Believers Do Not Live By Milk Alone.

Believers Do Not Live By Milk Alone.
By: Dr. Danny Purvis

The New Testament writer’s two main goals were the proclamation of the Gospel and the encouragement to Believers to live a Godly life. That is the gist of all of the letters in the New Testament. A great deal of ink was spilled in pursuit of these two endeavors. One of the most interesting examples of this is found in Hebrews 5:11-14. Go ahead and read it…I’ll wait. Done? Good. Because these verses (along with many others) illustrate a very important truth for all Christians.

Just as we were designed by God to grow physically from the very moment we were born…so to were we designed by God to grow spiritually from the very moment we were born again. It is expected. It is a “natural” part of our relationship with God. Growth is as natural to the Believer when we are exposed to the Son as it is for a plant when it is exposed to the sun. We were not saved in order to maintain the status quo that existed up to that point. Every month…every year…every decade that we live on this earth it is expected that we will grow in our faith…grow in our understanding of God…grow in His Word…grow in His grace. Why is it then that the vast majority of Believers in this country are a mile wide and an inch deep in our understanding of God?

This is not a new phenomenon by a long shot. The writer of Hebrews makes this point 2,000 years ago to Believers of that time. And he doesn’t pull any punches. In fact he begins by telling the Christians who are reading this letter that they have become “dull of hearing”(Hebrews 5:11). In the original language the word “dull” literally means: slow, sluggish, lazy, stupid. In case you were wondering, this was not meant to be a compliment. But what is the reasoning behind this critique? He tells us: “For by this time you ought to be teachers”(Hebrews 5:12). He then goes on to use the analogy of physical growth to make his point by saying: “You need milk, not solid food”(Hebrews 5:12b). In other words…you’re not growing.

He continues by telling them that they should be eating solid food by this time because “solid food is for the mature”(Hebrews 5:14a). The conclusion? You are not mature in your faith. See how growth in Christ is a given? See how it is expected? Years ago when I was in seminary, I was on staff at a small church in Grand Prairie, Texas. During the Wednesday evening service (remember when those existed?) we were going through a study called Fresh Encounter. The idea was a good one. The study was designed to reacquaint Christians with the fundamental elements of Christianity. Basic things we should know but maybe have been somewhat relegated to the back burner in some people’s minds. This was supposed to be a refresher and reminder of things we all should know about God.

This particular week the pastor was hammering home the reminder that salvation is a unique work of God’s grace and that we cannot work for our salvation in any way, shape, or form. Salvation begins and ends with God and there is nothing we can do to earn it…hence the reason it is referred to as a gift given by grace(Ephesians 2:8-9). Simple stuff…right? At the end of the session the pastor asked if anyone had any questions. The lady sitting next to me had one. This lady had been going to church since nine months before she was born. She was raised in an evangelical church. This was her question.

“Are you saying that there is nothing we do to earn our salvation”? It’s hard to believe I can remember a question that a person asked on a quiet night 32 years ago…but it has always stuck with me. Here was a person that had been (so far as I know) a Believer for decades and still had not grasped onto one of the most basic Christian teachings available. She clearly was still drinking milk. And had been for a very long time. I say this not to cast aspersions on her. I say this because this was just my first taste of the reality that the vast majority of Christians in this country have not been weaned from milk.

The writer of Hebrews makes a stark contrast. He states that some Believers so lack growth that they are eating infant food when, in fact, they should actually be teaching this stuff. That is a huge disparity in growth from where they are to where they should be. The problem comes in because we do not look at growth in Christ the right way. Growth in Christ does not happen by osmosis. We must take action in order to grow…it simply does not “just happen”. And while we do not work for our salvation…we do work from it. There are things we are expected to do in order to grow…to literally exercise our faith.

When you look at 2 Peter 1:3-8 we see that intent that goes with growing in Christ. Things like virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, Godliness, and brotherly affection(2 Peter 3:5-7). He then goes on to say that these qualities “are increasing”. Meaning? This is, in part, how you grown in Christ. And how are we able to do that? Look back at verse 3: “His divine power has granted to us all things”. We do the work…He provides the growth.

Growing in Christ is part of God’s will for us. It is that simple. We should always want to know more, understand more, serve more, and live more. Never be satisfied where you are in your growth in Him. Always want more and more of Him. Never stop growing in Him. And always begin where it has to begin: His Word. This is how we understand why and how growth comes “through the knowledge of Him Who called us to His own glory and excellence”(Hebrews 3:3a).  

-Dr. Danny Purvis