Don't Be Such A Baby!

All right. If you will, take your Bibles and turn to Hebrews chapter 5. I will read this morning chapter 5 verse 11 through chapter 6 verse 12. This is a one whole piece here and we will look at the first part of it this morning, but let's get the context, shall we? Hebrews. Did I say Hebrews?

Hebrews chapter 5 verse 11. About this Melchizedek 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, 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. though we speak this way yet in your case beloved we feel sure of better things things that belong to salvation 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 and we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end so that you may not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promise.

Let's pray. Father, now open up this text to us. This is your living word. I pray that your spirit would apply it as he sees fit. I pray, Father, that no one would leave here this morning without having to think about the state of their souls and that they would determine the things they must do in order to bring themselves into alignment by your grace to your commandments.

Thank you now for our time in your word. Help us in our weakness to listen, to concentrate. Help us to hear your voice in Jesus' name. Amen. A little over a month ago, our grandson Atticus was born. you talk about a cute baby. He is the definition of cute.

And if I had been thinking ahead of time, I'd have his picture up here right now on the PowerPoint on the screen. But if you still don't believe me, I've got pictures. Nevertheless, as cute as Atticus is, we all know he can't stay as that cute and cannot stay as an infant. He must grow if he's going to be a healthy human being. If he doesn't grow, then something is wrong.

As we look at our text this morning, our writer talks to us about spiritual infants and striving to maturity. In fact, you need to understand from this passage that you are in danger if you remain an infant. Just as we would think an infant that wasn't growing is in some kind of danger, so you must get into your mind that if you remain a spiritual infant, you are in danger.

And so you must pursue spiritual maturity. Now, you recall that our writer-pastor has told us that Jesus is much like the Old Testament priests, but is far superior to them because he has accomplished more than the Old Covenant priests ever could. Ultimately, he occupies the superior place because he is designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

But before he continues on this subject of Melchizedek's priesthood, he pauses to issue a blunt rebuke for their sluggishness and their immature spiritual appetites. from chapter 5 verse 11 through the end of chapter 6 he rebukes, he warns and gives assurance to you before he comes back to the more difficult subject of Melchizedek and so in our text today he warns against infancy and encourages you to move to maturity let's look at our text for this morning 5.11 through 6.3 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.

What's the first thing he says to you here? The first, from 11 through 14, here's what he says. Beware of infancy. Beware of infancy. Now, you know, we just want to cuddle infants. We're attracted to infants.

We love infants. Here he says, beware of infancy. Beware of infancy. now notice the term he uses in verse 13 he says you are a child that can be translated and i think should be as infants it's the word that means an infant child after sizing up their capabilities he concludes that anyone like this that he describes here is an infant and so we have a warning here.

You must not remain in your stage of spiritual infancy. You must not remain there. You must strive for maturity. Now what characterizes this infantile kind of capabilities? What characterizes this immaturity? Here's the first thing.

Dull hearing. Dull hearing. the problem that our pastor faces is not the complexity of the subject notice he says about this we have much to say and it is hard to explain since you be since you have become dull of hearing the problem he faces is not the complexity of the subject but the sluggishness of his hearers he uses that same term in verse 12 if you want to look over there so that you may not be sluggish. But imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

He says don't be sluggish. Sluggish in hearing, dull in hearing, lazy. They had gotten lazy in pursuing truths about Jesus. The persecution they faced had caused a certain laziness, the unwillingness to pursue that truth. maybe quite possibly because of the cost of it but you've become lazy now this is the same kind of sluggishness this is the same kind of laziness that we saw earlier in this book in the wilderness generation they heard the promises of God but what they did not act on them they did not believe them they did not pursue what they said they heard the word of God but they did not obey if you do not want to remain an infant then you have to beware of this kind of spiritual laziness note you are sluggish lazy dull in your hearing this is why you can't get it because you're lazy you haven't grown because of your own laziness verse 12 here's something else that characterizes this immaturity inexcusable ignorance inexcusable in ignorance he says you ought to be teachers by now now he does not mean that everyone in the congregation should be able to get behind the pulpit or in front of a class and teach the things of god that's not what he's driving at he says he's saying rather that you ought to know your faith well enough that you can communicate the elements, the basics of that faith to people who don't know it.

You ought to know your faith well enough so that you can exhort one another as long as it's called today. You ought to be teachers by now, but you're not. He says your spiritual immaturity, your infant stage is inexcusable. You ought to be teachers by now. This is inexcusable, this ignorance. Now look, we need to get over our excuse making by saying things like well he still cannot handle the deeper doctrines he needs milk for individuals who have been Christians for a while we need to get over that if he's on milk then we need to kind of help him along if you're on milk you need to say I gotta get busy laziness produces immaturity that's what he's saying he says you need some basic instruction someone needs to teach you the abcs again now the problem was that these folks were stuck on the abcs of the old covenant so why does our writer insist that they need to be taught again didn't he just get done saying that they're it's inexcusable that they don't know this that they and later on he says you got to move on?

So why is he here saying, you've got to get the basics again? Well, I think he's saying that they need to understand the purpose of the ABCs, that they were temporary, that they intended to point you to Christ, not remain the goal of God's people's faith. It's not going back to relearn the ABCs, but to learn that these are not the end of it all. Do you remember when you learned the alphabet in kindergarten?

I didn't learn it until first grade. No, that's just because the way the system was set up. All right, now listen. Do you remember what it was like when you learned your ABCs in kindergarten? Remember what it was like? You were on the mountaintop.

You thought that you knew it all now, didn't you? You were satisfied with that. Hey, I got my ABCs. I can rattle them A B C D E F G H I J K L M N F T V W X Y Z Okay Yeah I could rattle them off And you thought there was nothing more to do Do you remember that? I can remember my kids coming home. One of my kids just became this like downright proud of the fact that he knew his ABCs.

All right? You were satisfied with that. you needed a teacher to show you that this was not the end, it was the beginning. These were going to become the building blocks for the rest of your learning, the building blocks for even greater things. That's what he's saying here, I believe. You need to understand ACBs, ABCs. you know as I was going through my sermon when I was practicing this I kept saying ACVs you know why oh thank you all right let's get serious now he says you need milk not only are you satisfied like a kindergarten but you're downright infantile You have an infantile capacity to digest.

So you see, laziness produces this immature, infantile appetite for simple food rather than the solid food. Get busy. Grow up. Last thing he says in verses 13 and 14 is, another thing that characterizes immaturity is unskilled infants. like an infant you can only handle milk that's all you want so like an infant you're unskilled in the word of righteousness because you're satisfied to remain in the kindergarten of the old covenant you're he's saying to them you're satisfied with staying there no and because of that because of that laziness producing this immaturity producing this infantile state he says you're unskilled in the word of righteousness.

That is how to act properly, biblically, ethically, like a disciple of Jesus in the difficulties and trials of this age. That's the word of righteousness. You should desire the solid fruit of doctrine seen in the light of Jesus, the fulfillment. Now my question to you is what is our kindergarten? What is our kindergarten? I don't know of anybody here who's hung up on old testament stuff there may be i don't think there are so what is our kindergarten any of the basic truths that you have learned but because of laziness have refused to build on them any basic truths you've learned but because of your laziness you've refused to build on them let me ask you do you know more of the gospel and its implications now than you did five years ago?

Do you know more than you did five years ago? That is to say, is the gospel for you just the pass you get to go to heaven and that's as far as you've gotten? Or have you seen and understood it's the means that God uses to produce people for his name? That it gives the pattern for marriage and parenting and work. That it exalts Jesus as Lord and now you live all of life consciously under the authority of Jesus.

Looking at all of life is lived for him. Do you see that it produces holiness? How do you see the gospel? How do you respond to it? Right? Get over the infantile appetite.

You want more. What is maturity? he defines it for us here in verse 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 it involves discernment the ability to see life accurately and to weigh the alternatives and to choose the superior way or biblical way or the Christ-centered way. It's that ability to look at life and know what is the best way to go.

That, in essence, is wisdom. That's wisdom. And I want you to notice this. I think this is extraordinarily important, that you do not gain wisdom by more and more and more and more theological study now yes you need to be involved in more and more and more theological study but if you think the more I know the wiser I'll get you'll be wrong because what does he say here he said that discernment comes as you put into practice what you've learned that discernment grows when you by constant practice learn to discern discern good and evil you you by constant responding to the word of God we've already seen that hearing God's voice must be met we've already seen that right hearing God's voice must be met met with a readiness to trust his word and to obey his word that's all that he's told us that already and so this discernment this wisdom comes when God's word is met with a readiness to trust him and respond with obedience and your skill in making the wise choices pleasing to God that exalt Christ does not come by merely stuffing your heads with theological knowledge but by repeated exercise in obedient action.

To me this is fascinating Because you know what we done and some of you have heard me say this I said it so many times in different venues I don know if I said it here We essentially have adopted a pagan view of wisdom. A pagan view of wisdom that grew up from the philosophers that laid the foundations of our Western culture, which said, knowledge is virtue. Right?

Have you heard the campaigns that say, well we can pay for schools now or we can spend more money on prisons later what's behind that? the philosophy that education produces good people produces wise people right? that's not true it's only partly true what does he say here? you develop that wisdom by constant practice alright? I want you to look with me just another place where it says this in Psalm 119. Turn to Psalm 119 verse 97.

Listen to what the psalmist says here about wisdom. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

Does that surprise you? He says, I'm wise because I have your commandments, I meditate on them, and I what? And I obey them. You know, I've said this before. I know I've said it to you. I'll say it again. if I were to choose between getting counseled by people in this congregation or my seminary professors I would almost entrust myself to you to some of you who are mature here because I knew professors who could do their devotions in Hebrew but they did not have discernment because it was all academic they didn't put it into practice it just never sunk that far alright and they weren't wise.

There would be conflict on the faculty. They didn't know what to do about it. They had no idea what to do about it. It's because they knew the Word of God, but they didn't obey it like they should. So maturity or discernment comes from practice, obedience to the truth learned. Okay?

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying it's not important to learn more truth, but what I am saying is don't think that's the entire answer. Wisdom does not come just merely by knowing more. It comes as you respond in obedience to what you have learned. And that's what he's saying here. You've been lazy.

You become mature as you obey what you've learned. So see the danger of infancy here. We've got to get over the attitude that says, oh, he's immature, so we have to give him milk. maybe he'll never get any further so milk will have to do no we've got to move beyond that this is a dangerous state to be in in this state you do not possess discernment and you end up going the wrong way even as some of these recipients did abandoning Jesus you see it's dangerous to be an infant You can fall prey to the pressures around you.

Listen, because of laziness, Christians have the discernment of infants, and thus they buy into the philosophies of this age. Now listen, why is it that in this country, everywhere for that matter, evangelical, Bible-believing Christians, or so they claim to be Bible-believing Christians can believe that a homosexual relationship is okay as long as it's monogamous. Now, I've read that.

I've read Christian apologists making that case. All right? I'm saying, how is it possible for anyone to say that? Here's why. Here's why they've been lazy. Churches have allowed the congregation to be lazy. and they haven't pushed them.

They haven't said, you've got to grow. They're willing to just give them milk. Thus we have a whole generation of Christians who have no discernment. They don't get it. They're just pressured into the mold of this world. So what does he say?

He says, strive for maturity. Verses 1 through 3. Chapter 6. Leave the elementary doctrine of Christ is the way you move on to majority. Now, again, that sounds weird. Leave?

What's he talking about here? I believe that he's talking about the foundational doctrine found in the Old Testament. This can be translated, by the way, the beginning of the word of the Messiah. Oftentimes in the text, it doesn't just say Christ. It says in here, it says is the Christ, the Messiah. We need to leave behind those foundational elementary truths of the Messiah.

By the way, Jesus Christ, it's not like that's the last name you have to use so he gets his mail, right? Christ is his office. It's his title. Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus, the Christ. So he speaks here, I believe, of the elementary or foundational doctrines of Christ.

What is he talking about here? The foundation, the foundational Old Testament doctrine pointing to Messiah. Aspects of God's revelation belonging to that era as he's called it long ago when God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. Now you see their description here in three pairs or three couplets. He's got three couplets here. What are they?

Repentance and trust, instruction on washings and the laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. Three pairs there. When he talks about repentance and trust, he's talking about covenant commitment. The old covenant commitment. Repentance says from dead works or works that lead to death. Works that lead to death.

Throughout the Old Testament, you find commands to repent and trust in or believe God. This was the Israelite commitment to the covenant. Turning away from the acts that violated the covenant and believing the promises of God. We already saw that as he talks about Psalm 95. There's trust in God, as we've seen that in earlier chapters. They did not believe God.

Remember, they stood at the edge of the Jordan. They did not believe the promises of God. Repentance from dead works, repentance from those things that would lead to death for covenant unfaithfulness. So, repentance and trust, covenant commitment. Instructions on washings and the laying on of hands. This is the main reason why I think he's talking about Old Testament things, because this couplet doesn't seem to relate to New Testament things.

You say, but my Bible says baptisms. Well, that could be, but that would be wrong, because he uses the word for washings here, not baptisms. It's a little bit of a different word, and it's the same word that's used in Mark chapter 7 verse 4 and there are many other traditions that the Pharisees observed such as the, here's our word, washings of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.

It's a ceremonial washing. In our Old Testament reading today, what did you hear? You heard about the fact that the priest had to go to that big pot of water and they had to wash their hands and their feet before they could approach God. The laying on of hands refers to the symbolic action of laying your hands on a sacrifice. Symbolically transferring your sin to the animal who was sacrificed in your place.

So the ceremonial washings and the laying on of hands. Necessary for communion with God's people. Covenant communion. and then resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment covenant sanctions the punishment or reward meted out for covenant faithfulness or covenant disobedience in fact it's caught about talking about the blessings and the cursings that come with obedience or disobedience to the covenant in fact the prophet daniel writes about a future resurrection from an old testament perspective here's what he says and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Right? So he talking here about those foundational Old Testament elementary things that point to Christ but are not the end all And by leaving he does not mean leave these because they worthless for your growth We can say that because it still God word But rather don't stay there. Build on this foundation by recognizing their fulfillment in Jesus. Build on that foundation.

You know, when you build a house, what do you got to do? What's the first thing you have to do? You have to lay the foundation, don't you? You have to lay the foundation. But when you finish the foundation, what do you do? You go back every day and you come home and you say, man, I really worked hard today.

I really made those stones look good. I polished those stones in the foundation. And then the next day you go back. And then maybe the next day you go back and say, let's lay this again. Right? No.

What do you do with the foundation? You build on it. You don't keep working on it. You don't stop there. And you don't put another one down. You go back and build on that foundation.

It's not worthless, but it's not the complete building. Right? Now there are many today who keep going back to the foundation in disregard of God's command here to stop doing that. Now let me give you an example. when you go to the hospital you go by a sign in front of that big lutheran church and on it also says marion bible fellowship right you've seen that sign the big lutheran church next to the marion general hospital there's a sign that says it's that church but it's also i think that's where they're meeting if i read that nevertheless marion bible fellowship and if you look at their meetings they are they're always meeting on saturday have you noticed that is that because they can't get a place for Sunday?

Nope. Go to their website. At the very beginning of the website, they have this. Shabbat times for Marian. Now, Shabbat is the Hebrew word Sabbath. Shabbat times for Marian.

Friday, October 22nd, 2021, light candles at 624. Okay? 624 p.m. Why is that? because the Jewish tradition is you have to light the candles 18 minutes before the sun goes down. And then Shabbat, October 23rd, the next day, Shabbat ends 7.21 p.m. Now what's that all about?

Because the Jewish Sabbath went from Friday night to Saturday night. The Jewish people always counted their days from night to night, not day to day. So, Sabbath starts when the sun goes down. But you can't light your candle after sundown because that desecrates the Sabbath. So, 18 minutes before sundown and one hour after sundown the next day. 25 hour period, let's say.

Alright? There you go. That's what's on their website. This is when we worship. all right services then are on saturday now in it they say and again i'm not bashing them but i want you to see what exactly the writer here is driving at and so if you look on their website they say like other christian churches i mean they believe in salvation through jesus through faith in christ the savior however they are in their words unique here what they say are you certain what god expects of you as a believer in Messiah At Marian Bible Fellowship we believe every part of the Bible is inspired and gives direction to our lives I'll agree with that.

This means that some things you will find at MBF will not be found in many churches. The keeping of Sabbath, a whole day of worship, rest, and family commanded by God of his people. The celebration of the biblical holidays, Passover, unleavened bread, Pentecost in the spring and trumpets, the day of atonement and tabernacle in the fall. All strangely unfamiliar to Christian nowadays but faithfully practiced by early Jewish and Gentile followers of Messiah.

Come and see how the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith can make the Bible come alive for the first time. God has planted you in rich soil as followers of Jesus of Nazareth you have chosen a Jewish rabbi as your savior and teacher tap into the roots of your faith and see how much you can really grow if I understand Hebrews right our writer right here is saying you're not going to grow you're not going to grow leave that behind it's been fulfilled you don't have to stay there so God commands you to make the effort to leave behind these elementary truths take responsibility to grow in the knowledge of and obedience to Jesus and yet what does he say in verse 3 if God permits what's going on here get busy and you'll make progress if God permits. What in the world is he driving at here?

He wants you to understand that everything still hinges on God's grace. It still hinges on God's grace. Although you're responsible to grow, to stop relaying that foundation, to make the effort for maturity, you must do it in dependence on God's enabling power. You can't do it if God's not in it. Right? I want worship to happen here every Sunday.

And I want to get up here and I want to preach my heart out. But I know that this sermon can drop right in front of this communion table. And not go anywhere if God doesn't want it to. Right? I've got to come in having prepared, studied, practiced. Thinking it through.

Ready to go. But understand. ultimately it depends on God and that's how you must look at your growth ultimately it depends on God and you need to seek the grace of God in order for that to happen you've got to depend on God how do you do that? how do you do that? how do you get the power from God? well I'll tell you how pray for that enabling power pray oh God please bless these efforts with growth please I pray work through this. You've got to submit to the preaching of God's word.

This is a means of grace. If you want the power of God, then submit to the preaching of God's word. You all know, every one of you here I'm sure has experienced it, when you absent from worship of the people of God what happens to you spiritually Right You start failing Alright Give yourself to the fellowship of God What happens to you spiritually Right You start failing Alright Give yourself to the fellowship of the saints.

Here's another means of growth. 1 Peter tells us what? That we're to minister the manifold grace of God to one another as we serve one another. Find grace to go on as you preach the gospel to yourself in communion. Right? What does communion do?

You've heard me say it. 1,026 times. Right? When you take communion, you are tapping into the grace of God because you're preaching the gospel to yourself in another means besides sight and hearing. You're engaging your other senses, which then excite you to feed on Christ by faith. There's grace there.

Consistently reading God's word, you will find grace. And so, he calls us then, make the effort, strive for maturity. But remember, God has to be in it. Seek God. Seek God. So let me ask you, are you striving or are you satisfied?

That's where we are. If you're satisfied, you're not striving. If you're striving, you're not satisfied with that milk. It's dangerous to be an infant satisfied with only milk. As an infant, you're unskilled. You have no discernment.

As an infant, you don't have the ability to make wise decisions. But you are not doomed to infancy. And we need to stop talking like that. You can strive for maturity. Learn and obey. Shake off your laziness.

Strive for maturity by the grace of God. Now, unless you know Jesus, you're not going to care about it. And some of you here, this is falling on deaf ears. You don't care about maturity. I don't know why you're here. Maybe you don't either.

But without Jesus, you don't care. But with Jesus, right, the one who gave himself for you, you will care. and you will have the power to do what he commands. But you must strive. Let's ask God to help us right now. Father, help us to strive for maturity. Oh God, give us a holy dissatisfaction with the satisfied nature of infants.

Instead, give us a desire to pursue growth, to pursue you and the Lord Jesus by the power of your Spirit. Help us to strive for maturity. By your grace, enable us to gain discernment as we learn and then obey, as we approach your Word with a willingness to trust and to obey. God help us. Lord, we don't want this congregation to be a giant crib. Instead, help us to mature so that we are skilled in the word of righteousness and we can handle what you have to say for us.

We thank you for that. In Jesus' name, amen.