Opening illustration: Watch a video clip of a person who doesn’t want to grow in maturity.
Introduction: Many of the Hebrew Christians to whom our author wrote had grown down in their Christian walk, not up. He says that they had come to need milk again, not solid food. Imagine a teenager who quit eating regular food and went back to formula and Gerber’s pureed peas! Instead of being able to teach others, they now need someone to teach them the ABC’s of the Christian life all over again. The author wants to talk to them about Jesus being a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, but he fears that it will be over their heads. So before he plunges into that subject, he issues the strong warning that runs from 5:11-6:20. In our text, he is saying, “Grow up, folks!” Believers must move beyond the basics of the Christian faith and grow up in Christ. You have no doubt been in a situation where an adult was acting like a child: throwing a temper tantrum, or not dealing with a frustrating situation in a mature way. You want to shout, “Grow up! Act your age!” That’s what the author does here with the Hebrew Christians.
What is the Identity of a believer growing progressively towards maturity?
1. Outgrow the stage of drinking Milk (vs. 12-13)
Motivation is the key to learning. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5: 6). Hunger and thirst are strong motivators! When you’re hungry or thirsty, there is only one thing on your mind, to satisfy the craving for food or water. If you are driven by the hunger or thirst for righteousness, you will be satisfied (Matt. 5:6). If you think, “Ho hum!” not only will you not grow; you won’t even know what you’re missing!
There is one other here - there is no neutral in the Christian life. Either you are growing or you’re shrinking. Which is it for you right now? We fool ourselves into thinking that we’re just treading water, but the strong current of the world, the flesh, and the devil carries us backwards if we’re not striving to move ahead. Let me shoot straight: if you’re not making time daily to spend in God’s Word and in prayer, you’re not growing, you’re shrinking! You’re going from eating meat back to the formula and pureed peas. That stuff is great for babies, but it won’t sustain a growing teenager or adult.
The idea here is that they had passed from the hopeful condition in which they were when they showed that they had an acquaintance with the great principles of the gospel, and that they had become such as to need again the simplest form of instruction. This agrees well with the general strain of the Epistle, which is to preserve them from the danger of apostasy. They were verging toward it, and had come to that state where if they were recovered it must be by being again taught the elements of religion. Like little children. You can bear only the simplest nourishment. The meaning is, that they were incapable of receiving the higher doctrines of the gospel as much as little children are incapable of digesting solid food. They were in fact in a state of spiritual infancy.
Referring to the food of children Paul states here about those Christians who resemble children in this respect, that they are not capable of receiving the stronger food adapted to those of mature age. Dull hearers make the preaching of the gospel difficult and even those who have some faith may be dull hearers, and slow to believe. Much is looked for from those to whom much is given.
Condition of who only drink milk (babies) for their survival: Flabby and weak bodies; think, talk and behave just like babies; don’t walk or run like normal people or even who are growing; lazy and always want somebody to do all the stuff for them (even to the extent of changing their nappies). Just check out the spiritual application of this estate.
Just about every home that has small children has a growth chart somewhere in the house. We sometimes used the inside of a closet doorjamb to mark the height of our kids and the date. Then, perhaps each year on their birthdays, we would measure them again. They were always excited to see how much they had grown! But can you imagine how shocked and concerned we would have been if, instead of growing up, one of our children had grown down! We would have scheduled an immediate doctor’s appointment to find out what was wrong. Growth is normal and a cause for joy. Shrinkage would have been bizarre and a cause for alarm.
Similarly we must be more concerned (extremely) when we see anybody in the body of the Christ not growing and still continuing to dwell and survive on milk. Apparently they are the ones who really need to see the supreme and mighty doctor who we also call the Doctor of all doctors so that they can be told and facilitated to pursue their growth in Christ. If they choose not to see and adhere His instructions then their spiritual death is inevitable.
Illustration: Have you ever tasted baby food? I have. It’s terribly bland. But babies have no other choice without teeth. They certainly can’t eat a nice, juicy steak!
Sadly, some Christians are content with spiritual baby food. They are happy to go over and over the simple truths of the Scriptures and don’t move beyond the basics of the gospel (Hebrews 6: 1-2). By not sinking their teeth into deeper truths and more difficult Bible passages, they lack biblical understanding and convictions to make right choices (5: 13). They may have been Christians for many years, but their spiritual abilities remain underdeveloped. They remain babies.
As children grow physically, they learn to eat solid food that gives them strength and vitality. In the same way, every believer needs to take on the responsibility to feed himself on solid spiritual food. To fail to do this is to remain spiritually weak and undernourished.
You can roughly tell the physical age of people by how they look. Their spiritual age is revealed by their ability to distinguish good from evil and by their personal character that’s shown day by day.
2. Dwell only for a while on Meat (v. 14) will not settle for meat
These are both God given and both are appropriate at certain times. However, milk is inappropriate for the mature. Solid food pertains to those of maturer years. So it is with the higher doctrines of Christianity. They can be understood and appreciated only by those who are advanced in Christian experience. In doctrine of our faith they will appreciate and understand what is true; they will reject what is false. Paul describes the spiritually mature as those who eat solid food, “who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” He uses the phrase “word of righteousness” for the Scriptures, which are designed to produce God’s righteousness in those who believe and obey. The author may be referring to the doctrine of imputed righteousness, taught in Genesis 15: 6, and repeated by Paul in Romans 3 & 4. But also, those who are counted righteous by faith in Christ will also progress in practical righteousness, learning what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5: 10). You may think that righteousness and good and evil are obvious, but that is not so. These things need to be learned through practice and training. “Accustomed” means lacking in experience. It is used in Numbers 14: 23 to refer to “inexperienced youths,” who have not yet learned good and evil. “Good and evil” (5: 14) refers not only to ethical conduct, but also to true and false doctrine. Both require discernment, although ethical behavior is usually easier to discern than sound or false doctrine.
Paul points out that it is not just that spiritual babies lack information, which they do, but that they lack experience. A person becomes a mature Christian not only by gaining information, though that is foundational, but by using that information to make decisions that are in harmony with God
