We Must Grow Up (Hebrews 5:11-6:12)
The sermon outline can be found here in the ministry guide.
In the past, there was childhood and adulthood. Nowadays, however, things have become more complicated. There is childhood and adulthood. Then, there is also “adulting”. The term became popular around seven to eight years ago. In 2016, the Oxford Dictionary shortlisted “adulting” as one of its candidates for word of the year. It defined adulting as “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks”. Adulting involves doing things like starting a family, working to pay the bills, buying a home, or doing housework. “Adulting” is a humourous way of talking about the challenges younger people face when adjusting to adulthood. Growing up isn’t easy, but it’s something we must all do. . Maturity means being responsibility. We’ve thought about becoming an adult in the earthly sense. What about growing up spiritually? Why is it important that we go on to maturity? What if we’re not growing?
Spiritual immaturity is the problem our sermon text confronts. Here, the letter to the Hebrews speaks to Christians who seem to have stopped progressing and are in danger of regressing. Some are thinking of going back to Judaism with its sacrificial rituals and religious practices. Some are getting weary of following Jesus because it’s too difficult. They are turning away from the gospel to other things they think are “better” than Jesus. Like them, how might we also be struggling to continue growing spiritually? We may be distracted by the cares, busyness, and pursuits of life, which seem “better”. Some of us may have settled into a comfortable complacency that has cooled our zeal for spiritual things. Maybe we’ve become spiritually sluggish.
We must grow up in Christ, so that we don’t fall away.
Hebrews urges us to keep growing amid the spiritual challenges and dangers we face. One of the Bible’s sternest warnings is found here. The aim isn’t to scare but to exhort us to press on. This passage is telling us that we must grow up in Christ, so that we don’t fall away. This passage admonishes us to go on, grow up. It warns us to watch out, don’t fall. And, it encourages us to take heart, keep going.
Go on, grow up (Heb 5:11-6:3)
Last week, we were introduced to this truth about Jesus: He was appointed by God to be a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:6, 10). Who is Melchizedek and why does it matter to us? Hebrews wants to take us on a deep dive into the depths of the gospel, to show us the glories of who Jesus is and what he has done. By knowing Jesus better, we will be better equipped to apply the gospel to our lives.
But there is a problem: The hearers have no appetite for these rich gospel truths: “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. (Heb 5:12b-14a)” For children to grow, they have to eat solid food. Milk alone is not enough. We’d be concerned if a child only drank milk. Yet this is what these Christians are like. They are spiritually immature not because they are new Christians, but because they don’t want the solid food they need to grow up.
These verses highlight four signs of spiritual immaturity. Firstly, we don’t want to listen. The author would like to tell us more about Melchizedek and Jesus, but will we listen? Hebrews 5:1 points out that the issue is not a lack of intellectual understanding but a lack of desire to hear. To be dull of hearing means to be spiritually sluggish (same word in Hebrews 6:12), careless, and disinterested. When the feast of God’s word is offered to us, do we say, “Not hungry”? We have so many opportunities to hear, read, and study the Bible. We can read the Bible in our own language. We have sermons, Equip classes, Wednesday Bible studies, small group Bible studies, 1-1 Bible reading, etc. We have good Christian books and resources. We have all this and more, but are we good listeners? Be an active, not passive, listener. Here are at least five ways to listen better:
Pray and prepare;
Open your Bible, follow along, take notes;
Listen and talk with one another;
Be consistent and patient;
Pray to trust and obey.
Forgetfulness is the second sign of spiritual immaturity (c.f. Heb 5:12). They are no longer new Christians. They ought to be teaching others to know and follow Jesus. But instead, they need others to teach them the fundamentals of the faith again. They keep having to go over the same ground. They can’t (or won’t) grow up because they let good Bible teaching go in one ear and out the other. We may have heard numerous sermons and countless Bible studies. We may be a long-time regular churchgoer. If we have received teaching, then how are we teaching others? Maturity means speaking God’s truth to others to encourage them in Christ. How are we helping one another to grow in the faith? Consider reading the Bible one-to-one with someone else. Spiritual immaturity is not only harmful to ourselves, but also hurts the church. When we refuse to pull our weight, other members have to shoulder our load as well. So, for the sake of the gospel and the church, don’t remain immature. Be a contributor, not a consumer.
A third sign of spiritual immaturity is to be unskilled (c.f. Heb 5:13). When we learn a new sport, we need to practice consistently to improve, otherwise we’ll always be a beginner. To be unskilled means we haven’t put into practice what we’ve heard. Being skilled in God’s word doesn’t mean we all have to be Bible scholars; it just means that we must commit to learning and doing the truth. We must apply and obey God’s word. After reading or hearing God’s word, ask ourselves, “So what?” and “What now?” How will God’s truth make a difference to our lives?
Hence, the mature are “those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:14). By contrast, a lack of discernment is the fourth sign of immaturity. The immature are easily led astray. If we are not growing, we will naively believe whatever we watch online or read in chats. To tell right from wrong, true from false, we must grow up in Christ, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. (Eph. 4:14a)”
A mature Christian is one who listens well to God’s word, disciples others, knows and practices the truth, and is spiritually discerning.
A mature Christian is one who listens well to God’s word, disciples others, knows and practices the truth, and is spiritually discerning. Pursue maturity. Hebrews admonishes us to go on and grow up (Heb 6:1a). Leaving the elementary doctrine of Christ doesn’t mean we leave the gospel behind and move on to other things. Because Jesus is better, He must always be at the centre of our lives. We must establish a firm foundation in the gospel to build on and grow to maturity.
Our foundation will be shaky if we don’t get the basics right. We can’t go on to maturity if we keep having to rebuild the foundation. Hebrews 6:1b-2 lays out the fundamentals of the faith: “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.” The first four have to do with the start of our Christian life. Repentance or turning away from sin and turning to God through faith in Jesus. Washings refer to baptism when we become a Christian. Laying on of hands represents receiving the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus. The final two have to do with the end where we will be raised from the dead and be judged by God.
For the gospel to be the A to Z of our lives, we must know the ABCs of the gospel. Learn to explain the gospel clearly.
Hold fast to these fundamentals. Grow in Christ by building on them. For the gospel to be the A to Z of our lives, we must know the ABCs of the gospel. Learn to explain the gospel clearly. A faithful explanation of the gospel should include truths about God, man, Jesus Christ, and our response: God is our holy Creator, who made us to worship Him. Man is made in God’s image, but we have sinned and turned away from God. Because God is righteous and just, sin must be punished. But God graciously sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners like us. Jesus is fully man and fully God. Unlike us, he perfectly obeyed God, even to death on the cross for sinners. Jesus bore God’s wrath in the place of all who would trust in Him. Through the cross, our sins are forgiven, and we are brought back to God. Jesus rose from the dead to give us new life. We cannot do anything to save ourselves. We simply repent and believe in Jesus to save us. Have we believed this gospel and trusted in Jesus?
Be child-like, not childish, in our faith. Be a life-long learner, willing to stretch our minds and open our hearts to God’s truth.
The gospel can be simply explained, yet the riches of Christ are unsearchable and inexhaustible. To paraphrase a well-known saying, the gospel is shallow enough for a child to wade in and deep enough for an elephant to swim. So, don’t be content with a bare minimum understanding of the gospel. Be child-like, not childish, in our faith. Be a life-long learner, willing to stretch our minds and open our hearts to God’s truth. Mature Christians are those who keep pressing on towards Jesus. So, go on to maturity. May we say with Hebrews 6:3, “This we will do if God permits.” Trust in God, who gives the growth.
Watch out, don’t fall (Heb 6:4-8)
We must grow up. Growth is not optional. If we’re not moving forwards, then we’re sliding backwards. It’s dangerous to not move to maturity. These verses are a sobering wake-up call for us, if we’re not growing spiritually.
These are difficult verses. We’ll unpack them by considering who they refer to, what has happened to these people, and why. So, first, who do these verses speak about? Notice the change in personal pronouns from the first and second persons to the third person. The verses before and after speak of “you” and “us”. But in Hebrews 6:4-8, Hebrews speaks of “those”. Therefore, the author is not saying that his hearers have fallen away. Rather, he is highlighting another group of people as a negative example to avoid, like what he did in Hebrews 3 and 4 with the negative example of Old Testament Israel.
They are described as having “once been enlightened…tasted the heavenly gift…shared in the Holy Spirit… tasted the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the age to come” (Heb 6:4-6). Like the Israelites who were redeemed from Egypt in the exodus, these people have great spiritual privileges. They have been enlightened with the knowledge of God’s truth. They have heard God’s word and the gospel, just as how Old Testament Israel received God’s revelation. They have been given the heavenly gift of God’s gracious provision, just as Old Testament Israel ate manna from heaven and drank water from the rock. They have even shared in the Holy Spirit by being a part of the community where God’s Spirit dwells, the church. They have experienced the goodness of God’s word, seeing it save and transform the lives of others around them. They’ve witnessed the powers of the age to come displayed through signs and wonders that confirm the truth of the gospel. So, who are these people? They are those who once professed to believe in Jesus and identified themselves as members of the church.
Secondly, what has happened to them? Despite their spiritual privileges, they have “then fallen away” (Heb 6:6). They have committed apostasy, abandoning the gospel they once claimed to believe. As a result, it is “impossible…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” (Heb 6:6). To crucify Jesus again means to totally reject Him. It is to harden the heart against Jesus, saying he lied about who he is and that he deserved to die on the cross as a common criminal. There is no way back from such full and final apostasy because a hardened heart will refuse to repent.
This can be troubling for those of us with loved ones and friends who appear to have walked away from the faith. They may have been fervent before, but they no longer call themselves Christians. Is there no way back for them? The short answer is: We don’t know. Hebrews warns us of the danger of apostasy, but we cannot simply conclude that every person who turned away from the faith is an apostate in this final sense. We don’t know because we’re unable to see the state of their hearts now and in the future. So, keep praying for them to repent and believe in Jesus. Don’t lose heart. Remember that Jesus is a merciful and faithful high priest who is able to sympathise with us. Trust in the power of the gospel to save sinners.
Why have these people fallen away? Hebrews explains it with a farming illustration in Hebrews 6:7-8. The rain refers to spiritual blessings and privileges. “Land” is the same word as “soil”, which reminds us of Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, where the seed of God’s word falls on different types of soil. When rain falls on the good land or soil, it produces a useful harvest and receives God’s blessing at the final judgment. But when rain falls on the bad land or soil, it bears bad fruit (thorns and thistles) and will be punished at the final judgment. Those who have fallen away have not used their spiritual privileges to bear good spiritual fruit. Some hear the word and immediately receive it with joy. But when trials and trouble come, they give up and fall away. Others hear the word, but worldly cares and desires prevent it from taking root.
The point is this: How are we using our spiritual privileges? We may have grown up in a Christian home and heard the gospel from young. We may be a regular churchgoer or a long-time church member. What fruit are we bearing? Are we growing spiritually and bearing good fruit for God? Or, have we taken our spiritual privileges for granted? Has familiarity bred contempt? Are our hearts becoming colder and harder towards Jesus?
Yes, it is absolutely true that Christians cannot lose their salvation. As Paul says in Romans 8, believers are “more than conquerors” in Christ. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Lord. God will hold us fast until the end. But we must not use this as an excuse for spiritual immaturity. God will hold us accountable for pressing on in faith and obedience to Jesus. Remember Jesus’ warning: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will be enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matt 7:21)”
Are we growing in Jesus?… True saving faith will bear the good fruit of good works, otherwise, our profession of faith is empty.
Don’t just pay lip service to Jesus. Hearing without doing is empty. Are we growing in Jesus? Indeed, salvation is by faith alone in Christ, not works. True saving faith will bear the good fruit of good works, otherwise, our profession of faith is empty. A true Christian will grow and persevere until the end. Spiritual growth is evidence of spiritual life. So, don’t’ be satisfied with the bare minimum. Being content with just a little bit of “gospel” may make us resistant to the whole gospel. Former church goers are often the hardest to reach with the gospel. Therefore, heed this warning in Hebrews. God uses these strong words to provoke us to persevere. It’s good if our conscience is pricked; God may be convicting our hearts. Return to God now through Jesus, our high priest.
Take heart, keep going (Heb 6:9-12)
These admonishments and warnings are meant to shake us out of complacency. But the aim of these strong words isn’t to undermine our faith or assurance. So, in Hebrews 6:9-12, the author changes tone. Although he highlights the tragic example of those who have fallen away, he is confident that his hearers will turn out differently. Notice, how he reverts to speaking with the second person “you”. Although he is worried about their immaturity, he trusts they will respond well to his exhortation and be saved in the end.
He calls them “beloved”, the only place in Hebrews that he uses the term. Brothers and sisters, the exhortations to grow up shouldn’t make us forget that we are greatly loved by God. He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our high priest. If we are in the beloved Son, then we are God’s beloved sons and daughters. As parents, we want our children to grow up for their good, but we’ll still love them regardless of how quickly or slowly they grow to maturity. Similarly, our Heavenly Father’s love for us doesn’t depend on how well we grow. In fact, we grow because we can rest secure in our Father’s love.
The author is confident of his hearers because of the fruit he has seen in their lives. They have shown love for God’s name by serving the saints, and they are still doing so. Beloved, we serve one another ultimately because we love God and want to glorify him. If we love God, we will love His people. This motivates us to keep going, because serving others isn’t easy. We may be unappreciated or even misunderstood and opposed. But we press on because we love God’s name. Be encouraged: Even if no one else notices, God knows. He is “not unjust so as to overlook your work” (Heb 6:10a).
Serving the saints helps our assurance. This is how we know if we truly love God—we will love His people. Get plugged into Christian community and join a local church. If you’re already a member, then get to know other members, that we might love and serve them. This is a practical way of strengthening our assurance. Serving God’s people is evidence of true saving faith in Christ.
So, take heart and keep going. I’m encouraged that many of us are doing spiritual good to one another. May God help us to do so more and more. Don’t rest on our laurels or become complacent. Don’t become sluggish. Be earnest and zealous. Make every effort to continue in faithfulness. This is how we can be sure. Keep growing in Christ that we might have “full assurance of hope until the end” (Heb 6:11b). Follow examples of faith and patience. Our church community provides us with many examples to follow. Look out for godly examples to imitate and strive to be an example worth imitating.
Beloved, we shall “inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12b) of eternal life and the glories of the new creation if we keep going. Our Lord Jesus will bring us home to be with Him forever.
Soon shall cease thy earthly mission
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days
Hope shall change to glad fruition
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise
May we fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Tim. 4:7).