Go On To Maturity

The Christians addressed in this letter are being publicly persecuted and ridiculed. Because of this persecution, many of the Christians are thinking about returning to their old way of life… Judaism.

This letter is essentially a written sermon designed to encourage these Christians to stick with Christ.

So, here is what we’ve already seen.

We’ve seen that God has spoken to us by his son, the exalted king, so we must pay much closer attention to what we’ve heard.

We’ve seen that Jesus is a greater Moses who will lead us to a greater rest if we remain faithful to him.

We’ve seen that Jesus is a Merciful High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness and deal gently with us.

Where We Are Going

In this lesson, we are going to focus on Hebrews 5:11-6:12.

Hebrews 5:11–6:12 ESV

11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. 1 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, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

The point that the author is trying to stress is that we as Christians…

We Must Go On to Maturity

Those Christians Failed to Go To Maturity

The Preacher of Hebrews has some things that he wants to teach them, but he’s worried that they might not be ready. He wants to give them solid food, but they want/need milk. What’s the solid food in this context?

Hebrews 5:9-14.

Hebrews 5:9–14 ESV

9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

It’s the deeper teachings about Jesus. He wants to show them how Jesus is our great high priest, but they haven’t matured enough yet, and this was a problem…

But notice that these Christians knowledge. Hebrews 6:1-2.

Hebrews 6:1–2 ESV

They knew about baptism, faith, repentance, and judgment, so what was the problem?

The problem is that they never went beyond these foundational matters. They never graduated to solid food.

They knew about baptism, but they didn’t know enough about Jesus and how he is woven through the entire bible story. They needed to be taught that...

In the beginning, we see Jesus because the world was created through Him.

In Abraham’s story, we see Jesus because he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek

In the wilderness, we see Jesus because, like Moses, he will lead us to the land of rest.

During David’s reign, we see Jesus because Jesus is a king who is seated on David’s throne.

The author of Hebrews hits on all of these themes because it’s what his audience needed to know.

So, the author of Hebrews tells these Christians that it’s time to leave the elementary teachings of Christianity and go on to maturity.

We Must Go On To Maturity

So, the lesson for us is that we must go on to maturity.

The problem is that there are so many Christians who are content with sticking with the milk because that’s easy to swallow.

I’ve talked to many frustrated preachers who felt like some in their congregation never wanted to go on to maturity. They just wanted sermons on baptism and instrumental music.

The author of Hebrews tells us that there comes a time when we must leave these things behind and press on to maturity.

When Ezekiel turns 3 or 4 and asks me to go over his ABC’s I will happily do it, but if he’s in High School and he’s asking me to go over his ABC’s, there’s a problem.

The alphabet is important… It’s the foundation of our language, but there comes a time when we move on to solid food.

In the same way, foundational doctrines are important, but there should come a time when we move on to solid food.

If I still need to go over the ABC’s, it’s because I haven’t spent enough time studying and practicing English.

BTW, I’m not saying that we don’t preach on baptism. There are always new Christians who need that reinforcement.

So, what’s my point? We as Christians need to continue growing into maturity. Milk is easier to swallow, but we need to put in the time to chew on solid food.

Why?

Why? We’ll spend the rest of the lesson answering that question.

So that we can teach others

Hebrews 5:11-12.

Hebrews 5:11–12 ESV

“You ought to be teachers.”

What is one of goals as disciples of Christ? It’s to teach others the gospel concerning Jesus. Acts 8:4.

Acts 8:4 ESV

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

The author of Hebrews tells us that if we are going to be true and effective teachers, then we need to go on to maturity.

“If you know enough to be saved, then you know enough to teach others how to be saved.” This is absolutely true. So, why does the author of Hebrews imply that we need to be mature to be teachers?

It’s because the goal of our teaching is not to bring people to the water. The goal of our teaching is to bring people to maturity.

Ephesians 4:11-14.

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

What’s our goal as teachers and evangelists?

We are to build up the body of Christ to mature manhood.

Matthew 28:18-20.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

How do we make disciples? We baptize them, but that comes first. After that we continue teaching them so that they grow into maturity.

So, why must we go on to maturity? So that we can teach and bring others with us.

So that we can discern good and evil

Hebrews 5:11-14.

Hebrews 5:11–14 ESV

“powers of discernment trained… to distinguish good from evil.”

This is extremely important because there are many Christians looking for the list. “give me the list of all the things I need to do to go to heaven so I can start checking things off.”

The author of Hebrews tells us that mature Christians are able to discern good and evil. The list is for children.

The Bible: Not a List of Dos and Don’ts

This makes sense because the Bible isn’t a list of dos and don’ts.

The first five books of the Bible are called “Torah,” and we think of it as “Law.” But when you think of ‘law,’ what do you think of. I think of a list like the Ten Commandments.

But that’s not what we see.

When we read through the book of Genesis, we don’t see law, we see story.

When we read through the book of Exodus, we don’t see law until we get to chapter 20.

So, the section of the OT that we call ‘law’ begins with 70 chapters of story.

The reality is that the word ‘Torah’ doesn’t really, or primarily, mean law. It means instruction or direction.

So, when we think of God’s Torah, we should think of God’s instruction or direction for his people. We see that beginning in Genesis 1.

God’s Torah isn’t just the weird stuff we see in Leviticus. It’s also the story that we see in Genesis.

Why do I bring this up?

Because God’s instruction for us isn’t a simple list of dos and don’ts.

God’s instruction comes in the form of story, or letter, or poetry and we must discern good and evil.

What does this mean for us?

It means that there are things that we must discern…

There is no list that tells us which clothes are too short or too revealing. We must discern from God’s words what is good and evil.

There is no list that tells us “Thou shalt not live with your boyfriend/girlfriend.” We must discern God’s will from his instruction.

So, we need to go on to maturity because God’s word is not an exhaustive list of dos and don’ts. There are things that require our wisdom and discernment.

So that we remain faithful

Hebrews 6:1-7.

Hebrews 6:1–7 ESV

1 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, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.

The author of Hebrews said that guide them into maturity so that they don’t fall away. It’s easy for spiritual children to be led astray. Ephesians 4:11-14.

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

This is what was going on with those Christians. They were thinking about leaving the Lord because they failed to go on to maturity.

The same is true of us.

Why do we lose so many young people?

Is it because they don’t know the dos and don’ts?

It’s because they don’t have a mature understanding of Jesus.

We try to moralize our young people without guiding them into maturity and it doesn’t work.

If we are going to remain faithful to our Savior, then we must have a mature understanding of who he is, how he fits into God’s story, and what it means for us.

We need to go on to maturity so that we remain faithful to our God.

Conclusion

In my opinion, this is one of the most important lessons for the religious world in 2021. People in our world, and even in the church, are so content with a shallow understand of Jesus and a shallow understanding of the Bible as a whole.

We need to be different. We need to be a people who are eagerly pressing on to maturity, and that’s not always easy. Have you ever had Popeyes biscuits with no water? Going to maturity means that we might have to chew through some hard things, but it’s worth it.