I recently wrote about the importance of milk in our diet. Paul scolded the Corinthians for still being on the milk of the Word rather than the meat, meaning that the church had not grown to maturity the way a baby likewise progresses from milk to meat.
I said that we often create a false dichotomy, asking people if they are on milk or meat, as if Paul’s point was to choose one or the other; we need both the basics and the advanced doctrines. The author of Hebrews makes that point better than I can, writing, “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 (12:12).”
We sometimes think of milk as the stuff of babies when it should be thought of as the building block of health. We should move toward maturity, but we all need to be constantly reminded of the basics. We might call this the ABC’s.
We cannot read sentences or paragraphs if we do not know the alphabet. As Christians, regardless of how long we have walked with the Lord, we need to master the ABC’s.
Admit you have sinned
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
Call upon the name of the Lord
Deny yourself and follow God
Enjoy time with God every day
Forgive those who sin against you
Give God your time, talent, and treasure
Hunger and thirst after righteousness
Invite others to follow Christ
Join a local church
Keep God's commandments
Love your neighbor as yourself
Make peace with your enemies
Never give the devil an inch
Offer yourself as a living sacrifice
Put on the armor of God
Quit bad habits
Rejoice always
Sing praise to the Lord
Trust and obey
Uplift your fellow believers
Value others over yourself
Wait upon the Lord
X-amine yourself often
Yearn for the things of God
Zealously guard the truth
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