New Salem Baptist Church

Eating Solid Food

Sep. 8, 2024

Read Hebrews 5:11 – 6:3.

Verse 11 begins, “About this we have much to say…” The “this” means what just came before, that is, the suffering of Christ and his learning obedience through what he suffered. The author, who I suspect is the apostle Paul, says that those to whom he writes have become dull of hearing.

• The CSB has: “you have become too lazy to understand.”
• The CJB has: “you have become sluggish in understanding.”
• The NASB has: “you have become poor listeners.”
• The NIV has: “because you no longer try to understand.”

The apostle is judging them. But could he not level the same judgment against some of us? It is a shame but isn’t it true that some are too lazy to understand God’s word? It is more than a shame. It is a sin to neglect the word of God.

Isn’t it true that some have become sluggish? Have you ever watched a slug move? I grew up in Northern Ohio and we had a lot of slugs there. I remember more than once climbing down a small hill in order to get to the woods not far from our house. There was a path further up the road, but I saved time by just going directly into the woods across the street from our house. I would have to grab a tuft of grass or a weed to let myself down and I would inadvertently grab a slug. So disgusting, feeling his slimy body on my fingers! I would watch them move, even after being grabbed, still moving so slowly. Some Christians are like that. When it comes to things that appeal to them they will get up early and go where they wish. But when it comes to reading or studying God’s words they are like a slug. I like to wear bold t-shirts with a biblical message. I think a good shirt would be: “I am not a slug.” People might ask you about it and you could quote Hebrews 5:11 out of the CJB or NET and share with them the importance of understanding God’s word. But maybe some of us should wear one that says, “I am a slug.”

Aren’t some of us poor listeners? Someone is talking about God’s truth but if you ask them what was said they do not know. This is a judgment by the apostle.

It is even true that some of us do not try to understand. That is the rendering in the NIV. This was the problem with the Jews who had already confessed Christ in Paul’s day, but this is still a problem. If someone does not even try to understand, I have doubts if they have ever been regenerated. How can you love the Lord and not desire to know what he says? It doesn’t add up.

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,^[1]

The author is writing to a general audience. He is telling them that they ought to be teachers. This means that every follower of Christ ought to be teaching others. While some have the gift of teaching, all should be teaching. The only exception to this would be someone who is new to the faith, say less than one year in following the Lord.

See what the apostle writes: “you ought to be teachers.” If we are not what we ought to be this means we are outside the will of God.

To be a teacher doesn’t mean you have to teach in a class setting, such as a Sunday School class.

• You can teach just by facilitating an in-home Bible study.
• You can teach someone one-on-one as you spend time with someone younger in the faith than you are.
• And, we should be teaching the children living in our household every day.
• We should be teaching our grandchildren at every opportunity, whether they are at our house or we are visiting them.

The author of Hebrews is not happy with his readers. They are supposed to be teaching, but they are not. Who are you teaching right now?

You can perceive how unhappy he is. He writes, “you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.” The oracles of God are just what God has spoken – the Scriptures. It is a shame if someone has been a follower of Christ for more than a year and they do not even know the basic principles of God’s word!

There is no excuse for it. Someone may say, “Pastor, I’m not very smart. I never did well in school and I have trouble remembering things.” First, you do not have to be smart to understand the Bible. The vast majority of the Bible is easy to understand. There are some difficult passages here and there, but most of the Bible is easy. Second, a poor memory is not an excuse. A poor memory can be overcome by frequent exposure and by memory aids such as note cards or even taping biblical truths (verses, statements of truth, etc.) to our bathroom mirror so that we see them each day. Since many of us have smart phones, we can write things in the “notes” app and open that up throughout the day instead of watching videos and news feeds.

¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.^[2]

If we are still living on milk (the basic truths) then we are unskilled and we are a baby. Do you want to be a man or a baby? Do you want to be a woman or a baby?

Do you know what is truly a disgrace and a shame? Some who name the name of Christ do not even know the basic principles! They won’t even drink milk!

What are these basic principles to which the apostle refers? He lists some of them in verse 1 and 2 of chapter six:

6 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, ² of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.^[3]

He identifies repentance and faith as one of the elementary principles that we ought not keep teaching (not laying these things down again means teaching them). What are repentance and faith? That is the gospel! The author states that we need to move on from the foundational elements of what we believe, like the gospel. The gospel is for the lost. The gospel is not to be laid down again to the church. We need to take the gospel into the streets and to our neighbors. We don’t keep repeating it to the church. That doesn’t mean we never talk about the gospel in our meetings. If I observe a visitor I will often address the gospel in an appropriate place in the sermon.

Doctrines pertaining to baptisms are elementary. We need to move on to solid food.

The laying on of hands is another principle that we need to leave behind. Not leave behind in the sense of neglecting, but leave behind in the sense of teaching once again.

The resurrection of the dead is yet another elementary principle. We should all know that there will be two resurrections. The first when Jesus returns to the earth and the second after the millennial kingdom comes to a close. We ought not to revisit that.

Eternal judgment is a basic principle. The average person tends not to believe that there will be never-ending judgment by God, but Christians know this. The only time to revisit it might be to simply review the many verses that affirm it so that we are better equipped to prove it to others.

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. ^[4]

So, we are to set aside the milk[5] and eat solid food. Solid food represents those teachings that have greater depth than the fundamentals. For sure, we need to know the fundamentals. But, once we do we must move on.

How do we know if we are ready to move on? Do you know the elementary doctrines? The ones that are listed in 6:1 and 2? If you do, then you are ready. The other qualification that the writer lists is in 5:14 – do you have powers of discernment? Are you able to distinguish between good and evil?

Now, all of us know those things that are obviously evil. When we hear the word, evil, we tend to think of heinous actions like molestation, abortion, and adultery. Every disciple, mature or immature, knows those things are evil. “Good and evil” in this passage means the more subtle things. That is why we need discernment. Because they are not so obvious. “Evil” is anything that is forbidden by God’s word, even the so-called “acceptable sins.” Things like gossip, gluttony, and factionalism (separating oneself from other believers). “Good” is anything promoted by our Lord and the apostles. Things like caring for the less fortunate, helping the brothers and sisters with their needs, making wise use of our time (Eph. 5:16)…instead of doing nothing.

Hence, if we do not discern our own sins or, worse, if we recognize them and then do nothing to flee from them (we keep doing them), then we are immature (and possibly not regenerated) and we must stay with milk.

[Application] If we recognize that we are mature, how do we obtain and eat solid food?

[1] Some may think that I am being repetitive but, if something is both true and important, then it is a good thing to emphasize it and re-emphasize it. More, the practice of reading and studying the Bible daily has everything to do with eating solid food. It will be difficult to even find solid food, let alone consume it, if we do not live in God’s word. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples (John 8:31). “Abide” means to live in.

In order to do this you must schedule it. You cannot leave it to “when I get around to it.” If you just leave it to when you might have the time then on most days you will neglect it. You not only have to schedule it but you must prioritize it. Whatever time of day you choose, do not allow other activities to rob that time from you. Mornings are best. You may need to set an alarm so that sleep does not steal your time.

Recognize that demons are real and they do not want you to read and study God’s word. I had a dream this past week. I dreamt that I lived in a house that had a large garage and workshop in the back yard. I had just finished looking through the rather large garage because I had suspected an intruder, but I didn’t find one. I went to the workshop and I was attacked by demonically possessed mice. There were about six of them and they were trying to bite me. Somehow, I got them into a sock and I started swinging the sock over me head and smashing it on a counter. I did this about seven times. I looked in the sock and most of the mice were dead. But two were barely moving. So, I smashed the sock on the counter three or four more times. I went to the house and when I entered the living room and, to my surprise, Kai was there with three of his friends. They had put new lights up and they were marvelously beautiful. They were of many colors and the lights made very pleasing patterns on the walls. I was happy about the lights. I don’t know the significance of Kai’s visit (obviously something positive, though). But the part about the mice is clear enough. There are demons in the world and we do not let them bite us. We fight back and overcome them. Don’t sit back and let them influence your poor decisions!

You must schedule your time in praying, reading, and studying the Bible. Spiritual forces do not want you to do that. Overcome your laziness and overcome contrary influences.

[2] When you get to a passage that is hard to understand it might be solid food. Before you look anywhere else, pray: “Lord, help me to understand this.” Then reread the context. Read the several verses before the difficult part and see what the writer or speaker is saying up to that point. The difficult part will almost always be on the same theme. Often this is all you need to understand a passage. Once you see it, write it in the margin of your Bible. If you are uncertain about it, you can even put a question mark after it and research more later. If you are stymied you can either check a commentary or the notes in a Study Bible. A good Study Bible is a great asset in helping you to comprehend God’s word.

[3] If you do not already have it, I would recommend The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. This summarizes what Baptists have always believed for hundreds of years now. It contains both basic elements of the faith but also some meatier topics. There are Scriptural references to every topic, so it is a good starting point on many issues.

[4] If there is a truth that you desire to know more fully, it could very well be solid food. You can order a book on that subject. Books that are particularly helpful in this regard are books that offer more than one view of meaty issues. They have titles like, “Three Views on X,” or “Four Views on (whatever topic).”

[5] Finally, you can start a Bible study in your home on either a book of the Bible or a topic. You can lead the study yourself. This will compel you to study before people come on the day you have it. Or, you can ask Brian, or Kris, or me to lead the study if you lack confidence (but you really can do it!).

Our goal is to be teachers. That is what the author of Hebrews writes. Today, make your schedule. Write it out on your calendar. And don’t allow mice to deter you!