The Necessity of Spiritual Growth

This morning we are going to continue in our series through Hebrews.

This morning Hebrews sort of takes us on a little side road if you will. After spending some time talking about Jesus as the High Priest the author of Hebrews makes an abrupt change to talk about the necessity of spiritual growth.

The author of Hebrews doesn’t put any sugar on this section but instead lays it out for all to see. As a matter of fact he sort of has to stop what we was writing about in order to warn the readers that they are not growing as they should. He uses common everyday items like baby food and adult food to drive his point home.

He implores his readers to leave the elementary teaching and to move ahead or they may fall into spiritual decay. A decay that he says is impossible to be brought back to repentance.

He then closes our passage with a confirmation of better things to come. That we dont want to become lazy in our spiritual growth and that God is a just God.

So this morning as we read our passage think about these questions:

Where in our spiritual journey have we perhaps become lazy and what is Jesus telling us to do about that?

What is one thing we can do or change today so that we don’t become stale in our faith but rather continue to grow spiritually?

Prayer

Hebrews 5:11–6:12 NIV

11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 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. 1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so. 4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. 9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case—the things that have to do with salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Spiritual Immaturity

I just want to go back a few verses in chapter 5 to set the stage for our passage this morning. Starting in verse 7

Hebrews 5:7–10 “7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

So, when we read this morning in verse 11

Hebrews 5:11 “11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.”

What he was saying in the earlier chapters is what he is reference when he says “We have much to say about this”. The issue now is that he has to address the fact that some have been lacking in their desire to listen and learn.

Men always seem to take the heat when it comes to listening don’t we? We often times are accused of not paying attention to what our spouse or children are saying. Julie and I have this agreement that if I am looking at my phone Julie cant expect to start talking and that I will be paying attention. Men we are really good at simply saying yes dear or shaking our heads yes when in reality we are clueless what someone just told us.

Its a product of technology today and the results tend to have a negative reaction. I find myself having to force myself to admit that I am not paying attention, put my phone down or mute the television and ask the person to repeat what they are saying.

The phrase “you no longer try” in the Greek text means lazy or sluggish, slow to learn. In the ancient world this phrase would have been used to describe a slave that was slow to respond to their master. In sports perhaps it would be an athlete that was just plain out of shape, carry a few extra pounds causing them to be sluggish.

The author warns the readers early in the book:

Hebrews 2:1 “1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

Why is it so important to the readers audience to listen carefully? Sometimes I think its tough for us to understand some of those types of questions because we live in a completely different time and we don’t see these same issues in our day and age. For the original audience they have been struggling with their spiritual growth and maybe for good reason. See they were being persecuted for their faith and for their spiritual growth. Because of that some have been slow to listen and slow to learn. Perhaps it would be easier if they would just conform to the Judaism.

I mean lets face it don’t we have some of those same struggles in our lives today? Isn’t it sometimes easier just to conform to the crowds way or to revert back to that which we are so accustomed to. The writer does not think that way and so he is rebuking that type of thinking.

So he says that you should have been teachers by now but instead you need someone to teach you the elementary things.

The apostle Paul had this same challenge with the church in Corinth when he writes in

1 Corinthians 3:1–2 “1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.”

I think the imagery of the growth and development of a baby is perfect for this topic. An infant starts out with either nursing from the mother or drinking a premade baby formula. For a period of time that infant sticks with that as their diet but then as the baby grows and develops you begin to introduce some additional soft foods. Maybe a little bit of cereal. As time develops you move into some more options in soft foods and then as their first tooth is pushing through perhaps their first solid food in a cheerio to which they usually would just get it soggy with saliva and then swallow it.

Now I am not sure that I would have this desire to go back to these foods once I was eating chicken, salmon and smash burgers but I think you get the idea. The author is saying you should be further along in your development, in your spiritual journey than you are.

He says in verse 14 that solid food is for the mature, its for those who have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil.

I can not help but think of the Olympic athletes that have been competing in the last 2 weeks. The training that they have to go through, the diet that they have to subscribe to. When Lindsey Vonn crashed before the games began and it was reported that she tore her ACL and damaged her meniscus but that she was still going to try to compete I read an article about that decision. It basically said that an athlete like Lindsey with the amount of strength training she does could possibly pull off this desire to ski with the damage that she had suffered. We of course now know that she never really got that chance due to another crash on her first event.

We should not being dwelling in our spiritual immaturity but rather we should be moving forward in growth, we should not be sticking with baby formula and food but should be moving forward with solid foods.

Why?

Avoid Spiritual Decay

To avoid spiritual decay. In order for us to avoid decay we need to move forward. The author says we need to leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.

I don’t think that what he is saying here is that the elementary teachings were useless. Rather that they provided a base onto which to grow. I think about that in terms of our kids who are newly married. Do they know everything there is to know about marriage as soon as they say I DO? No way, but hopefully they have a solid foundation of elementary teachings to build upon.

Think about your earliest class on math where you learn to add 2 numbers. Teachers always said you need to know the basics before you can use a calculator. Math is one of those subjects that builds upon itself and if you don’t get the basics down you struggle to move forward.

This move forward, how ever begins by leaving something behind. When the author suggests they “leave” the elementary truths of the faith, he does not see these Christian principles as dispensable. Indeed, they are no more dispensable than are letters of the alphabet for moving children beyond the first steps of education. Rather, the fundamental truths of the faith are pre-supposed in the continued trek toward maturity. - George Guthrie

The thing about the early christian education is they were very methodical in their teaching. They had a set order in which things were taught. We see that in the imagery of the baby food growing to adult food.

He goes on to list 6 foundational tenets of the christian faith, of which all have a parallel in Judaism. He says we shouldn’t be laying again this foundation. If we look at these 6 tenets we see that 4 of them point back to the foundation of repentance and faith. The author uses the word instruction and you could insert the word foundation as an apposition to instruction. If the foundation is cleansing rites, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment then they lay the foundation for repentance from sin and faith in God.

Cleansing rites and laying on of hands all indicate beginning stages of a Christians commitment.

The author does not put himself above them either by saying that if it is God’s will “we will do so”

The next few verses I found to be rather difficult to read and to understand. One commentator referenced this passage as one of the most controversial in the book of Hebrews and indeed one of the most disputed in the New Testament. So bare with me a moment as I try to explain this passage as it relates to the original audience and to you and me today.

The first question is who is it impossible for? Is he talking about Christians or he is talking about non-believers? Some think that he is referring to those who have only tasted the goodness of following God but have not gone all the way to partake of the goodness of God. But then that doesn’t match up with the fact that Jesus didn’t just nibble at death but that he fully tasted death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:9 “9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

So then I believe who the author is trying to describe is Christians and he says they have fallen away. The scriptures clearly teach that our eternal security is in Christ.

Ephesians 1:13–14 “13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

The key to remember is that the author is urging the readers to go on to maturity because they are in danger of spiritual decay, of having a hardened heart. To not move towards spiritual maturity and to stubbornly refuse to follow Christ in obedience is to mock him.

And so the question becomes to who is it impossible for? After all when Jesus gives his parable about the rich man entering heaven and he says that its easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven the disciples ask who then can be saved. Jesus responds

Matthew 19:26 “26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

The author supports this by using the imagery of rain falling on land and producing a crop vs rain falling on land that produces thorns and thistle. The field of thorns and thistles is then burned off. Not to destroy the land but to burn off the thorn and thistle so that it can product a good crop.

Convinced of Better Things

The author makes an abrupt change in tone to say that he is convinced of better things to come in their case. Why is he convinced, because of their work and love they have shown. That God is not unjust, that he will not forget your work.

He urges them to show this same diligence to the vary end. Not to become lazy but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

God expects us to grow in our spiritual formation. There is a saying in the business world that says “When you stop growing you start dying”. I think we can apply that to our spiritual growth journey as well. That is the reason behind Kingdom Ambassadors. To allow us to grow not just individually but in community with others. The leadership team is also exploring other ways in which we can encourage spiritual growth with one another.

So, to circle back to the opening questions:

Where in our spiritual journey have we perhaps become lazy and what is Jesus telling us to do about that?

Is there a point in your life that you have become lazy and perhaps unwilling to listen or pay attention? Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about that this morning?

What is one thing we can do or change today so that we don’t become stale in our faith but rather continue to grow spiritually?

Maybe your thinking about signing up for Kingdom Ambassadors but you havent done that yet. Maybe today the Holy Spirit is prompting you to make that a priority. Maybe there is a smaller step to spiritual growth that you need to take first.

Close with final words from commentary.

Amen