Hebrews 6 - Spiritual Dullness is Deadly
Hebrews 6 - Spiritual Dullness is Deadly
Graduation is a special time and a special occasion. It is signifying the completion and moving up or onto the next phase. This year, with COVID-19, it was sad to see so many graduations canceled or significantly altered. This impacted my oldest daughter and was sad to see some of the more significant events of celebration canceled. But, the reality is, she still graduated, with honors, and matured out of high school, and is stepping into college now.
This graduation process, this maturing and stepping into a new phase of life, is not a one-time occurrence; this is a continual process for us as Christ-following humans. The Hebrews author is hitting this hard in the close of chapter 5 and the opening of chapter 6.
“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity...” - Hebrews 6:1a NIV
Graduating. We graduate out of having to be fed, having our diapers changed, being taught to speak, and all through school; we experience graduation. This is the same with our walk with Jesus and our relationship with God. We must continue to mature, grow, and graduate onto new revelations and enlightenment. Looking back into chapter 5, we see what happens when we become distracted, lazy, or just not interested in growing in our relationship with Christ.
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” - Hebrews 5:12 NIV
So what pulls us away from graduation, from a continual life of maturing and growing? What was happening in this context that the Hebrew author was trying to address? What we see here is a group of Christians who were sliding back into old habits, and reverting to early teaching and ways of life with Judaism. This is what they grew up with; this is a significant part of their culture and understanding, and even after significant enlightenment and an encounter with Jesus, they were slipping back into old ways of thinking and living.
“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.” - Hebrews 5:11 NIV
You no longer try to understand. When you hear this, what comes to mind? Are you in this boat now, wrestling with growth, new revelations, and just finding yourself stuck and no longer trying to understand? Maybe it is more about distractions. Maybe Facebook, Twitter, Snap, the news, and circumstances all around you have you more engaged, and your time is swallowed up, keeping up with the political news, the happenings of the world and the gossip going on that you are not pushing your relationship with Jesus forward. Distractions might be a critical issue.
Friends, as I am reading this, we need to take important note of the tone and the rest of the passages. As leaders in the church, as Christ-followers, it is our role and our job to continue pursuing Jesus and growing and having ongoing revelations and enlightenment. Our walk with Christ should continue to look different over time, and we should not be the same person we were last year, or even close to the same person we were five years ago. Our awareness of who Jesus is should be radically different over time, and if beliefs you have are not different than what they were a few years ago, I plead with you that you are not growing. Take this passage to heart, we need to soak this in and understand the reality of this warning.
“For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.” - Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT
This is a severe warning to us all. This is a reason we need the right people around us, and we need to be in the right community, we need ample accountability in our lives, so we don’t fall away. Those words break my heart, that once Christ-followers who slip, fall away and turn from God find themselves continuing to nail Jesus to the cross over and over again, holding him up to public shame. Whoa!!!
But, there is good news and some encouragement. Maybe you have taken a bit of a break in your spiritual walk. Perhaps you have become a little more distracted than you want to be. Maybe you have found yourself hanging out with the wrong people. You can take action now, and you can break some of those ties, you can reconnect with Christ, and step back into the growth process. Be encouraged, you are meant for better things, says the author.
“Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don’t believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.” - Hebrews 6:9-12 NLT
Spiritual dullness and indifference are avoided by loving others like Jesus did, as long as life lasts. Loving others may sound easy, but this is a significant part of the growth and maturity process of being a Christ-follower. Love leads you into places basic knowledge will never lead you. Pursuing love, and loving others will challenge every basic teaching you may have heard or learned about in church, and force you to act and put your faith into action.
Finally, let me draw your attention to the last few words of that passage, faith, and endurance. The Christian life requires faith and endurance! We will run into tough seasons, challenging circumstances, deep loss, and tragedy will come to us and come at us like a pack of wolves. We must press in, bring our endurance, perseverance, our faith in action to continue our growth and maturity process. These go hand in hand; the resistance that comes with life, trials, and challenges is the very thing that produces the growth and development we need in our walk with Jesus.
Faith and endurance are not new, this is a core and centerpiece of the Christian life.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” - James 1:2-4 NLT
Spiritual dullness and indifference will lead to death! May we step in, grow in our maturity, and take action with our lives and love others deeply.