Toward Spiritual Maturity
Part 1
Hebrews 5:11-6:3
Warning Signs of Arrested Development
Ears that Don’t Hear the Word (5:11)
Mouths that Don’t Speak the Word (5:12)
Stomachs that Don’t Digest the Word (5:12b-14)
What is Milk?
The basics of Salvation
The basics of the Church
The basics of End times
What is Meat?
Teaching about Righteousness
Definition: Holy and upright living, in accordance with God’s standard
Slide
Illustration – High School Reunion
Graduation parties are in full swing.
It has gotten me thinking about my own school years and the people I went to school with.
A few years ago, I went to my 20 year HS reunion. I saw a friend from HS that I hadn’t seen since the 10 year reunion and before that it was college since I had seen him.
Now in college, I hung out with him quite a bit my freshman year and we did a lot of things that college freshmen who don’t know the Lord do. But even as a non believer, I recognized that there were things that I would not be doing once out of college and in fact, I knew that I needed to make sure I did well in college because I had a future that I wanted to pursue and I knew that I needed to be growing in knowledge so I could have a decent future. It could not be just about having a good time now.
Well, after my sophomore year, our paths really never crossed until my 10 year high school reunion.
But when I ran into him, he was still living like a high school or college kid. It was really rather pitiful.
But then again, it takes some people longer to mature and he was only 28 years old at the time.
Well, a few years ago, I saw him at our 20 year reunion.
He hadn’t changed a bit, and I don’t mean that in the positive sense.
He lived to party and drink.
He had his license taken away because of his DUIs.
He had to get a different job because of his drinking.
He was unmarried and bopping around from girl to girl and job to job.
It was even more pitiful than 10 years earlier.
Because he should have been maturing over the years but he was still talking about and doing the same things he did in college,
the women he was with and
the partying he was doing.
There are times when, among people as they age, they wish they could go back to their younger years. But they want the energy and vitality they had.
Nobody I know wants to go back to that age and back to the maturity level they had then.
And that is not just Christians, that is true for people in general.
There were many people that were at that reunion who weren’t Christians who looked with pity upon this guy.
Because he should have been growing up and maturing over these 20 years, but he didn’t.
Transition
When people don’t mature like they should, we recognize that there is something wrong with that.
Well, the author of Hebrews confirms that we need to be moving toward Spiritual Maturity as well, or if we are not, there is something wrong.
Turn with me to
Hebrews 5:11
Slide
Here the author begins another warning to them about the Arrested Spiritual Development that many of them are experiencing and that is hindering them from becoming Spiritually Mature.
Hebrews 5:11-6:3
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Heb 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
In the first part of the text, the author begins by talking about their lack of Spiritual Growth being caused by their arrested spiritual development.
The author has some strong words for these people, because they were not as mature as they should be at this point, just like my friend from my high school reunion.
There was something wrong. And what was wrong was that they were suffering from Arrested Development.
And he tells them 3 things that indicate that their development has stalled.
For us, these are
Warning Signs of Arrested Development
Slide
If we see these things becoming apparent in our own lives, we can recognize a problem and seek to fix it.
The first warning sign of Arrested Development are
Ears that don’t Hear the Word
Slide
Hebrews 5:11
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. (from New International Version)
(Hebrews 5:11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. NASU)
Other versions translate “slow to learn” as “dull of hearing”
These were people who could gather together and even audibly hear words, but did not really listen.
As I was reading and preparing for this week, I read one preacher who said this, which I thought was very good.
“It is not that they were dumb but rather that they were numb.”
(John Hamby, “You Need to Grow Up,” accessed 6/20/07 at http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=86163)
Have you become numb concerning the word of God?
Do you have ears that don’t hear the Word of God?
Do you read the Bible and find that 15 minutes later, you can’t remember what you read?
Do you come to church and find your mind on other things every week?
What am I going to do for lunch?
I need to balance my checkbook.
Now I am sure that there have been times that this has happened to all of us. There are times when I, as the preacher, have relied more on myself and less on the Lord and the message was either not very good or boring and you have found your mind drifting.
But if this is a regular, week in and week out occurrence, and
you find yourself not reading the Bible or
reading and not remembering,
then it could be that a warning sign of Arrested Spiritual Development is showing itself in your life.
Now as I said, we are all going to face times when our growth goes quicker than other times in our life.
I look back on my life and see times of rapid growth and times of slow growth. This is normal. It is normal in our spiritual life as well as our physical life.
A year ago, there was a greater difference in size and shape between my boys. That is because Jason hit a growth spurt while Adam wasn’t at that stage yet.
Well, a year later, Adam has hit that time of growth and is closing the gap physically.
In our spiritual lives, we are going to have the same thing occur.
We need to ask questions and keep an eye on things, but don’t freak out.
Now if we have had ears that don’t hear and we have no desire to read our Bible or learn, and this has been going on for a long time, we may need to recognize this as a warning sign in our life.
But maybe that is not you. Maybe you are hearing and listening and learning.
Well, then there is a second warning sign of Arrested Development.
Mouths that Don’t Speak the Word
Slide
Hebrews 5:12
12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.
The author is saying that these Hebrews should have been telling others and teaching them about Jesus, but they were not. Their ears were not hearing so their mouths were not speaking even though they should have been able to by this point.
“Well, I don’t have the gift of teaching or of evangelism.”
This is not what the author is talking about. He is talking about us being able to be a witness for Christ.
Every Christian needs to be able to know how to share the gospel with another person.
Peter says in
1 Peter 3:15
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
(from New International Version)
How long have you been a Christian?
Have you told others about Christ?
Why isn’t your mouth speaking to others about the Word of God, Jesus Christ and the hope that you have in you?
Do you feel you don’t know enough?
Or that you would mess it up?
I remember early on in my Christianity, I was praying for an opportunity to tell someone else about Christ and then I had this perfect opportunity and I was too afraid.
It really woke me up though. I felt at that time I did not know enough. I began studying and I studied questions that I had.
That is the best way to study.
Ask questions and then find the answer.
Read other people’s commentaries or what they have to say about it. Look up the Bible verses and read around them so you get the context.
There are some great internet sites that have all kinds of free material. Make sure you check out what they believe first though.
Or Ask me.
I can let you know some great sites to start studying specific questions you may have.
Then you will have a mouth that is ready to speak to others concerning the word of God.
A third warning sign of Arrested Development are
Stomachs that don’t Digest the Word
Slide
Hebrews 5:12b-14
You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
The author begins to talk about two different types of spiritual food, milk and solid food or what I call meat.
In a growing Christian both of these things are required at times, just like in a growing body.
As we first are brought into the world, we need milk.
So what does the author mean by Milk?
Slide
What is Milk?
Well, He tells us in the following verses.
Hebrews 6:1-3
6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.
(from New International Version)
So we can group these into 3 categories.
These can be said to be
The Basics of Salvation
Slide
Repentance from acts that lead to death (sin)
Faith in God
A person needs to be taught about salvation and what it takes to be saved, repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and what that means
The Basics of the Church
Slide
Baptism
Laying on of Hands – Leadership issues
A new Christian should be taught that they should be baptized and about the church and where authority in the church is vested, the elders as they follow the Lord.
The Basics of End Times
Slide
Resurrection of the dead and
Eternal judgment
This does not mean Pre Trib or post Trib or Mid Trib or even you position on the Millemium. Those things are not milk, thankfully.
A new Christian should be taught
that they will resurrect from the dead,
that they will receive new bodies and
that they will be judged,
unbelievers will be judged according to their works and be cast into hell with different levels of eternal damnation.
Believers will be judged according to their works and receive rewards in accord with their works, but will be with the Lord forever in heaven based upon Jesus’ work.
After learning those things, a person needs to move on to solid Food or Meat.
What is Meat?
Slide
Well, the author of Hebrews tells us.
Hebrews 5:13
13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness
Meat is teaching about righteousness.
Slide
Well what is righteousness?
The definition of Righteousness in Nelson’s Bible Dictionary is
Slide
Holy and upright living, in accordance with God’s standard.
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Righteousness is being and doing right.
It is applying God’s word to our life.
That is what meat is.
It is not just having correct basic doctrine.
That should be the beginning.
But then we need to move on to maturity by continuing to
Hear the word
Speak the word
Digest the word and
Apply the word into our lives through our actions.
This is why we have the word of God.
Paul writes to Timothy and says that
2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
(from New International Version)
We need to be trained in righteousness by the word of God so we can act in a righteous way.
We learn what the Bible says and we do it.
James says the same thing
James 1:22
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
We live a righteous life by
doing what we have learned, and
learning what to do next.
So the question for each of us here today is
Where are we on the path of spiritual maturity and
are we moving toward Spiritual Maturity?
Has your development been arrested and you are stuck on the basics?
Are you continuing to
hear the word and
speak the word and
digest the word and
apply the word into your life.
Actually you don’t have to be a Christian for a long time to be able to do this. It should be more prominent the longer a person has been a Christian, but even a brand new Christian can seek to understand and speak and digest what they have just learned so they can continue growing up to maturity in the faith.
Maybe you are here today and maybe you have been stuck in a rut lately.
We have all been there at one time or another.
We want to help you keep moving forward.
We want to help you to continue to move toward spiritual maturity.
Here are 3 things that you can do to get out of that rut.
1. Commit to connecting to the people of the church.
Next week we are having a Connection Sunday Lunch.
Stay for that and connect with the people here.
It is important to have connections with in the church to help keep us on track, otherwise it becomes very easy to get off the path of moving toward Spiritual Maturity.
2. Attend our Back to Basics Seminar on July 28th.
This will get you inspired again about the Bible as the word of God. Even if you have done it before or even if you are a member, it is great to be reenergized about the Bible to get back into study.
3. Commit to joining a Connection Bible study Group when we kick them back off in the fall.
We use the summers here to really focus on connecting people and the rest of the year to focus on growing in the word.
This is important for each of us
As we will learn next week, it is our perseverance that will show the truth of our beliefs and failure to persevere over the course of our life, not only indicates spiritual immaturity, it ultimately indicates spiritual Death.
Pray with me that each of us, by the Lord’s strength,
will move on toward Spiritual Maturity, and
grow deep in our relationship with the Lord
so we might experience the joys of life through all times.
Pray
