David Nasser and the writer of Hebrews tackles the idea of being a spiritual infant.

When we become Christians, we should begin to grow up in our faith.

Now as I type this, I do not want you to think that I am shaming you for where you are at or trying to push you into a desperate striving to pick yourself up by the bootstraps to “do better.”

If you’re reading this, then you have been pursuing growth for 20 days straight. Fantastic! So these words are not even a reprimand but an evaluation to continue your growth.

Also, in the end, God is the one leading you and refining you. I am certainly not judging His methods.

But, we should keep in mind that we are responsible for our actions and our seeking of understanding.

I believe this passage should encourage us to want to “level up.” To be better than we were before out of love for Christ.

He does not desire us to stay in the same place, so why would we stay in the same place?

I was tempted to type out each of the signs of a spiritual infant, but then I thought it would be best to stick close to the text.

The writer of Hebrews says to his audience, “by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone else to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word.”

How long have you been a believer? 

Can you explain the gospel to someone else?

Every believer should be growing with the goal of teaching other people. The lack of believers able to and seeking to, disciple others in the church harms us.

So don’t feel like your lack of growth is only on you. There should have been a mature believer that saw your need at conversion (or later) and took you in, to live life with you, and to teach you the foundations you needed for continued growth.

However, you can grow without the help of another because God is with you. I would also encourage you, however, to try and ask any mature believer you do know to teach you.

In my own walk, the care and instruction of one person changed my entire relationship with God and how I live my life. Discipleship pulled me out of darkness.

Please do not remain in the same place after reading these words because somebody else needs you to lift them up!

The writer of Hebrews expands further on this topic in the next two verses:

“…you need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:12-14)

Do you flee from sin? OR do you continue to get as close to “the line” as you can? Do you just jump into sin joyfully?

Do you continue to live in sin without struggle even though you know it is wrong? (We could talk more about this.)

Do you reject talk about righteous behavior and what is right and wrong when relating to God merely because it offends you and it does not fit the way you want to live or believe?

Drinking milk is easy, but taking a bite out of a steak can be tough. A believer should be able to accept tough words, even harsh words for the sake of growing to be like Christ. Scripture is full of tough words.

An infant does not know how to get the food it needs and does not have the ability to get it anyway. 

Do you know where to find truth?

Do you trust the truth over your own feelings?

Do you seek out truth on your own?

If you want to “level up” do this:

• Study the Bible to figure out what Jesus did for you on the cross and with His life.
• Learn what sin is and how God views it.
• Seek to understand that you are truly forgiven, no matter what, once you are in Christ.
• Read your Bible daily and pray daily.
• Every time your pastor or some other pastor preaches, write down his points and look into the Bible to find out if his words are true.