Hebrews 5:11-6:3

¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹²In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. 6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ²instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³And God permitting, we will do so.

 Warning Against Apostasy

In this passage the author writes to a group of Hebrew Christians, not just the leaders of the church, to challenge the reader to self-reflect on their current level of knowledge and understanding of the Bible. According to the author if you have been a Christian for a while, you should know the basic principles of Christ’s teachings and be able to convey these teachings to other people who don’t know them. I will expand on two points in this passage.

 1. Wake up and grow up: This passage is a wake-up call to people who “no longer try to understand” and who have remained stagnant. Even if you have been a Christian for years, if you just go through the motions of going to church once a week and don’t study the Bible, you have to be fed milk again! You have to relearn the basics. It is very difficult to delve into the deeper meanings of the Word without a solid living foundation of Christ’s teachings.

Furthermore, the author is talking to the readers about Jesus as a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (Chapters 6 & 7) but is concerned that the topic might be too complex for them. Therefore, before diving into this subject, he provides a stern cautionary message. Essentially, he is urging them to grow up!

2. Growth: When a plant is measured every week you are excited by how much it has grown or if it hasn’t grown you try to figure out what’s wrong. Maybe you change the soil, or move the plant to a sunnier position. Much like the plant’s growth, we grow spiritually and there is no growth if we remain static. We must yearn for the Word like a plant thirsts for water, we must reach for God like a plant reaches for the sun. However, just like the plant is pruned to keep its shape and to cultivate it, so must we face challenges to grow. That is why we should leave these elementary teachings to pursue a deeper understanding of theology. It is the only way you can develop as a Christian. And God willing we will do just that.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for giving us your Word, so that we may study it and grow closer to you. We pray today for growth and maturity in you and for an understanding of what you want to teach us. Amen.