The Jesus Joint

There are obviously things of God that are not considered basic. They are referred to as the depths of God. Many people refer to these things as the meat of God.



We have often heard this and used it as justification for not speaking the depths of God to immature Christians. We say things of that nature are too much for them to handle and that they might slip away or that we might act as a stumbling block to them.



I used to be of this mindset. Lately, I have been reevaluating my stance. While it still makes sense to a degree, there is one part that has been on my mind. 1 Corinthians is filled with controversial topics that really go into the depths of God in detail. While it would make sense to avoid speaking of these things with immature Christians, Paul tells us the exact opposite. He says the people of Corinth were still immature. He says they are still not yet able to receive meat yet he then goes on to tell them all these things that we hold as being controversial meat. If anything, this goes to prove that even as controversial as they may seem, the entire epistle can actually be classified in the "milk" category. This leads me to wonder what exactly would be classified as meat. Do we have any Biblical examples or is everything in Scripture considered to be milk? Should we avoid some things in Scripture for fear of being a stumbling block or should we preach all the things of Scripture as being milk but only watch our practical actions when around immature Christians. It does not appear the preaching of the Word is considered meat but rather, the practical application when in the midst of immature Christians while we take part in our Christian liberty. I am convinced more and more than the modern Church has taken this out of context for fear of offending others. Any thoughts?

I think it may well be just that, Travis. It seems to me that many are too worried about offending people than they are teaching the word of God. Christianity was never meant to be a popularity contest, but I'm afraid in many cases that's what it has become. Many modern churches are more interested in teaching financial help, and the prosperity gospel than they are the true gospel.

I think that the milk and meat issue goes even deeper than what you are alluding to here Travis. I think that at the core way too many people think that they are hearing meat these days while at a worship service and have no idea what meat really is. When in reality they are on milk because the Pastor does not know what meat is either. I think if we look at Titus Chapter 3 you can see a bit of that in what Paul was saying. Take a look at that Chapter and see if you pick up on what I am hinting at...

Drat, I wish I were better with Bible references. I'm reminded of the epistle (I'm tempted to say one of the Timothy's?) that says that people will select teachers who preach that which they want to hear.

Also I think it's very easy to turn the teaching outward and say, "<i>People</i> aren't preaching what they need to preach" or "<i>People</i> don't even know what meat is anymore," or even as I said, "<i>People</i> will only listen to what they want to hear."

However, to take an old song lyric completely out of context, "I'm thinking that 'the people' is me." It's easy to look for inconsistencies or problems in others' theologies, but what about my own?

Of course, introspection only comes after a knowledge and study of the meat of scripture, but how can we become better at identifying the areas of "milk" (or worse, high fructose corn syrup) in our lives? After all, every time we sin, we throw what we know about theology out the window and become functional atheists. Also, besides just reading the Word (which I hope is a given), what other ways can we digest the meat of Scripture in our lives?