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They advance to worse and progress toward wickedness, yet God is looking for a different form of progress and maturity as these Scriptures state:

 

And we all having been unveiled in face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18 Berean Literal Bible

 

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it has been written: “And the righteous will live by faith.” ~ Romans 1:17 Berean Literal Bible

 

to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, so that I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing indeed: Forgetting the things behind and reaching forward to the things ahead, Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been perfected, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 3:10-14 Berean Literal Bible

 

Now I say, walk by the Spirit, and you should not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are opposed to one another in order that you should not do those things you might wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, contentions, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkennesses, carousing, and things like these, as to which I forewarn you, even as I warned before, that those doing such things will not inherit God’s kingdom. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~ Galatians 5:16-23 Berean Literal Bible

 

And this is love, that we should walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. ~ 2 John 1:6 Berean Literal Bible

 

“Because all of the people will walk, each person in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. ~ Micah 4:5 International Standard Version

 

Therefore Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while, the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, so that darkness might not overtake you. And the one walking in the darkness does not know where he is going. ~ John 12:35 Berean Literal Bible

 

My children, of whom I travail again until that Christ shall have been formed in you, ~ Galatians 4:19 Berean Literal Bible

 

Therefore having these promises, beloved, we should cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 7:1 Berean Literal Bible

 

But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end is eternal life. ~ Romans 6:22 Berean Literal Bible

 

But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. ~ 2 Peter 3:18 Berean Literal Bible

 

And we know that God works together all things for good to those loving God, to those being called according to His purpose because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, for Him to be firstborn among many brothers. ~ Romans 8:28-29 Berean Literal Bible

 

And He gave some indeed to be apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, toward the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all may attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that no longer we might be infants, being tossed by waves and being carried about by every wind of teaching in the cunning, in the craftiness of men with a view to the scheming of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, we should grow up in all things into Him who is the head, Christ, ~ Ephesians 4:11-15 Berean Literal Bible

 

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion, to those who rest on the mountain of Samaria— the famous men of the nations to whom the house of Israel came! ~ Amos 6:1 International Standard Version

 

As we read these Scriptures, we hear God speak to us of various kinds of spiritual progress. We see this progress has to do with spiritual maturity, dying to our fleshly nature, and having Christ formed in us. And we make this progress by walking in the Spirit, not by working hard to fulfill the Law. So if we walk, we make progress. We shouldn’t be like mimes who create an illusion of walking as they walk in place while not going anywhere. Well, mimes create this illusion, but if we’re honest as Christians, we’ll admit that we sometimes stay in the same place while giving the illusion of walking in the Spirit. And as we walk in circles, we’re busy with religion, but we aren’t really going anywhere.

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direct link – http://RealReality.org/Real_Faith_and_Reason_Vol_1_-_Scientia.pdf