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From Milk to Meat: Scripture-Trained Discernment (Hebrews 5:12–14) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. We're doing another deep dive
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today, really getting into the text to sharpen our
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understanding and hopefully our practice.
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Glad be here. And today we're looking at a
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passage that's, well, quite pointed.
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It's from Hebrews chapter 5, verses 12 through 14.
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Kind of pastoral diagnostic, you could say.
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A diagnostic that feels incredibly relevant.
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We talked about this before we started this sort of
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contemporary ailment. We are just swimming in
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Christian content, aren't we? Books, podcasts, videos, blogs,
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everywhere you look. Absolutely saturated.
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Yet there seems to be this thinness when it comes to actual
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Christian judgement. You know, the ability to apply
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God's Word wisely to life. Lots of information, maybe not
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so much formation. And that's precisely the issue
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the author of Hebrews tackles head on.
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He saw people in his own day who'd been around the truth for
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a long time. But they were stalled,
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spiritually stunted. They had the input, maybe, but
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not the output. Not the skilled application.
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Exactly. They knew things theoretically,
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but lacked that practiced ability to let the word shape
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their decisions, their character, their assurance.
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So that's our mission for this deep dive.
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We want to unpack these verses and the surrounding context to
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show that Christian maturity isn't this mystical ZAP you wait
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for. Right, it's not passive.
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It's what the sources call a scripture shaped competence, and
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it's achieved through specific disciplined practice, habits,
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training, real measurable growth.
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We need to move past thinking. Spiritual growth happens,
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Hebrews insists It's active. It demands effort, skill,
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practice. Like learning any craft, really.
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OK. Let's get into it then.
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Section 1. The author has just been
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soaring, hasn't he? Laying out this incredible case
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for the supremacy of Christ in the earlier chapters.
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Absolutely stunning Christology. Hi Doctrine.
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And then, bam, he hits the brakes.
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He pivots from this majestic theology to, well, a pretty
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sharp rebuke. This is Hebrews 5.12, what we're
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calling the stinging mismatch, the rebuke of.
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It really is stinging because he puts his finger right on this
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gap, this mismatch between the time they've been believers, the
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time they've been under instruction, and their actual
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spiritual development. Here's a moral dimension to time
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here, isn't there? Definitely that phrase be
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turning Christian on by reason of time isn't just marking
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calendar days, the sources emphasize.
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It carries moral weight. It implies accountability.
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Like you've had this long hearing the truth, so you should
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be at this level. Time creates a kind of duty.
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A duty, an obligation. The clock's ticking, spiritually
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speaking, and the author makes the expectation explicit.
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By this time you want to be teachers.
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That word ought philontis in the Greek.
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What does that signal? It means being under obligation
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or owing a debt. It's strong language.
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They owed it, given the time and teaching they'd received, to be
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capable of instructing others. Now hang on, does that mean
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every single Christian is supposed to be like an elder or
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a pastor holding an official teaching office?
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That seems like a high bar for everyone.
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That's a fair question, and a necessary clarification.
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The source material suggests this isn't primarily about
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formal office, it's about a congregational baseline of
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competence. A minimum standard.
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Kind of, yeah. After years of hearing the word,
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being part of the community, you should at least be able to pass
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on the basics, the AB CS of the faith.
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You should understand it well enough and live it consistently
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enough to explain it simply to someone else.
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Maybe your kids a new believer, a neighbor.
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So it's about basic spiritual reproduction, not necessarily
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ordination. Precisely, Yeah.
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Can you articulate the core truths?
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Can you model basic Christian living?
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That's the expectation here. OK, but the problem was they
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weren't meeting even that baseline.
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How did the author know what was the indicator of their failure?
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Their regression. He says they have need of
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someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles
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of God. The keyword there is again plain
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in Greek. That's playing a cust.
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You have need again. So they weren't just stuck, they
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were actually going backwards, having to relearn things they
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should have known. Exactly.
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Circling back to square 1, they couldn't build because the
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foundation itself felt shaky to them.
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They kept needing the introductory course repeated.
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What were these basic principles?
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Tiestushes. Actress the elements of the
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beginning? Is this some obscure corner of
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theology? Not at all.
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It's a standard image, like the ABC's The Foundational Truths,
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what he elsewhere calls milk, and the oracles of God to secure
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the assist referring to Scripture, God's revealed word.
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So they had the whole Council of God available, but they were
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stuck demanding only the introductory bits.
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Right. And the rebuke isn't against the
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fundamentals themselves. Milk is essential for babies.
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You need the basics when you start out.
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But you're not supposed to stay on milk forever.
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That's the point. Remaining on milk when you
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should be eating solid food isn't humility, it's culpable
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immaturity. It's like an adult demanding
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baby food sources stress Milk is a foundation, not a ceiling.
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These folks were capable of more, but they were choosing not
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to grow up, spiritually speaking.
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And this wasn't just a theoretical problem, was it?
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Their stagnation had immediate consequences for what the author
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wanted to teach them. It actually interrupted his
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argument. It did.
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He literally breaks off his teaching flow.
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He'd been building this case about the sun, but he says
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they've become dull of hearing. He was about to launch into
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something really deep, the solid food of Christ's priesthood
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according to the Order of Melchizedek.
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Chapter 6 and seven delve into this.
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OK, let's pause here because Melchizedek in priesthood can
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sound really abstract, maybe even, you know, irrelevant to
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the average person today. Why is this specific doctrine
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the solid food? What makes it hard for the
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immature to grasp? It's solid food because
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understanding it requires, well, theological processing power.
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You need to be able to hold several big concepts together at
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once. Like what?
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Like typology, how Melchizedek prefigures Christ, like
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understanding the temporary nature of the Auronic priesthood
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and the Mosaic law, like grasping the finality and
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sufficiency of Christ sacrifice. It connects covenant history,
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Christology, soteriology. It's complex.
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So if you're still fuzzy on, say, basic concepts of sin and
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grace, or the difference between the old and new covenants,
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you're just not equipped to understand why being a priest
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like Melchizedek is such a game changer.
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Exactly. It would be opaque, unclear.
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You wouldn't see the connections or grasp the implications for
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your assurance, for your access to God.
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Their immaturity made this profound truth inaccessible to
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them. They lacked the trained
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theological palette, the analytical skill.
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So the meat isn't some secret gnostic knowledge, it's a deeper
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understanding of the revelation they already had but weren't
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ready to digest. That's it.
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Which leads us to directly into Section 2, the specific
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diagnosis Hebrews 5.13 gets clinical.
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The author names the condition all.
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Right. What's the specific finding?
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Why were they stuck on milk? He says everyone who lives on
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milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he's a
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child. The key term is iteros
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unskilled. Unskilled.
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What does that imply? Not necessarily unintelligent.
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Correct. Peperos means inexperienced,
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untrained, unacquainted with. It's not about IQ, it's about a
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lack of practiced skill. They hadn't put the word to work
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often enough to become proficient with it.
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So it's like having a toolbox full of tools, but never
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actually building anything. You know about the tools, but
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you're clumsy when you try to use them.
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Great analogy. It's a failure of habituated
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competence. They possess the oracles of God,
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but they lack the skill, the ingrained habit of using that
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word to navigate life, make ethical judgments, or find
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stable assurance. They had the map but couldn't
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read the terrain effectively. And the specific area where they
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lack skill is the word of righteousness, the chiastis.
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What exactly does that phrase mean here?
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Is it just about justification by faith?
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That's certainly foundational, but the sources suggest a richer
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meaning here. There's an objective sense, yes,
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the message about God's righteousness revealed in Christ
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and the ethical standards that flow from it.
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The facts. The Doctrine.
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OK, that makes sense. But you said richer.
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Yes, the context, especially with the emphasis on skill and
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discernment in verse 14, points strongly toward an effective
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meaning to the Word is an instrument that actually
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produces righteousness in the believer.
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So not just the news about righteousness, but the tool that
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shapes you into being righteous in your judgments and actions.
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Precisely. It's scripture viewed as the
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active agent God uses to form right thinking, right feeling,
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right choosing. The author is concerned with the
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words power to shape practical holiness.
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So being unskilled means you might know the doctrine of
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justification, but you can't effectively wield that truth or
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other scriptures to say, forgive someone who wronged you, or make
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a wise financial decision, or resist A subtle temptation.
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You lack the practical know how. Exactly.
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You haven't developed the skill to bring the word to bear on the
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complexities of life. You know the theory, but lack
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the applied technique that keeps you infantile.
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Which connects to his point about them being nipuoid
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children. Infants.
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It's OK to be an infant right after conversion.
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Obviously that's natural, but the diagnosis here is that
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prolonged infancy is blameworthy.
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It's not cute anymore. It's a problem.
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Spiritual infancy that's tolerated or even excused
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becomes spiritual indolence defended.
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Indolence. Laziness.
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Really. They were content in the
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nursery. Content with the simple stuff,
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unwilling to put in the effort, the discipline practice required
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for growth. Their lack of progress wasn't
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inability, it was negligence. They weren't meeting the demands
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that their time under the word placed upon them.
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OK, if we step back and connect this ancient diagnosis to today,
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it feels like it explains a lot about our contemporary ailment.
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Why are we often so content rich but competence poor?
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What are the modern hindrances? I think we can see several key
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factors that feed this Arrested Development today.
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First, what the sources might call anti doctrinal pragmatism
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meaning meaning a church culture that often values immediate
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results, emotional experiences, or numerical growth over deep,
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careful theological formation. We prize what feels like it
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works right now, rather than the slow, steady work of building
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doctrinal integrity and ethical skill.
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So the focus shifts from is this true and how does it shape us to
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Does this attract a crowd or does this give me a quick
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spiritual boost? Right, and in that environment
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the word often gets well thinned out, reduced to slogans,
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inspirational quotes, maybe therapeutic advice.
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Rather than being wielded as the sharp 2 edged sword.
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It is training the conscience. People are seeking inspiration,
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not necessarily formation that requires effort.
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That leads naturally to the second hindrance, perpetual
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adolescence. Yeah, this is huge.
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We confuse making the faith accessible with keeping it
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infantile. There's a constant demand for
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novelty, for quick hits, for easily digestible content.
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And technology feels this massively, doesn't it?
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Monumentally, digital distraction is rewiring our
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brains, algorithms, fetus, constant novelty, short form
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content, emotional triggers. We're being trained away from
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the deep, sustained, sometimes difficult engagement the
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Scripture requires for real maturity.
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Our attention spans are shot. And think about it.
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For many people, algorithms and platforms are catechizing them
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for more hours per week than their pastors or elders, or
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shepherding them. The external noise is drowning
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out the signal needed for deep growth.
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Wow, catechized by algorithms? That's a sobering thought.
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OK, what's the third cluster? The lure of mystical shortcuts.
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This is the desire for spiritual depth without the necessary
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discipline. What does that look like
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practically? It's the constant hunger for
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fresh words, personal prophecies, impressionistic
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guidance, following platform personalities who seem to have a
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Direct Line to God, anything that bypasses the hard work of
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studying and obeying the written word.
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Looking for a spiritual life hack instead of putting in the
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reps at the gym? Exactly.
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It's subtly displaces the sufficiency of Scripture and the
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necessity of the ordinary means of grace.
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Preaching, sacraments, prayer, fellowship, discipline, reading.
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People want the charismatic flash, the instant download of
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maturity, rather than the steady, sometimes unglamorous
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work in the gymnasium. So unskilled because we're
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indolent and modern life offers 1000 ways to justify or even
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celebrate that indolence. Powerful diagnosis.
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But Hebrews doesn't leave us there, does it?
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Verse 14 offers the cure. Section 3.
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Training the faculties by habit. Right, the diagnosis is sharp,
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but the prescription is clear. The difference between the
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infant and the mature Telios comes down to training.
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Let's talk about that goal. Maturity, Telios.
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What does that word really convey?
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It carries this sense of being complete, finished, brought to
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the intended goal. It's teleological.
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The mature Christian is the one functioning as God designed,
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equipped for the tasks of the faith.
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It's the opposite of stunted infancy.
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It's scripture shaped competence.
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Competence achieved How? Let's break down the mechanism
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in verse 14. The sources highlight a cluster
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of Greek words here that are like a training manual.
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Absolutely, he says. Solid food is for the mature,
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for those who have their faculties trained by habit to
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discern decreases good and evil, four key terms.
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OK, first a toasteria, the faculties.
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What are these? It's used metaphorically here.
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Think of your moral and spiritual senses, your capacity
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for perception, judgement, understanding spiritual
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realities. It's the internal equipment you
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use to navigate the world. So we need to train our
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spiritual taste buds our ability to recognize truth from error,
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good from evil. Precisely.
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And how are they trained? The next word, Lomas Mina
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trained. This word is crucial.
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It's a perfect passive participle, meaning the perfect
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tense indicates a completed action with ongoing results.
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The training has happened and it has produced a lasting state and
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abiding condition, and the root word evokes the gymnasium.
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The place of exercise, discipline, hard work like an
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athlete, training. Exactly.
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This isn't about passively receiving insight.
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It's about rigorous, repeated exercise that builds strength
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and skill. It results in a permanent change
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in your moral muscle memory. The sources link this to Hebrews
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12.1. God's discipline, though
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painful, yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those
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who've been trained by it. Same idea.
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OK, so training produces A lasting state.
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What's the third word? Hexis habit.
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Hexis. This is maybe the most technical
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term here. It refers to an acquired stable
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disposition or a state. It's not just doing something
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repeatedly, it's the settled character or skill that results
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from that repetition. So it's like second nature,
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something deeply ingrained. That's a great way to put it.
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Hexis is the durable capacity formed by practice.
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Through repeatedly engaging with Scripture, hearing it, studying
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it, meditating on it, obeying it, you develop a stable ability
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to see things as God sees them, to judge rightly.
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Can we use that apprenticeship analogy here?
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Absolutely. Think of a master Craftsman, a
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Carpenter, maybe an apprentice. Might know the theory, might
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have read the manuals. But the master Carpenter has
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Hexus. He just knows the wood right by
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touch, by sight. He doesn't have to consciously
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run through a checklist every time.
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His skill is ingrained from thousands of hours of practice.
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Exactly. His faculties, his senses, his
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judgement have been trained by habit.
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Hexus, through constant discipline, work with materials
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under the master's eye. That's the picture for the
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mature Christian handling the word of righteousness.
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Raw intuition gets transformed into reliable skill.
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The immature person reacts to ethical pressure with feelings
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or guesswork. The mature person operating from
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Hexus responds with the internalized patterns of
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Scripture. OK, faculties trained by habit.
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And what is the specific goal, the telos of all this training,
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the final word in that cluster? The goal is decreases
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discernment, specifically the ability to distinguish both good
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and evil. Distinguish not just know the
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difference in theory, but be able to sort it out in practice.
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Yes, this is tested judgment. It's the ability to make fine
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distinctions, to see nuances, to choose the truly good path,
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especially in those Gray areas where the choice isn't obvious.
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And crucially, this discernment is formed by the Word through
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that process of training and habit.
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It's not a mystical hunch or a shortcut.
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It's competence earned through discipline.
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So the mature believer doesn't just have Scripture memorized,
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they haven't metabolized. It's become part of their
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operating system, shaping their perceptions and judgments
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instinctively and reliably. Well put.
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Metabolize is a good word for it.
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OK, so that's the mechanism. Training the spiritual senses
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through the habitual application of God's Word leads to mature
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discernment. Brings us to Section 4, the
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practical road map. If maturity comes through
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training and habit, we need to know what the workout looks
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like. How do we actually do this?
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This is where we need concrete steps, the reps for the
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spiritual gym, right? Theory is one thing, practice is
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another. The cure requires concrete,
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measurable practices. It's about committing to that
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long obedience in the same direction, primarily through the
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ordinary means of grace. No shortcuts, just faithful
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reps. Let's start with the individual
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believer. What are the daily or weekly
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reps that build this Hexus, the spiritual skill?
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Foundational is consistent daily scripture intake, not just
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reading passively, but meditation, wrestling with the
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text, asking how it applies, followed by prayer shaped by
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that word, seeking grace to obey and looking for opportunities
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for witness. How can we make that intake more
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focused, less random? One practical tip is anchoring
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your personal reading plan in the church's public ministry.
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Study and meditate on the passage.
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Preach the previous Lord's Day. That creates synergy.
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Hearing it proclaimed, then digging into it yourself,
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preparing your heart for the next Lord's Day.
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It provides structure. OK, intake, meditation, prayer,
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obedience. But how do we specifically train
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discernment that decisis? This is where the practice of
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discernment journaling comes in. It sounds simple maybe, but it's
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a powerful tool for forcing yourself to move from vague
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impressions to scripture based judgement.
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What does that look like? The idea is to regularly, say
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weekly record 2 real decisions you faced.
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Not necessarily huge moral dilemmas, but situations where
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you had to choose between options.
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Maybe good versus better or wise versus unwise.
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Can you give an example? Let's take that young
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professional again, the one considering the ethically Gray
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investment we mentioned earlier. How does the Journal help train
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discernment there? OK, so the immature response is
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just is it legal? Yes.
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OK, I want the money. The Journal forces more step
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one. Record the decision.
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Option A Invest in flashy startup with questionable
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marketing. Option B Invest in a less
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profitable but ethically sound venture.
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Step 2 Alternatives weighed go beyond just legality, right?
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Ask is it beneficial? Course of course 6.12 Does this
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use of capital align with Kingdom values?
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Am I potentially profiting from something that exploits others
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weaknesses? What's the long term impact on
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my own character? Step three.
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Scripture used. What specific texts did you
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consult maybe? Proverb 16.8 Better is a little
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with righteousness than great revenues with injustice or
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Philippines. 4.8 Whatever is true, honorable, just pure,
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lovely, commendable. Think about these things.
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You write down the passages you actually used to think it
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through. And the crucial Step 4 why one
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path was judged good and the other evil, or less good or
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unwise? Exactly, you have to articulate
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the reasoning based on scripture so the journal might conclude
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investment a while legal risks partnership with unethical
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practices and prioritizes profit over principle.
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Training my heart toward greed. Evil.
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For me, Investment B aligns better with justice and
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stewardship, training my heart toward righteousness.
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Good even with lower financial return.
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This forces you to connect belief to behavior via the word
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it. Bill, Texas.
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That definitely makes it concrete and moves beyond just
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feelings. What about applying the Sunday
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sermon? How do we make that more than
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just a nice thought for an hour? We need accountable obedience.
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A practical discipline is to follow up every sermon by
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identifying 2 concrete actions you will attempt to take based
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on the message and one person you can share the main point
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with. Two actions, one person.
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Why? The actions move you from
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hearing to doing. The one person reinforces
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understanding and fulfills that Hebrews 5.11 obligation.
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Can you pass on even the basics you just heard?
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You can't articulate it simply to someone else.
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You probably haven't digested it yourself.
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It combats passive listening. Another individual practice you
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mentioned was self-assessment. Yes, periodically, maybe
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quarterly taking stock. Ask yourself concrete doctrinal
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and practical questions. Not am I growing which is vague
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but specific things. Like what?
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Like, can I explain the doctrine of the Trinity accurately in
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simple terms? Can I articulate the gospel
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clearly, including repentance and faith?
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Can I explain from Scripture why Christ's humanity is essential
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for my salvation? Can I show from Hebrews how
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Christ's priesthood gives me confidence to approach God?
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This tests actual confidence. Let's apply this train judgement
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idea to digital habits. Again, that area feels so
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ambiguous for many people. It is, and the unskilled
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response is often minimalist. Well, scrolling Instagram for
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hours isn't explicitly forbidden in the Bible.
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So it's not technically a sin. Train judgement, The fruit of
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hexes goes deeper. It asks OK, it might be lawful,
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but is it beneficial? First Course 6.12 Does this
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habit build me up in faith, hope, and love?
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Or does it tear me down, make me anxious, envious, discontented?
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First Core 10.23 Does it help me redeem the time to have 5.6 sin
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or does it steal time from prayer, service and fellowship?
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So the discernment isn't just about avoiding clear sin, but
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choosing the truly good and beneficial.
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Exactly. And the concrete practice flows
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from that Discernment maybe means setting strict time
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limits, time fences. Maybe it means a regular Sabbath
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from screens. Maybe it means unfollowing
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accounts that consistently stir up discontent or worldiness.
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You treat it as a spiritual. Discipline and you measure the
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fruit, yes. Does this lead to greater
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self-control? More focused prayer?
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Better conversations? Increased love for God and
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neighbor? If a habit, even a neutral 1,
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consistently produces bad fruit in you, then for you it falls
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into the category of evil or unwise that needs to be
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addressed. That's decreases applied.
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OK, these individual disciplines are crucial, but the author of
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Hebrews was writing to a community.
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The church itself must play a role in this training, right?
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It can't just be individuals working out alone.
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Absolutely essential. The church isn't just a
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collection of individuals, it's the primary gymnasium where this
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training is meant to happen. Leaders have a responsibility to
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engineer a pipeline for maturity.
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A pipeline? What do you mean?
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A structured approach that intentionally moves people from
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foundational understanding through deeper doctrine into
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skilled practice and ultimately toward being able to teach
23:14
others. It combats that stagnation
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Hebrews warns about. Where does that pipeline start?
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It starts with the corporate worship, the Lord's Day
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gathering. The spiritual diet needs to be
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solid. Worship must be ordered by
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Scripture. The central element has to be
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robust expository preaching that doesn't just inform but
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catechizes the imagination, consistently feeding the flock
23:35
the pure Word, explaining it clearly and applying it
23:39
pointedly. So week after week, the
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congregation is immersed in the text, learning how to think
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biblically. Yes, the liturgy itself should
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rehearse the great truths, law and gospel, confession and
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assurance, training the spiritual senses of the
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community. But beyond Sunday morning, there
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needs to be structured catechesis.
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Going beyond the sermon. Yes, we can't leave confidence
23:59
to chance. The sources suggest clear stages
24:02
with measurable thresholds, for example Doctrine cohorts.
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What would that involve? Maybe a year long small group
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working systematically through a solid confection or catechism
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like the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
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But the key is the measurable threshold.
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Not just showing up, but demonstrating understanding.
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Right. Requiring something like 6070%
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mastery, measured not just by quizzes, but by things like oral
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exams or short essays explaining key doctrines.
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Oral exams. Why?
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Because they test articulation. Can you actually explain this
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truth clearly to someone else? That directly addresses the
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Hebrews 5.12 expectation of being able to teach.
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It forces competence beyond just passive reception.
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OK. After doctrinal grounding,
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what's next in the pipeline? Ethics labs These groups would
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focus specifically on applying doctrine to life, working
24:53
through case studies on things like money, work, family,
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speech, sexuality, using scripture to develop practical
24:59
wisdom. And this is where the
25:00
Discernment Journal would fit in corporately.
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Exactly. These labs could require the
25:05
weekly discernment journal with peer feedback and
25:08
accountability. This brings the individual
25:10
training into the community, sharpening one another.
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It ensures Hexus is being built for the marketplace, not just
25:16
the classroom. And the final stage.
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The teaching track This is intentionally developing those
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who show aptitude and character to lead others, fulfilling
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Second Timothy 2.2 and trusting the truth to faithful people who
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will be able to teach others also.
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So leadership in things like small groups wouldn't just be
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based on who's been around longest or who is outgoing.
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No, it should be gated based on demonstrated observable skill
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and handling the word accurately and wisely, and evidence of
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mature Christian character. Competence becomes the
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prerequisite for leadership. This pipeline structure makes
25:50
sense. What about Church discipline and
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the sacraments and fostering maturity?
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They are vital parts, parts of the gymnasium.
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The church needs to practice both formative discipline,
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teaching, exhortation, warning, and when necessary, corrective
26:03
discipline, always aiming for restoration and, as Hebrews 12
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says, the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
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Discipline upholds the seriousness of sin and the
26:13
necessity of growth. And the Lord's Supper.
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The table needs to be carefully fenced.
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This means clear pastoral instruction beforehand,
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exhorting members to examine themselves based on Scripture
26:23
first. Core 11 Are they trusting in
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Christ? Are they repenting of known sin?
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Are they living in love and peace with their brothers and
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sisters? So the sacrament itself becomes
26:31
an opportunity for self-assessment and recommitment
26:33
to growth. Yes, it reinforces that
26:36
participation of the covenant community involves ongoing
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repentance, faith, and the pursuit of holiness.
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All these structures, preaching, cohorts, labs, leadership,
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training, discipline, sacraments work together to intentionally
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cultivate maturity. This is thorough.
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It sounds demanding. And that word discipline, the
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idea of measurable thresholds, gated leadership.
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It inevitably raises the flag of legalism for some listeners.
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Understandably so. How do we pursue all this
27:03
rigorous training without falling into the trap of
27:05
thinking our effort earns God's favor or makes us acceptable?
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That seems like the opposite of the word of righteousness, which
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is rooted in grace. This takes us to Section 5,
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Maturity and the finished work of Christ.
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This connection is absolutely critical.
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If we disconnect the call to maturity from the gospel of
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grace, we create either crushing legalism or arrogant self
27:27
righteousness. We must anchor the effort in the
27:29
right place. So first, why pursue the solid
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food, the deeper doctrines like Melchizedek?
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What's the point? The point is to develop the
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capacity to fully grasp and rest in the glories of Christ's work,
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understanding his perfect priesthood, his once for all
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sacrifice, his ongoing intercession.
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This isn't just theological trivia.
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It's the bedrock of our assurance, our perseverance, our
27:52
motivation for holiness. So moving from milk to meat
27:56
isn't about getting new information outside the Bible.
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Not at all. The candidate is closed.
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It's about developing the digestive strength, the trained
28:02
spiritual senses Hexus, to properly appreciate and live by
28:06
the profound truths already revealed in the Bible.
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Precisely, And the motivation for developing that strength
28:12
cannot be earning God's love. The sources are crystal clear.
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This pursuit of maturity neither grounds our acceptance before
28:19
God, nor does it give license to laziness, antinomian
28:23
complacency. Our standing with God, our
28:25
justification, rests 100% on. The finished priestly work of
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Jesus Christ Hebrews hammers his home relentlessly.
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He offered one sacrifice for sins for all time.
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He 10 point wealth by that one offering.
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He is perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
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He 10.1 friend acceptance is based entirely on his work
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received by faith. So the effort, the discipline,
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the pursuit of maturity, why do it?
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We pursue maturity because we are already loved, accepted,
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adopted children. It's a response of gratitude.
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It's learning to live out the righteousness we've already been
29:00
given in. Christ is being trained in
29:02
righteousness, as Paul tells Timothy, so we can be equipped
29:05
for every good work. Discipline flows from assurance.
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It doesn't create it. That flips the script for many
29:10
people. We don't work for Assurance, we
29:11
work from Assurance. Exactly.
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Let's use that doctrinal case study.
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Christ intercession. This is real meat.
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How does understanding this deeply help the believer
29:20
practically? Well, think about how many
29:22
Christians live day-to-day. Their confidence in approaching
29:25
God. Their sense of acceptance, often
29:27
fluctuates wildly based on their performance.
29:30
Did I have a good quiet time today?
29:32
Was I patient with the kids? Did I resist that temptation?
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Their access feels conditional. Or maybe they look for other
29:39
mediators, right? Praying to Saints or desperately
29:42
seeking a fresh word because they don't feel confident Christ
29:44
alone is enough or hears them. Yes, but trained discernment
29:48
grounded in the solid food of Hebrews 7 rejects those
29:52
impulses. Why?
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Because it rests in the staggering truth that Christ
29:56
always lives to make intercession for us, Heeb 7.25.
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He is perpetually in the Father's presence on our behalf,
30:03
Heeb 9.24. His advocacy doesn't depend on
30:06
our good days or bad days. Wow, that's incredibly
30:09
stabilizing. It is this deep doctrine.
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The Melchizedekian meat is an abstract.
30:14
It produces profound ethical fruit.
30:16
It fuels confident prayer, knowing our access is secured by
30:19
him. It provides stable assurance
30:21
rooted in his unchanging priesthood, not our fluctuating
30:24
feelings or performance. And it changes how we fight sin.
30:27
Absolutely, it gives renewed vigor to fight sin from a
30:30
position of security and acceptance, not for acceptance.
30:35
We know the same High Priest who pleads our case also sympathizes
30:38
with our weaknesses, and provides mercy and fine grace to
30:41
help in time of need. Heed 4.1 C&C first one one beat.
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We fight sin knowing we have a sympathetic and effective
30:48
advocate. So the call to maturity, the
30:50
conclusion of the cure, isn't a burdensome command to try harder
30:54
in our own strength. No, it's a gracious summons to
30:57
press on Hebrews 6.1 to grow up into the fullness of the
31:01
salvation. Christ is already secured.
31:04
It's a call to take up the tools He provides, His Word, His
31:06
Spirit, His Church, and engage in the training that allows us
31:09
to fully enjoy and live out our inheritance in Him.
31:12
To submit our instincts, our feelings, our judgments to
31:15
Scripture until we learn by habit to distinguish good from
31:19
evil clearly. That's the goal.
31:21
Tested judgment formed by the Word.
31:23
Practicing community motivated by the Gospel.
31:26
We've covered a huge amount today from that stinging rebuke
31:29
about Arrested Development in Hebrews 5.
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To the diagnosis of being unskilled in the word due to due
31:34
to lack of practice. Through the cure involving
31:36
training our spiritual faculties by habit.
31:39
To the practical steps for individuals and churches to
31:41
build that competence. And finally, anchoring all that
31:44
effort firmly in the finished work of Christ our High Priest.
31:48
So the big take away, Christian maturity isn't mystical or
31:51
automatic. It's the durable capacity to see
31:55
reality as God sees it. A capacity achieved through
31:59
Spirit enabled word mediated habituation.
32:03
It's the opposite of being an unskilled infant.
32:05
Which brings us back to that initial challenge from Hebrews.
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The time you've spent under the truth creates a certain
32:11
obligation, a reasonable expectation for growth.
32:13
Which leads to our final thought for you, the listener, a
32:16
challenge to reflect on. If you were to keep that
32:19
discernment journal for this past week, what would it reveal?
32:22
Forget the big dramatic sins for a moment.
32:24
Look at the everyday choices. How you spent your time online,
32:27
how you responded to that annoying Co worker, how you
32:30
managed your money, how you spoke to your family.
32:32
Are you seeing progress toward that baseline competence?
32:36
Hebrews expects the ability to handle the word skillfully, to
32:39
pass on the basics, to make wise, godly judgments.
32:43
Or are you maybe still circling back to the alphabet more often
32:47
than you realize, still needing the introductory course
32:50
repeated? The call of Hebrews is clear.
32:52
Leave the elementary teaching. Press on to maturity.
32:56
Take up the word not just as information, but as the
32:59
instrument of your training. Submit to the gymnasium.
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Because the goal is worth it. The peaceful fruit of
33:05
righteousness. Yeah, and a deeper, more stable
33:07
enjoyment of Christ himself. Thank you for joining us for
33:10
this deep dive on reformed thinking.
33:12
Until next time.