When some animals are first born, what key food do they require in the beginning stage of their life? They need milk. From little kittens to baby deer, milk is the sole thing that they will rely on to nourish them as they begin to grow.
When a human baby is born, what do they need? They need to drink milk from their mother. Unable to handle strong foods, they need to be nourished with milk until their stomachs become stronger to handle more solid foods.
Someone who has just become a new Christian is very similar, because as a baby Christian they need to be fed the milk of God’s Word, which is the first part that they need to get them started in their life for Jesus, namely, that they need to hear about Jesus’ love for them, and because of His love for them Jesus died so that the door of forgiveness and salvation could be opened to them, and that if they believe in Him they will be in Heaven with Him. It is after this beginning entrance into Christianity that they will begin to grow, and once they become stronger in their faith they will then be able to receive the stronger parts of scripture, dealing with things that a new Christian may have a hard time understanding. Just as a baby will start out with milk, then to soft foods, and eventually things more “meaty,” the more a person spends time in God’s Word the stronger they will become and will be able to understand and handle the stronger parts of the Bible.
Do you remember when Jesus told His disciples that they would all be offended and leave Him when Jesus would be taken to the cross? At that time they hadn’t even become converted yet, and we can see this when Jesus told Peter in Luke 22:32 “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Peter was still growing stronger in his faith. He wasn’t quite ready for the “meat” of the Word. Just before Jesus was crucified, Peter denied knowing the Lord as he wasn’t fully ready to stand by the Lord’s side, but later on in Peter’s life he was. He had grown in the faith, and matured.
In the book of 1 Corinthians, the people of the church weren’t ready to handle the stronger parts of the word, as they were still as children, having trouble with fighting and strife among themselves. They needed to learn the basic thing first: to love each other.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
When someone begins as a new Christian they may have trouble learning how to deny the part of the flesh that makes you want to hurt someone, or to avenge yourself for something wrong that someone else does to you. They might have troubles with telling lies, or speaking evil of another person. These people need to continue to receive the milk of the word, so that someday when their faith becomes stronger, they will be able to control their actions, and instead show others love.
A tree doesn’t mature in a day, it takes a long time, just as a new Christian isn’t fully strong and mature in their faith on the first day either; it takes time. Going through trials and persecutions will continually strengthen a Christian. Spending time in God’s word and understanding what is written will make you wiser, so that you will be able to discern certain situations that a new Christian might not be able to.
So, are you ready to move on from the milk of God’s Word into the meat of the Gospel? Have you matured in your faith and become strong?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 