Health-E Church

NON-STOP LEARNING……by Robert Beike

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…”  (Acts 2:42a HCSB)

Three thousand brand new, born again, believers in one day! The events at Pentecost turned the Jerusalem church into a giant nursery for baby Christians. They all needed to learn how to feed themselves, walk, and talk as members of God’s family. What was needed was a crash course in spiritual pediatrics.

With so much to learn and so much at stake, it’s not surprising that the new believers devoted themselves, continuously, and steadfastly, to the apostles’ teaching. The Holy Spirit had given them an appetite for the things of God. The church provided a healthy diet of the word of God.

Like life itself, the Christian experience is a non-stop process of learning, growing, and becoming. What the apostles learned at the feet of Jesus was now poured into the hearts and minds of the next generation of believers. A disciple is a learner–a devoted one. Do not overlook the fact that they devoted themselves to the teaching/learning process. Teachers are essential, and a faith community critical to making disciples, but the whole thing unravels without individual responsibility.

Unless we commit ourselves fully to following Christ, and strenuously persist in learning God’s word, we will remain spiritual infants, and vulnerable to every adverse wind and perverse doctrine. Even after we grow enough to feed others, devoting ourselves to the study of scripture remains paramount in importance. When we stop learning we stop growing, and start becoming less and less what God intends. Or as country singer Loretta Lynn says, “You’ve got to continue to grow, or you’re just like last night’s cornbread–stale and dry.”