Kingdom Disciples: Heaven's Representatives on Earth by Tony Evans

Author:Tony Evans [Evans, Tony]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780802491190
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2017-07-04T04:00:00+00:00

SPIRITUAL MILK VERSUS SPIRITUAL MEAT

Maturity happens as you move from “milk” to “meat.” The reasons a baby cannot digest a steak are multiple, but the primary reasons are the baby has neither the teeth to chew nor the digestive system to fully break down the meat. A brand-new Christian needs the milk of God’s Word for a season. No believer progresses from birth to maturity overnight. But anyone who has been a Christian for any length of time and who is still on milk has remained there due to their own lack of effort toward growth.

So that raises a question: what is milk and what is meat? A lot of people think that meat is the accumulation of biblical information and milk is the lack of biblical depth. But that is not the case. A person can be full of Bible knowledge and still be a baby Christian. Meat refers to the ability to transfer what has been learned into the decision-making process of life, so that the person operates from a spiritual rather than earthly perspective. If that transfer into applying the truth has not happened, then the person remains a baby Christian.

Like a hungry baby being unable to chew meat, a person hoping to learn to transfer the truth of God’s Word into their daily life choices must learn how to chew through (meditating and using) the principles of Scripture. He or she must break down the Scriptures for use. Having a ton of meat on a ton of plates sitting in front of someone will do absolutely no good toward nourishing that person’s life. It’s only when that meat is ingested and put to use that the value of the meat comes forth. As we noted in the beginning of this chapter, however, many Christians “have come to need milk and not solid food” (Heb. 5:12).

When a believer can partake only of milk, he or she can digest the elementary principles but not “the word of righteousness” (v. 13). It’s like when a student starts school, they have to begin with the basics. We call them the fundamentals. First it is the ABCs, and then phonics before actual reading and understanding can occur. A student cannot move on to books if they do not yet know the alphabet. They can’t move on to algebra if they do not yet understand addition. Without the foundation, the advanced learning cannot take place.

That’s why certain classes in high school and college have prerequisites. The “prerequisites,” or fundamental classes, must be completed before attempting the advanced ones. This is because all teachers know that advancement in learning occurs progressively—just like discipleship and spiritual growth.

The elementary principles of God’s Word are essential but they are not the end. They are to serve as a starting point of progress toward spiritual awareness and understanding with the end being even your very senses can “discern good and evil.” And your choices reflect that discernment. As the factual truths of Scripture are the basis of our decisions, we are then living life spiritually.

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