Hebrews 5:11-14 (HCSB)
We have a great deal to say about this, and it’s difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
The writer of Hebrews is obviously frustrated by the willful ignorance of his audience. They have known the truth about Jesus for several years, and ought to be so knowledgeable that they are teachers instead of students. But that’s not where they are.
Like many, instead of accepting the full truth of what they had read or been taught in the Scriptures, allowing those words to shape their worldview and their theology, they spent a lot of time quibbling, and trying to reconcile the Scriptures to their worldview and theology. Thus, they hadn’t progressed in their faith beyond an elementary level, still needing to be spoon fed “milk” instead of being able to digest “meat” on their own.
Because of their steadfast refusal to allow themselves to be shaped by the gospel, these readers were not even able to reliably discern between good and evil. They did wrong, and then justified their actions with flawed theology and fringe interpretations of the Scriptures, to the point that they were stuck in their spiritual growth. God’s truth is a powerful stimulant to growth and maturity, but they had so insulated themselves from the truth that their growth had been stunted.
Father, we have a lot of people like that around today. Unfortunately, there always seems to be some “theologian” around to tell them that sin really isn’t sin, that the ideas of Scripture are outmoded, and that since we know so much more today than the people who wrote the Scriptures, we can scoop out of the Bible the truths we like and discard the rest. There are preachers who spoon feed scriptural aphorisms to their congregations who have deigned to give them 25 minutes to dispense a little truth before they are impatient to get on with their days. So, unfortunately, instead of powerful, spirit-filled, mature believers who stride forth each day with world-transforming energy, we have pews and seats filled with spiritual babies who seem absolutely powerless and are in nearly every way no different from the people of the world. Lord, we need Your soul-shaking, life-transforming power to roar through our congregations, melting our cold, indifferent hearts, and filling our bellies with passion for the multitudes all around us who are on a fast-track to hell, and will end up there unless we act. Help us, Lord, because Your cause can’t move forward until You do. Amen.