An urgent call to spiritual maturity

Hebrews 5:11-6:3

I. Introduction and anticipatory set

A. A lazy class

Question: How many of your spent time reading and studying today's passage in Hebrews?

·         Why not?

·         Are you lazy?

·         Don't you care?

·         You are leaving all of the work of learning to me; you are not growing.

·         You are sitting back on your laurals waiting to be fed, like babies.

·         You need to wake up!

B. A sudden break...a tirade

Question: How did you feel when I said these things to you? Did it make you angry or defensive?

I wanted you to understand a little of the kind of impact these words must have had on the recipients of this letter and sermon.

Question: Why would the author take this approach? This passage does not follow the line of reasoning from the previous verses.

·         Review the subject of last weeks lesson; Follow the line of ideas in chapter 5

·         Actually starts back in chapter 4:14

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." (Hebrews 4:14, NIV)

·         Focus on Jesus as our High Priest

·         Introduces an interesting character in v. 5: 10 --> Melchizedek

Regardless of purpose (we will get to that) the author is expressing his frustration and concern. Like an irritated professor

·         You can almost see the professor pacing back and forth on the rostrum, lost in the flow of ideas in his lecture.

·         Suddenly he pauses and looks around at the students in the lecture hall. Everyone is silent. Blank stares

Example: My chemistry professor at NPS.

C. A teacher's frustration

There are two questions here:

1. Why does the author suddenly break his line of argument and launch this tirade?

2. What is the author frustrated about?

The first is easy

·         Common rhetorical approach to add emphasis

·         Sets the stage for the important arguments that continue in later verses.

Now let's deal with the source of the frustration.

II. An urgent call to spiritual maturity

I divide this passage into three segments

·         A confrontation 5:11-12 – passionate and “in-your-face”

·         An explanation 5: 13-14 – precise and uncompromising

·         An exhortation 6: 1-3 – urgent and hopeful

A. A confrontation v. 5:11-12

"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 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!" (Hebrews 5:11-12, NIV)

·         About this - What is the "this?" - Melchizidek

·         Elementary truths – quite literally the ABCs of the faith

What is the condition the author is concerned about? Characterized by various authors as:

·         "Disinclination to press on in the Christian way ß important

·         Sluggishness

·         Laziness

But there is more to the problem as we shall see in the following explanation.

B. An explanation v. 5:13-14

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14, NIV)

Verses draw a distinction between maturity and immaturity using the milk and solid food metaphor.

Key point: There is a consequence to remaining “milk dependent.” What is it?

Answer: Lack of understanding about righteousness

Question: What does this mean?

Chrysostom uses a remarkable example here:

A baby puts everything in his mouth, even dirt, and is unable to discern between what is good and what is not good to eat.

F.F. Bruce puts it this way: "It is ethically mature people, those 'who through practice have had their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil,' who have built up in the course of experience a principle or standard of righteousness by which they can pass dicriminating judgement on moral situations as they arise" (Bruce, p. 136).

Something happens in spiritual maturity. There is clarity about what is right and what is wrong, even under the most trying of circumstances.

Because maturity is so important, the author exhorts them to achieve it.

C. An exhortation v. 6:1-3

"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, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so." (Hebrews 6:1-3, NIV)

This is a surprising passage.

·         Does not sanction the continued "milk" Christianity

·         Instead says "become mature"…take deliberate action.

This isn’t something that happens to, but rather is done by Christians.

Question: What ares the action the author calls for?

·         Stop discussing the rudiments

·         "Go on" - immediately move on to mature things

What the the elementary things that we are to move on from?

·         repentence from dead works

·         faith in God

·         instruction about baptisms (note this is plural)

·         the laying on of hands

·         resurrection of the dead

·         eternal judgement

Natural pairs (1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6)

F. F. Bruce suggests this is more complex:

The laying of a foundation of repentence and faith, consists of instruction about

·         baptisms = better translated ritual washings, does not refer to Christian baptism...a ceremonial cleansing...Jewish

·         laying on of hands = ordination, commissioning for purpose or office

·         resurrection = a personal outcome

·         judgement = God’s ultimate victory

Note: this is a very Jewish list.

The danger: Focus on these in a Jewish sense retained an acceptability in the church but lost the Christian distinctive

Similar to today's "cultural" Christians who:

·         Look like Christians

·         Act mostly like Christians

·         Leave subtle clues that their behavior is cultural and not true desicipleship...They are not the outsiders called for in <<1 Peter 1:17>>

"Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17, NIV)

Also, here we find out why it was "hard to explain in v. 11.

Unless the recipients were willing to move on from the basics and begin living the true distinctives of the Christian life, they would never understand the important and difficult teachings that are to follow.

D. Assumptions:

Now let’s step back and look at this passage as a whole unit. It occurred to me that the author bases his concerns on a set of underlying assumptions.

Question: What assumptions are implicit in these verses about the Christian life? I think there are four. Let me give you the first one:

1. It is possible to regress (v.11)

2. There is an imperative or expectation of progression (v.12)

3. There is a relationship between spiritual maturity and an understanding about righteousness (v. 13-14)

4. We are able to chose to progress in our maturity. (v. 6:1)

III. Actions leading to maturity

The NT is full of exhortation about the quality and distinctives of the Christian walk:

·         Practice joy, pray continuously and give thanks, be responsive to the work of the Spirit, test everything, hold on to the good and resist evil. <<1 Thessalonians 17>>

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, NIV)

·         Be faithful in assembling together for encouragement and learning <<Hebrews 10:25>>

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)

Question: Does this mean that spiritual maturity is achieved through the exercise of a system of actions or disciplines?

IV. Conclusion

This passage was not an irate pastor trying to bludgeon his congregation into a willingness to grow up. (As it seemed in the things I said at the beginning about your commitment to learn and grow).

·         He sees the evil times that lay ahead.

·         His heart breaks for them and he urges them to take the necessary steps to prepare.

·         His heartfelt desire is that they would triumphantly face the trails to come, to stand firm and be counted among the faithful followers of our high priest Jesus.

What does he call us to do? The NT is full of exhortations. This author gives us a clear example by the content of his sermon.

·         Speak the truth. This author took a painful and difficult approach and spoke directly and truthfully about a critical failure.

<<See Ephesians 4:15>>

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." (Ephesians 4:15, NIV)

"When people submerge their true feelings in order to preserve harmony, they undermine the integrity of a relationship. They buy peace on the surface, but underneath there are hurt feelings, troubling questions, and hidden hostilities just waiting to erupt. It's a costly price to pay for a cheap peace, and it inevitably leads to inauthentic relationships" (Bill Hybels cited in Guthrie, p. 210).

·         Press on toward maturity though both personal and communal disciplines whose purpose is descipleship.

"The difficult experiences of life raise important questions about God and what he is up to. We especially must be focused in the deeper matters of the faith if we are to withstand the fire of persecution. “Those who are shallow theologically manifest that superficiality in the face of strong challenges that oppose continued commitment to Christ" (Guthrie, p. 214).

I can clearly give you a personal example.

·         When Kay suffered complications in surgery and began this long painful illness, what book were we studying here in class? It was Job, a book about perserverence I This was no coincidence. This was God's gracious work. He was equipping us for spiritual maturity. It was not for the sake of a cold and empty theology, but to give us grace, to help us remain faithful when our world fell apart. In the midst of so much pain, it was His critical, timely, and deliberate way of preparing us. It would enable us to hear the still small voice, to sense God's merciful presence, and give us peace when there was no logical reason to be at peace.

·         Where are you in your quest for spiritual maturity? Are you lazy? Did you check your intellect and passions at the door of the church? On what strength will you draw when the troubles come?