The reason I ask is that many Christians are not. Yes, they believe Jesus is their Saviour, yes, they go to church and, yes, they hold some important scriptures to be true. But most are content to let their church or pastor decide what the truth of the Bible really is, rather than checking it out for themselves. Many scarcely read the Bible, still less study it, despite 2 Timothy 2:15 instructing believers to…

Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that in 2026 most Christians are still ‘babes in the woods’, immature believers unweaned from the ‘milk of the word’ and unable to digest ‘meat’.  But, of course, it’s on milk we all begin. Thus, the Apostle Peter urges his flock to:

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1 Peter 2:2, NIV).

But who wants to stay a baby being spoon fed and having your messy nappy changed, when you can grow up and be toilet trained? Move on from drinking milk to eating ‘solid meat’ the Apostle Paul urged the Corinthians:

Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? (I Corinthians 3:1-4 NIV).

Actually, God’s very purpose in saving us was that we should grow up, mature  and become ‘perfect’. The Apostle Peter writes:

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

And Paul says the purpose of his ministry is to ‘present every man perfect (i.e. mature, fully grown) in Christ Jesus’ (Colossians 1:28).

And to become ‘perfect’ we must start by accepting God’s word, the Bible, is true despite all we have been taught to the contrary. Now a friend of mine is an agronomist, a scientist expert in soil analysis and a devout Christian. But he has a problem reconciling the assertions of science with what the Bible actually says.

Accordingly, he holds that the creation story in Genesis is not strictly true: rather it was how the ancients then saw things, not how science has better explained them since. For him there was no firmament and no global flood on earth as scripture states; the firmament was the sky much as it is now and the flood was just local because people living then did not know what supposedly we all know now.

But, you see, God’s word, the Bible, goes far ‘beyond what we can know or think’ (Ephesians 3:2, 1:17-18). It is absolute everlasting truth. And it should not be interpreted by the tenets of evolution and anthropology.

So, what does it take to really grow up as a Christian? Can I suggest a first essential is to become A BIBLE BELIEIVER. That is one who understands the Bible to be God’s inerrant word and believes and implicitly obeys what He says. It means believing that God’s word, the Bible, is right and anything that opposes or contradicts is wrong.

But surely there are exceptions, you say. Doesn’t a more scientific approach rule out scripture’s more extravagant claims, such as God creating the universe out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3), making the earth in six days then later drowning it in a global flood? No, it doesn’t because to be a Bible believer one must believe that He is who He says He is.

But without FAITH it is impossible to please Him (God), for he that cometh unto God MUST believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

So, who is God? In Isaiah 46 and 48 the Lord God Almighty states who He is and He has done in sharp contrast to the man-made and useless idols his wayward people Israel have turned to:

Remember the former things of old; for I AM God, and there is none else; I AM God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).

If that’s not enough to convince you that God is sovereign, that He is all powerful and the only creator (not science or evolution); that works all things according to his purpose and pleasure; then hear what He says in Isaiah 48: 12-13:

Hearken unto Me…I AM He; I AM the FIRST, I AM also the LAST. Mine hand hath laid the foundations of the earth and my right hand hath spanned the heavens; when I call unto them, they stand up together.

To be a Bible believer one must hold that God speaks and his word creates a universe and brings into being things never known before. His word is immutable – that is it cannot be changed – but lasts forever and is always true. It is found in the Bible which declares:

• Psalm 119:89: "Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven."
• Psalm 119:160: "The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever."
• Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."
• Matthew 24:35: the Lord Jesus speaking, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."
• Psalm 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.

But there is the problem of how to understand God’s word and apply it to our everyday life, family circumstances, to our society and to the world at large. For to be a Bible believer requires that we hold God’s word to be true not only in church on Sunday but also 24/7 for the rest of the week as well.  It is the very bread of life we should live by. When Satan tempted Jesus to command stones to be turned into bread, the Lord’s answer was:

It is written (Deuteronomy 8:3), man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that PROCEEDETH out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

So, a Bible believer does not live by what most people think sensible; he is not bound by what others say; he will not accept what churches and ministers teach if it is not exactly what the very word of scripture actually says. For He daily finds mercy, grace, salvation, redemption, mercy, love and full provision for his needs in God’s word.

John Dudley Aldworth

Email: johndaldworth42@gmail.com

Website: https://www.dayofchristmnistries.com