A Call to Maturity in the faith (It s time to grow up)

Transcription

1 Hebrews 5:11-6:20 A Call to Maturity in the faith (It s time to grow up) This is a heavy text to deal with. The author is quite honest and doesn t mince his words. Once again we ll take a few verses at a time 5:11-14 NLT Catch the authors tone here This isn t the first time he s saying this! There is an urgency in his voice. He s saying: It s time to mature, its time to grow up! 11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God s word. [a] You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. This makes me think of 1 Cor 13:11 (Anyone know what 1 Cor 13:11 says?) When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. And so the author uses the analogy of milk and solid food MOVE ON FROM THE MILK (A Call to Spiritual Growth) As infants, milk is good for us. It has goodness, and is good for us while we are babies. But the issue here is that people weren t moving on from the milk. The author is saying: If you re still on milk, then you re an infant, you unable to think for yourself.. Can I just say, that if you re a new Christian, enjoy the milk, In fact, have as much as you can, try a milk shake while you re at it! But don t get stuck there Verse 13: Infants lack discernment to know what to eat and what not to eat. They love to put things into their mouths. hmmm, this toy army soldier looks yummy, let me eat it Have you had experience with this There s no discernment about what goes in! But adults are different. They know what is good for them? Right? Sadly, often when it comes to to diet, we don t know have much self discipline and we eat all kinds of things.

2 If we don t acquire a knowledge as to what is good and bad, we ll put harmful things in our mouth. We ll never mature beyond that! PICTURE: WORLD S STRONGEST MAN diet: Eddie Hall Deadlifted 500kg Here s one day of his daily diet: 7AM 750 ml smoothie 9AM 8 egg omelette, 100g oats, 5 pieces of fruit 11AM green tea mixed with coconut oil and 75g almonds 1PM 300g chicken, 500g rice, 200g veg 3PM banana smoothie 4PM 1lt cranberry juice 6PM 1lt butter milk, 1lt coconut water 8PM spaghetti bolognaise 300g mince, 300g spaghetti and 2l juice cordial 10pm protein snack I would say he s off the milk diet Getting to this strength takes maturity when it comes to diet. It takes a lot of self control, of regular training sessions. It s hard work. Growing spiritually is hard work! Are you getting what the author is saying here. Move on from the Milk The danger of never moving on from milk is that you never learn to dig your own well. You never comprehend the deep things of God. It s the Monday-Saturday walk with God that you will struggle with. All you know is milk. It s like when you ve been invited to friends for supper, and you bring milk with. The author of Hebrews is saying, that as maturing Christians, we need to develop a diet for truth, for good doctrine, HERE IS A CHECKLIST TO SEE HOW YOU ARE MATURING Are you attentive to my voice? Are you obedient to God Are you finding victory over your sin patterns? How easy do you find it to spend time with me? Are you embracing the Word of God? Are you plugged into some form of cell or communtiy group? Would you consider yourself teachable and accountable to someone? Is your speech Godly and uplifting of others? Have you learnt to dig your own well and find your own water?

3 Is your spiritual walk marked by good intentions that are never acted upon? Are you involved in a ministry at church, and what about missions? Spiritual Maturity is Ultimately about complete obedience So is it MILK? Or is it MEAT Moving on to chapter 6 6:1-6 6 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. (THE PASSIVE TONE here means that God brings this change about) Surely we don t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds [a] and placing our faith in God. 2 You don t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Look at what the author is referring to as milk, often stuff that we never get to. Whats he saying, do as Christ commanded you to do! And here comes the challenging text: MOVING OVER TO ESV 4 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, 5 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. What do we have here? How to we digest this? We must understand the context We must remember the theme in Hebrews of falling away, of losing faith. Hebrews 6:4-8 repeats and follows up Hebrews 2:1-4 & Hebrews 3:7-4:13. We must pay special attention to verse 3, before we look at verses 4-6. If God permits, this is the Marker, if God allows. Verse 4-6 rides on if God s permits it. Ultimately God allows and decides DISCLAIMER, I DON T PROFESS TO KNOW THIS WHOLE TEXT, AND NOTHING IS A MATTER OF FACT. IT S A COMMENTARY ON THE TEXT.

4 1) THIS PASSAGE IS REFFERING TO SPIRITUALLY AWARE CHRISTIANS Check out the phrases: Enlightened Tasted the heavenly gift Shared in the Holy Spirit tasted the goodness of the word of God These are people who have encountered God, Who have rationally understood what their decision mean t. Who have known Christ. This brings up the argument, if you trully know Gods goodness, would you ever turn from that? This passage assumes that this is possible. Look at John 15:6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. We choose to remain and abide, but we can choose to reject Christ 2) THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF IT BECOMING IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO PRESS ON TO PERFECTION. The use of Fall away implies a willful and purposeful decision to reject Christ. Its not a case of backsliding. The text is saying that there is some kind of failure which makes it impossible for the Christian to make further progress and press on to perfection Is this saying that grace is limited, that if you reject Christ after knowing him, it s tickets, it s over? Not necessarily, no. In many translations vs 6 uses present tense terminology. Check it out The word since is interesting here. because to their loss they are crucifying of Son of God all over again This is often translated while instead of because or since This suggests that repentance may not be impossible forever but that it absolutely can never happen while a person is in a state of rebellion against God.

5 This make sense? Stay with me here! 3) EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO STAY SOFT AND TENDER IN HEARING GOD S VOICE What s the writer saying here: There is a danger for Christians to avoid. It is possible to be so resistant to spiritual growth that God decides to leave us static and we cease to make further progress. God is slow to anger, but he does not ignore hardness of heart and unbelief forever. The important thing is to be able to hear God s voice. If you can respond when God rebukes you then you have not reached spiritual deafness. As long as God can speak to you, then you are able to respond to what He says and be renewed to repentance and you can make spiritual progress. The is the consequence of willful disobedience to God. Vs7-8 gives a short parable which graphically illustrates the warning just given 7 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. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Here is the second clue that those who willfully reject Christ, aren t eternally doomed: The Christian who gets rebellious is like land near to being cursed but its not a case of being eternally under God s curse. The land of his heart can be shown to be useless. What is produced - the thorns and thistles of rebellion - will be burned up. Nothing done in rebellion will have any everlasting significance. This passage parallels with 1 Corin 3:15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved--even though only as one escaping through the flames.

6 SUMMARY While a Christian is in rebellion, is it impossible for that person to be brought back to repentance. One is never too far away from the opportunity to choose salvation again. Piece of String illustration below the hand, while I am willfully in rebellion, The heart behind the verses is one of warning. Catch the heart here. Take a little breather 6:9-12 NLT (Here the author lifts the readers up again and gives them hope) 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things things that belong to salvation. 10 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. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. We are confident of better things: BE IMITATORS OF THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUALLY MATURE The AMP tells us to imitate those who lean on God with absolute confidence Finally we come to the last passage. I m going to fast forward here and leave out verses It talks about Abraham being certain of Gods promise. And how we can be sure of his promise today. Lets zoom into verse 18 and 20 Now this HOPE Finally we have this beautiful ending to Hebrews 6 AMP

7 18 so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us. 19 This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it] a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells], 20 where Jesus has entered [in advance] as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of [e] Melchizedek. PICTURES OF WORLDS BIGGEST ANCHOR AND CHAIN Like an anchor holding a ship in position, our hope in Christ guarantees our safety. Our anchor is sure, its steadfast, and its secured in heaven Whereas a ships anchor goes down into the ocean bed, the Christians anchor goes up into the true, heavenly sanctuary, where they are moored to God himself. We are seated in heavenly places. Our salvation extends to heaven, with Christ who is seated at the right hand of God This imagery of us being pulled up to heaven, being secured We re not pulled down like an anchor, we re pulled up, We re seated in heavenly places. Christ is our forefunner. CLIMBERS ANCHOR PICTURE Creates multiple points of protection that a climber is trusting their weight entirely too. It saves the climbers life if they fall. It supports their weight completely. If we fall, we might not be in the same place as we were, but we find our footing again! So our anchor our promised future is sure; it is steadfast; and it is the finished and purchased work of Jesus our High Priest. Question this morning: What does maturing in your faith mean to you?

8 Whats your next step? Are you still on the Milk?