Hebrews 5 and verse 11. If you are following along in the Pew Bible, Hebrews 5.11 is found on page 1376. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 11. When you have found that in your copy of God's Word, would you stand with me for the reading of God's Word? Hebrews chapter 5. I'm actually going to back up slightly. The message is going to be over verses 11 to 14, but for the sake of context, let's start in verse 9. This speaks of our Savior Jesus. We've covered these verses already two weeks ago, but verse 9. Having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. of whom we have much to say, and 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 first principles of the oracles of God. 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. And this is the word of the Lord. Thank you, you may be seated. It is normal that after a baby comes home from the hospital, it experiences a brief time of weight loss before it begins to learn how to properly feed and then to increase in weight and in growth. If, however, that child fails to grow in those initial days, It can have impact that is far-reaching. There is a condition, a medical condition, that is concerning to parents. It's called failure to thrive. The thing about failure to thrive is that the fault is not on the child. The child has deficiencies or things that keep it from thriving properly, but it is not the fault of the child. The author of Hebrews, however, points us to a spiritual failure to thrive that is concerning to our Heavenly Father, and the fault lies with those who profess to be His children. There is an inexcusable immaturity that must be honestly recognized and humbly repaired with faith and obedience to God's Word. And I want to talk to you this morning about inexcusable immaturity. Verses 11 to 13 is really our first point, and that is, recognize inexcusable immaturity. Recognize inexcusable immaturity. Not all immaturity is inexcusable. Some is natural and to be expected. A child who is five years old should not be expected to have the maturity of a grown adult who is 50 years old. A baby is not expected to have the same maturity as a teen. But there is a kind of spiritual immaturity that is inexcusable. Inexcusable immaturity is marked by spiritual dullness, deficiency, and decline. So if we're going to recognize spiritual immaturity, if we're going to recognize inexcusable immaturity, know that it is marked by spiritual dullness, deficiency, and decline. Look with me first at verse 11. The author of Hebrews, is about to go on to speak about the priestly nature of our Lord, and how He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. But He has to pause for a moment to address something that is very important. He has to address the condition that His readers find themselves in. And He says this, "...of whom we have much to say, Christ as a priest after the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain. Now we understand that there are some things that are more complex and more difficult to explain by their very nature. But that is not where the author of Hebrews goes. He says, they are hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. You have become dull of hearing. Notice that the author of Hebrews does not say, you have become hard of hearing. It would be rather cruel and unkind to berate a deaf person for their inability to hear. That would be unjust. It would be wrong. It would break the spirit of the law, given in Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 14, which speaks of God's disposition to those who have disabilities. Where God said, you shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. The author of Hebrews does not say, you have become hard of hearing. He says, you have become dull of hearing. To be dull of hearing is to be sluggish or lazy. That word, by the way, is used in Scripture only here in verse 11 of chapter 5, and in the next chapter, chapter 6 and verse 12, where the author of Hebrews says that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. I hope that we've noticed so far how important it is to hear the right way. If you have missed that in the book of Hebrews so far, let me give you a bit of a refresher course. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 1, the author of Hebrews says, therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. In chapter 3 in verse 7, the author of Hebrews says, therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. That is repeated in chapter 3 in verse 15. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. That concept is again repeated in chapter 4 and verse 2. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them. But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Once more in chapter 4 and verse 7. He quotes the psalmist, again he designates a certain day, saying in David, today, after such a long time as it has been said, today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. And I have to be very direct with you. brothers and sisters, professing Christians, and ask you to examine yourself. Are you dull of hearing? Are you sluggish and lazy in your hearing? Is the Word of God boring or dull to you? Is it something that you might get to if you have time at the end of the day? Do you find the gathered worship, the reading of the Word, the singing of the truth, and the hearing of the Word preached, do you find this dull and boring? Not just the preacher, but the Word. Is it dull and boring to you? Are you, as James encourages us, quick to hear God's Word? Friends, I wonder if we were to be honest with God and with ourselves, we might admit that we are dull of hearing. We've become sluggish and lazy. The word preached is not mixed with faith. The word preached is something to endure rather than receive. Are you dull of hearing? A mark of inexcusable spiritual immaturity is dullness of hearing. But second, spiritual immaturity is marked by deficiency or inadequacy. The author of Hebrews talks about this in verses 12 and 13. He says, 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, a baby. This spiritual deficiency, the author of Hebrews points out, is a deficiency in at least one of three areas. First, a deficiency in growth. There is an undeveloped understanding I think every teacher has felt the frustration at times of students not living up to their potential, where they've received the lesson. They've received the review over the lesson. They've received the assignment that was intended to reinforce the truth of that lesson. They'd gone over the time of review in class, and then the test comes, and it's all gone. Can't remember a thing that they've gone over. And it's one thing for a student to struggle in school, but every teacher has known students who have been lazy, and that laziness has led to a deficiency in their growth and understanding. And this is the way that the author of Hebrews describes things. He says, by this time you ought to be teachers, But you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. They should be college professors, but instead they have to go back to kindergarten. Worse yet, they're spiritual babies. And this is in spite of time. Look at what it says in verse 12. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, In other words, the author of Hebrews knows that they've made a profession a while ago. And the amount of time that has elapsed, they should know their stuff by now. But instead, it's like they have to learn the ABC's all over again. Not only in spite of time, it's in spite of opportunity. It's one thing if a person goes a long time and maybe they're in a church that isn't solid and they don't get a lot of good teaching, they still have a personal responsibility, but you can understand to some degree if they're in a church that has weak teaching. But that's not the case here. We know that they have heard the truth before because the author of Hebrews says, you need someone to teach you again. Time has passed, teaching has been received, and they're still spiritual babies. I wonder, friend, if this applies to you. You professed faith years ago, but you don't have a clue. You're a spiritual baby. You need someone to teach you the ABCs all over again. It's bad enough if there is one person in this condition within a church. It's an absolute disaster if an entire group is marked by this condition. And that's what's going on here as the author of Hebrews speaks to his readers. So where are you on this? Are you undeveloped in your understanding? Are you in Biblical Kindergarten when you should be teaching Biblical University? So there is a deficiency in growth. There's also, the author of Hebrews points out, a deficiency in diet. They're unable to handle more than milk. Now, it is not my intention to be cruel to you this morning, but I want to be very direct with you. Spiritual immaturity is marked by an inadequate diet. You can only handle milk and not meat. Look at what the author of Hebrews says. Verse 12, you have come to need milk and not solid food. Everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe, for he's a baby. I wonder if you've been saved or made a profession of faith years ago, but you've never read the Bible. And I mean the Bible. THE Bible. Sometimes I talk with people who claim to be Christians, and I don't know if they know enough about the Bible to know if they believe it or not. They've read a few books of the New Testament and go back to the Psalms from time to time, but some of those are hard too, and that's all they do, as far as Bible reading goes. If that is you, you are in a state of inexcusable immaturity. You're a baby. You've been saved for years, but you've never read the Bible. Or we could put it another way. You can't handle more than 3 or 4 minutes of Bible reading. Or to put a finer point to it, you think you're good if you skim the day's daily bread devotional. And that's all you do. I'm not opposed to devotionals, brothers and sisters. And there are good ones that I can recommend. And some of you know that I've given you devotionals over time. But your spiritual health is not going to be found in reading part of one verse and then someone's reflections on that. You need the Word. Not just the milk, but the meat. Deficiency of diet can be seen when someone puts very little into grasping what the Bible says. If it's a little bit difficult, well, we just move on. Inexcusable immaturity is marked by spiritual dullness, spiritual deficiency, a deficiency in growth, a deficiency in diet, and it's even more clearly revealed, practically speaking, by a deficiency in skill. You just don't know how to use God's Word. Look at it with me in verse 13. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Unskilled in the Word. Unskilled in reading the Word. Unskilled in interpreting what the Word says. And even more obviously, unskilled in applying the Word. Spiritual babies might carry their Bibles to church, but practically speaking, all it is is a prop. Because they never take its truth and plug it into their lives. That's spiritual immaturity that's inexcusable. And we can expect a new believer to be at the earlier stages of development and may not understand how God's Word can apply to their lives and be used But for someone to have professed faith years ago and still not be able to take God's Word and apply it, that is a problem. The author of Hebrews specifically calls the Word, the Word of Righteousness. And he seems to have in mind here, taking God's Word and plugging it into the way that we live. And so the unskilled person, the baby, has a deficiency in skill. Unskilled in devotion to the Lord through the Word. Unskilled in their direction. As the Scripture says, toss about with every wind of doctrine. The next wind of doctrine comes along and they're The ship is pointed in a different direction. Then another one comes, and they're unstable. Unskilled in discretion. Being able to determine truth from error. Unskilled in taking God's Word and living it out. God's Word was not simply given for our information. It was given for our transformation. And spiritual babies are revealed in the fact that they don't use God's Word. They're unskilled in the Word. This is a hard hitting section of Scripture. This is not the lullaby in the Christian experience. This is the wake up and shape up. Where are we on this? As the words sit unread, unconsulted upon your shelf from Sunday to Sunday, or maybe on a Tuesday if you come. Or are you reading God's Word and are you trying to live God's Word? Friends, we are called not just to be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word. Are you unskilled? So inexcusable immaturity is marked by spiritual dullness, spiritual deficiency, a deficiency in growth, a deficiency in diet, can't handle the meat of God's Word, and a deficiency in skill. Don't use God's Word as God intends it. But inexcusable immaturity is marked also by spiritual decline. Notice in verse 11, it says, you have become dull of hearing. Verse 12 says, you have come to need milk and not solid food. For those of you that are reading from the King James, it says, you are dull of hearing, and then in verse 12 it says, you are come, or something along those lines. But the verb tense is the same in verses 11 and 12, and the idea is that there's been a spiritual regression. You have become, you have come to need milk and not solid food. Friends, if you fail to go forward in your Christian walk, you will go backward. You don't just stay at one place forever. You don't just tread water spiritually. In time, if you are not going forward, you will be going backward. You will be declining. And there is a great danger in this. And there is great injustice in this. What do we call spiritual decline? Well, we call it commonly backsliding. And that's what's happening here. Octavius Winslow, in his excellent book, Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, a book I highly recommend. He says this, if there is one consideration more humbling than another to a spiritually minded believer, it is that after all that God has done for him, after the rich displays of his grace, the patience and tenderness of his instructions, the repeated discipline of his covenant, the tokens of love received and the lessons of experience learned, There should still exist in the heart a principle, a tendency of which is to secret, perpetual, and alarming departure from God. Truly, there is in this solemn fact that which might well lead to the deepest self-abasement before Him. or as we might more commonly say it in song, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Spiritual decline. You've become dull of hearing. There was a time when you were eager to hear. There was a time when you were ready and receptive. You wanted to receive the Word of God. And now, Ah, come to church because that's the thing to do. But that eagerness is gone. It's replaced by a sluggishness, a laziness. You're in a state of inexcusable immaturity. You are in spiritual decline. Oh friends, this is such a dangerous place to be. It's so dangerous to be in a state of a backslidden condition. And friends, we have, from God's hand, what we need. We have His Word and His Spirit. We have one another. Mark Jones, in his book, The Pilgrim's Regress, says, backsliding Christians are not those who lack a Bible. They are those who lack a love for the Bible. And sadly, lacking a love for the Bible is lacking love for God. Oh friends, this is the condition of inexcusable immaturity. And it is a dangerous condition to exist in. The author of Hebrews gives them the benefit of the doubt. But in the next chapter, he's going to say where this inexcusable immaturity can lead. And it is not pretty. As one author has said, backsliding leads to chastisement, especially if it's unrepentant. Unrepentant backsliding leads to chastisement or hell. Because if backsliding continues without repentance or chastisement, it reveals that you were never really saved in the first place. It's such a dangerous spot to be in. And how many people are in a state where they made a profession many years ago, but they've never grown, and they're okay with that. They don't feel the Spirit's conviction. They don't experience the chastisement of a loving Heavenly Father. They just float along, having made a profession years ago, but dull of hearing, deficient in growth, deficient in diet, deficient in skill, and in spiritual decline, and just comfortable there. And the author of Hebrews says, don't get comfortable here. Wake up! Wake up! And grow up. And this is where I think our text gives us clues about how we deal with spiritual immaturity. We recognize spiritual immaturity. The passage, I think, is very plain. It's marked by spiritual dullness, dull of hearing. It's marked by spiritual deficiency, a deficiency in growth, a deficiency in diet, a deficiency in skill. It's marked by spiritual decline or backsliding. But how do we repair that? How do we grow as we've been called to grow? Well, we have to first of all recognize our true condition. If we lie to ourselves about our true condition, think of ourselves more highly than we ought, imagine that we are great spiritual wonders. When we are truly walking backwards, sliding backwards, what a horrible spot to be in. like the young man at the school that I go to, that I teach at. This young man has no real desire to come to Bible class, but he's told everyone in the school that he is the most spiritual person in the entire school. No lack of humility there. And as the Word is preached in assembly, he zones out or talks to someone beside him. As the Word is taught in Bible class, he could care less. And yet, he is in the state of delusion. Friend, you need to evaluate yourself wisely in the mirror of God's Word. But when you recognize your inexcusable immaturity, indifference is not an option. Like the person that gets diagnosed with diabetes and says, well, I don't care. I'm just going to keep on doing the same things I always did. Hang on. There are some things that might need to change. God expects his children to grow. In fact, 2 Peter ends on that very note after warning about false teachers and warning about being turned away from their own steadfastness. Peter says, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So how do we grow? The remedy to spiritual immaturity is the use of the word. Look at it with me in verse 14. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, to those who are mature. Now who are the ones that are mature? That is those who by reason of use, practice, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Solid food belongs to those who are mature. The people who are mature are described as the ones who, by reason of the use of the word, practicing the word, have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. Now listen, some people in looking at this passage have assumed that there's something wrong with milk. There's nothing wrong with milk. That's not the point of the author of Hebrews here. but milk must be used. Use of milk, use of the milk of the word, those first principles, using that will lead to an appetite for and ability with meat. Using milk will lead to using meat. You could say this another way, hearing and heeding the word will bring spiritual maturity. Hearing the word and heeding the word will bring spiritual immaturity. Or to put this another way, the reason for inexcusable spiritual immaturity is that you do not hear with faith and heed with obedience. You do not hear the word with faith, and heed it with obedience. And I believe this passage bears this out. Really, you could make a case that this passage should be preached from Hebrews 5.11 to Hebrews 6.12. Because you have the bookends of sluggishness at each point. 5.11 speaks of sluggishness of hearing. 6.12 speaks of sluggishness once again. But look at how the author of Hebrews speaks in verses 11 and 12. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end. That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience, or through faith and patient, enduring obedience, inherit the promises. How do we repair inexcusable spiritual immaturity? We hear the word with faith and we heed it with obedience. I want you to look with me at the words of our Lord in Mark chapter four. Jesus says something that seems almost shocking. He is speaking about the parable of the sower, the parable of the soils. He talks about the purpose of the parables. But in verses 20 to 25, look at what Jesus says. Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Then He said to them, take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you. To you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. The way you hear, and in this context, hear means more than just the words breaking in upon you. The way that you hear is the way that you will be rewarded. What you put into hearing is what you get out of it. What you get out of the word is dependent on what you put into it. And Jesus says, in more common vernacular, that if you don't use it, you'll lose it. "...take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you, and to you who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more will be given. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." There is an inexcusable immaturity that must be honestly recognized and humbly repaired with faith and obedience to God's Word. Why are some of you perhaps in a condition of immaturity? Because you have not heard with faith and heeded with obedience. You have not taken care what you heard. You have not taken it to heart. You have not lived it out. You have not put it into practice. And thus, instead of growing, you are declining. And you are in a state of inexcusable immaturity. But there is good news. The way is open for you to repent and return. The remedy is found in God's Word. To humble yourself and repent. Turn back. and hear that Word and heed it. We sang today, O heed the faithful words of Christ. And that is simply what I'm calling you to do. As the Father spoke from heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration, this is My Beloved Son. Hear Him. Listen to Him. This is what I call you to. Jesus would say, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. So there's a question for all of us. Have we heard the voice of the Shepherd? Have you heard the voice of the Shepherd that summoned you to salvation? And have you responded? Because even that will be taken away, in a sense, as you harden your heart against that message. You hear the Word of Christ calling to you to respond with faith and repentance, and cast yourself upon Him for salvation. And you don't heed it. You don't practice it. The day will come, mark my words, that if you continue down that path, the day will come when you will be like Esau and you will not be able to find repentance even though you search for it carefully with tears. The day will come when God's last appeal to you will be heard. And if you persist in unbelief, that day will come and that day will go. and your destiny will be sealed. But for those of you that profess faith in Christ, are you hearing and heeding the Word of Christ? Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, who by reason of use or practice have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. And my appeal to you is to hear with faith and heed with obedience. Put that Word to work in your life by God's grace and with the help of the Spirit. And may we no longer be babies, but may we be mature believers. And may God be glorified in us. Amen.