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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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