Warning: Grow Up!

 

 

"¹¹ Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the  elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits.⁴ For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. ⁷ For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; ⁸ but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."

Hebrews 5:11-6:8

 

Good morning my beloved,

Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!

We are so very grateful for our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world, we are so thankful that you are all with us today.  

 

The Bible is the single best selling book in the world. In fact, many of us probably have several Bibles in our homes yet, there are still many Christians who are biblically illiterate. Several years ago George Barna wrote The State of the Church, in which he conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and the results what he found about their knowledge of the Bible, was starling! I'd like to remind you, these are Christians.. 48% could not name the four Gospels. 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ disciples. 60% can’t name even five of the 10 Commandments. When asking graduating high school “born again Christians” over 50% of them thought Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife. 61% of them think the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. 71% of them think the expression “God helps those who help themselves” Ben Franklin is a Bible verse. No wonder George Barna summed up his book by saying that "Americans revere the Bible but, by and large they don’t know what it says. And because they don’t know it, they have become a nation of Biblical illiterates." 

Let us bow our heads in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Father, we are again so thankful for Your Word, this profound and provocative truth, that You have spoken to us through Your Word and, Lord, we believe that, indeed, Your message for this hour. We know that there are some, even among us today, who have been considering Jesus Christ, either for the first time, or returning to Him, after being lost. Thank You Father, for reaching down and softening their hearts. Their hearts are open,  Lord, we pray that they would not neglect this opportunity to make a commitment to Christ, that their hearts would not become hardened by indifference to what they are about to hear today. Lord, we pray that You would draw them to Yourself now, those who are clinging to other forms of religion, those who are still clinging to sin and immorality, while hearts are still warm and tender toward Jesus Christ. May it all be for Your glory and for Christ's sake.

In Christ's name we pray

Amen

 

Today's Message: Warning: Grow Up!

 

I am deeply saddened that that the god of this world has blinded the minds of many believers, so that the light of the glorious gospel can’t shine through them. We have to learn to the difference between sound doctrine, and man pleasing messages to please the current culture. Because Satan has infiltrated the church, we must learn to feed ourselves on the Word of God. How we approach the Bible will determine how much we get out of it.

 

If you approach the Bible with reverence and humility, you will find it opening the enormous truth in it. I have been studying the Bible for years, and have yet to reach the bottom of the truth in the Word of God. However, you must be willing to allow God teach you. I pray that you will allow His Word to teach you today.

 

Open your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 5 in our continuing study of this rich book, we come to the  last 4 verses in chapter 5. There are a variety of mixed interpretations of these verses, they are a real theological battlefield. After much prayer, I trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us in our understanding. I pray that I will have your undivided attention, as we unpack our these verses.

 

I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, while we prepare our hearts for a Word from our Lord. Hebrews 5:11-6:8.  

 

"Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the  elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;  but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned." 

 

As many of you know, my life is typically filled with hours of intense study and preparation, and in what little free time I have I enjoy furthering my education and understanding of God's Word. I really enjoy learning all that I can about God, and I cannot imagine doing anything else than sharing God's Word with all of you. I thank God, and all of you, for putting up with me, I know I can be very passionate at times. I've been told I am obsessed with God's Word and the spiritual needs of people.

 

Of the many things on my list, one of the things at the top of my list that is a spiritual concern, is the people in the church, who are not in the kingdom, who have heard it all but who don’t know Christ. That is really one of the most serious of all contemplations for a pastor. I know a number of out there,  some of you pretty well, some better than others, of course.  I suppose all of us, at least to some degree, who are not what we had ought to be. Though we are Christians, some of us have been for a much longer time than others, yet we aren’t what we ought to be, and  I have to be honest, that is really a major concern. Quite frankly, I've been on sort of a mission, a quest really, to be what I ought to be even though I often find myself falling short of that goal. Not that I can be perfect, at least in this life, but to be closer each day, to what the Lord expects me to be. I imagine I'll eventually get there some day, even if it take my death to accomplish it, I suppose that is true for most of us because some day we’ll be in glory and the Lord will make us perfect. 

 

However, I believe that an even greater concern than Christians who are not what they ought to be, are the people who are in the church, who attend regularly, who aren’t even Christians. I find it overwhelming really, to think that anyone, who has been under the direction of my teaching, might be going to hell. Church is not really a good place to go to hell from, because Scripture teaches us that to whom much is given, much is required. 

 

Hebrews 10:28-29 says "Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" 

 

I am deeply concerned that far worse eternal punishment falls to the one who has heard the truth and rejected it. Because if you have been following my teaching for any length of time, you have certainly heard the gospel preached, you have heard it. And, the more that you have heard it, the more responsible you have become. That is very concerning to me. It deeply troubles my heart, that some of you who have heard and still do not know Christ. Having never come to true repentance and saving faith to embrace Jesus Christ.It is my prayer, that we would all rightly examine ourselves, that we would truly see our spiritual condition.

 

Today we hear a warning. A warning to someone who knows the truth in God's Word, the truth about Jesus Christ, the truth about His death, the truth about His resurrection, yet refuses to let go of his sin. Someone who would rather hold onto his sin, than cling to the Savior. What is really burdening my heart, is that I know some of you like that. There is a horrifying danger of being close to salvation and remaining unsaved. I do not believe that there is any passage, that is more dramatic in addressing this issue than the passage that is before us today.

 

Let's begin shall we. Verses 11-14, "Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

 

He starts off with "Concerning him," in other words, Jesus Christ, the subject of the previous verses. "Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing." So, now we see that the problem unfolded in those four verses that end the chapter. The problem is, people have become dull of hearing. They have become babies. They lack discernment. That is basically the issue being stated there, allow me give you the context.

 

The author of Hebrews has much to say concerning Christ, some really profound things to say. Dare I say, that the book of Hebrews is as profound a book as any in the Bible. It has tremendous depth to it. The the book of Hebrews can be quite complex, because it may have mysteries that some find very difficult to comprehend, perhaps it is because they are not well taught.

It is a book that demands a rather extensive knowledge of the Old Testament. It is a book which calls the reader to go very deeply into profound truths concerning redemption, concerning the gospel, concerning the person of Christ, concerning the meaning of the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament. It is a book that demands extensive biblical knowledge.

 

I do not believe that there is anything more profound than the relationship of Jesus Christ, as it pertains to everything past, the relationship of Jesus to the Law, the relationship of Jesus to God, the relationship of Jesus to creation, the relationship of Jesus to angels, the relationship of Jesus to the sacrificial system, the relationship of Jesus to the priesthood, the relationship of Jesus to the covenants. It is a book of great profound truth regarding Jesus. It is a book of great transcendence.

 

At the end of chapter 4, the writer began to address some of the most profound features regarding Jesus. In chapter 4 verse 14 He is identified as the great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God. The writer of Hebrews goes on to talk about Jesus, in chapter 5 verse 5, he refers to Christ again as a High Priest, as the Son of God, in verse 6, as a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. In verse 8, he goes on to talk about Him as one who learned obedience from the things He suffered in verse 8, and in verse 9 became the source of eternal salvation. 

 

So he began this great section on the priesthood of Jesus Christ, which is the most profound of all the sections of Hebrews. And, it is significant to note, he is far from done. Chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10 continue this discussion of the profundities of the priesthood of Jesus, greater than the priesthood of Melchizedek, greater than the priesthood of Aaron and all the priests that followed in the Aaronic priesthood. 

 

Then, as we come to our text, beginning with verse 11, he just stops. He says I have much to say, however, what he is really saying is,  I cannot go on because it’s so hard to explain to you since you have become hard of hearing. Look, I’m about to plumb deep into the depths. I’m about to go into things that are so profound but I have to stop, because there is some of you for whom this is going to be incomprehensible. Because you are so hard of hearing. So, now I have a problem. 

 

What a gracious way to say, this is going to be difficult, tough to get my point across to you in your present condition. Once, you heard the gospel message and you responded with interest and you understood it. You understood Jesus, the incarnate God coming into the world, living a perfect life, dying a substitutionary death, rising from the dead, providing salvation by grace through faith, you understood that. Yet, you did not respond to it.

 

This is very dangerous! When you hear the truth and you do not embrace the truth, what happens is, you begin to lose it. You lapse into a settled state of sluggishness, a  state of dullness, you become no longer passionately interested in the gospel, no longer desirous of the truth, no longer hunger to know about this, you're not willing to embrace Christ, because you are holding tightly to your sin. You let go of the Savior to hold onto to your sin. 

In verse 12, he says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food." He is saying, look, you have been in church enough times to be a teacher. You should know this by now.  He is talking about somebody who’s been there a long enough time so that they have been exposed to enough truth that they should now be teaching it. Yet, you still need someone to feed you the truth, like an infant. You should be spiritually feeding others by now. The assumption is, there are going to be tares that settle in with the wheat, and they will be around long enough that they had ought to be able to teach what they themselves do not really believe.

 

But you have put yourself in the position of losing what understanding that you once had. Instead, you have a need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God. You're back at square one, that's the problem here. By hearing the truth and rejecting it, you lose the ability to discern. You have regressed to the position of a baby, completely dependent upon your parent to give you the milk necessary to sustain your life. You should be feeding yourself by now. That's the point. 

 

Then, in verse 13, he is likening this non-believer in the church to a little baby who is unable to digest the profound truth that he needs to tell them. The word of righteousness is the teaching of truth. The word of righteousness is the Word of God. It’s the word about the righteousness of God in Christ imputed to the sinner, the great doctrine of justification, of the imputation of righteousness. It’s primarily the gospel. And you don’t get it!  

 

The characteristic of being a mature adult is that you have discernment. That is why a child has to be protected because they are unable to make wise choices. They don’t know what to pick and choose in life.

 

In verse 14, the writer says "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." Solid food is for believers who by the practice of hearing the truth and believing it have had their senses trained to discern good and evil, that is what he is saying. You are not like those believers who in hearing the Word and putting it into practice have had their senses trained to grow into maturity and with maturity comes a discernment. To the discerning you can present the book of Hebrews, you can present the deep truths of the priesthood of Jesus Christ and they embrace it, they love it. They glorify God, by applying its truth to their lives.

 

You see,  the more faithful the teaching of the Word of God is in the church, the more the problem within the church begins take shape. People who come to where the Word of God is faithfully being taught, they are in severe danger, if they never embrace its teaching and apply it to their lives. That is the problem here in Hebrews chapter 5, they regressed. 

 

That the problem, then in chapter 6, there's a plea that follows."Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits."
 

In other words, you have to get on pass this elementary stuff. You have to grow up. This is really a call to salvation.  You have to separate yourself from the basics, come all the way to salvation, and leave the elementary things behind. You can’t just hang on to the Old Testament.He is saying, that you cannot hang onto Judaism and the Old Testament teachings about the Messiah. That is what he is referring to by elementary teaching, the Old Testament. 

 

You cannot reply upon the foundation of instruction about washings, certain Old Testament purification rites and ceremonies. The are only outward symbols. Though repentance is a critical part of salvation however, in and of itself it cannot save you. You can’t just hold on to repentance from dead works. Repentance is not enough. It’s not enough to repent of your sin and to repent of your self-righteous dead works. It’s not enough to say you’re sorry for your sin. Repentance is right, do not get me wrong, but by itself, its not enough.

 

The Jews believed in the true and living God; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God of creation; the God of redemption.They believed in the laying on of hands. When they brought a sacrifice to be offered, the person who brought the sacrifice put his or her hands on the sacrifice. This was a way of identifying with that substitute that was dying, as it were, in their place. The Old Testament taught the resurrection of the dead. It's not enough to hold to the resurrection of the dead.

 

There are a lot of people that believe in God. Today, a man is saved because he believes in God manifest in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Their faith was not enough to believe in the true and living God. He is saying you can be holding tightly to your Judaism, even the fear eternal judgment is not enough. It must become repentance toward Jesus Christ who is life. Faith toward God must become faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God the Savior. Ceremonial washings for cleansing on the outside must be replaced by the washing of regeneration that washes the soul through faith. Laying hands on an animal sacrifice must be exchanged for laying hold of the Lamb of God who gave his life to take away the sin of the world. Believing in the resurrection from the dead becomes complete when you believe in the hope of eternal life and resurrection through faith in Jesus Christ. Eternal judgement, you must believe that Jesus Christ has taken the full penalty for your sins, satisfied the just eternal judgment requirement of God and will grant salvation and forgiveness to the one who comes to Him in faith. They were stuck. And so we read the writers plea for salvation through faith in Christ.

 

Now, comes one of the strongest, most familiar warnings in the book of Hebrews. "For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame."

 

He is speaking of these people who knew the truth, those who "have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away," Here comes the warning; "it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame." In other words, he is saying, if you don’t come to Christ and you fall away, you are forever damned! This is serious! That is why I have said a number of times, it’s better to go to hell from a pagan environment than from Christ's church! You will have less punishment than one who has heard the truth well enough to be able to teach it, who has rejected it and fallen into darkness.

Those who are intellectually convinced can be immunized, they can be vaccinated by a mild and deadly form of Christianity. Remember, in verse 4, "In the case of those who have once been enlightened,"
As a footnote, these are privileges that do not accompany salvation. It means that you have been taught, you've learned. It means to understand something by hearing it or reading it.They experienced the gospel, "have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit." He is talking about salvation. They experienced it in the messages that were preached. They experienced it in the worship of the people as they celebrated their love for Christ, they sang the hymns.  They have seen the power of Christ in the salvation of others through transformed lives. They've seen all of that. They tasted the heavenly gift of salvation in Christ, the unspeakable gift of Jesus Christ, the Savior.

 

Beloved, the same is true of you today, if you have been following my teaching, if you have heard the messages, you have tasted it. Perhaps you’re married to a believer, your children are believers, therefore, you’ve tasted it in the home. Someone has shared my teaching with you on social media, you tasted it. Because the blessing that God pours on them has splashed upon you. You have been given the knowledge, you have experienced the glory of the gospel around you in the message, in the worship, in the ministries, in the lives of transformed believers.So he says, you "have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit," Not that you are possessors, but you are partakers, by association. You have seen that there’s no other explanation for the growth and transformation in the lives of those around you. As the Spirit of God draws sinners to Christ, lives are being transformed. That's the Spiritual gifts that are being manifest. The work of God, through the supernatural energizing of the Holy Spirit, by fellowshiping with believers, even non believers experience that. They were partakers of the Holy Spirit by association.

 

In verse 5, he says "and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,"  You have experienced the pure truth, the gospel teaching, you’ve tasted it. That is something quite different. They didn't just hear the Word of God, the Scripture was explained to them. They tasted it. Like many believers today, they have experienced the good Word of God through the lives of true Christians. Allow me to tell you this, you are getting a little taste of it today. In this message, you have tasted the Word of God!You have experienced the goodness, the grandeur, the glory, the wonder, the majesty of the gospel.

 

And, then he says "and the powers of the age to come." I know many people get confused by that, he is speaking about The kingdom, the kingdom of Christ. You’ve tasted the powers of the age to come.Now, in some ways was unique to them, because at this time, the apostles were still alive. They had experienced some of the powerful ministry of the apostles. He's talking about Hebrews chapter 2, "God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." 

 

They witnessed the apostolic ministry first hand, they saw first hand the "signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit." They saw the kingdom power. They had full exposure. They were enlightened. They tasted the heavenly gift, that is they experienced the power of salvation through Christ.By the way, I believe that it is important to note, that none of the expressions that I just read to you in verses 4 and 5 ever appears anywhere else in Scripture to describe salvation. Not in talking about saved people, you don't see the word faith, you do not see the terms familiar to salvation. You don’t see conversion, you don’t see justification. You don’t see salvation. You don’t see redemption. You don't see that. Why? Because these people are not saved! They had all of this short of salvation.

 

Then in verse 6, " and then have fallen away," if you walk away and you still do not come to Christ, if you continue in a persistent act of redemption, rebellion and disobedience to the gospel, "it is impossible to renew them again to repentance." That is a powerful warning. Why? Because you cannot have any more revelation. If you have experienced all of these things and have not come to Christ, if you have walked away. There is no more opportunity for you! That's the definition of apostasy, there's nothing left to say to you, so turn and walk away! Because in walking away, look at the end of verse 6, "They again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame." They have chosen to stand with the crucifiers and put Jesus to open shame. You are affirming that Jesus was not the Savior, you are standing with the crucifiers, this man is not our King! By walking away, it is your declaration that Jesus was guilty as charged and He deserved to die. That is the warning! Because if you dare to do this, you will never be saved.

 

And so He closes in verses 7 and 8 with an illustration that seals this interpretation. "For ground that drinks the rain which often  falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."

 

The rain hits the ground, it causes some things to grow  and they’re a blessing to the person who tilled them and blessing comes from God. Other times, however, the rain makes thorns and briars grow and they’re gathered together and thrown in a fire. That’s the whole point. The abundant rain, is the revelation of God. God’s revelation comes down, it springs forth and produces fruit. He is speaking about the positive response to the gospel, the response to salvation. The others, do not have the gentle rain of salvation coming down upon them, they're the thorns and briars. Their rejection of the goodness of the rain, and that casts them into hell. 

 

In Closing,,

 

As Christians, we need to repent of the haughty way in which we stand in judgment of the Scripture, we instead must learn to sit humbly under its authority and judgment. When we come to the Word of God, with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts, we fail to hear the the thunderclap that is God’s truth and wisdom. If we do not allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through God's Word, we are confirmed by our own prejudices. We no longer allow to His Spirit confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and overthrow our patterns of our own thoughts and behavior. 

 

There are a lot of great books out there, and as I have stated before I love to read, anything to do with God, but then there’s The Book. This book is God’s very own Word and it is inspired in a way that no other book is inspired. There is only one book, that I read all day, every day, which should be true for all who are serious about their faith. The Bible is God-breathed. Every Word of it came from God and was inspired by Him. Yes, yes, He used human individuals to write it down however, it’s source was God Himself. But before you can study the Bible you must accept its authority.

 

A closed Bible has never done anyone any good. Martin Luther once wrote, "I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb – study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings."

 

Psalm 119:18 says "Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law."

 

All Bible study starts and ends with prayer. To get the most out of the Bible you need the Holy Spirit to help illuminate God’s word in your heart. Ask God for knowledge, wisdom, and insight and He will surely give it.

 

May it be so..

 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2019-2021 All Rights Reserved