Why are so many Christians still spiritual infants after years of faith?
Question 0019
This is one of those questions that’s painful to ask but necessary. Walk into many churches and you’ll find people who’ve been Christians for twenty, thirty, even forty years—and yet they couldn’t explain basic doctrine, don’t read their Bibles regularly, and are easily swept along by whatever teaching sounds appealing. The rebuke in Hebrews 5 lands squarely on us: “By this time you ought to be teachers, but you need someone to teach you again the basic principles.”
The Problem Is Not New
We should start by acknowledging that spiritual immaturity among longtime believers isn’t a modern invention. The Corinthian church was plagued by it. Paul wrote to them: “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh” (1 Corinthians 3:1-3).
These weren’t new converts. Paul had spent eighteen months in Corinth. Yet years later, they were still fleshly, still infantile, still marked by jealousy and strife rather than spiritual fruit. The same situation confronts the recipients of Hebrews. They’d been believers long enough to teach others but needed to be taught the basics again. Spiritual infancy persisting over years is a pattern Scripture recognises and addresses.
Causes of Prolonged Spiritual Infancy
Spiritual Laziness
This is the diagnosis in Hebrews 5:11—they had become “dull of hearing.” The Greek word νωθροί (nōthroi) means sluggish or lazy. They weren’t intellectually incapable; they were spiritually slack. Growth requires effort, and they weren’t making it.
This is perhaps the most common cause today. Many Christians treat their faith as a compartment of life rather than its centre. They attend church on Sunday, perhaps read a devotional occasionally, and otherwise get on with life. They consume Christian content passively but never dig deeply, never wrestle with difficult passages, never pursue God with diligence. Spiritual growth requires discipline. Just as physical fitness doesn’t happen without exercise, spiritual maturity doesn’t happen without intentional effort.
Lack of Solid Teaching
Some believers remain immature because they’ve never been taught anything substantial. Their churches offer inspirational messages but not doctrinal meat. They’ve been fed a steady diet of self-help principles dressed in Christian language but have never encountered the depths of biblical theology.
Paul warned Timothy: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions” (2 Timothy 4:3). When churches prioritise entertainment over education, when sermons are designed to make people feel good rather than to transform minds, the congregation remains immature. And tragically, many believers don’t know what they’re missing.
No Accountability or Community
The Christian faith is not meant to be lived in isolation. Hebrews itself says: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13).
Daily exhortation from fellow believers. That’s the design. When Christians live disconnected lives—attending church as anonymous spectators rather than engaged participants—they miss the sharpening that comes from genuine fellowship. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” But if there’s no iron contact, no real relationships where believers challenge, encourage, and hold each other accountable, growth stalls.
Trials Avoided or Wasted
James writes: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).
Trials are one of God’s primary tools for maturing us. They expose our weaknesses, drive us to prayer, force us to trust, and shape our character. But this only happens if we engage with trials rightly. If we simply endure them passively, or worse, become bitter and resentful, we miss their sanctifying purpose. Many Christians have walked through decades of life without ever allowing trials to do their intended work.
Contentment with the Minimum
Some believers have settled for fire insurance. They prayed a prayer, got their ticket to heaven, and that’s enough. The idea of pressing on, of growing deeper, of becoming more like Jesus—that seems excessive, optional, for the really keen types.
But Scripture never presents the Christian life this way. We’re called to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). We’re to “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Contentment with the minimum isn’t humility; it’s disobedience.
Wrong Beliefs About Maturity
Some Christians think maturity means knowing more facts or being able to win arguments. Others think it means following rules more carefully or having spiritual experiences. But biblical maturity is much richer than any of these.
As we saw in Hebrews 5:14, maturity involves “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” It’s practical wisdom, moral sensitivity, the ability to navigate complex situations with biblical principles. It’s character shaped by the Spirit, not just knowledge accumulated in the mind.
The Path to Maturity
Intentional engagement with Scripture. Not casual skimming but serious study. Systematically. Regularly. With effort. Use good resources—commentaries, study guides, sermons from faithful teachers—but dig into the Word yourself. Let it challenge you, correct you, transform you.
Find solid teaching. If your church doesn’t offer substantive biblical teaching, that’s a problem. Supplement where necessary—there are excellent resources available—but seriously consider whether you’re in the right church. You need to be fed, and you need to be fed well.
Engage in genuine Christian community. Not just attending services but actually knowing and being known by other believers. Small groups, discipleship relationships, regular fellowship with people who will ask you hard questions and pray with you.
Embrace trials as growth opportunities. When hardship comes, ask what God might be teaching you. Bring your struggles to Him in prayer. Let difficulties drive you deeper rather than making you bitter.
Pursue maturity actively. Don’t wait for it to happen. Seek growth. Read books that stretch you. Listen to teaching that challenges you. Put yourself in situations where you have to apply what you’re learning.
A Word of Grace
If you recognise yourself in this description—if you’ve been a Christian for years but know you’re still spiritually immature—don’t despair. The path forward is open. The Spirit who began a good work in you is committed to completing it (Philippians 1:6). Start where you are. Begin today. Pick up your Bible with fresh determination. Find a mature believer who can help you grow. Ask God to give you hunger for His Word and willingness to change. It’s not too late. By God’s grace, growth is always possible.
Conclusion
Spiritual infancy persisting over years of faith is a genuine problem, and Scripture doesn’t pretend otherwise. The causes are identifiable: laziness, poor teaching, isolation, wasted trials, misplaced contentment, and wrong models of maturity. But the solution is available. God wants us to grow. He’s provided everything we need for life and godliness. The question is whether we’ll avail ourselves of what He’s offered.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18
Bibliography
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- Hughes, R. Kent. Disciplines of a Godly Man. Crossway, 2019.
- Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure. Eerdmans, 1965.
- MacArthur, John. The Vanishing Conscience. Thomas Nelson, 1994.
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- Piper, John. When I Don’t Desire God. Crossway, 2004.
- Ryrie, Charles C. Balancing the Christian Life. Moody Press, 1969.
- Swindoll, Charles R. So, You Want to Be Like Christ? Thomas Nelson, 2005.
- Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. NavPress, 2014.
