If you keep lots of exercise equipment in your basement but never pick up the weights to train your muscles or strengthen your cardiovascular health, it will be useless. Muscles grow through consistent use. A personal trainer may be helpful, but we must also make a commitment to train ourselves. When Paul wrote to Timothy, “Train yourself for godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7), he was emphasizing that no role model, leader, or friend could do the hard work for him.

As we grow in our Christian walk, we learn elementary truths, slowly putting them into practice and growing in spiritual discernment. This process helps us transition from milk to solid food (Hebrews 5:12-14), from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity, so that we can eventually begin to teach others. It is a God-designed life cycle meant to expand His kingdom.

To change the metaphor, Christianity’s fundamental truths are vital; everything else we learn about Christ is built upon them. But it isn’t productive to camp on them forever. We must be diligent in making progress in the Christian life, constantly striving to grow in holiness, asking the Spirit to build us up as we go deeper into His inspired word.

God does not conform His children to the image of His Son in isolation from life or the instruction of His word. As you are trained in the Scriptures and lay hold of them, so you make progress. Does your Bible show signs of daily, disciplined use? Do you seek intentionally to learn from those who are further on in their walk than you, and do you wrestle with difficult doctrines rather than leaving them for “the experts”? And do you read and wrestle and meditate with a view to growing in your love for Christ and your ability to serve others in your church and in your community, rather than with a view only to knowing more? Never let it be said of you that you could have grown more and done more to help God’s people. Seek to grow. That will require God’s help—but as we seek Him, He will surely honor our efforts!