by Elder Peter Lim

It doesn’t take a parent to realize that newborn babies require milk to grow before graduating into mushy versions of adult food. Before you know it, they are able to eat solid food. That’s the imagery that is given to us in relation to or spiritual maturity in 1 Cor. 3:1-3:

1And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
2I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
3for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

These young Corinthian believers had many issues including worldliness, jealousy, and strife. These are the same sort of issues that exist in any church. How sorrowful the Corinthians must’ve felt upon hearing this rebuke from Paul.

Rather than focus on the Corinthians, how would we fare under Paul’s evaluation? As he said, a mature Christian should be ready to eat solid food instead of milk. In other words, a sign of a mature Christian is that he would be willing to chew a little more and digest solid teaching on more “heavy” doctrines beyond the basic gospel message from the Word of God instead of being scared off by them. No longer content to be spoon-fed only the basics of Christianity, he would be willing to study diligently to accurately handle the Word and pursue approval from God. (1 Tim. 2:15) For the mature, there is no such thing as bad sermons as long as it is based on Scripture. Bad communication skills of the preacher are secondary to the glorious truth that is being taught. Mature people are the easiest to feed because they can feed themselves from the morsels of solid food given to them. When someone says that he doesn’t get anything out of messages that are Biblical, the problem is obvious. That person isn’t getting anything out because he isn’t being teachable. It shows a lack of graciousness and humility.

If you find that you are struggling with things that the immature struggle with such as: consistent time in God’s Word, prayer, or any other “milky” issues, it’s time to grow up and be mature. Here are some suggestions to help you to grow:

• Start a Bible reading plan. There are many to choose from but I like John MacArthur’s suggestion of reading a book such as 1 John all the way through, once a day, every day, until you get a good idea of the overall flow of the book.
• Read a good Christian book. I understand that not everyone has developed a discipline of reading. Just do it. Start. Reading. Today. Pick an easy one to begin with so that you’ll be encouraged to finish it. Then read some more. The kind without pictures. I know you have that shelf with books that you’ve been meaning to read.
• Turn off the TV. Get off the internet. Start with a half-hour everyday of nothing but silence to meditate on the previous Sunday’s message. Try very hard to recall what it was about. Think of ways to apply those truths.
• Pray. Don’t just use the phrase “I’m praying for you” as a way to sound spiritual when you’re not really praying for them. Although Jesus never prescribed praying on your knees with your eyes closed and hands clasped, this posture of prayer can really help to get your body to conform and concentrate on what you are doing.
• Start writing encouragement notes. You know what I’m talking about. Those little slips of paper in the Sunday Bulletin that you tend to ignore. Start your ministry to people by encouraging them! Here’s a little secret: You not only encourage them, but you feel encouraged yourself as you recognize others to be thankful for.

As a growing child grows stronger by eating solid food and is able to accomplish more, we also grow by learning more about the heavier doctrines from God’s Word. We become more capable of helping people by being more qualified to help others through giving Biblical counsel. Because a stronger Christian understands doctrine more, he is then able to help people who are caught up in cults or in weak churches with poor doctrinal teaching. His pursuit of excellence in spiritual things becomes a testimony to his friends and family. Frankly, a church doesn’t move forward because of the leaders. It moves forward because of committed members who are committed to feeding themselves with the aid of the leaders. This is the picture given to us in Eph. 4:12:

12for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

The leaders are to equip the saints (Christians) so that all Christians would do the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. We aren’t to simply pay pastors to do everything. They are to equip us so that we can do the work. Men, you can begin by being a good manager of your own households. Our time on Earth is temporary and short. We are but vapors that vanish quickly. Let us redeem our time with useful ministry for God.