Jesus Is Better - 7

Jesus Is Better - 7

Introduction

We are going to do something a little bit different this morning. Going to have a giveaway! Winner gets a three-course meal! Look under your seat. If you find a ticket there, come on up here and claim your prize. (Bag of baby food!)

You have a good three course meal there. Some chicken and rice. A vegetable. Some dessert. Of course, it’s all baby food. This is gross! No one wants to eat this stuff. Even babies look like they’re miserable when they are eating it. When my kids were eating it, I was never tempted to steal their dinner. 

There is a reason we turn our nose up at this. When you grow up, you want to move on to solid food. That’s just what you do. It’s a sign of maturity. It’s a sign of growth. That’s exactly what we’re going to see today in Hebrews. When it comes to our faith, there is this expectation of growth. There is this standard of maturity. Writer of Hebrews gives us this very clear recognition that we are to grow in our faith.

This morning, we’re going to spend some time walking through this text. One of the most interesting in the book. When we left off last week, Hebrews had just introduced us to this idea that Jesus is a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. He gives a little aside here before he pursues that thought. 

- “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

Want to remind you that Hebrews was originally a sermon. So, whoever wrote this has said it directly to his audience. This is a bold strategy. “You guys are too stupid to understand this.” Definitely attention grabbing. But, if you remember, the writer of Hebrews has been hinting all along that these people have a problem. These first five chapters have been filled with warnings to his audience: 

- “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”

- “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

- “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

There’s been this undercurrent all along. You all need to pay attention. You all need to be careful. He’s been warning them all along, but hasn’t ever come out and diagnosed the problem. 

Here, we find out what the issue is. 

- “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

The issue is that they are “dull of hearing.” The imagery here would be similar to someone putting in earplugs [put on headphones]. Everything’s muddled. You can’t really understand what you are hearing. You don’t know what’s happened because you can’t make out what you are listening to. 

But, there’s another layer here, one that hits at the very core of what it means to not listen. Speaks to the real issue these believers were having. 

The word translated as “hearing” in v. 11 is tied to the word for “obey” used in 5:9. Same root word. So, the writer of Hebrews isn’t just talking about a “dullness of hearing.” He’s talking about a “dullness of obedience.” 

For the Hebrew Christians, their level of obedience didn’t match their level of knowledge. They knew more than they were doing. When we think of spiritual growth, we typically think of this equation: “GROW = KNOW.” We think spiritual growth equals growth in knowledge. We know more about the Bible. We will know how to pray better. We will know doctrine better. We equate spiritual growth with intellectual growth. 

And in fact the writer of Hebrews will talk about knowledge. He will say we need to know the core truths of the faith. But, spiritual growth not just about what we know. Spiritual growth is also about obedience. So, here’s a new equation I want you to grab onto today. We’re going to come back to this: “GROW = KNOW + SHOW.” Spiritual growth is a matter of growing in what you know and how you show that. To say it another way, in order to grow spiritually, you have to live what you’ve learned. 

The audience of this sermon were dealing with a kind of spiritual obesity. In our culture, we are familiar with physical obesity. More often than not, obesity is a problem of intake versus output. You take in more calories than you expend, which makes you gain weight. It puffs you up. What’s true physically can also be true spiritually. We can take in more than we are obedient to. We can learn more about the faith than we actually live out. I think if you look around the American church today, spiritual obesity is epidemic. We know what we ought to be doing, but we don’t actually do it. Educated beyond our obedience.

—How many sermons have we heard on sharing our faith? How many times have we actually shared our faith? 

—How many times have we heard someone talk about biblical generosity but haven’t given what we could/should? 

—How many verses have we read about forgiveness and yet we still hold grudges? 

—How many times have we been convicted to read our Bible on a daily basis only to leave them sitting in our car all week? 

All of us (unless you are brand new to faith) would have to admit that our level of spiritual knowledge exceeds our level of spiritual obedience. We, like the Hebrews, are “dull of hearing.” We’re not really listening. We’re not internalizing. We’re not obeying. We’re not growing in maturity because we’re not living out what we know. 

John Piper - “Getting ready to feast on all God's Word is not first an intellectual challenge; it is first a moral challenge. If you want to eat the solid food of the Word, you must exercise your spiritual senses so as to develop a mind that discerns between good and evil. The startling truth is that, if you stumble over Melchizedek, it may be because you watch questionable TV programs. If you stumble over the doctrine of election, it may be because you still use some shady business practices. If you stumble over the God-centered work of Christ in the cross, it may be because you love money and spend too much and give too little. The pathway to maturity and to solid biblical food is not first becoming an intelligent person, but becoming an obedient person. What you do with alcohol and sex and money and leisure and food and computer have more to do with your capacity for solid food than where you go to school or what books you read.”

So, there is this connection between how we obey and how we hear. If we don’t obey what we’ve already heard, it’s going to be hard for us to hear anything else. This connection between hearing and obedience becomes clearer in the next few verses: 

- “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, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”

Notice how much here speaks to this connection between obedience and hearing. Not just about learning things. It’s about putting them into practice. In fact, let’s look at some of these phrases:  

—“Though by this time you ought to be teachers…”

There’s this not-so-subtle reminder here that the Christian life is about growth. They should have grown to the point where they could teach. But, they are still in need of remedial training. Not the way it should be. But, there’s also this reminder that we should be spreading our faith. Not just about a matter of learning so that we can know. Learning so that we can share. Teach the faith to someone else. Come alongside another person and help them understand the Gospel. 

We’re meant to grow in the Gospel. We’re meant to share the Gospel. Again, we see that GROW = KNOW + SHOW. Grow in what you know so that you can show it (and share it!) with the world. 

—“You need milk, not solid food…” 

This imagery co-opts a common Greek rhetorical device. Milk stood for elementary principles. When you “graduated” up to deeper subjects, they would refer to those as “solid food.” In terms of our language, we might think of it as the “ABCs” and “123s.” Milk is very basic truths. Writer of Hebrews is saying that these Christians should be writing poetry right now. But, they are still learning how to say their ABCs. Haven’t graduated from the basics. Haven’t grown and developed the way they should. 

—“Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness…”

Notice the particular word the writer of Hebrews uses here. The person who lives on milk is what? They are “unskilled.” They don’t know what they are doing. So, how do you acquire a skill? You practice it! ILL - If you want to be a better golfer, you don’t read a biography of Arnold Palmer. You don’t only watch YouTube videos. You get out and you golf. Go to the driving range. If you want to play a guitar, you don’t stare at a chord chart all day. You pick the thing up and you play. 

Same is true of the spiritual life. You want to learn patience? Don’t just sit on your couch hoping to get hit by a bolt of patience. Deal with difficult people. Want to learn generosity? Force yourself to be generous. Develop your spiritual muscles by exercising them!  

—“…those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” 

Listen: this is the whole point of spiritual growth. We want to grow in our faith so that we know how “to distinguish good from evil.” We want to grow in our discernment. We want to know how to live lives that are pleasing to God. Want to get to the point where you just know it. Where you see good and you see evil and you know them because you’ve learned to recognize them. That’s what spiritual growth does for us. 

ILL - I want you to imagine it this way. Imagine you are going in for surgery. As you are being wheeled into the operating room, you see the doctor has a medical school textbook open. He says: “Just wanted to brush up before we open you up.” How’re you going to feel in that moment? Not good. Don’t want a surgeon who’s always looking at the textbook. You want him to know what he’s doing. You want him to know because he’s studied. You want him to know because he’s practiced. 

Could it be that this connection between learning and obedience explains our issues with spiritual growth? I’ve talked with so many Christians who just feel stuck in their faith. Don’t feel like they’re getting anywhere. So, they chase a new Bible study or the latest Christian bestseller. A new worship experience. They just feel like they’re not learning anything or getting anywhere. 

Could it be that the reason we’re not growing is because we’re already full? Could it be that God has taught us something that we have yet to put into practice? We’re sitting at the table wanting another meal and God wants us to get up and actually go do something with what we’ve been given. Next time you feel stuck spiritually, ask yourself this question: “Is there something I know I should be doing that I’m not? Is there something I’ve learned that I have yet to live?” Remember, GROW = KNOW + SHOW. 

Having diagnosed this problem within us, the writer of Hebrews offers us a prescription. He tells us exactly what we need to know to deal with this “dullness of hearing.” 

- “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.”

Writer of Hebrews encourages us to push ourselves. Move forward. Chase growth. “Leave the elementary doctrine of Christ…” Principle of growth - Wherever you are, God doesn’t want you there. But listen, he’s not talking about abandoning these things. He’s talking about building on them. Think about it: the most influential year of school you ever had was Kindergarten. Not because you learned complex things, but because you learned foundational things. You learned your ABCs. You learned your 123s. You learned how to share. You learned how to not get in a fight. These are all good life skills! You can thank your Kindergarten teacher! 

But, since then, you’ve taken those truths and you’ve learned how to use them. You’ve learned how to take the alphabet and use it to make words and sentences. You’ve learned how to take numbers and use them to balance your checkbook. Those foundational truths don’t disappear. You just build on them. 

That’s what the writer of Hebrews says needs to happen with our faith. We need to learn how to take these core doctrines and put them together to live the kind of life God wants us to live. 

What are these foundational truths? The author of Hebrews identifies six of them for us. Pairs them up into sets of two: 

—“Repentance from dead works and faith toward God.” 

—“Instruction about washings [and] the laying on of hands.” 

—“The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.”

For just a minute, let’s talk about these six truths and why they are so foundational. How they are building blocks to the kind of lives God wants His people to live. 

1. First, let’s talk about “Repentance from dead works and faith towards God.” I think these two beliefs are together because they remind us of Where We’ve Been. They speak to where we were when we first met Christ. We used to live a life of “dead works.” We were caught up in sin and disobedience. We were doing things that were killing us. But God saved us. He rescued me from all the things that were killing me. Now, I have faith in Him. I trust Him because of what He’s done for me in Christ. 

What difference does that make? How does this building block help me build a growing and vibrant faith?

These things remind me of where I started out. They remind me of what my life used to be before Jesus found me. They remind me that I don’t want to chase that dead and dying way of life anymore. I want to chase Him. I want to trust Him. We focus on these doctrines of repentance and faith because they remind us that turning from sin and trusting in Him wasn’t a one-time decision. It’s a decision we make each day. 

2. Next set of foundational doctrines: “Instruction about washings [and] the laying on of hands.” These two beliefs remind us of Where We Are. The washing and laying on of hands likely refers to the early church practices at conversion. Washing could be a reference to baptism. Laying on of hands the prayer over converts.  

Remind me that God put this foundational moment in my life where things changed. There was this point of no return where I surrendered to Jesus. There’s this clear marker of the time I came to belong to Christ. What’s happening right now is that I am living out the ramifications of that moment. Not just trying to understand it mentally, but understand it practically. How do I live out my baptism today? In fact, the New Testament points back to our baptism as an initial moment that things changed.

- “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

That moment of baptism, of initial surrender, may be in the past, but it reverberates to this day. I’m growing in my understanding of what that day meant. The difference it made then and the difference it makes now. 

3. Final set of doctrines are “The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.” These truths remind us of Where We’re Going. We are headed towards a day of resurrection and judgment. 

The doctrine of resurrection reminds us of our hope. We may live in a world of death, but God has promised to give us life. The lives we live today are not all there is. Something beyond all this.

Yet, this life is still important. That’s because what happens in this life is going to affect the next life. These doctrines remind me that today has eternal significance. 

How does that motivate us to grow? Well, it reminds us to live with the end in mind. Every day, I’m reminded that I will one day have to give an account of my life. I’m going to have to stand before God and He’s going to judge me for what I’ve done. As I grow in my knowledge of these doctrines, I grow in my sense of accountability. More than that, I grow in my sense of hope. I look forward to that day. Because I know I have a great High Priest who will stand on my side on that day. Know that’s the day I will begin eternal life in His presence. 

So, the writer of Hebrews has reminded us again and again that it’s not just about what we know. It’s about how we live. Spiritual growth requires active obedience. If you only remember one thing today, remember this takeaway: GROW = KNOW + SHOW. If you want to grow, you have to live what you’ve learned. 

All of us have some area of growth. Haven’t arrived. We all have an area where we know what God wants us to do, but we’re not showing it yet in our lives. It could be that’s what’s holding us back from further growth. Have to practice the skills God’s been teaching us. 

Conclusion

Might have noticed that there has been a bonsai tree sitting here on the table throughout this sermon. The Japanese people/culture have been perfecting this art for centuries. These trees can be years – even decades! – old, and yet still be small enough to fit inside a bowl. 

The skill of creating a bonsai tree is an art form. Very delicate process. You have to cut the roots and restrict their growth so that the tree doesn’t overwhelm the bowl. The branches have to be carefully trimmed. You have to limit water and fertilizer so that the tree lives, but doesn’t grow all that much. The end result is a tree is a tree that has some features of a full-grown tree yet is small enough to fit on a shelf or table. 

A tree that basically looks pretty nice, but is functionally useless for anything. Doesn’t provide shade. Doesn’t grow fruit. Just sits there as decoration. The sad truth is that many Christians today resemble these bonsai. In certain respects they may look like mature believers, but in reality, they are merely infants in Christ. Restricted their growth by avoiding the Bible, gathering for worship once a month, not serving, not being generous, entertaining secret sins…and that restriction has led to this. Not producing any fruit. Not growing in any real way. Just sitting there looking like something they’re not.

This is obviously not what we want. We want to grow, and Hebrews has helped us with how to do that. Now we just have to go from here…and actually do that.

COMMUNION