Heb 5:11-14 About this 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 need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, (13) for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. (14) But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
This is a kind of supplemental post to the one I wrote Monday, But I Just Want to Think Good About Everyone. What the Apostle is saying here is that those kind of people are at best babies in the faith. I say at best because they may well not even be saved at all.
Many professing Christians are dull of hearing God’s Word. You can’t even hardly talk to them about God’s Word. They don’t get it. They are dull and deaf to truth. And they may have been professing Christians for years and years – some were raised in Christian homes and cannot remember a time when they weren’t “Christians.”
But something happened. They kept sucking on their bottles. They choke on God’s Word that is anything beyond “believe in Jesus and you can go to heaven.” Their “Christianity” consists primarily of traditions handed to them, not from diligent digesting of God’s Word. They are still children.
Now, notice what maturity in Christ entails. It is to have our spiritual senses trained by constant chewing on the meat of the Word in order to be able to distinguish good from evil. Get it? There it is. Boast all they want about how mature they are in Christ, the fact is that they cannot see Satan when he is right in their face. In fact, they are so inept at discernment that this scripture tells us that they confuse good and evil. They will defend the evil one and condemn the righteous.
It is very dangerous to have babies leading local churches. All they can consume is milk and all they can serve up is milk. Everyone who says they are a Christian is to be believed no matter their fruit. Sound doctrine taught in-depth is just to divisive – they choke on it. So they stay in diapers and take many others with them.
Sarah
It is disheartening to realize that having gone to church most of my life I was never taught to discern evil and yet it is right there in so many places!
Seeker
I feel the same. How much suffering could be averted if people were taught to recognize evil? In the church I attended for many years, I don’t think the word “evil” is even used! The preacher just talks about love, love, love…and tolerance. How Jesus came to show us the path of love for everyone. It kind of makes me feel sick when I think about it.
Jeff Crippen
And that is sooo typical.
Kate
This way of thinking (that there is good in everyone) is as evil as denying that there are evil abusers masquerading as Christians’. To keep from being deceived or deceiving myself, for several years now my consistent prayer has been:
“Lord Jesus, show me your truth through your word, and in my life. Even if it goes against what I WANT to be believe is true.”
HE HAS!
I now add to this prayer, “Use the power through Your holy spirit to destroy all who come against me.” As you can imagine, all Godly truth brings wrath from the worthless one and his children. I’m well aware of Zechariah 4:6, ” ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
I’m so grateful that God has put a time limit on our lives as well as the earth while it’s under wrath. It shows that He is sovereign and ultimately in control. I’m also grateful for hell as God is just and therefore hell is just. We get a glimpse of the evil one through his worthless children, and hell is the perfect place for them. They wouldn’t have it any other way!