The Maturity Comeback
Well, after today there will be only four teams remaining in the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. These four teams will play in what is famously called “the Final Four” — and I don’t really care who wins.
I hope that doesn’t offend anybody if your team is still playing, but at this point for me, in these games, I just pull for whichever team is losing at halftime. It’s fun to watch a good come-from-behind win — and most people feel the same way. Think about all your favorite sports’ movies. People love an epic comeback.
And maybe you’ve seen a big win like that before, maybe you’ve been in that locker room yourself, but we can all sort of imagine what has to happen for a team to come back and win…
It’s halftime. Your team’s in the locker room. You’re down by 20 points and your coach wants to inspire you to victory — now what must he do?
Well, the coach must do at least two things:
First, he must give you an honest assessment of the situation.
Second, he must give you reasonable hope for better results.
You need to know where you’re at and then how you might get somewhere different.
If you’re down by 20 points, you need to know why! Something isn’t working and it needs to change. You have to be honest about that. But also, is change really possible? You need more than just knowing the problem. You need confidence that you can make a change and it yield better results.
Honest assessment and reasonable hope — those two things are important for any kind of comeback, and I mention them this morning not because it’s March Madness but because we see both of these things in Hebrews Chapter 5 verse 11 to Chapter 6 verse 3.
In the Book of Hebrews, we are getting close to the middle of Chapter 6 where we’re going to find the strongest warning passage in the New Testament. That’s next week. But for today, in 5:11–6:3, it’s really important that we hear the writer’s tone. These are some uneasy words that he’s going to say, but he’s not saying these things with a pessimistic attitude. He has not given up on his readers. So I want you to imagine that the writer is saying these things as a coach who wants to inspire his team for a comeback. Try to hear that kind of tone, and he’s going to do two things: he gives an honest assessment of the situation (that’s verses 11–14). And then second, he gives reasonable hope for better results (that’s verses 1–3). Those are the two parts of the sermon. Let’s pray:
Father in heaven, your word is living and active just like you are right now. By your Spirit and your power, accomplish your will this morning, for your glory. We ask this in Jesus’s name, amen.
An Honest Assessment of the Situation (verses 11–14)
So we’re going to start with an honest assessment of the situation, and my goal here is that we really understand these verses. We’re going to slow down and spend a lot of time on this, but I think it’s gonna be worth it, so hang with me.
In verse 11 we can see the writer’s assessment right away. The banner phrase of his assessment is that these first readers have “become dull of hearing.” Look at that phrase at the end of verse 11.
Now in the verses just before verse 11 the writer of Hebrews has been talking about what it means that Jesus is our high priest. Jesus is the Son of God who is King and who is also a priest forever, appointed by God, after the order of Melchizedek. Now Melchizedek was a mysterious priest in the Old Testament who makes only one appearance in Genesis 14. He’s referred to later in Psalm 110, but he only shows up one time in Israel’s history. The writer of Hebrews is going to say more about Melchizedek in Chapter 7, but when he first mentions him here in verse 10, he immediately interrupts himself to say, in verse 11:
About this we have much to say —
“this” is referring to verse 10, to Jesus “being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.” The writer of Hebrews could say more about Melchizedek right away, but he can’t just get right into it because it’s too deep. It’s hard to explain to these first readers because they, verse 11, “have become dull of hearing.”
That’s their situation. And now he’s going to explain to them more of what that means, but first, notice very carefully what he says:
“you have become dull of hearing.”
Becoming Sluggish to the Word
That word for “dull” could also be translated lazy or sluggish. And these first readers have become that way. They didn’t start that way, but, because of various circumstances and opposition, they’ve become that way. There’s been a slide. There’s been a negative change, and they’re not sluggish or dull in general, but in hearing. And when the writer says that, he’s talking about their spiritual hearing of the word of God. That’s why he can’t get right into the topic of Melchizedek. To paraphrase verse 11, this is what the writer’s saying:
Team, bring it in. There’s a lot I could tell you about Melchizedek and how Jesus is our high priest, and how Genesis and the Psalms point to him, but it’s deep stuff, and I need to be honest with you: the reason I can’t go straight there is because you’ve become spiritually sluggish in how you receive teaching. You’ve become dull of hearing the word of God.
That’s what he’s saying in verse 11, and that gets our attention.
“Ought” Is a Good Word
Then in verse 12 the writer explains more. He says this dullness of hearing is not as it should be. That’s what the word “ought” means in verse 12.
“By this time you ought to be teachers.”
The word “ought” by itself carries a lot of weight. It implies that there’s a certain way, or standard, or reality, that is expected, and when it’s not realized it means something is wrong. We use the word “ought” this way all the time:
The flight ought to arrive by 8pm; a husband ought to love his wife; the snow ought to melt in the next two weeks.
The word “ought” is a good word. It’s in the fabric of reality, and we need the word personally and in our relationship with God, if we understand it the right way. And this is where the tone is so important. The purpose of the “ought” is not to shame these readers or to beat them down. The writer is not relishing an opportunity to criticize them. But he’s saying this to call them up. Again, imagine a good coach. This is an honest assessment. Verse 12:
“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…”
These readers have been Christians long enough that they should be able to be teachers. That doesn’t mean that they all should literally be teachers or pastors, but the writer of Hebrews is saying that they ought to know enough about the Bible and Christian doctrine that they could teach it to others.
Personality aside, there’s a point in every Christian’s walk when they should know enough about Christian truth to be able to explain it to someone else. But for these Christians, rather than they being able to teach, they actually need someone to teach them the “basic principles of the oracles of God.”
The oracles of God is another way to say the word of God. The writer is talking about the Bible here and when he says this phrase “the basic principles” it’s like saying “the ABCs.” These are the most basic, fundamental parts. The writer of Hebrews is saying:
Hey, by now you ought to know enough of the word to be teachers yourself, but you still need somebody to teach you the ABCs.
More Than Milk
And then that sets up the growth analogy at the end of verse 12:
“...You need milk, not solid food.”
And we understand right away that this is an analogy, because he’s not been talking about milk and food; he’s been talking about spiritual development, and now he brings in this analogy of how children grow. And we get it. When he says “You need milk” he means: You’re still like babies and you shouldn’t be.
Honest assessment. And in verses 13 and 14, he’s explains the analogy even more, but before we look there, let me paraphrase what he’s saying so far. I want to make sure we’re all tracking.
He mentioned Melchizedek in verse 10 and that presented a problem. Verses 11–12, he says:
I wanna tell you more about Melchizedek, but it’s hard to explain to you because you’ve become dull of hearing the word. By now you should know the word well enough to be teachers yourselves, but you actually still need someone to teach you the ABCs. Let me explain with an analogy of how children grow: it’s like your babies who still need milk, not solid food.
Everybody tracking with this? Does that make sense?
Now the writer explains the milk analogy with a comparison in verses 13 and 14.
As for the Christian who lives on milk, verse 13, he is
“unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.”
The alternative is verse 14:
“But solid food, [on the other hand] is for the mature, [that is] for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Try to imagine a table that contrasts two different ways of being. This just elaborating the analogy introduced in verse 12. Imagine two columns, three rows:
Those who drink only milk are on one side, and those who eat solid food are on the other side.
Those who drink only milk are unskilled in the Bible, or we might say inexperienced. Either they don’t get it or they don’t live it out. The simplest way to say it is that there’s a disconnect to the Bible. But on the other side: those who eat solid food have a deepening ability to discern because they’ve been trained by practice (or experience) to distinguish good from evil. Implied here is that this person has been shaped by the Bible to see the world through a biblical lens. They’re not gullible to what’s going on around them.
This milk-only person, unskilled in the Bible, is a little child. On the other side: the solid-food eater, shaped by the Bible to read the world, is mature.
The writer of Hebrews is saying to these first readers: you ought to be mature, but you’re actually babies. It’s an honest assessment of the situation. It’s halftime and we’re down by a lot, and we need to know why. That’s Part One — and it has to come before Part Two. Part Two is a reasonable hope for better results, and that starts in Chapter 6, verse 1.
A Reasonable Hope for Better Results (verses 1–3)
Everybody look at Chapter 6, verse 1, and notice the word “therefore.” The main command in the passage we’re looking at today is here in verse 1, and that first word tells us the main command is connected to the honest assessment of Chapter 5, verses 11–14.
Verse 1 says:
“Therefore [because we are clear about where we’re at, because where we’re at is not as it should be] leaving the elementary doctrine of Christ, let us go on to maturity.”
That’s the literal order of these words.
It starts with the negative and then there’s the positive.
First we’re leaving one thing and then we’re going on to another.
We’re saying No to ‘childishness’ and we’re saying Yes to maturity — and the emphasis is really on this positive command, and we’re gonna end there, but first I want us to see what we’re called to leave.
What We Must Leave
This is important because the writer of Hebrews is repeating the same idea he mentioned before. He’s explaining more of what he’s already said.
In verse 1, when he uses that phrase “the elementary doctrine of Christ” he’s talking about the same thing he called in Chapter 5, verse 12 the “basic principles of the oracles of God.” This is the milk in his analogy; it’s the basics; it’s the ABC’s, the stuff for little children. I love how Eugene Peterson paraphrases Chapter 6, verse 1. He says, “let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ.”
That is a thing. There are basics, ABC’s, that we move on from. We don’t reject these things. They’re not bad. But we develop beyond them. And since that’s the case, we need to know what they are.
What are these basic principles, this elementary doctrine — what is milk?
And good news! The writer of Hebrews tells us. Beginning at the end of verse 1 he mentions six things that make up the basics that he’s been talking about. He mentions them in three pairs in verses 1 and 2:
the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God
Instructions about washings and laying on of hands
The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
These are the ABCs — and I don’t think this is an exhaustive list, but these are the basics they’re dealing with at this time — and if you look at each of these, one thing that they have in common is that they’re all part of Judaism. These are not just things that Christians believe; these are things that Jewish people believe — and that explains why some of these Christians only want to stay with these basics.
Let’s remember what’s going on here. Remember that this book was first written to Jewish Christians who were tempted to abandon Jesus and revert back to Judaism. And that temptation was because they were pressured by the surrounding Jewish community. These Christians were experiencing opposition from Jewish neighbors because of their new Christian faith, and perhaps one way to deflect that opposition was for them to emphasize the common ground between Christianity and Judaism, and not get into the differences. If these Christians can convince their Jewish neighbors about how much they have in common, like the ABCs here in verses 1 and 2, then maybe their Jewish neighbors would not persecute them.
And when we see it in this light, it means that the dullness of hearing in Chapter 5 verse 11 is not accidental, but it’s strategic. These Christians have become sluggish about going deeper in the word of God because they know it will cost them. The more they learn and apply truth from the Bible that is distinctively Christian, it will put them at odds with their surrounding context, and they don’t want to be at odds.
For example, the writer of Hebrews wants to talk about Melchizedek! He wants to tell these Jewish Christians that this entire time Genesis 14 has been pointing to Jesus, which means that the rabbi down the street gets the Hebrew Scriptures wrong. But see, the writer can’t go there because he knows that his readers just want the ABCs — the uncontroversial ABCs. Let’s just talk about faith toward God. Let’s just stick to the common ground.
What we have here is what you could call a preference for the common ground driven by cowardice.
The CGP Temptation
And just so we’re clear, this kind of thing happens today all the time. Churches are constantly tempted by this common ground preference because they don’t want to come off as too different to those around them. Here’s what I mean (as an application, I’m gonna try to explain this with my hands). Imagine you have two circles: a circle here and circe here. This is a Venn diagram.
In the right circle is the fullness of the Christian faith. It’s the gospel and all the depths of the Bible’s teaching.
Then over here in the left circle you have the surrounding societal values. Now in Hebrews 6 this circle is Judaism, but I want you to get the application. For us, reverting back to Judaism is not our temptation. That’s not where the opposition comes from. So we’re going to say that this circle is secular societal values.
Christian faith right and societal values left… And because the truth of God is woven all throughout his creation, because every human has some sense of God, you’re always going to find things in society that share a kind of common ground with the Christian faith.
For example, if you think about our societal values, what about the love of neighbor? That’s a command for Christians in the Bible, and it’s something that by and large, our society values (or at least a version of it). So in the Venn diagram, love of neighbor is in the middle.
Another example would be help for the needy. As Christians we want to bind up the broken-hearted and care for the vulnerable — and that’s something that our society also thinks is good (or at least a version of it). Help for the needy goes in the middle of the two circles.
A third example would be the pursuit of happiness. As Christians, we believe that God created us to have eternal happiness. The pursuit of happiness in God is holy. And when it comes to the topic of happiness, our society is all about that (or at least a version of it). But it goes in the middle too.
So you got these two circles, this Venn diagram, Christian faith on the right, societal values on the left, and there’s some common ground in the middle. Three examples would be: love of neighbor, help for the needy, and human happiness
That’s common ground.
Now imagine if a church were to say: All this deeper stuff in this right circle, we don’t wanna go there. We just want to talk about loving our neighbor, helping the needy, and living a happy life.
Now can you imagine a church that would do something like that?
Yeah, they’re everywhere!
And guess what? The surrounding world approves of them. If this middle stuff, this common ground, if that is all your church is about, then the people in these cities who hate God will applaud you.
And we need to be clear: that’s not what we’re doing here. That’s not the goal.
Now, we certainly believe all those common ground things according to the Bible — we do! — but most important is the supremacy of Jesus Christ. We worship Jesus! We bow before Jesus! — and Jesus calls us to the deeps. He calls us to the whole circle, and that’s going to mean opposition. That means that we’re going to teach and apply truths from God’s word that will bring disapproval from the surrounding world.
That’s the cost of being a mature Christian. That’s the cost of being a church of mature Christians. And that cost is why some just want the ABCs. Let’s do more fingerpainting. Let’s just stick with milk … goo goo gaga.
A Wonderful, Simple Command
There is a dullness of hearing that is deliberate. But we see the main command in verse 1. This is a wonderful, simple command:
“Let us go on to maturity.”
And now the question is: if we’ve seen the honest assessment of the situation, how does this command gives us reasonable hope for something better?
Two reasons. The first is that maturity is our destiny.
1) Maturity Is Our Destiny
This is in that little verb “to go on.” It’s a passive verb, which, to be more precise, we would say “to be borne along” or “to be carried along” and that’s actually how this word is translated in the few other places it shows up in the New Testament. And it’s an important detail, because when it comes to our maturity in Christ, that is not something that we achieve. We — in our own strength and activity — we don’t accomplish our maturity in Christ any more than we accomplish our new birth in Christ. It’s all by grace. The whole thing is a gift. And part of the gift of our being in Christ is that we grow in hizm, we mature in him — and we’re active in that, we have oughts, but the maturity is not just left up to us, it’s just natural to who we are. Christians, look, the way to think about maturity in Christ is that it’s becoming more of who you are.
Team, bring it in. That first half, that’s not us. Just sticking with the ABCs — that’s not who we are. God has destined us for more than just sipping on milk. So let’s go on, let’s be carried along, to the fullness that God has determined to give us in Christ when he chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love (see Ephesians 1:4). Maturity is our destiny.
Finally, our reasonable hope for something better is in verse 3.
2) God Is at Work in You
Verse 1: let us be carried on to maturity.
Verse 3:
“And this we will do if God permits.”
If God wills.
Christian, don’t forget God. Don’t forget that his will for you is your sanctification. His will for you is that you be conformed more and more into the image of his Son. He didn’t just call you in Christ and then go hands off, but I’m sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion — and so yeah, team, we’re gonna win the game.
Maturity is our destiny and God is at work in you.
And that’s what brings us to the Table.
The Table
Church, we are blessed out of our minds. Jesus has paid for all our sins by his precious blood, and he has set us free from the tyranny of the devil. And he also watches over us in such a way that not a hair can fall from our head without the will of our Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for our salvation.
The word of God assures us of this, and this is what we remember as we eat the bread and drink the cup. Our receiving of this meal is a symbol of our fellowship with Jesus. We are saying that indeed we are united to him by faith. If you’re here and you trust in Jesus, this is for you.
