The question the author asked in last week’s sermon passage (Heb 6) is, are you spiritually mature enough to handle the very detailed topic of Melchizedek (Heb 5 & 7)? Only those with hours of study under their belt are qualified to mine the gold and precious jewels found in Heb 7. The question I want to ask today is, what kinds of things are you doing to ‘move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity (Heb 6:1)?
The main source for such study is of course the ‘primary documents’: i.e. Bible. The least a Christian must be doing to grow in Christian maturity is to be reading the Bible regularly (daily!) Coupled with prayer and Christian meditation (musing over a verse, topic of doctrine until it sinks into our hearts), this is the bread and butter of spiritual growth.
The best place to study the Scriptures is in fellowship with others. As such, Sunday church and a mid-week Bible study group are another important aspect of Christian growth. Those who miss church regularly or who refuse to join a Bible study group are rarely known for their super-spiritual maturity.
A great supplement to our private Bible reading is reading a commentary alongside it. I recommend every Christian have ‘The New Bible Commentary’ and ‘The New Bible Dictionary’ in their bookshelf. There are plenty of other simple Commentaries available as well, such as ‘The Bible Speaks Today’ series. The next level from that is reading Christian books or listening to Christian podcasts or sermons on-line. Then the real studious can do a course, such as PTC or our upcoming ‘Christianity Explained’ course.
Let us make ever effort to be taken forward to maturity, for as the author of Hebrews tells us, it is not just embarrassing to be stuck on milk, it’s downright dangerous.
