ephesus for their ceaseless labor but admonished them for neglecting their “first love” (Rev. 2:4). Spiritual attrition is inevitable when our passion for Christ becomes secondary to our deeds.

A gradual change from commitment to convenience. Faithfulness in little things is the stuff disciples are made of. When our relationship to Christ is structured to fit into our tidy agendas, spiritual decline sets in. Christ demands our all - both in season and out of season. We will not move on to spiritual maturity if we keep making excuses for why we cannot press on to know God.

A gradual change from repentance to tolerance of sin. As our love for and commitment to Christ wanes, it becomes easier to condone our sins instead of repenting of them. Such sins then establish strongholds in our lives and frustrate our growth.