Friday 19th
Hebrews 5:11-14
NIV (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!’
ESV (12) – ‘For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.’
As we move on in this chapter, we discover that the writer is wanting to say so much more about what has been written before, but he is concerned about the spiritual maturity of those he is writing to. He expresses his concern by saying that by this time, they have been believers for so long that they should now be able to teach the very things he is sharing with them, but sadly it was not the case, it had become necessary to go over again the basics of the Christian faith. He uses the phrase ‘You need milk, not solid food’, it doesn’t take a lot for us to work out what he means. Milk is for young children, solid food is for those who have advanced a bit further on in maturity, the weaning days are over, time to get something more solid. Paul used similar language when he wrote to the Church at Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 we read, ‘But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh’.
These verses are a reminder not only to those who the authors were writing to but us as well in that having come to a believing and trusting faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we should grow and develop as believers. When we had each of our children, we did all we could for them to grow, develop and mature. We would have been extremely concerned if after a year or so one of them was still no different to what they looked like as they came into the world, and was still just wanting milk and showing no signs of beginning to form words, grasp hold of things and to show a sense of awareness. We expected them to move through the various stages into adulthood. Likewise this is the concern that the Hebrew writer is expressing here, the believers who perhaps should have been mature believers were still acting like babies, and it was a little like the children of Israel, going around in a circle and not getting anywhere.
The challenge to us from these verses is to examine our own spiritual lives and our own spiritual well-being and to see if we are growing, maturing and developing, are we grasping more than just the basics of the Christian faith, are we desiring to learn more, to understand more, or are we satisfied to remain as immature, babes in Christ? Knowing the basis elementary truths and not becoming skilled in the word of righteousness. (5:13)
It is apparent from Scripture that we need to know and we need to grow and we need to protect the faith. For example, let us just refer to a couple of Scriptures.
- Grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ – 2 Peter 3:18
- Study to show yourself as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth – 2 Timothy 2:15
- Know enough to be able to give an answer – Galatians 4:6.
- Contend for the faith – Jude 3.
- Build yourself up in your most holy faith – Jude 20.
- It keeps us anchored – Ephesians 4:11-14.
One of the books I am reading at this moment is called ‘The faith once entrusted to the saints’ by Geoffrey W. Grogan (the title is based on Jude 3) and it is a book that challenges some of the important doctrinal subjects that are being disputed or denied today. I firmly believe that in this ever changing world and society that we are living in today that we need to move from the milk to the meat so that we will be able to stand against all the attacks that are coming against God and his Word.
Are you still enjoying the milk, that is good but what about moving onto the meat as well!