Hebrews 5:11-6:8
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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.
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. 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, 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. 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. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
How many times have we gotten frustrated by trying to explain something to people who can't (or won't) try to understand? This is what seems to have happened to the author of Hebrews. He is exasperated by trying to explain how Jesus Christ is greater than any high priest to an audience that has not matured like they should have.
I could build on the redundancy of the food analogy by explaining it, but it was verse 14 that caught my attention:
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.The spiritually mature didn't just wake up one day ready for the "solid food" they took the early teachings and (gasp) even questioned what they were taught! They were able, through that, to discern good from evil. The author even suggests that one of the signs of maturity is the ability and desire to teach others what you have learned (verse 12)
Then he suggests that they move on from the "elementary doctrine of Christ." Now, the author has just spent most of his time so far explaining how Christ is better than the angels, and even better than Moses, so he is not saying that the doctrine of Christ is elementary. In fact, he goes on to explain what he means:
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.He doesn't want to explain the basics of Salvation, he argues, his audience should know that already. He feels that the need to discuss the harder doctrines of the new covenant we have with Christ is greater. However, he does aknowledge that it is still important because he promises that "this we will do if God permits."
How often have we as a church been stuck on the basic doctrines we have been taught and refused question and discern what is good and what is not? I believe that the American church is refusing to accept its responsibility to teach and instead focusing on the easy, preliminary doctrine of salvation and eternal security.
(All scripture taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted)
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Listening to: Steven Delopoulos - Daisies and Sandalwood
via FoxyTunes
