Sermon Tone Analysis

The author switches topics in this section.

He moves from talking about Jesus being our great High Priest to talking about the problem of spiritual immaturity.

He warns his readers about the dangers of “falling away”.

We will talk more about that in a later lesson.

Tonight, we are going to focus on the major problem of spiritual immaturity.

These people have been followers of Jesus for a while and should be ready to teach others in the ways of God.

However, they are still spiritual babies and can’t handle the heavy matters.

They need to move from the elementary teaching into the deeper things of God.

I think this is a major problem today.

So many churches are more interested in creating a comfortable environment for people than teaching people the truths of God’s Word.

I don’t think we fully understand the damage the “seeker-sensitive” churches have done.

I don’t think we understand the damage of the mega-church where people can fade into the crowd.

It seems that our churches are so light on their teaching and doctrine.

I could cite studies and research, but I think we know it is true.

Many Christians have no idea what the Bible says.

One of the saddest things to me is Christians who have been believers for a long time and yet they have never progressed in their spiritual life.

Does it concern you about the extraordinary ignorance concerning spiritual matters within the church?

Many self-proclaimed followers of Jesus are grossly or willfully ignorant about major tenants of the faith like: who Jesus is, the necessity of the resurrection, the nature of sin, basic theology, etc… It is because of gross and willful spiritual immaturity that we can have people claim to be followers of Jesus who are living openly homosexual lifestyles, believe abortion is okay, and that the physical resurrection of Jesus is unnecessary.

It is because of gross and willful spiritual immaturity that we can have people claim to be followers of Jesus who never read their Bibles, pray, go to worship gathering, go to Bible study, etc...

1.

The Confrontation ()

A.

A. “We have much to say about this” ()

A. “We have much to say about this”

What he is talking about is that he has much more to talk about concerning the appointment of Jesus as a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

He will talk more about this in chapter 7. The subject is difficult to explain, not because of the subject matter itself, but rather because the people have become “too lazy to understand.”

- νωθρός (nothros)- “too lazy to understand”

This word was used of a servant who was not instantly obedient to the voice of his master.

In sports, it was used of someone who was out of shape physically.

It is about negligence or sluggishness.

The recipients of this letter are negligent and sluggish concerning their spiritual development.

You aren’t even trying anymore.

It is one thing to try and fail.

It is another to just stop trying and numb yourself to the realities.

C. “

B. They “ought to be teachers”.

()

Instead of being teachers, they needed someone else to teach them.

What did they need to be taught again?

They need to be taught the basic principles of God’s revelation again.

“Maturity in discipleship is measured by the ability to teach others.”

(Expositor’s)

What do you consider to be the basic principles of God’s revelation?

-

Spiritually these people were still acting like babies who wanted milk, rather than the adult foods.

C. Deeper things: The message of righteousness ()

Most likely, this refers to the theological instructions about the cost and responsibilities of discipleship.

Isn’t this laking in our churches today?

So many people come to worship gatherings and yet so few people are actively engaging discipleship.

People have become worship consumers where they focus is all about what they got out of it today.

Let me tell you something.

Following Jesus is going to cost you something.

Being a follower of Jesus is going to cost you something.

It might cost you career moves.

It might cost you financially.

It might mean you have strained family relationships.

It might mean that your social ranking isn’t as high.

It might mean you can’t or your children can’t participate in certain activities, like sports.

For some, especially in other countries, it might even cost your life.

So many church have made following Jesus into something it is not.

I know that I am on the verge of preaching, but if you aren’t willing to sacrifice something small for Christ, then you won’t be willing to make larger and harder sacrifices for the kingdom.

E.

D. Spiritual maturity is defined by discernment.

()

The mature are those who have been conditioned and trained to be able to see through the smoke and recognize what is good and what is evil.

They know how to make the right choices when confronted with difficult decisions.

They know what is righteous and moral.

They are not fooled by those who call evil good and good evil.

When a “new” idea is proposed; they are able to see the moral and righteousness course of action.

So how do we move into maturity?

How do we move from where we are to where God wants us to be?

2. Moving to Maturity ()

The writer has defined the condition of his readers, but he doesn’t want them to stay there.

He wants them to move to maturity.

What is interesting is that he doesn’t teach them the things they ought to know again.

He shoves them into the deeper topics.

A. Foundational - repentance and faith in God ()

This is the initial step in following Jesus.

You must repent of your dead works and put your faith in God.

You turn away from your sin and turn towards belief in God and obeying his word.

B. Foundational - ritual washings ()

This one is unclear.

Perhaps the writer is referring to baptism, as some translations have interpreted.

Perhaps he is talking about the spiritual cleansing which comes from salvation.

Perhaps he is talking about ceremonial washing practiced by the Jews.

The text is unclear.

C. Foundational - laying on of hands ()

This is talking about ordination and anointing for ministry; specifically regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

D. Foundational - the resurrection of the dead ()

When Jesus returns, the dead will be raised.

They should know this.

E. Foundational - eternal judgment ()

When Jesus returns, everyone will be judged by Jesus.

Here is the crazy thing.

I am well-aware that many followers of Jesu today couldn’t tell me about these basic, foundational truths.

Many people today couldn’t tell me how I could be saved.

Many followers of Jesus couldn’t tell you why we baptism people.

This is deeply concerning to me.

One author put it this way, “They are getting by on the spiritual equivalent of grunts and hand signals.”

(Wright, p. 58)

Being that this section of Scripture is about the writer confronting his readers with a problem he is aware of in their lives, I want to give you some guidelines for speaking the truth into people’s lives.

3. Guidelines for exhortation

A. Must be done with the right motive; i.e. - to restore the person to spiritual health

You must be loving and encouraging.