ARE YOU MOVING FROM MILK TO MEAT?
The early Church Fathers struggled when it came to the inclusion of a couple of books in the New Testament Canon, one was the Book of Hebrews. Some felt it was too Jewish etc. but eventually it was decided to include it, and I am sure glad they did, as it is an exceptional book with so much awesome truth in it expressed by someone who was raised a Jew.
I want to highlight some verses this morning that I trust will challenge and encourage you , I will include various translations so we get a very clear picture of what the writer was thinking.
Mentally one can easily think that all Jews were practicing their religion, although we know from their history in the O.T. that there was often backsliding, and today at least 50% of the Jews living in Israel are atheist and could only be called “cultural” Jews.
Theses verses highlight once again the essential need of Biblical Discipleship & Mentoring.
HEBREWS 5:12-14
AMP. N.T. For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.
For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!
But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
NKJV For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
N.L.T. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the SKILL to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (true & false).
What a sad statement, true in the 1st century, and still true in the 21st century.
I trust that Leaders didn’t assume because the readers were Jewish Messianic Believers they knew what the Word of God says.
We all understand the growth process that babies must begin with milk, but how concerned we would be if a teenage child only wanted to drink milk.
We sure must have someone come alongside to encourage the transition from milk to meat,
There is the clear direction in these verses that the new Believer NEEDS TRAINING & PRACTICE to :
- Recognise
- Discern
- Discriminate
- Distinguish
between
- Right & wrong
- Truth & error
This clearly tells us why we need to transition from the milk of the Word to the meat of the Word, so that our spiritual senses have been developed by the Word of God so that the moment we recognise something as a sin we run a mile, or that we are able to recognise teaching that is contrary to the whole tenor of Scripture, and that we can interact with our Mentor to confirm what we discern.
Let us reject any suggestion “we know it all, ” and continue to pray:
LORD INCREASE MY HUNGER FOR THE WORD OF GOD AND THAT I EVER RECOGNISE THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS TO LEAD ME INTO ALL TRUTH AMEN
