Got Milk? Get Meat Series

Hebrews 5:11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

I. Intro – Got Milk campaign

a. Campaign started in 1993 and ran nationally from 1995-2014 Milk Life has replaced it now, but “Got Milk?” is still used in California.(use slides)

b. Basic food – all nourishment needed for infants, but they can only grow to a certain point before solid food is needed

c. Ability to go longer on the sustenance gained

d. Ability to grow and absorb more nutrients

II. Check your hearing. Dull of Hearing (pf. Act. Indic – “have become” slothful of hearing)

a. The Hebrew audience had not demonstrated that they are not ready for the in depth teaching of Jesus as Pastor John introduced last week as our “Awesome, Great High Priest.”

b. “have become” – present perfect tense=action started in the past with ongoing influence. At some point they started to become lazy in the Word.

c. He called them “dull of hearing” or literally “you have become sluggish/lazy (or hard) of hearing”

d. For this reason, the end of chapter 5 and through chapter 6 he is going to confront them with the expectation of Spiritual growth (to grow in Christ).

Ellingsworth Commentary:

p. 297 5:11-14 expresses the reasons why the author does not immediately go on to discuss Christ’s Melchizedekian high priesthood in greater detail. The teacing is difficult to explain, and the receptors are in danger of proving too immature and insensitive to accept it. Yet elementary, traditional teaching is not enough; the difficult teaching must also be given and, by implication, accepted.

III. Expect to move from milk to solid food. Expectation of Growth (v. 12) – By this time you ought to be teachers.

a. They have been living on the basics of Christianity

b. They enjoy “milk” –

i. ILLUS: infant moving to cereal, strained peas – cereals-help fill to sleep through the night at 6 mos, the need to grow into solid foods peas-I hate, baby food not even appetizing but full of nutrients, good thing baby taste buds are not fully developed. Eventually, they grow into fresh fruits and vegetables and meats, even pizza.

c. What they focused in the “first principles of the oracles of God” NIV “elementary truths of the word of God” These are explained in chapter 6. Take your Bibles and consider the description:

i. Repentance from dead works

ii. Faith toward God

iii. Baptism (literally washings-not the word for baptism)

iv. Laying on of hands

v. Resurrection

vi. Eternal judgment

d. These are the essential elements of the Gospel of Jesus – the things all believers hold to. I am going to do something the writer of Hebrews does not do. The writer of Hebrews does not go into the elementary principles since he moves quickly to challenge the recipients to Growth. But lets consider the gospel in terms of these six “elementary principles”.

e. EXPLAIN THE GOSPEL

f. These are “milk” – the basics. One is saved by the basics, but we need to grow beyond that. For that reason, we study the Bible in depth. We have Connect groups during the week and a class on Sunday morning where we can look at the detailed teaching of God’s word. We also preach through books of the Bible. In some ways this is easier in planning the sermons, but more importantly, it means we cannot skip the hard teachings. We need to provide solid food - or if you will, meat..

IV. Growth and skill comes from solid food. (v. 13-14)

a. Word of Righteousness - If we cannot explain it, the writer of Hebrews calls us “unskilled” in the word of righteousness.

i. Heb 4:12 – Word a double edged sword

ii. Eph 6:17 and take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

iii. 2 Tim 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

iv. Word of righteousness=oracles of God=God’s communication to us. It has come in 3 ways:

1. Prophets

2. Written Word

3. Living Word = Jesus

v. Connect with Heb 5:13-14

1. Milk alone – unsckilled in the word of righteousness