Wednesday, October 19, 2016

The number one indicator of spiritual Maturity

Read Hebrews 5.

An old adage says, "People know more Bible than they are practicing."  That saying was then used to teach less Scripture and talk more about personal and social issues.  My experience has led me to believe the opposite.  Most people do not know enough Bible to practice.

Such was the case with the original readers of Hebrews.  The writer desired to share even more insights concerning Jesus as the High Priest of our faith, but they could not absorb it (v.11).  The reason had to do with their spiritual immaturity.  Being bombarded, perhaps even enamored, by the culture around them, they proved slow in learning the difference between right and wrong, evil and good (v.14).  They knew more about sin than holiness.

In that state, their need was to be taught the ABC's of the faith all over again.  They had forgotten the spiritual alphabet, if you will; those initial things that every follower of Jesus should know.  The chastisement here is not because they had not been taught these things and more, but they had failed to put them into practice.  Indeed, "by this time you ought to be teachers." (v.12)  The goal of knowing God's word is not for personal information.  It is first so that we may live a changed and transformed life by knowing God and His expectations of us.  Then, we are to communicate with others what we are learning.  The result will be a growing maturity in the faith.

Scriptural information is called the milk of the word.  One's inability to communicate the Scriptures they have been taught reveals this need.   Solid food, or meat, is the practice of the word.  Spiritual maturity does not happen in a class or a study group.  Real life application of God's word requires wisdom and discernment (v.14).  Such opportunities for practice occur throughout each day in our choices of speech and behavior, the use of our time and other resources.  These actions show everyone around us the level of our faith.

In other words, what we do not use we lose.

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