How to Grow in Your Salvation
by Lynette Kittle
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your Salvation”—1 Peter 2:2
Many think, once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we’ll just know what is true. However, if we aren’t studying God’s Word and feeding spiritually on His truth, we’re vulnerable to living more by what we feel than what is true, which over time is sure to lead us astray.
Too often we don’t realize if we don’t know the Word of God, even when we are believers, we can be led astray. Knowing what Scripture says helps us to discern if what we are hearing and reading is based on God’s truth or on the enemy’s lies.
Like 1 Peter 2:2 encourages, when it comes to the Word of God, we want to be like newborn babies who crave pure spiritual milk, so that we may grow up in our Salvation.
So what is this pure spiritual milk? Hebrews 5:12 explains how the elementary truths of God’s Word is the milk needed for our lives to grow spiritually and mature, so that we can progress to eating solid foods, which are the deeper truths.
If we don’t feed on Scripture, 1 Corinthians 3:1 describes what stage of spiritual growth we’ll remain in. “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.”
So why is it so important to grow spiritually as a Christian? Isn’t it enough to be saved?
1 Timothy 4:1, points out the dangers of not growing in our faith. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
If we don’t grow in our knowledge of God’s Word, we become vulnerable to being deceived and led astray by the evil one. 2 Timothy 4:3, warns of what can happen if we haven’t matured in our faith. “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desire, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
So what can we do to make sure we’re progressing in our spiritual growth? 2 Timothy 2:15 urges us to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
So many Christians become discouraged, feeling like they can’t even read God’s Word on their own, thinking they don’t have the education or capability to understand it. However, Jesus tells us in John 14:26, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As well, if we are diligent to read it, we will gain understanding and grow in our Salvation knowing, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrew 4:12).
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, iBelieve.com, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, Startmarriageright.com, growthtrac.com, and more. She has an M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as an associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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