Discipleship Process: Disciple One Another

Introduction

Savor what is wonderful about every season of life. Each life stage that we go through has something that is distinctly wonderful. It’s wonderful when you first get married before kids, and you’re just so....rested. It’s wonderful when you bring that first little one home from the hospital, scared as you are. It’s wonderful as your kids begin to talk and walk and tell you that they love you. It’s wonderful to discover God’s care and kindness as you navigate the teenage years. It’s wonderful when your kids come off of the payroll, and you seek to rediscover the joys of empty nest.

Not a single one of the life stages are easy or pain free, but they are all uniquely wonderful — unless there is disfunction of some type. Disfunction at any point of the life stage can cause the whole experience to sour, can’t it? It’s not wonderful to navigate the teenage years alone because your husband or wife walks out on you. This is similar to what we will see in our text this morning. Just as there are distinct life stages that all people experience, there are distinct life stages that we experience as Christians. And, each one is distinctly wonderful, so long as disfunction doesn’t creep in. That is, just as we saw last week that connection is starting line of Biblical Christianity, we will see this week that connection is wonderful so long as we don’t just stay there. Thinking and acting like a baby is beautiful, unless you’re 29. Our faith must be put into gear, but it must not stay in first gear forever. It must advance. Second gear has to becoming. Babies should transform into children, then teenagers, then men and women. We’re going to make three observations about the Christian life cycle (headline) from our text this morning.

God’s Word

Read

Christians Ought to “Grow Up”.

v. 12 “For though by this time you ought to be teachers” Everybody in my house talks like Sara, my youngest. She says all of her ‘r’s’ like ‘w’s’, and it’s just the best. There’s nothing more beautiful than listening to children talk or watching children play. But, if someone still talks, plays, thinks like a child as a teenager, it’s a delay. If it’s still the case into adulthood, it’s a disability. This is the author of Hebrew’s point for the Christian life: Christians ought to “grow up”. It’s why he says: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers.” That is, “You ought not to be babies. You ought to be strong enough to be the ones teaching the babies. You ought to be healthy.” There’s nothing more beautiful than a baby Christian, but there’s nothing more troubling than a Christian continuing to live and think and act like a newborn over time. Growth in the Lord, maturity, sanctification, is a process, not an instant. It happens over a life time, but it does happen. Maturity isn’t an “option” of the Christian life; it “is” the Christian life. We ought to grow up. Our discipleship process is meant to mirror the life stages of the Christian life. It’s intended to help you continue to shift gears in your Christian journey to reach greater joy, greater passion, greater worship, greater wonder for the rest of your life. And, wherever you are today, that’s okay. What you did or didn’t do in the past is irrelevant. What matters is that you don’t remain where you are today — tomorrow. You ought to grow and then keep growing, mature and then keep maturing.

The Reason: Dullness of Hearing

v. 11 “It is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” This whole conversation is really an aside for the author. He’s actually in the middle of a discussion about how Jesus is our great high priest, that Jesus is our great mediator and representative to God and vice versa. And, he’s wanting to explain to us the glory, the power, the wonder of how Christ is a priest in the line of Melchizedek from fame, but it’s hard to explain to them. They just don’t have the understanding. They just don’t have the frame work. And, he tells us the reason that they haven’t grown up and matured and taught as they ought. They ‘have become dull of hearing.’ In fact, this is the problem that he’s going to go on to address through 6:12, when he uses the exact same word, this time translated as ‘sluggish.’ They’re ‘(sluggish) of hearing’, and he’s writing this so that they ‘may not be sluggish.’ The problem isn’t that they are unable to hear; it’s that they are unwilling to listen. It is that they can’t read the word; it’s that they’re too lazy to open it. It isn’t that they can’t understand the sermons; it’s that they prefer overtime and career advancement and Netflix and Fortnight and Facebook.

APPLICATION: “Stunted” Christians are too easily “satisfied”. God has offered them steak, but they settle for a bottle. God has offered them wonder, but they settle for apathy. They don’t feast on the steak of God’s word; they feast on the saturated fat of the world, supplemented by as little of God as they can stand. They’re lazy and sluggish and dull to the glory of God because they’re willing to settle for a lot of the world and only a little of God. What does your diet say about you? Do you autopilot sermons wishing you were on Facebook? Do you skip your time in God’s word to earn another dollar? Could you talk about Tua Tagovailoa more naturally than you can talk about Jesus? You’re too easily satisfied to grow up in the Lord!

The Result: Need to Be Taught Again

v. 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.” And, the result of their dullness of hearing is that they need to be taught again. They need to be weaned again. They had once known all of these things, but now they must be taught again.

The scariest day after my surgery a couple of years ago might surprise you. I had already come through the surgery fine and had been seated in my recliner for 6 weeks like a beached whale. I was just starting to feel a little better. Gracie Kate came and asked if I would turn the TV on for her downstairs. As I stepped down to the top step, my legs began to tremble underneath me. It was the first time in my life that I had ever felt frail. All of those weeks of sitting had caused the muscles in my legs to atrophy, and though I had ran six miles just two months earlier, now, I could hardly walk. For how many does that describe your walk with the Lord? You haven’t grown; you’ve regressed. You can’t teach; you must be retaught. There have been too many days in the recliner, to many months of neglect, and now, you’re frail and weak.

The Repercussions: Vulnerable to Death

v. 13 “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” And, the repercussions are that they are vulnerable to death. They are vulnerable to be destroyed. This is the fear of the author. This is the main point he’s making. If you continue dull in your hearing, if you are unwilling to listen, if you willfully choose as little of God as you can handle, not only will your growth be stunted, but you will wreck your life. This is life and death. You’ll be like an infant in war. God has given to you the sword of the Spirit, but babies are no good with swords. You can give an infant a bazooka, and he’ll still be vulnerable to a man with a knife. He’s just a baby. He’s weak and vulnerable and unable to defend himself. That is, he is ‘unskilled’ with the weapon that he’s been given.

Brothers and sisters, we are at war. We are on the front lines. And, baby Christians leading families and navigating marriages are headed to destruction. Baby Christians leading churches lead them unto death. Baby Christians parenting children parent them unto death. They have been given the bazooka of God’s word, the m-16 of the gospel, but they are ‘unskilled’ to use them because they are children.

It’s Not Too Late

v. 13 “You need milk, not solid food...” APPLICATION: Christians ought to grow up, AND it’s not too late to grow up. It’s not too late to mature. After all, that’s why he’s warning them. It’s not too late, but they must start now. The answer to this is not to jump in the deep end and learn how to swim from there. It’s to really absorb the milk. “You need milk, not solid food.” That is, lay the foundation now so that you can build on it. Absorb the milk so that you can get the steak. Learn the knife so that you can get to the bazooka. It’s not too “late” for what God wants to do with the “rest” of your life. Men of God, it’s time to be discipled so that you can disciple your wife and your children and your friends. You ought to be teachers. Women of God, it’s time to be discipled so that you can train your children in the way that they should go and defend your families from the attacks of the enemies. You ought be teachers. Students, it’s the perfect time for you to commit to become skilled with the m-16 of the gospel so that you can avoid the scars of your parents and friends and culture. We need you to be teachers. It’s time to be discipled, church. It’s not too late.

Grown-ups Keep “Growing”.

v. 14 “But solid food is for the mature” Not only do we see that Christians ought to grow, but we also see that grown-ups keep “growing”. You’ll see this in his description of the mature. They are not merely described as those who wield their weapon well. They are described as those who are in a constant pursuit of wielding it better. Their discernment is always in training. Strong as they are; they pursue greater strength. Wise as they are, they pursue greater wisdom. Godly as they are, they pursue greater godliness. Those who are grown up keep on growing. They understand that there’s no downhill coast in this uphill world. You’re never mature enough or godly enough or wise enough. The word that is used is ‘gymnazo’, the word from which we get gymnasium. It brings into mind athletic training. It’s a Tiger Woods hitting hundreds of balls every day, and everyone wondering how he makes it look so easy. It’s Steph Curry shooting hundreds of threes in practice all week, and then everyone else just believing he’s a natural. It’s practicing day-in and day-out so that what you’re supposed to do becomes a part of who you are. It’s immersing yourself as deeply as you can go day after day so that what is right becomes instinctive.

Living Without a Study Guide

v. 14 “…for those who have their powers of discernment trained...” And, that’s what discernment is. This is why our passage says that discernment is the marker of the spiritually mature and discernment is the result of constant training. Discernment is “instinctive” godliness. Discernment is knowing how to apply the gospel to every circumstance and decision of life. It’s a Bible-saturated intuition. Discernment is gospel application through momentary activation. “Everything” is answered by the Bible, even though “most” things are not in the Bible. Your questions about marriage and parenting and grand-parenting and career and abortion and gender identity and college and retirement are all answerable through the Scriptures. The gospel applies to every aspect of life. But, the trouble is that you don’t get a study guide to your life, do you? Nobody told you that you needed to prepare for your husband to leave or for infertility or lingering depression or single parenting or to understand the ethics of refugee camps. But, these are realities that have come upon you without warning. And, when these realities come knocking at your door, there is no time to cram for the exam. You either know what to do or you don’t. You either know how the gospel applies or you don’t. You know how the Scriptures help or you don’t. Life is full of buzzer beater shots. And, when the clock is ticking down, all you can do is turn and shoot. That is, all you can do is rely on your training, your intuition, your instincts.

Life’s “buzzer beaters” require discernment. They require you to instantaneously apply the gospel to your sexually active teenager and your delayed 4 year old. There’s no practice shots. Just turn and shoot. But, Discernment is the opposite being unskilled. That’s what the author wants you to see. An infant on the front lines leads to his death and the death of those he’s protecting. But, the one who knows what to do, the one who is trained in the powers of discernment, the one who is skilled is able to defend his family and his wife and church. He lives, and those around him flourish.

No Shortcuts to Maturity

APPLICATION: But, there are no shortcuts to Christian maturity. You don’t get to skip a grade or bypass the life-stages of the Christian life. Discernment comes from training. Discernment comes from drinking in the milk, and then exercising with the strength that it gives you. You have to be taught so that you can teach. You have to study ahead so that you can know in the moment what you need. You must feel the urgency of insight before it is urgent. You need to be trained, and your training must be constant. You see, that’s the next gear in our discipleship process. Once you’ve connected, you’re just at the starting line. You’re just in first gear. Now, you must be trained to walk with God so that you can respond in wisdom and godliness to life’s buzzer beaters. Your discernment must be trained so that you see the gospel in going to work and raising kids and living with an illness. Staying shallow is lethal. In my d group a few years ago, we had been reading a lot of books and memorizing scripture. We were in training, and training isn’t always glorious. And, we were in a time for our group when everyone was kind of weary of it all. And, on this particular morning, a discussion broke out among us about a particularly difficult topic. One of the brothers I so deeply love said, “I wish that we could just do this every week. It’s more helpful and easier.” But, then I asked him, “How is it that a person can have an insightful answer to such hard questions at a moment’s notice? It’s only by reading ahead well before you knew the question would be asked.” In other words, it’s the result of training. Are you maturing and growing in your faith, or have you stagnated? Is it time for you to hit the next gear in your Christian walk?

Grown-ups Help Others “Grow Up”

v. 6:3 “And this we will do if God permits.” And that really leads to to the final observation we see that grown-ups help others “grow up”. There’s a subtle shift in the author’s speech in chapter 6. “Since you should be teachers but aren’t. Since you should be on solid food, but you aren’t. Since you should be well-trained but are unskilled, ‘LET US leave the elementary doctrine of Christ....LET US go on to maturity. And, this WE will do.’ Do you see that? Growing up is an US problem, not just a YOU problem. Growing up is an “US” responsibility, not just a “YOU” responsibility. You need to be taught; so, we will teach you. You need to be fed milk; so, we will wean you. We will train you, and when we train you, you must teach others. That’s the underlying thought, isn’t it? You’re supposed to be teaching, but you aren’t. So, let us teach you better. He’s not talking about the office of teaching. He’s talking about the responsibility that every, single Christian has to learn and teach, to make disciples by teaching them the ways of Christ.

God Says What’s Important

v. 1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” He says that we should ‘leave the elementary doctrine of Christ’, but he’s not talking about abandonment. He’s talking about leaving these fundamentals the same way that you leave a foundation. No house is properly built by relaying the foundation every week. But, the Taj Mahal is an expansion, an elaboration, a maturation built upon the foundation. There’s a stream of lazy, dull of hearing thought that is out there that says, “I know that Jesus saves, and that’s enough for me. I leave that deep stuff for other people to figure out.” And, the trouble with that is the Bible, if we’re going to take this as God actually speaking to us. What the author wishes to teach them is something more beautiful than they already know, but they need a foundation first. This isn’t lightweight stuff. He wants to teach them about Jesus being the fulfillment of the Melchizadekian priestly line. He wants them to see that we are saved because Jesus offered himself as the priest being our representative to God and God’s representative to us. He wants to show them how, like Melchizadek, Jesus is King and Priest and has not beginning or end. He is the greater Melchizadek, and it’s glorious. So, because they’ve been too easily satisfied their worship and their joy and wonder at Christ has been inhibited, paralyzed. Disciples don’t determine what of God is “worth” knowing and what “isn’t”. He has determined that for us already! Disciples are determined to learn and obey whatever God values.

Immaturity is a “Us” Problem, Maturity is a “Us” Process

APPLICATION: So, he wants to teach them so that then they can teach. He wants to help them to grow up so that they can help others grow up. He wants them to build a magnificent tower of Christ’s glory onto the foundation of the Gospel. And, this is why we should disciple one another. Immaturity is a “Us” Problem, Maturity is a “Us” Process. If you’re on milk, that’s okay. But, there’s filet mignon out there. Shift gears! Step on. There is a deficit of Christian maturity in our day. Our families are led by elementary Christians. Our churches are led by elementary Christians. Our community is filled with joyless, wonder-less, awe-less Christians. And, when infants lead, it’s catastrophic. Grow up in the Lord! Grow in the word so that you can pass your faith to the next generation. Grow in doctrine so that you won’t be deceived by all the lights and smoke of false teachers. Grow in discernment so that you can win at the buzzer beaters of life. Commit to a d-group so that you can be challenged and held accountable. Commit to a Wednesday PM group so that you can be the man or the woman of God you are to be. If you’ve been given a deposit, pay it forward by teaching others. Connection is the starting line, but discipleship is the next gear. Tell me More.

If you’re on milk, that’s okay. But, there’s filet mignon out there. Shift gears! Step on. There is a deficit of Christian maturity in our day. Our families are led by elementary Christians. Our churches are led by elementary Christians. Our community is filled with joyless, wonder-less, awe-less Christians. And, when infants lead, it’s catastrophic. Grow up in the Lord! Grow in the word so that you can pass your faith to the next generation. Grow in doctrine so that you won’t be deceived by all the lights and smoke of false teachers. Grow in discernment so that you can win at the buzzer beaters of life. Commit to a d-group so that you can be challenged and held accountable. Commit to a Wednesday PM group so that you can be the man or the woman of God you are to be. If you’ve been given a deposit, pay it forward by teaching others. Connection is the starting line, but discipleship is the next gear. Tell me More.