Hebrews Chapter Five, Maturing Spiritually

 

Hebrews 5:14 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.

 

The brief detour comes to an end concerning the writer’s defense for why he believes it necessary to return to the elementary principles, leading into said principles in chapter 6. His final comment definitely bears some weight, however. 

Leaving behind the necessity of milk, the writer tells us that solid food belongs to those of full age, or maturity. To prevent any misunderstanding on our part as to what he means by full age, he explains it a different way: Those who have their senses exercised through use to discern or distinguish between good and evil.

 

The question naturally arises from the latter portion of the verse: what is by reason of use? Applying oneself to Scripture, of course. The Bible contains everything the saint needs for life and godliness in faith and practice. In short, a Christian’s entire moral framework should be molded and undergirded by Scripture. What is your view of God, Jesus, Heaven, Salvation, and Hell? The Bible tells us these things in straightforward and clear terms, and we are, as children of God, to accept them by faith. Morality emanates from a holy God; what is right or virtuous are manifestations of His character. When someone acts in accord with the Bible, the God of the Bible is glorified because as dear children we mimic what our Father does.

 

When a Christian becomes opinionated about something Scripture has already pronounced as good or evil in defiance of God’s word and will, it reveals our spiritual immaturity. One cannot develop stamina or muscle mass without applying an appropriate workout regimen; they must exercise their body to achieve their goal. A Christian exercises their spiritual discernment by using God’s word as a litmus test against all moral conundrums to determine their quality. If they fail the test they are to be rejected. For instance, God condemns abortion in no uncertain terms. If a Christian tolerates or condones abortion against God’s clear injunction, it becomes painfully apparent that they lack proper exercise in spiritual discernment to recognize good and evil. To preserve a child’s life is good. To murder a child is evil. Abortion, like suicide, is a form of murder, and God forbade such an act, Exodus 20:13.

 

When a saint arrives at a conclusion contrary to sound doctrine there is typically one of two primary reasons involved. The first is that they are simply ignorant of what the Bible actually says in regard to an issue. Spiritually young Christians may not know how God speaks concerning the sanctity of human life, how we are made in God’s image, or how children are a blessing from the Lord. They may not know that “thou shalt not kill” is more properly rendered “thou shalt not murder,” and that God ordained a governmental law that if someone kills an unborn child they are to be put to death in the days of Israel’s theocracy, Exodus 21:22-25. This issue can be rectified through Bible study, prayer, and sound teaching from a God-fearing church. Discernment will be exercised and the believer will, through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence, be led into all truth.

 

The second, and more heinous reason involves wanton rebellion against truth. The saint in question knows what the Bible says about a matter but prefers his opinion to God’s truth. He has succumbed to the tempter, who enticed Eve in the Garden with the infamous, “has God said…?” The first of Satan’s tricks is to plant questions about the legitimacy of the word. The second and bolder attack is a direct refutation of truth, “God is wrong about this.” The most dangerous error present here is that, if God is wrong about “this” (whatever “this” represents when temptation comes) what else is He wrong about? The Bible quickly falls apart as the Christian judges God’s word and determines by the power of their personal opinion what is and is not true. In other words, human discernment exercised without the sanctifying constraint of holy writ distinguishes which parts of the Bible are good, and which parts are evil. God be merciful to the compromised saint that proudly walks down this road. Satan trail blazed this path, its steps take hold of the Lake of Fire, and in it there is only darkness because the light of the truth, which we mutilated in the power of our superior, opinionated morality, has departed us. A genuine saint will not suffer the fires of judgment, but what shame we will feel when we realize how willingly deceived we were in the throes of our pride!

 

But this verse does not address the wanton Christian. These saints are immature, but there is room and hope for growth in them, that they may lay hold of sound doctrine and produce the fruits of the Spirit, Hebrews 6:9. A sober caution has been issued to these Jewish Christians. They already ought to be teachers but have regressed in their understanding, verse 12. Spiritual immaturity reveals a lack of understanding in handling God’s word, which naturally disqualifies those saints for being elected to minister, verse 13. Conversely, the writer encourages them to aspire toward full age, which is demonstrated when they can handle solid food, or more bluntly, hear God’s word and employ it in their life, Luke 11:28.