Daily Bread 2011 - Hebrews 5
Warning Against Falling Away
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
What Does This Mean?
The author continues to explain how Jesus is a merciful high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a rare figure in that he was both a priest and a king in Salem. In the same way, Jesus was a priest in that he was a mediator between man and God and also a King, as He was the Son of God. But as he is teaching the church, we see a brief interlude in the verses above.
The writer strongly rebukes the church for its spiritual immaturity. Instead of growing in their knowledge of spiritual matters, the author needs to reiterate the rudimentary aspects of the faith. He compares it to feeding them with milk (like you would a baby) rather than solid food. Instead he describes the mature, who through constant use have trained themselves and been able to distinguish good from evil. Another aspect of spiritual maturity is the ability to teach others what you have learned through experience.
What Does This Mean For Us?
How would you describe your spiritual walk? Are you able to handle the solid food, or do you still need to be fed with milk? My hope is that through the Daily Bread, you will be better be able to handle the Word of Truth. The ultimate goal for any believer is to be able to distinguish between good and evil, as the bible becomes your road map for life and all its decisions.
This is a huge area of growth in the church. The goal of every church should be developing its members to correctly understand how to appropriate the Word of God in their lives. Secondly, that they might teach others, and so expand the spread of the Gospel in each person’s life. Often we measure churches in terms of attendance and budget, and yet one of the biggest indicators of a healthy church should be: members who can handle the Word of God and distinguish between good and evil and then teach others likewise. We should start measuring this don’t you think?
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word, which is a guide for all of life and brings us the Gospel of our salvation. Help us to learn from it and put it into practice so we can distinguish between good and evil, truth and error, teach others to do likewise. Amen.
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. 12 In 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
What Does This Mean?
The author continues to explain how Jesus is a merciful high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a rare figure in that he was both a priest and a king in Salem. In the same way, Jesus was a priest in that he was a mediator between man and God and also a King, as He was the Son of God. But as he is teaching the church, we see a brief interlude in the verses above.
The writer strongly rebukes the church for its spiritual immaturity. Instead of growing in their knowledge of spiritual matters, the author needs to reiterate the rudimentary aspects of the faith. He compares it to feeding them with milk (like you would a baby) rather than solid food. Instead he describes the mature, who through constant use have trained themselves and been able to distinguish good from evil. Another aspect of spiritual maturity is the ability to teach others what you have learned through experience.
What Does This Mean For Us?
How would you describe your spiritual walk? Are you able to handle the solid food, or do you still need to be fed with milk? My hope is that through the Daily Bread, you will be better be able to handle the Word of Truth. The ultimate goal for any believer is to be able to distinguish between good and evil, as the bible becomes your road map for life and all its decisions.
This is a huge area of growth in the church. The goal of every church should be developing its members to correctly understand how to appropriate the Word of God in their lives. Secondly, that they might teach others, and so expand the spread of the Gospel in each person’s life. Often we measure churches in terms of attendance and budget, and yet one of the biggest indicators of a healthy church should be: members who can handle the Word of God and distinguish between good and evil and then teach others likewise. We should start measuring this don’t you think?
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word, which is a guide for all of life and brings us the Gospel of our salvation. Help us to learn from it and put it into practice so we can distinguish between good and evil, truth and error, teach others to do likewise. Amen.
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