Good morning!

In Hebrews 5:11-14, we read where Paul is perplexed at his inability to adequately explain Christ, Melchizedek, and the priesthood to the audience he was ministering to.

This was due to their spiritual immaturity. Although the people appeared physically as full-grown adults, when viewed spiritually, they were nothing more than big babies.

Paul explains that he expects babes in Christ to still need to be gently fed milk (easy-to-understand concepts). However, he takes issue with those who should have grown up but still act as babes in their understanding.

Paul points to the parallel between the natural and spiritual life. An adult eating a meal next to their infant child can easily chew on a hearty meal. But they know the infant can’t chew or digest a (strong/meat) meal. So they give them a milk bottle until they can grow up (mature) and handle such a meal.

If we flash forward 25 years and that infant is now an adult, would we expect them to still be sucking on a milk bottle?

Paul is warning that a failure to apply ourselves to spiritual growth will leave us operating as babes in Christ when we should be graduating to more robust teachings of the scripture.

If we fail to mature, it will show itself in that our spiritual senses will not be exercised. Leaving our ability to distinguish between good and evil greatly compromised.

Inevitably, this gives Satan easy access to the immature believer’s life. Allowing him to substitute his plans and schemes in the place of the plan God wanted to present but could not. All due to the believer’s failure to grow beyond functioning as an immature babe.

Let us strive to let the Holy Spirit constantly perform a spiritual introspection within us so that we are growing and maturing into the image of Christ.