The
Kids and the Grown Ups
Members of the body of Christ, both
universally and locally, live with various levels of spiritual
maturity. At the moment a man or woman is born again into God's kingdom
by faith in Christ, they become a spiritual baby. It's God's design for
his 'kids' to grow spiritually and attain 'grown up' status. But how
does one know if he or she has achieved spiritual maturity? When does a
'kid' become a 'grown up'? The scripture gives us a few indicators that
enable us to distinguish childhood from adulthood for those who have
eternal life in Christ.
Our text is Hebrews 5:13-14:
“For every one that useth milk is
unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong
meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason
of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Our first observation is the
contrasts between (1) “milk” and “strong meat” and (2) a “babe” and
those who are “of full age.” Kids are babes with a milk diet. Grown ups
are of full age and consume strong meat. What do we know about the
difference between milk and strong meat? The basic difference, from a
physical standpoint, is the body's ability to break down food
effectively and extract nutrients. Milk is a 'predigested' food
source.
Nutritionists recommend a baby stay
on a milk diet (formula, breast
milk or both) for the first four to six months. Milk is perfectly
suitable for infants, supplying all the necessary nutrition. At the
six-month point, some babies are ready to have certain solid foods
introduced into the diet, such as bananas, soft cereal, pureed foods.
In short, the better a food is broken down, the easier it is for a baby
to
process it. Milk is a good thing. Many adults continue to consume milk
as part of their diets. But it would be unseemly for an adult, with a
full set of teeth for masticating meat and a digestive system capable
of breaking it down and extracting its nutrients, to keep consuming
milk as his primary (or solitary) food source.
Our text tells us the reason babes
remain on predigested milk. They are
“unskilful in the word of righteousness.” Unskilful is ἄπειρος
(apeiros), “inexperienced in, no experience of.” What does it mean to
have no skills when it comes to handling scripture? It's the difference
between KNOWING the truth and DOING the truth. There is a big
difference between being knowledgeable and skillful. Take a man who's a
recent graduate of an aeronautics institute. He graduates at the top of
his class, masters all the laws of aerodynamics, understands all the
cockpit instrumentation and knows how flight control systems work. With
these academic credentials, he submits his resume to a major airline
for a job as pilot. The first question the interviewer asks is: “How
many flight hours have you logged?” That's where the interview comes to
an abrupt halt. The interviewer looks at the applicant and says: “Sir,
it's clear by your resume you know a lot about airplanes. We're looking
for people who have actually flown an aircraft, who have 'X' number of
hours behind the controls and 'Y' number of takeoffs and landings. Sir,
we're looking to hire experienced pilots, not mere academics!”
How does this analogy translate to
spiritual life? James said it like
this:
“But be ye doers of the word, and
not
hearers only, deceiving your own
selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like
unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth
himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was” (James 1:22-24).
The experienced believer, one who is
skillful in the word of
righteousness, does what he hears. He may not do it ALL of the time.
But the general disposition of his heart is to DO what the Word of God
SAYS and experience (live out) the truth first hand. The inexperienced
believer, one who is unskilful in the word of righteousness, may have
accrued a wealth of biblical knowledge, but very little actual
experience living it out in day-to-day life. His knowledge of truth far
exceeds his experience of it. That's why you see men and women who've
been saved for ten or so years being troublemakers, the biggest critics
of others and making no meaningful contribution to the spiritual life
of the church. They're babes who never grew up. If only they could
start DOING what they KNOW and EXPERIENCE Christ. These baby believers
(if they are truly born again) too often become deacons because of
tenure in the church, not true spiritual qualifications.
The 'grown up' believer, who is of
full age and consumes strong meat,
is one who has developed the interpretive skills necessary to derive
spiritual nutrition from the word of righteousness—masticating it and
breaking it down into its component parts, understanding the practical
implications of truth on his life and seeking to DO what he has come to
KNOW. Translating knowledge into experience is what a 'grown up' seeks
to do. Moreover, he loves to grapple with the 'strong meat' of
theological-doctrinal truth. He desires to understand it and master
articulation of it. Accruing biblical knowledge is a noble quest. But
the pursuit of knowledge without a corresponding hunger to experience
it stunts spiritual growth. Get knowledge! But in all thy getting, get
experience!
Our second observation is what our
text says specifically about a
'grown up' believer: “Those
who by reason of use have their
senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Senses is αἰσθητήριον
(aisthētērion), “an organ of perception (whether in body or mind).”
This is its only NT usage. In this context, it clearly indicates a
function of the mind that facilitates perception and sound judgment.
Exercised
is γυμνάζω
(gymnazō), “to exercise in a palaestra (wrestling
school), to exercise vigorously.” Our Eng. 'gymnasium' comes from this
root. The verb is a perfect passive participle. Literal
translation: “the ones...with senses having been exercised to discern
(with the result their senses retain that discernment).”
Use
is ἕξις
(hexis), “a habit or practice, or a power acquired by
practice.” As with senses, this is its only usage in the NT. A man who
starts frequenting the gym three times a week begins by bench pressing
80 pounds, 1 set of 8 reps. Six months later, he's bench pressing 120
pounds, 2 sets of 10 reps. His 'habit' has yielded dividends in both
strength and endurance. By reason of habitual lifting, his ability to
lift is enhanced. So it is with a believer whose life habit is reading
the Word of God, meditating therein and seeking wisdom from his Lord
about how to make its precepts part of his daily practice. This is what
'grown ups' do that 'kids' have yet to learn.
Discern
is διάκρισις
(diakrisis), “a judgment, a distinguishing, an
estimation (esp. in judicial settings).” The verdict in every jury
trial depends on the ability of jurors to weigh the evidence and make a
determination as to where the truth lies. The ability of jurors to
distinguish fact from fiction is discernment. A jury renders a 'Guilty'
verdict if it judges the evidence to be incriminatory. It returns a
'Not Guilty' verdict if it judges the evidence to be exculpatory. The
believer is like a juror who hears evidence about good and evil every
day from scripture. The word of righteousness, the evidenciary
standard, is the means whereby he discerns whether what he's thinking
and doing is good or evil. The better he understands what the mind and
will of God are, the more likely he is to come down of the good side of
things. Again, this is what a spiritual 'grown up' does.
One of the great challenges for a
pastor is to provide a spiritual menu
in his weekly preaching that has nutrition for everyone—the kids, the
grown ups and everyone in between. He cannot tailor his preaching for
one group at the neglect of another. I've actually heard pastors
respond to complaints about the shallowness of their
preaching, saying: “I'll start preaching deeper when you start
living better!”
It's hard for me to imagine a pastor making a dumber statement than
that. In his sermon preparation, the pastor needs to rustle up some
steak (strong meat) for the grown ups along with mashed potatoes (milk)
for the kids. He must remember everyone needs to get fed...and pray the
kids will one day become grown ups!
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