Jerry’s Grill: Excelling in the Basics
Mastering the Christian life is like mastering other things: it’s a matter of doing the basics again and again and again.
Do you know what the difference between a growing Christian and a baby is? Even though the baby outgrows its need for pure milk, the believer never does. There are some basic elements of spiritual nurture—Peter refers to it as “pure spiritual milk”—that all baby Christians need in order to grow spiritually even 10, 20, 30 years into one’s faith-journey with our Lord.
There are four basic elements that contribute to your spiritual growth. If you will make these things part of your daily life, if you will master these four simple ideas, you will develop an appetite for obedience, and you will find that you are getting good at being good. Here are the four things.
1. Read the Bible. - The first chapter of first Peter ends with these words…
“All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.”
– 1 Peter 1:24,25
I used to think that “Good Christians read the Bible.” But actually, I had the equation backwards. It really works like this: “People who read the Bible become good Christians.” The Bible is God’s Word to us. It tells us how to live—it challenges us, it motivates us, it comforts us, it encourages us, it inspires us. When we read the Bible we become changed by its influence if we read it with a heart that is willing to be taught.
When you read the Bible, read with an attitude that says, “God what are you saying to me? What do I need to do? What do I need to change about the way I think or the way I act?”
2. Declare God’s praise. - We come together to worship God every week. We sing songs of praise and we offer up our prayers—and this is an important part of living the Christian life. However, the Bible challenges us to praise God continually throughout the day. Peter said, “You are a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (v.9)
We are created to praise God, and we are to praise him every day. The more you praise God, the easier it is to master the art of obedience. How do you “declare his praises”? Here are two ways:
a. Tell it to God - Say to God the things that you know to be true about him: “God you are so wonderful. You are full of love and forgiveness and mercy. You are the source of truth and light and all that is good. God, you are faithful to me even when I am unfaithful. You forgive me even though I don’t deserve to be forgiven. You are my only hope.” When you do this, you are strengthening the connection in your relationship to Him. When you declare His praise, you strengthen the connection between you and God.
b. Tell it to others - If you’ve ever tried sharing your faith with another person, you probably know how some people put up a wall of resistance as soon as you mention a personal relationship with Jesus. You know why that is? They think they’re about to be preached to. Unfortunately, much of what has been said under the label of “Christian witnessing” is really just a religious form of high-pressure salesmanship. And the fact is, God didn’t ask you to be a salesman; He commands you to declare his praises.
I have discovered that it is easy to talk to others about God when I’m really talking to them about God. Sharing your faith is much more effective when you emphasize how good God is, rather than how bad they are. Tell others about how good he is, tell them what he has done for you, tell them how much means to you. As you declare God’s praises to him and to others you will discover that your appetite for obedience increases dramatically.
3. Identify with God’s people. (v. 9-10)
As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are part of the most important group of people on planet earth because we have the most important job to do—and we’re doing it – being salt and light. Chuck Swindoll wrote,
“Think of all the hospitals that exist right now in the name of Christ. Think of all the colleges and schools and day care centers that operate in the name of Christ. Think of all the homeless shelters, all the orphanages, all the nursing homes, all the soup kitchens that operate in the name of Christ. Think of all the churches that exist throughout the world today. If all of these were to disappear overnight life on earth would become unbearable. If all the good things that are being done in the name of Christ were to stop suddenly, the world would spin into chaos.
We are the glue that is holding this planet together..”
When you focus your attention on the fact that you are part of God’s people—a people with a purpose—you will find that your appetite for obedience grows.
4. Avoid sinful situations. (v.11)
There’s an old joke about a guy who goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, it hurts when I move my arm back and forth like this. What should I do?” The doctor says, “Stop moving your arm back and forth like that.”
That’s bad medical advice, but it’s good spiritual advice. If you find that doing certain things, or being with certain people, or putting yourself in a certain environment causes you to sin, then avoid those situations.
Do you remember when you would go in the kitchen while your Mom was cooking supper and ask for a snack? What would she say, “No, you’ll spoil your appetite.” It makes sense; eating a bag of potato chips one-half hour before mealtime will make you less hungry when it’s time to eat.
In the same way, there are certain things in life that will spoil your appetite for obedience. The best thing you can do is avoid them at all costs. There may be some things in life that you have to eliminate—not because they are sinful in themselves, but because they lead you to sin. If you find that listening to a certain kind of music, or watching certain TV programs, or being with certain people tends to provoke you to sin, then avoid them at all costs. Don’t spoil your appetite.
CONCLUSION
In order for us to get good at being good, we need to find our nurture in pure spiritual milk; we need to excel in the basics. We will never outgrow our need for the fundamentals of the Christian life—reading the Bible, declaring God’s praise, identifying with God’s people, and avoiding sinful situations. To the extent that we master these four simple principles, our appetite for obedience will grow, and we will be able to walk the talk according to the will of God.
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