Turn and Learn

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

Some things are hard to explain (interpret or translate), because they don’t know the language. The writer was going to compare scripture with scripture and show them the superiority of Christ through this Melchizedek. This would require effort and thought, and they weren’t quite ready for it. It is like a first day apprentice who doesn’t know the trade; they have to know and learn to use the tools before they become truly effective. Or like a professional who has to acquire continuing education credits to keep their license.

Now there is a reason they don’t move in to more trust: lack of submission leads to spiritual dullness. They have become dull of hearing. The second problem is study. They have become slothful and sluggish (same word as in Hebrews 6:12) in study – not only lazy but slow even when they aren’t. Now we are talking about being spiritually slow, and that is not a function of the intellect. Feasting on God's Word is not first an intellectual challenge; it is first a moral challenge of the will. Will you submit your will to God? Will you be willing to obey what the scriptures teach? If so, will you search and study the scriptures? If you do, then you will learn, grow, and understand.

The pathway to maturity and to solid biblical food is not first becoming an intelligent person, but becoming an obedient person. The real path to obedience is not outward conformity but submitting your will. Then you concentrate on your target by studying the scriptures, and no matter your intellect, your spiritual senses will become more and more attuned to Christ. Jesus has run the path before us (Hebrews 6:19), and He is the key to staying on the path, to keep looking at the One ahead of us, so we don’t lose our way.

Most think that intellectual development is the key to maturity, but this text tells us that isn’t the truth. This is actually obvious even from the everyday unbelieving world. How many smart people do stupid things? How many who have it all still slip and fall? How many people who are geniuses also become madmen? How many children do you know who can overwhelm you with their knowledge of technology but they cannot even handle fifty dollars without it burning a hole in their pockets?

Some are unlearned because they won’t be taught. They won’t submit themselves to study or to be taught by those who have studied. This is often the case with many who have authority issues and yet don’t study for themselves. They just go by their feelings but their feelings, their “powers of discernment” aren’t developed; their skill is like a monkey with a machine gun. Only through experience have they learned anything, and it is not enough. Experience can be good if biblically understood. We need to study and then experience will teach us more precisely. Then our learning processes will speed up.

The way people often learn is flawed, faulty, foolish, and it wastes time, effort, and effectiveness. When your head is turned you cannot hear; you can hear the sound but not the substance because you aren’t paying attention. Who are you fellowshipping with, which camp has your attention, what has you turning your head? If you think some program or some book or anything else is so great but it doesn’t have you digging deeper into the scriptures, it is leading you away from them. If you aren’t turning the pages of the Bible, something else will turn you away from it, and yes, away from God.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©