Unglued: Spirit • Church • Mission
There are moments when someone needs to tell us, “Watch what
you eat.” Sometimes we need the same kind of wake-up call for our spiritual
lives. Are we growing? Are we developing an appetite for everything God has
made available to us in Christ, or have we become satisfied with what is
familiar?
The writer of Hebrews interrupts his teaching about Jesus
our great High Priest with a spiritual dietary warning:
“We have a great deal to say about this, and it is
difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. Although by
this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic
principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. Now
everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about
righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature—for
those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.” —
Hebrews 5:11–14
The problem was not that these believers were unintelligent.
They had stopped exercising. They had become slow and dull in their hearing.
Time alone had not produced maturity.
That remains a danger for us. We can attend church for
years, know the songs, speak the vocabulary, read the Bible, and still become
stuck in our spiritual formation. Spiritual maturity is more than collecting
information or accumulating years. It is the transformation of our character
into the likeness of Jesus as our spiritual senses are trained to recognize and
respond to God.
Spiritual maturity is not the result of clenched teeth and
greater willpower. Maturity is a reflex
we train for.
Milk Is Good—but It Is Not the Whole Meal
Milk is not bad. It is foundational. Peter tells new
believers, “Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by
it you may grow up into your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). The basic truths of the
gospel—repentance, faith, forgiveness, resurrection, and new life in Jesus—are
essential. We never outgrow them.
The problem comes when we never develop an appetite for
anything else.
The ABCs of the gospel all come down to one name: Jesus. Yet
there is always more to discover about him. Hebrews declares the unqualified
supremacy of the Son. Jesus is greater than the angels and greater than Moses.
He fulfills the old covenant and establishes the new covenant in his blood. He
is risen, enthroned, and continuing his ministry as our great High Priest.
The writer wants to lead the church deeper into this
extraordinary reality, but they are struggling to follow. That is the tragedy:
God has more for them, but they have stopped growing.
We cannot live on appetizers forever when God has prepared a
banquet of righteousness. He invites us: Come
deeper.
A Simple Tool for Spiritual Training
One way we can train our spiritual senses is by learning to
engage Scripture slowly, humbly, and responsively. The SOAP method gives us
four simple movements:
·
Scripture:
What does it say?
·
Observation:
What do I see?
·
Application:
How does this transform me?
·
Practice:
What will I do?
This is more than a method for gathering information. It
helps us read the Bible with the Holy Spirit so that God’s revelation moves
toward understanding, training, and transformation.
Scripture: What Does It Say?
Begin with prayer. Approach God’s Word with humility:
“Speak, Lord. Holy Spirit, open my eyes. Show me Jesus.” Then read slowly.
Do not begin with a commentary, a search engine, an AI tool,
or even the question, “What does this mean to me?” Begin with the text itself: What does it say?
In Hebrews 5, several phrases demand our attention: “a great
deal to say,” “by this time,” “milk, not solid food,” and “senses have been
trained.” Growth was expected. These believers should have become capable of
helping others, but their hearing had grown dull.
This is why we should not rush through Scripture merely to
complete a reading plan. Reading plans are helpful, but this is the holy Word
of God. Slow down. Pay attention. Write down what you notice. A deep faith is
not acquired in a day; it is formed over time.
Observation: What Do I See?
Good observation pays attention to content, context, and conversation.
First, consider the content. Hebrews is written to
Christians who are in danger of something subtler than open rebellion. They are
drifting, becoming numb, and retreating toward what is familiar instead of
growing into everything God has made available in Jesus.
Next, consider the context. Immediately before this warning,
the writer is explaining that Jesus is our great High Priest and the source of
eternal salvation. The entire book points to him. Spiritual maturity is not
simply learning increasingly complicated ideas; it is growing in our knowledge
of, trust in, and response to Jesus.
Finally, enter the conversation. Bible study is not merely
you and a book. It is you, the sacred writings God has given, and the Holy
Spirit. Jesus promised that the Spirit of truth would guide his disciples into
truth (John 16:13). Paul wrote that we have received the Spirit from God “so
that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians
2:12).
The gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and discernment do not
replace Scripture. They help make us responsive to the God who gave us
Scripture. We may not know the human writer of Hebrews, but we know its divine
Author—and the Author has not left the
room. The Holy Spirit sits with us as we read, opening our eyes to Jesus
and showing us how to respond.
Application: How Does This Transform Me?
The goal of Bible study is not merely to understand the
Bible. The goal is to become more like Jesus.
It is possible to walk away from Hebrews able to explain
Christ’s superior priesthood and still miss its transforming invitation.
Application closes the distance between “then and there” and “here and now.” It
asks:
·
Jesus fulfilled the sacrifice. How does that
affect my shame?
·
Jesus sits on the throne. How does that affect
my fear?
·
Jesus intercedes for me. How does that affect my
prayer?
·
Jesus poured out his Spirit. How does that
affect the way I live tomorrow?
Milk says, “Jesus forgave my sins”—a truth we must never
outgrow. Solid food asks, “How do I now live because the crucified Jesus is
risen, enthroned, interceding for me, and has poured out his Spirit upon his
people?”
This is where we move from trying to training. We often look
at Jesus and decide that tomorrow we will simply try harder to be patient,
gracious, or holy. But true growth does not come from attempting to imitate
Jesus through our own effort. It comes from training with the Holy Spirit, cooperating
with the same Spirit who empowered Christ and now lives in us to form us into
his likeness.
The gospel is not primarily what we do for God. It is what
God has done for us in Christ—and how we learn to participate in what he has
already provided.
Practice: What Will I Do?
Hebrews says mature believers have trained their senses “to
distinguish between good and evil.” This is more than memorizing two lists. It
is developing the spiritual reflexes to recognize God’s ways through daily use.
We learn discernment by discerning. We learn obedience by
obeying. We learn to hear by listening and to walk by keeping in step with the
Spirit. That requires practice.
Listen, test, and respond. Ask, “Lord, is this from you?
What are you doing here?” Stay humble, submitted to Scripture, and connected to
Christian community. Sometimes we will get it wrong, but disciples learn. We
listen again, test again, and obey again.
We do not try to be like Jesus for a day. We train to be
like Jesus day after day.
Training Our Way Out of Shame
Consider how SOAP can train us when shame tries to glue
itself back onto us.
Scripture: Romans
8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.”
Do not rush past it. Read it again. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Observation:
Condemnation is not the voice of God toward those who are in Christ. If the
Holy Spirit brings conviction about unconfessed sin, we confess it, receive
forgiveness, and walk in freedom. But the voice that insists we remain
condemned after Christ has forgiven us is the voice of the accuser—sometimes
reinforced by our own thoughts. If God does not condemn me in Christ, why
should I continue condemning myself?
Application: I do
not have to keep carrying what Jesus already carried. Shame and regret isolate
us from God and one another, but the cross has answered our condemnation.
Practice: When
the memory returns, answer it with truth: “Jesus, thank you that this was
covered at the cross. There is no condemnation for me because I am in you.”
Then walk forward. If it returns at lunch, practice again. If it returns
Tuesday or Wednesday, practice again.
Over time, your senses are being trained. You begin to
recognize the difference between condemnation and conviction. You learn the
voice of grace and begin to walk in freedom more deeply.
There Is More to Discover
No matter how long we have known Jesus, there is more to
discover. He is infinite, perfect, and incomparable. He is our great High
Priest, our Prophet, our King, and the rock of our salvation. His Spirit has
been poured out, his gifts have been given, and his promises belong to his
people.
There is more freedom, more transformation, more
discernment, more intimacy with the Holy Spirit, and more participation in
God’s kingdom—not because Jesus has failed to give enough, but because we have
not finished discovering all that he has already given.
Do not get stuck. Become unglued.
You are not alone. Jesus is with you, and the Holy Spirit
lives in you. You are a child of God. Let your Father raise you. Receive the
blessings provided by our great High Priest and train with the Holy Spirit
instead of trying to do it on your own.
There is one name who will be with you always: Jesus. He is
not merely the giver of heaven’s treasures. He is the treasure of heaven and the treasure of eternity.