You can't win a race you haven't begun, and neither can you win a race you don't finish. The day one becomes a Christian is certainly a day of great joy, but you must view it as only the beginning of your new life as God's child and only the starting point in "the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). The Bible refers to new Christians as "babes" (1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 3:1), which illustrates our need to grow and mature spiritually, just as a baby needs to grow and mature physically.
Peter's final admonition, in 2 Peter 3:17-18, is to be careful not to be "carried away by the error of unprincipled men" and "fall from your own steadfastness," but rather to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." The Christian's life is a life of either growth or regress. We are either growing stronger, or we are becoming weaker; it is not possible to maintain a status quo. We know we need to grow, but we often do not understand what elements need to be included in our daily lives in order to achieve that growth. Consider the following ingredients of Christian growth and whether we have been including the proper portions in our lives.
God's Word. Perhaps most importantly, to achieve strong spiritual growth, we need daily doses of God's word in our lives. In Acts 20:32, Paul told the Ephesian elders, "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." God's word builds us up. An occasional application will not suffice.
In Psalms 1:2-3, David suggested that the "blessed man" is one whose "delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers." David suggested that just as a tree that is planted by water will be steadfast, grow, produce fruit, and prosper, so will the man who meditates and studies God's word (every) day and (every) night.
Unceasing Prayer. In order to grow, we must be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. Paul's simple admonition in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is to "pray without ceasing." This means our lives do not include noticeable lengths of time without meaningful and heart-felt prayer to God.
In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus taught a parable to illustrate the point that "at all times (we) ought to pray and not to lose heart." Growth comes about through persistency in our prayers to our Father in heaven, and we can pray with great confidence knowing that God hears our prayers and that we have our requests if they are according to His will (1 John 5:13-15). Prayer certainly is an effective tool that will help us to accomplish much growth in our spiritual lives.
Worshiping Our Creator. By sacrificing His beloved Son on the cross, God extended His grace to each of us. He has asked us to respond by offering Him our worship and praising Him for His great loving-kindness.
In John 4:24, Jesus spoke of the most basic worship guidelines; He said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." Our worship must be from the sincerity of our hearts and exactly according to the pattern He established. Growth will take place when we commit to worshipping every time we have opportunity and never asking whether we must.
Fellowship With the Saints. God has not directed us to run the Christian race in solitude; rather, we have fellowship (literally, joint participation) with those of "like precious faith" (2 Peter 1:1, ASV). We must realize that, after we render obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, our adversary the devil will tempt, try, and test us. To remain strong, we need support from our brethren.
Solomon spoke of this need in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, which he concluded by saying, "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart." We can not succeed alone. We need the encouragement of each (every) one of us, both in the assemblies (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25) and also "from house to house" as we come together in social settings (cf. Acts 2:42-47). We obtain great encouragement and hope by spending time with those who are committed to encouraging and building up the brethren (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Get to Work! No participant in any athletic endeavor has ever grown by sitting in the bleachers or standing on the sidelines. No person has ever grown professionally at his job without putting his hand to the plow and actually getting to work. When Christians in local congregations don't seek for opportunities to get to work, they will not grow into the strong and steadfast children of God that our Lord demands and deserves.
Paul said that Christians must be "steadfast and unmovable," (1 Corinthians 15:58). There is work to do--teach Bible classes or lead singing; prepare the Lord's Supper or visit a sick brother or sister. Not only will your work serve the needs of others, it will also help you become a stronger Christian. It's about putting God's principles into practice in your life. This will help you make wise choices, rightfully "discerning between good and evil," (Hebrews 5:14). Christ told the apostles their faith would grow when they were "doing what they ought to do." (Luke 17:5-10)
Never Stop. No matter if you've just become a Christian, or you've been one for many years, there's no place to stop growing. Peter's admonition (1 Peter 2:2) was not just for young Christians. We need to hunger and strive for God's word and spiritual growth all the days of our lives.