Moving On Toward Maturity
"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food...Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection..." (Heb. 5:12,6:1)
We are all born in life as babies full of life and potential but we are not able to say and do many things until we grow up and begin to mature. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We all must learn to move from one stage of development to another. May we press on toward the upward call and move toward maturity!
When Jesus first called His disciples, they were uneducated and untrained men but the more they spent time with Jesus, the more they matured to be used mightily of the Lord. They allowed the Spirit of God to work in their lives and once they were filled they were able to feed others. Jesus said, "...freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8).
The writer of Hebrews was well aware of the history of Israel and was seeing their rebellious cycle being repeated again as they had "become dull of hearing". He exhorted them that they should have become teachers by now where they could multiply their faith and make disciples but instead they needed to be taught the basics all over again.
Sadly there are many that have knowledge but very little understanding and wisdom. This can lead to self deception where people are hearers of the Word only but not doers of the Word. These people usually become more religious than relational and can end up "having a form of godliness that denies the power" (2 Tim. 3:5).
There are Three Levels of Learning:
It is wisdom that is needed today more than ever. Proverbs 2:6-7 says, "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly" When you give instruction to a wise man, he will become even wiser. For the wise spend time with wise people and are hungry to become even wiser.
As Proverbs 4:4-5 says, "He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom!
Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
The enemy of our souls is always looking to snatch the seed of God's Word away and to stunt the growth of the true believers. The devil will try to diminish our spiritual growth by making our faith:
Therefore, we should desire the pure milk of the Word for the basics in our nutrition but we need to become more skilled in the Word of righteousness where we can chew on the meat of the Word and grow spiritual muscles. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
We all have physical senses that we use everyday to do the basic things of life from seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling. But God wants us to grow in our spiritual discernment and knowledge so that we can perceive what God is saying and doing and respond with love and care for those around us. Paul tells his spiritual son in 1 Timothy 4:8-9, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
We have all heard it say that in physical exercise, "No pain, no gain." In spiritual things, we need to remember that a similar truth remains: We must learn obedience by the things that we suffer. Thus, we need to embrace whatever hardships and trials come our way so that we can further learn the ways of Christ and become more like Him.
No one on this earth has been perfected but every true believer should desire to press on and mature. As Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me…reaching forward things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14).
The joy of our faith is to be able to see people with God's eyes and to help them become all that they are meant to be in Christ. The true mark of maturity is LOVE, and loving others should be desired above and beyond all other areas of faith...for BY THIS the world will know who are the Lord's disciples.
We are all born in life as babies full of life and potential but we are not able to say and do many things until we grow up and begin to mature. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We all must learn to move from one stage of development to another. May we press on toward the upward call and move toward maturity!
When Jesus first called His disciples, they were uneducated and untrained men but the more they spent time with Jesus, the more they matured to be used mightily of the Lord. They allowed the Spirit of God to work in their lives and once they were filled they were able to feed others. Jesus said, "...freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8).
The writer of Hebrews was well aware of the history of Israel and was seeing their rebellious cycle being repeated again as they had "become dull of hearing". He exhorted them that they should have become teachers by now where they could multiply their faith and make disciples but instead they needed to be taught the basics all over again.
Sadly there are many that have knowledge but very little understanding and wisdom. This can lead to self deception where people are hearers of the Word only but not doers of the Word. These people usually become more religious than relational and can end up "having a form of godliness that denies the power" (2 Tim. 3:5).
There are Three Levels of Learning:
- Knowledge: Accumulation of truth
- Understanding: Apprehension of truth
- Wisdom: Application of truth
It is wisdom that is needed today more than ever. Proverbs 2:6-7 says, "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly" When you give instruction to a wise man, he will become even wiser. For the wise spend time with wise people and are hungry to become even wiser.
As Proverbs 4:4-5 says, "He also taught me, and said to me:
“Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom!
Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
The enemy of our souls is always looking to snatch the seed of God's Word away and to stunt the growth of the true believers. The devil will try to diminish our spiritual growth by making our faith:
- Religious & Traditional...apart from the Word
- Rational & Academic...apart from the Spirit
- Respectable & Comfortable...apart from any risk or cost
Therefore, we should desire the pure milk of the Word for the basics in our nutrition but we need to become more skilled in the Word of righteousness where we can chew on the meat of the Word and grow spiritual muscles. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."
We all have physical senses that we use everyday to do the basic things of life from seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling. But God wants us to grow in our spiritual discernment and knowledge so that we can perceive what God is saying and doing and respond with love and care for those around us. Paul tells his spiritual son in 1 Timothy 4:8-9, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
We have all heard it say that in physical exercise, "No pain, no gain." In spiritual things, we need to remember that a similar truth remains: We must learn obedience by the things that we suffer. Thus, we need to embrace whatever hardships and trials come our way so that we can further learn the ways of Christ and become more like Him.
No one on this earth has been perfected but every true believer should desire to press on and mature. As Paul said, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me…reaching forward things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14).
The joy of our faith is to be able to see people with God's eyes and to help them become all that they are meant to be in Christ. The true mark of maturity is LOVE, and loving others should be desired above and beyond all other areas of faith...for BY THIS the world will know who are the Lord's disciples.
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