Many Christians recognize the gap between sincere belief and real spiritual maturity. God does not call us only to begin well; He calls us to grow. The topic of putting away childish things addresses how easily hearts can stay shallow, reactive, or easily influenced. In Ephesians 4:14, Scripture warns against being carried about by shifting doctrines and deceptive teaching. In 1 Peter 2:1, God connects maturity with character—laying aside malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking. And in Hebrews 5:12-14, we’re shown the pathway from needing milk to learning discernment through use. These verses together form a clear encouragement: God wants you to be formed, not flimsy; trained, not tossed. When you embrace growth, you stop chasing spiritual “novelty” and start practicing faithful discernment.

Bible Verses

From Being Tossed to Walking Steady: Ephesians 4:14

Childishness in faith often looks like instability. The believer may start strong, but then quickly swings with every new voice, trend, or interpretation. Ephesians 4:14 describes a person “tossed to and fro” and “carried about with every wind of doctrine.” That picture is not about honest questions; it’s about being swept along by influence rather than grounded conviction.

Notice the emphasis: the cause is not only external messages, but also the vulnerability of spiritual immaturity—“by the sleight of men… and cunning craftiness.” Immature believers can be tempted to measure truth by charisma, pressure, or novelty. Yet God’s call is to maturity that can withstand deception.

So how does this connect to putting away childish things? A child may quickly change their opinion because they haven’t learned what’s reliable. Spiritual maturity, in contrast, is steadier because it is trained by God’s Word and protected by discernment. When you commit to Scripture and allow God to shape your thinking, you become less susceptible to being “carried about.”

Practical encouragement from this verse: choose steadiness. Stay in the truth you’ve received, test claims carefully, and refuse to treat every new teaching as urgent. Growth is often quiet and consistent—learning to stand rather than to sway.

Lay Aside the Inner Habits: 1 Peter 2:1

Spiritual maturity is not only what you believe; it’s also how you live. 1 Peter 2:1 begins with “Wherefore,” tying these instructions to a life responsive to God. Then it lists a series of character issues: “laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.”

These are “childish things” in the sense that they reflect immaturity of the heart—ways we react, protect ourselves, compete for attention, and speak without restraint. A mature believer doesn’t pretend they have no struggles, but they do not excuse patterns of malice or hypocrisy. The instruction is decisive: lay them aside.

Notice how the verse targets both inward and outward expressions. Malice and guile are inward attitudes; hypocrisy and envy involve inward motives and outward contradictions; “evil speakings” is what spills out when the heart hasn’t been corrected. This is why putting away childish things is both spiritual and practical. God works on character, and character shapes communication, relationships, and spiritual credibility.

Also, this verse supports Ephesians 4:14. When we’re tossed by teaching, we often also become unstable in behavior—reactive, envious, defensive, or critical. But when we lay aside harmful speech and motives, we create room for truth to take root. A maturing heart becomes a place where God’s Word can form steady judgment.

In short: do not treat growth as merely intellectual. Let God discipline your speech, motives, and relationships.

Move From Milk to Discernment: Hebrews 5:12-14

If Ephesians 4:14 warns against being easily moved, and 1 Peter 2:1 calls for character cleanup, Hebrews 5:12-14 explains the process of growth. It challenges believers who should have been “teachers” but still “have need that one teach you again which be the first principles.” That’s not condemnation without mercy—it’s an invitation to progress.

The passage distinguishes two stages: those who use “milk” and those who are ready for “strong meat.” The “milk” described here is linked with being “unskilful in the word of righteousness,” where “for he is a babe.” But “strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,” and they have “their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

This is exactly the heart of putting away childish things: you don’t stay stuck in repeated basic patterns. You grow by use—practice of God’s Word until discernment becomes trained.

That training also protects you from the kind of deception described in Ephesians 4:14. If your senses are exercised, you can evaluate teachings with clearer judgment instead of reacting to every “wind.” It also strengthens the changes called for in 1 Peter 2:1. When you discern good from evil, you begin to recognize when malice, envy, hypocrisy, and evil speaking are taking control—and you respond by laying them aside.

Remember: Hebrews 5 doesn’t say growth is instant. It says maturity involves exercising your senses. That happens through repeated exposure to God’s truth, obedience in small decisions, and willingness to learn.

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