The Truth is the Issue

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
(Hebrews 5:11 – ESV)

About this refers to the priesthood of Melchizedek (vs.6, 10 / Genesis 14 / Psalm 110:4) and how it related to Christ, this is what he was about to discuss. He had just discussed Christ as the Great High Priest and how He was called of God like any true man of God is, and he was about to go into just how superior Christ was than all the other priests before Him.

Now before he goes into this meaty subject there is a sort of parenthesis here from Hebrews 5:11-6:20. The writer is telling them of where they were at spiritually. He was taking stock of their situation and telling them they were not mature enough, and why they were having this problem in the first place. They hadn’t advanced in Christ as much as they should have. This didn’t mean mystical experience but understanding God’s Word and thereby His character, His way. They were failing to discern how disastrous their current course would be if they didn’t decide to press on in the faith and into Christ and away from Judaism, and away from those who wouldn’t separate from those who had turned back.

They should have been solid but they were falling apart, like many today. Growing in grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, discovering just how supreme and loving and available He is to us, this is what guards us from error and fads and frauds when we feel the weight of suffering or persecution and the pull of the popular opinion, whether that be in the religious world, our family, our church, or whatever. The way to keep discerning is to keep on learning. You cannot rest on your laurels and rest in Christ at the same time.

Now I am not going to say Christian counseling is wrong, but I do think we see that something is wrong when we have so many people who call themselves Christians needing or looking to be “counseled”. Why do so many Christians need counseling today? Why do so many stay immature? This text gives us a clue.

When we are naïve we fail to grasp important issues. These Hebrew Christians were not able to make the distinction between what scripture taught and what they felt was right or what the tradition they were leaning on said. This was about the primacy of the scriptures in theirs and of course our lives in practice not just theoretically (Hebrews 4:12). The Melchizedek priesthood was not of tradition at all only a scriptural matter. There was no Melchizedek priesthood to the Jews, and so they would have to rely on scriptural precept relating to Christ in practice alone.

Even though this was only mentioned briefly in the verses before, this verse says, basically, “of which we have much word” (logos). There would be no familiar tradition to lean on “just in case”. It was something different than what they had learned before. Many are simply looking for affirmation of what they already know and believe. They are looking to be reinforced in their best intentions, not looking to see God’s ways. It is no wonder we see so many “problems” with Christians today.

This is the way it is with people. You see the Bible isn’t just a new set of moral rules we already know about, it is a whole new way of thinking, and His thoughts are not our natural thoughts, not our best intentions. We need to be renewed in our minds or we won’t get it, and many never do get it. Now there are a lot of religious traditions and denominations, but the issue is not about which system has the best morals or seems to be the most loving, the issue is “what do the scriptures say”. The truth is the issue.

People don’t want to break away from old patterns because they may have a grain of truth and they provide a measure of comfort. People become so wedded to error and a false view of God that it is no wonder they think you are attacking them personally if you mention certain things as being false. They want to save face rather than come clean. They are trying to cope yet they give themselves no hope. Something other than scripture holds the weight of authority over them.

This is why every new book, new fad or old fraud sends them into a frenzy or tizzy. This is why we need to make the commitment to scripture beforehand. People don’t actually yield their will to the authority of scripture; they don’t submit their hearts. They don’t have faith. They don’t trust God. They don’t trust the truth. So their first problem is submission.

Of course, it is easy to imagine if this were today, we would hear people saying that the writer is being too harsh, judgmental, and divisive, not loving enough, or whatever. However, remember this; God never shows love at the expense of light.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©