Obeying the gospel of Christ is the smartest, most valuable decision anyone can ever make.   Some very important decisions must be made in life, but none of them ranks as high as accepting Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior.

Upon making that great decision, and following it up by actually obeying the gospel, one’s sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38), and fellowship with God is established.

Now the work begins.  When a person obeys the gospel, he is born again, making him an infant in the faith.  That is a good thing unless one stays an infant too long.  The Hebrews writer criticized some Jewish Christians for remaining babes in Christ longer than they should have.

Hebrews 5:12 (ESV)
¹²  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

Babies drink milk.  When one grows and leaves that infant stage, he is ready for strong meat.  That is true, not only of physical babies, but of those who are new converts in Christ as well (1 Peter 2:2).  If a physical baby does not drink its milk, the growth process will be hindered, and if Christians do not feed upon the milk of God’s Word, they will lack growth as well.

Growth, however, should not just be the aim of those who have recently obeyed the gospel of Christ.  We all need to grow, for none of us have reached full maturity yet.  These words of Peter apply to all of us.

2 Peter 3:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.  

What are you doing to grow in grace and knowledge?  A certain amount of physical growth takes place naturally with no effort whatsoever.  Spiritual growth is different.  It always takes diligence and determination.

2 Peter 1:5-10 (ESV)
⁵  For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Peter spoke of adding to our faith such things as virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.  Adding these things to your faith is to grow in grace and knowledge, but it is not something done casually.  Peter said, “And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith…”

The word diligence means to exert oneself or to do something with earnestness and zeal.  Peter is admonishing us to add to our faith purposely and with great effort.  We should all desire to grow, and we should make it our fixed purpose to do so. Involving ourselves in things that will help us to grow in the faith will prove to be very beneficial to our spiritual well-being.

Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.  If we are going to grow, the Word of God must take center stage.   Apart from the Word, growth is impossible.  It is sad to say that there are too many Christians dying of malnutrition because they refuse to partake of the meat of God’s Word as they should.  That is a shame when we have so many opportunities today to feast upon God’s Word.  We all have Bibles.  There are people living in some parts of the world who do not have free access to God’s Word like we do.  They can get Bibles, but not very easily.  In this country, anyone who wants a Bible can easily obtain one.  Those of us who are Christians all have Bibles in our homes; yet, some are still starving.  This points simply to a lack of interest and love for the Word of God.

We have the opportunity in our local churches to study the Word of God.  Bible studies are held twice a week for everyone to feast upon the Word.  In most congregations, the preacher preaches two sermons on Sunday.   There are gospel meetings held every Spring and Fall in this area (as there are in most), where we can partake of God’s Word.  No Christian should lack spiritual nourishment in this country.  We should all be growing in grace and knowledge and, with proper effort, such will be the case. Take advantage of your opportunities and make your calling and election sure.