The Problem of Persistent Spiritual Immaturity
Hebrews 5:12–6:3
Introduction.
The next section of Hebrews is one we refer to often.
We push spiritual maturity, learning and studying God’s Word.
And rightfully so because this is a passage that talks about it so well.
Peter exhorts his readers in 2 Pet. 3:18 to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
That is something we are told to do, and the writer of Hebrews makes that exhortation, too.
Have you ever learned something so neat that you just had to share it?
It could be about anything, about cars or history or anything.
But you could only share it with a few people because no one else would understand, much less care about it?
There’s a certain sense of disappointment that you can’t share something with someone because it wouldn’t be appreciated.
That’s what the Hebrews writer is going through right now.
He really wants to get into this topic that he just introduced in Ch. 5, that Christ is their high priest “according to the order of Melchizedek” (5:10).
But he can’t because it’s “hard to explain, since [they] have become dull of hearing” (5:11).
So he has to backtrack a bit—he eventually does discuss it, but not after chiding them for their lack of spiritual maturity.
Preview.
In Need of Milk (5:12-14).
Elementary Principles (6:1-3).
Body.
In need of milk (5:12-14).
We had just read that these Jewish Christians had become dull of hearing.
They had no interest in growing, in moving past the elementary principles of Christ.
Given a certain period of time, growth is expected, yet it wasn’t happening here.
They ought to be teachers, or at least be willing and able to teach others the gospel.
But instead, they are dull of hearing, needing to be taught continually the basics.
There’s nothing wrong with teaching and preaching the basics.
In fact, it is often needed since in many congregations they are neglected to the detriment of the people.
How many times do you hear a sermon on baptism, on the oneness of the church, or on worship, and you think it’s the best sermon you’ve heard in awhile?
Those things are most certainly needed, but we can’t dwell there.
The writer uses a metaphor that Paul uses in 1 Cor. 3, that those who are immature need spiritual milk rather than solid food.
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
These babes in Christ were more carnal that spiritual, falling for all manner of sinful behaviors like envy and strife.
Babies, of course, have no teeth, and their digestive systems can’t handle anything more than milk—and even then, how often do they spit up?
While mother’s milk has all the nutrients a baby needs, a grown man cannot be sustained by it.
And a growing Christian ought not to stay on that milk diet—he needs meat!
Whenever I hear a sermon, I might categorize it as either milky or meaty—I don’t always, but if one goes to the extreme either way I might.
Milky sermons are ones that are quite basic and I’m not challenged in any way.
Meaty sermons, on the other hand, go into things deeply, and I learn something or am challenged in a meaningful way.
Since congregations are made up of people who require both milk and meat, it becomes a balancing act to make sermons apply to both.
A steady diet of meat might help the mature Christians grow, but it leaves the babes to starve.
Similarly a steady diet of milk will help the babes to grow, but only to a point, while the mature ones stagnate, and may even regress.
Those babes who never graduate from a milk diet are unskilled in the word, which makes them easier targets for false teachers who would drag them away from the truth.
And even if they don’t fall away, what about their children?
With spiritual maturity comes the ability to know right from wrong.
If we can graduate to solid food, we will be in a better position to discern what’s right and what’s wrong so that we are not so easily fooled or swayed by what’s false (e.g. Eph. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
Reading religious materials written by those outside the church is fine for those who are spiritually mature, for they are more capable of “taking the meat from the bones.”
This phrase means that we can take what’s good from what we read and leaving behind what’s not.
In any event, these Jewish Christians were having such a problem with this, that they found it difficult to move past the elementary principles.
Elementary principles (6:1-3).
If we can move past these principles, then we move on to perfection.
Of course the idea of perfection in this context is the idea of spiritual maturity—a common theme in the Scriptures.
If we are stuck in the elementary principles (i.e. Christianity 101), there is no way to move on to perfection.
They were demanding milky sermons and lessons, having no desire to move past the basics.
The writer then goes into what he calls the foundation, what we might understand to be the basics of Christianity from a Jewish Christian’s perspective.
All these things mentioned are Jewish teachings that have continued on into Christianity.
These Jewish Christians who are in danger of drifting away are trying to straddle the fence, if you will, between the two faiths.
The problem with straddling the fence is that you, in effect, deny both.
Regardless, a rejecting Jesus as the only way to the Father (John 14:6) is rejecting any way to the Father, having departed from the living God (3:12).
There are six things the writer here lays out as the “elementary principles” carried over from Judaism—if we are right on these doctrines, we have mastered Christianity 101.
Repentance from dead works.
This is of course elementary.
This is even included in the plan of salvation (Acts 2:38; 17:30).
The “dead works” are actions that lead to spiritual death, i.e. sin.
This is most clearly taught throughout the O.T. as well, and is very important for every Christian.
We all must turn away from our sins.
Faith toward God.
The writer here will go into far more detail on faith in Ch. 11 concerning the faith of so many great men and women of the O.T.
He has also hammered home belief in God many times throughout this book already.
And in 11:6 he states that it is impossible to please God without it.
Faith is absolutely needed for our salvation (John 3:16).
Doctrine of baptisms.
It is tempting to associate this with the baptisms talked about in the N.T. (e.g. baptism of John or of Christ, baptism in the Holy Spirit or in fire).
But since this is in the context of Jewish doctrines carried over into Christianity, this is actually talking of the ritual cleansings discussed in the O.T.
We talked about many of them in our Leviticus series, particularly in Lev. 12; 14; 15, along with our discussion in Mark 7 on the washings that the Jews engaged in according to their traditions.
The best example, however, would be the rituals surrounding a Gentile converting to Judaism.
He was required to immerse himself into water to be cleansed of his Gentile uncleanness before becoming a proselyte.
It was not a strange thing to Jews for John to be baptizing people in the wilderness for they were already somewhat familiar with this practice—one difference is John did the baptizing where the convert to Judaism basically baptized himself.
Of course in this Christian age, baptism is for salvation, the remission of sins, and to get one into Christ (1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 2:38; Gal. 3:27).
Laying on of hands.
In Judaism, one laid hands on the sacrifice to symbolically transfer sin to it before and while it is killed, as we see throughout Leviticus.
It was also done in certain inauguration customs, as when Moses laid hands on Joshua giving him the spirit of wisdom (Num. 27:23; Deut. 34:9).
In the N.T., we see it occurring when the Apostles transfer gifts of the Holy Spirit to others (Acts 8:17), in healings (Acts 28:8), and in special commissions (Acts 6:6).
Since we no longer have miraculous spiritual gifts to transfer to others, we do not lay hands on people quite like they did back then, but it is still quite important to understand its place.
After all, it was only an Apostle, one of the Twelve (incl. Paul) who could bestow upon someone these miraculous gifts, therefore they are not available today.
Resurrection of the dead.
This is not explicitly stated in the O.T., but it was clearly a common belief among many of the Jews (John 11:24).
The common people generally believed that along with the Pharisees, but the Sadducees denied it (Acts 23:8).
And this is also an elementary principle carried over into Christianity, since the Bible, esp. Paul, talks about it frequently (1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4).
On top of that, Jesus is called the firstfruits, the first of those who had experienced this resurrection which confirmed that it would happen indeed (1 Cor. 15:20-28).
Eternal judgment.
Again, this is not explicitly stated in the O.T., but similar to the resurrection of the dead, the Pharisees and the common people generally believed this while the Sadducees denied it.
In many places this is taught in the N.T., particularly by Jesus and John the Baptist when both speak of an unquenchable fire (Mark 9:42-48; Luke 3:17).
John especially writes about it in his vision in Rev. 20:11-15.
Judgment is coming, so be ready!
These six things are the elementary principles carried over from Judaism that we need to get right!
We can only build upon a strong foundation of faith in the basics.
Without that strong foundation, anything built upon it will crumble like a house of cards.
When we think of all the denominations that are out there, how many are right on what the Bible teaches about these things?
They may be right on some of them, but all six?
This may be why we talk about many of these things often, but there is still a need to move on to meatier things.
“And this we will do if God permits” next week.
Conclusion.
The basics are so important for us to learn and to learn well.
But we do need to move past them to things that are more weighty.
It is so important for our faith to do this, moving on to perfection (spiritual maturity).
In the next part of this chapter, we will see why it is so important.
If we remain carnal, if we remain as spiritual infants, sustained only on milk, then we are at danger of falling into apostasy.
That is what we will discuss next time, that the problem of persistent spiritual immaturity is apostasy.
That’s what these flaky Jewish Christians were in danger of, and we could be, too.
Do you have a handle on the basics of Christian doctrine, on the elementary principles, on Christianity 101?
If not, let’s have a Bible study!
Get to know us better, talk with us—we’d be happy to share these things with you!
If you are familiar with them, and you want to be a Christian, do so tonight!
If you have done that, what’s stopping you from getting deeper into the Word?
Let us help you with that, too, if you need it.
Get right with God today, and grow!