Meat And Potato Christians

Intro: On his sixteenth birthday a son approached his father and said, "Dad, I’m sixteen now. When I get my license, can I drive the family car?" His dad looked at him and said, "Son, driving the car takes maturity, and first, you must prove that you are responsible enough. And one way you must do that is to bring up your grades. They are not acceptable. Second, you must read the Bible every day. And finally, you must get that hair cut; it looks outrageous." The son began the task of fulfilling his father’s requirements, knowing that the last might be impossible.

When his grades came out he went to his dad with a big smile. "Look, Dad, all A’s and B’s on my report card. Now can I drive the family car?" "Very good, son. You are one-third of the way there, but have you been reading the Bible?" the father replied. "Yes, Dad, every day," said the son. "Very good son. You are two-thirds of the way there. Now when are you going to get that hair cut?"

The son, thinking that he could outsmart the father, responded, "Well, I don’t see why I should get my hair cut to drive the car. Jesus had long hair, didn’t he?" The father looked at his boy and said, "That’s right, son and Jesus walked everywhere he went."

. It seems that the young man had a skewed sense of maturity didn’t he?

. Maturity as defined by Merriam Webster is:

. The quality or state of being mature; especially: full development.

. Full development, Notice it doesn’t say anything about age.

. I have met mature teenagers and immature 50 year olds.

. Maturity doesn’t have anything to do with our age.

. Maturity is measured by our actions. By how we act or live.

. Our scripture this morning addresses our spiritual maturity or growth.

. Our full development as Christians.

. Hebrews 5:11-14, 6:1-3:

. 11There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.

12You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food

.13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.

14Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

2You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgmen

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.3And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

. The writer of Hebrews has spent the first five and one half chapters telling the readers about whom Jesus was and how He had become their High Priest

. There was more he wanted to tell them but the theology was somewhat difficult to explain to them because they weren’t ready to understand what he wanted to teach them.

. He told them that they had been believers for a long time now but they still weren’t seeking all the truths that could be found in God’s word.

. They weren’t living the life that Jesus said that they could and should live.

. Look at verse 12&13 again:

. 12You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food

.13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.

. The writers says that you folks have been born again for a long time now but you haven’t progressed in your faith.

. He uses the analogy of a baby who can only eat a very limited diet. They have to be spoon fed everything. They don’t use their own initiative to feed themselves, they depend upon others to feed them and all they can handle is a very limited diet.

. They are not Meat and Potato Christians.

. They are Christians who have never moved beyond just what is necessary for their salvation.

. They have done just what the writer says. They have accepted Jesus as their High Priest, the One who atones for their sin and they have just sat down and gotten real comfortable in that knowledge and lifestyle.