ch. 5:11-6:12

(a message that I wish everyone in the world

would hear and it doesn't necessarily have to

be delivered by me - I would gladly defer to

Christ's rendition of this but since we are

ambassadors of Christ - "I beseech you in

Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" -

II Cor. 5:20

5:11-14 - The necessity of advancing to the state

of full-grown Christians who can discern

spiritual things - a reproof for ignorance -

backwardness in religious knowledge.

"to know to refuse the evil and choose the good"-

Is. 7:16 - denotes the age after early childhood -

A discussion of what we might and ought to be

with what we are.

The Hebrew Christians had failed to improve

their faculties and were open to the charge of

being in a "state of infancy".

The Bible deals with the deepest and most

wonderful of themes, such as God and His love in

redemption, the human soul, the problem of sin,

eternity and immortality - there is spiritual food

in Holy Scripture for the shallowest and the

profoundest minds.

We fear that the Bible is far more widely

circulated than read, and far more extensively

read than studied or understood.

Christians differ in the degree of spiritual knowledge -

some are babes - some acquire so firm a grasp of

truth as to become qualified to act as teachers (v.12)

some are invalids due to their neglect of laws of

spiritual health.

Unable to assimilate the "solid food" of the Word -

they had degenerated into spiritual weaklings and

invalids - they heard the gospel indolently (lazily)

which causes them dyspepsia (upset stomach)

in need of some form of spiritual Rolaids.

Continuous spiritual infancy is unnatural and

sinful!

We are persuaded of better things - Eph. 4:11-15

(Once again Exodus 34:6)

There are treasures of truth hidden in Christ -

Col. 2:2-3

vs. 13-14 - Christ is the essence of Scripture,

the Old Testament points to the Cross,

the gospels tell the story of the Cross,

the epistles point to the Throne and

the Revelation tells the story of the

Throne.

Christ is the "Bread of Life".

What nourishing food is to the body, the

Word of God is to the Divine life in man!

There is a distinction drawn here between

those truths which merely sustain life and

those which increase it!

The doctrines of repentance, faith, the

Holy Spirit, Christian service, the

resurrection, the Judgment - these are

the milk - the deeper, fuller truths about

Christ, His character, work, relation, grace,

Son of God and Son of man, our Prophet,

High Priest and King, with the height, depth,

length and breadth of meaning all this involves

"strong meat" - not for babes but full grown

men!

Christian maturity depends on the partaking of

truth in these higher forms - the surpassing

glory of the SON OF GOD!

We are to "grow in grace and in the knowledge

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him

be glory both now and for ever. Amen"

II Peter 3:18

When a person is dull of perception, a deficiency

of faculty, or do not have the opportunity, no

moral blame is attached - it is deplorable

but not censurable. To whom little is given,

little is required but most have time and

opportunities to make the most of!

What number of Christians attend church

through the years and never get past the

attainments of the card class (of my youth-

pictures) or do not attend church at all,

such spiritual dullness is not a misfortune,

but is a SIN, evidences of opportunities

neglected!

How many otherwise intelligent men are

quite ignorant of the structure of the Bible??

Our hearts are quite prone to try to serve both

God and mammon and are tempted to avoid

intimate acquaintance with a religion which

demands of us serious sacrifices.

Thus, the lack of serious Bible study - system-

atically or without sufficient intellectual effort?

They are into business, politics, literature,

philosophy, science or art - to them the Old

Testament is like the Sahara Desert.

Worldliness of spirit dims and diminishes

the perceptive powers of the soul.

If a man's eyes are fixed upon the earth,

how can he see the brilliance and beauty of

the heavens? If a man's affections are fixed

upon the material and perishable things of

this present world, he will gradually lose his

power for perceiving TRUTH (once again

Exodus 34:6 - God is "abundant in truth"

They are irregular in church attendance or

else connect with churches who have

unedifying preaching - having embraced the

simplest gospel, they have finished their

spiritual education - they love a few pet texts

and are content to leave the rest of the Bible

alone?

Thus the danger of APOSTASY in the neglect

of or have an immature apprehension of TRUTH.

The fruit of the neglect of truth (Exodus 34:6

"The Lord, the Lord God......abundant in...

truth) shows up in the character (engraving

or lack of it) and lack of spiritual progress!

Intelligent Christians dishonor Him when

they do not press on to perfection - much

less intelligent men who satisfied with

being "spiritual dwarfs" neglect to

"search the Scriptures for in them ye

think ye have eternal life and they are

they which testify of me" - John 5:39

Psalm 1 says that we are to "meditate

on God's law day and night"

Why is it that the Scriptures are to us, to a

great extent, sealed???

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"

Skepticism, more than anything else, is

unwillingness to receive the TRUTH!

Though not a racial thing, the mind that allows

its personal desires to decide the Pilatesque

"what is truth" becomes increasingly incapable

of discovering truth when placed before it -

NOTHING MORE SURELY BLINDS THAN

PREJUDICE!

Inability to understand is the judgment on

inattention - Scripture is a sealed book to

the heart that neglects it!

Remember Jesus' words - "He that hath ears to

hear, let him hear"

Progress in the understanding of truth depends on

our own disposition. Great attainments in human

sciences are not for all nor for the many ...Pasteur,

Salk, Madame Curie, Edison, Alexander Graham

Bell, Bill Gates, etc... they demand a certain degree

of intellectual power, a certain amount of leisure or

other facilities - all persons cannot be eminent any

more than all can be rich. But God has made progress

in truth to depend on the state of the heart. He has

ordered things so that babes in this world's knowledge

may be as giants in the knowledge of God in Jesus

Christ.

Spiritual things are to be spiritually discerned - God has

given us the Holy Spirit that we may be led unto all

truth and if we stumble at this stumbling stone, the

blame is upon us as individuals, especially when the

element of time is brought in as a factor. Here we

have a people who have had the gospel truth for a

long time before them and yet they know little more

than the alphabet.

How much spiritual ignorance there is in the world,

how much error and how many there are busy in

misleading men - they are in the forefront today -

whether in Frankfort, Washington, D.C., college

and university positions, Hollywood, Broadway,

University of Louisville, or in the hamlets across

this once great nation where there are those

"who love to have it so" - Jer. 5:31 and are of

"them which destroy the earth" - Rev. 11:18

We are left with freedom and responsibility!

The spiritual man may come to discern the

difference between the true and the false,

the fleshly and the spiritual, the abiding and

the temporary, the earthly and the heavenly.

Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life!

Remember His words:

"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man,

and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.

Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my

blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him

up at the last day. For my flesh is meat

indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

What a monstrosity! The natural man,

nourished by proper food, indulging in

perpetual sensual pleasure, seemingly full

of life, connecting itself with a thousand

worldly things (the psyche if you please)

while the pneuma - the spirit within is a

starved and pining babe.

I will end with two examples of Scripture:

Acts 2:40 -".....save yourselves from this

untoward generation"

Rev. 22:10-11

Apostasy - consummation of the Age (end

of time) - work of the Holy Spirit - lesson

learned while watering flowers on 10/3/2006-

weeds in the flower pot - parable of the

tares - "let them both grow" - it will be

sorted out in the end!

ch. 6

v. 1 - encouragement to spiritual progress

Foundations of the Christian faith:

*Repentance and faith (inward

*Remission of sins (experiences)

*Baptism (outward ceremonies)

*Laying on of hands (confirmation)

*Resurrection of the dead (eternal life)

*Final Judgment (two future events)

Salvation - a personal experience -

"made partakers of the Holy Ghost"

"tasted the good Word of God"

"tasted the powers of the world to come"

Eph. 1:17-18

v. 5 - "the powers of the world to come"

The Messianic kingdom - still future -

Second Advent

v.6 - The crucifixion of Christ was the blackest

crime in human history

To see the Divinest excellence and to call it

Satanic evil - to call evil good and good evil -

there is not state lower than this!

This letter to the Hebrews is one long and

powerful warning against falling away from

Christ.

an apostasy - a falling away from the faith

Compare ch. 10:26-31

If men have insulted God, poured contempt upon

His Son, counted the blood of the covenant as an

unworthy thing, grieved and quenched the

Holy Spirit, what can possible remain of

a remedy? Heb. 10:29

Backsliding - willingly negligent of benefits

The Bible gives an instance of backsliding in

Demas - "Demas hath forsaken me, having

loved THIS PRESENT WORLD" - II Tim. 4:10

It is not a little treasure from which the

backslider turns, under the dominion of

carnal affections!

v. 9 - encouragement - God will keep you from

apostasy

v. 10 - the use of grace will be rewarded by

continuance of grace.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He

which hath begun a good work in you will

perform it until the day of Christ"

v. 11 - "that every one of you" - without exception

v. 12 - "be not sluggish" - spiritual listlessness

Success in the spiritual life can only be attained

in connection with diligence.