Press On to Maturity

Note from today’s Bible reading: Hebrews 5-6

The Hebrew writer rebuked the brethren to whom he wrote for their lack of growth. He explained, “For by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12).

At some point, everyone is “an infant” in their spiritual development because they are “not accustomed to the word of righteousness” (Hebrews 5:13). However, this should be a temporary condition. Eventually, all Christians should reach the point in which they can teach others – not necessarily that they will take a public role in teaching and preaching (cf. James 3:1); instead, they can help teach others who are not as far along as they are.

This requires spiritual growth – something necessary for all Christians. We must move past “first principles” in our understanding of the Scriptures. The Hebrew writer continued, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1).

Leaving these “first principles” does not mean abandoning them; rather, it means building upon them. The fundamentals are crucial, but eventually we need to progress to topics that may be more difficult – either to understand or to apply. Yet as we “practice” with the word of God, we have our “senses trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

So press on to maturity. Whatever level of spiritual understanding we have attained, we must work to build upon that. This is not just for our own spiritual well-being, it is also so we can teach others and help them grow in their understanding of God’s word.