Each Thursday we will take a few minutes to examine three thoughts (or bullets) from the book of Hebrews. We encourage you to read the text, and consider the bullet points. Then join us in a simple prayer.
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 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, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
A note of introduction: Given that the writer of Hebrews has launched so vigorously into his examination of Jesus as the ultimate high-priest in the previous verses, and that he has now mentioned the name Melchizedek, it would be natural to expect him to continue to expound upon his point immediately. But, instead of doing so (He in fact returns to Melchizedek in chapter 7), the author shifts his attention abruptly in an effort to shock and awaken his audience to an important truth about their present situation.
If you have been following along with us each week, you will remember that one of the key intentions of the book of Hebrews is to awaken its original audience from a state of spiritual apathy. They had become lethargic in their faith and the writer is calling them to return to the conviction they originally had upon their confessions.
Dull of Hearing
The author begins his rebuke of the audience by referring to them as, “dull of hearing” which does not suggest they have a physical ailment pertaining to the ability to hear sound, but rather that they have become apathetic in their attitudes towards the Christian faith.
Morris points out that the Greek word in question, “nothros,” could mean “sluggish,” or “slothful.”
“It is an acquired state, not a natural one...They ought to have been in a different condition. The readers of the epistle were not naturally slow learners but had allowed themselves to get lazy.”[1]
Guthrie elaborates further when he says, “In other words, nothros connotes culpable negligence or sluggishness in some aspect of life. Moreover, that the recipients of this letter are lazy “in hearing” (akoais) points to their inattention to the public proclamation of biblical teachings. This passage, therefore, calls to mind the author’s previous exhortation in 2:1 to “pay more careful attention … to what we have heard.”[2]
The ABC’s of the Christian Faith
The author’s critique cuts deeper still in Hebrews 5:12 where he paints a picture of his audience as infants. Though they should, at this point, have all of the tools and knowledge to be able to teach others about their faith, they instead need to go back to school!
As Guthrie and Morris both point out, the “basic principles” (ESV) or “elementary truths” (NIV) of the Christian faith, “render an expression that is equivalent to our ‘ABC’ The Greek actually means something like ‘the ABC of the beginning of the oracles of God.”[3]
“This delineation of different levels in the educational process and the use of “milk” and “solid food” as metaphors for basic over against advanced teachings were common in the ancient world...So when the author exclaims, “You need milk, not solid food” (Heb. 5:12), he is describing in no uncertain terms a level of immaturity among his readers. Spiritually they are acting like babies still suckling at a mother’s breast, unconcerned with the rich, hearty foods of the adults’ table.”[4]
Guthrie goes on to elaborate on what he thinks is the specific issue pertaining to the immaturity of the audience. He says,
“The “teaching about righteousness,” however, may refer to advanced theological instruction that stresses the cost and responsibilities of discipleship. Lane points to uses of this phrase in the second century that place it in the context of Christian suffering under persecution. Polycarp taught, for example, that to obey fully the word of righteousness one must be willing to endure the severest mistreatment...Because of the context and the author’s emphases here, the moral failure in the face of persecution must be understood as stemming from a lack of response to theological instruction (cf. 2:1–4). These milk drinkers are in a perilous situation because they have neither an understanding nor an inclination toward deeper matters of the faith by which one understands the importance and means of perseverance.”[5]
Going on to Maturity
As a final point we should briefly examine the author's call for his audience to, “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on toward maturity.”
It should be stressed that the author is not suggesting in any way that the “doctrines of Christ” can be neglected. Nor is he saying we can move beyond them to a higher state of spirituality where we no longer need them.
“When the author suggests they “leave” the elementary truths of the faith, he does not see these Christian principles as dispensable. Indeed, they are no more dispensable than are letters of the alphabet for moving children beyond the first steps of education. Rather, the fundamental truths of the faith are presupposed in the continued trek toward maturity. The admonition of 6:1 has to do with the listeners’ indifference to weightier matters of Christ-following and their consequent need to move to a new level of commitment.”[6]
Remember that the original audience in the book of Hebrews was facing great persecution for their beliefs. So much so, that many of them were tempted to pull back from their original confession and stop gathering together in worship. In fact, to continue to gather would almost certainly result in some form of suffering or persecution (be it physical pain, ridicule or even potentially martyrdom). It is to this commitment that the author calls his audience. One that accepts the elementary doctrines of faith and presses forward to apply them in obedience, even if that obedience results in death.
Prayer
Dear Father in heaven,
I confess that I too am in need of this rebuke from your word. Convict me for the ways that I have become sluggish and lazy in my faithfulness to you. Forgive me for my apathy in prayer, for failing to live my faith because of fear of social consequence, and for any of the other ways that I have neglected to apply the elementary doctrines of your word in my life.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, guide me towards renewed vigor in my faith and zeal for you as my Lord.
Amen
[1] Morris, Leon, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI, (Zondervan), P. 51.
[2] Guthrie, George H.. Hebrews (The NIV Application Commentary Book 15) (pp. 201-202). Zondervan
Academic. Kindle Edition.
[3] Morris, 51.
[4] Guthrie, 204-205.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.