Baby Christians Try To Live On Milk

Yesterday I wrote about Christ's suffering for all mankind, a very difficult topic. It is easy to say. Even little children can say, "Jesus died on the cross," but to grasp the implications and even begin to understand the meaning—that is another thing. So the Hebrews letter writer says,

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. - Hebrews 5:11-14 ESV

In fact, the writer goes into much detail in the next chapters, trying to explain. So let me try to explain the difference between the basic principles of the oracles of God—what he calls milk—and solid food. 
Lets start with milk. We'll be coming back to this again and again in the future.

Paul writes to the Corinthians about milk:

I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human? - 1Cor 3:2-4 ESV 

I've served congregations dealing with these issues. People line up behind one pastor and start mocking the other for what they consider his failures or weaknesses. The same thing happens between members of church staffs or church committees. Criticism, accusations, lies, complaints. Some examples.

"She made a pass at my husband."  

"He's been stealing from church funds for his own purposes."  

"We worked so hard at this project and she gets all the credit."

And on and on. Soon come notes and emails flying back and forth or phone calls, secret gatherings and special secret meetings! And then an all-out war of jealousy and strife.  This is what Paul means when he says, ". . . are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?"

Do you see the connection between what Paul is saying and the Hebrews writer? What are the basic principles of the oracles of God? Again, the baby or the baby-Christian can say, "Christ died for me," but what follows? What follows is what the Apostle John points to in his letter. Strife, jealousy, hate—this is of the devil. This is not how the new born child of God acts. The child of God rejoices in the fact that Christ died for sinners—and he seeks to follow in that path. He / she forgives as we all are forgiven in Christ. John writes,

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. - 1John 3:9-16 ESV

 Are you there yet? Look at your own heart. Do you still harbor jealousy, mockery, anger? Are you spreading stories, busily telling tales? Stop this instant. Stop and take a long, careful look at your own heart. How dare you pray our Lord's prayer, "Forgive us our debts," and then not follow up on your promise to forgive others their debts? You are still living on milk. And if you don't know how to deal with your feelings of hate and anger, here is another bit of counsel for you. Jealousy and strife are evidence of sickness in the body of Christ, of immaturity and childishness. If you are struggling with these issues it may well be time for you to visit with your pastor or elder.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - James 5:14-16 ESV

We'll go on to pursue maturity as we work our way deeper into this great letter to the Hebrews.

 

My Birthday Gift To You

Last Sunday I heard a sermon that touched me deeply. The Pastor spoke about how we all like to compare ourselves to others. They have this, but I don't. They are recognized and praised, but I am not. Or the other way around. I'm so very happy that I have this or that I am better than him. And so forth. Yes, I realized, this is indeed how I am. I'm forever comparing myself to someone else, someone who is better than me, who has what I want and so forth.

At that point he changed gears and asked all of us hearers to turn to Psalm 139.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. ... 

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! - Psa 139:1-2, 11-17 ESV

My LORD Jesus knows everything about me. He knows how my pride-filled heart urges me to be jealous of others or to boast about how wonderful I am in comparison to them. He knows how I love to make myself out to be what I am not or how I beat myself down because I am not applauded as this one or that one is. . . He knows my sin and my sinful nature.

And yet He loves me, forgives me and has formed all these days for me, days in which I may receive His forgiveness and mercy, days in which I may praise and thank Him, days in which I may serve others in His name. He had this all worked out long before I was formed in my mother's womb, when as yet there was not a single day in which I lived.

All this is so precious, so wonderful, so vast. And it comes to me from the living and active Word of God. This is the Word that gets to the very bottom of my being, dividing even my soul from my spirit, just as if I were slicing up a side of beef or pork for a meal. My God discerns every thought and intention in my heart, knows them better than I do. Not a single one of my thoughts is hidden from Him. I stand naked and exposed before Him. . . and yet He loves me. This is what Jesus has come to reveal to me. This is what the Hebrews letter tells me—and you as well (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. - Hbr 4:14-15 ESV

Jesus, my high priest, understands me. He knows my weakness. He knows how I fall into the temptation to boast one day and then the next fall head-long into the ditch of despair and doubt. He sympathizes with me. He can relate, because He too faced these temptations, along with all other kinds. But He did not sin. Instead He assumed responsibility for my sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. - Hbr 4:16 ESV 

Because Jesus has identified with me, because He understands what I'm going through, I can draw near to Him unafraid. He is praying for me. He is pleading my case before His Father. He is asking the Father to forgive and bless me—all because of His perfect obedience and His suffering and dying upon the cross for my sake. So He is always there with His undeserved yet complete grace. In my time of need I always have Him.

As I said, I needed to hear that last Sunday. I want you to know about it today. Today is my birth-day. And on this day I want this good news to give you new birth, new life, a new beginning. It is my birthday gift to you—in the name of Jesus.

The Glory of Heaven Awaits

The strains of the Bethlehem angels' songs about Glory are fading as we enter this new year. It was fine to join their songs for a time, but now back to work, back to business, back to the details of making those new year's resolutions happen. Its time to seek our own glory.


Did you ever realize the Bible teaches that we will have various degrees of glory in heaven? Look at a couple verses:


In discussing the resurrection from the dead Paul writes, "There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.


"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15:40-44).


"At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:1-3).


There are a number of others, such as Matthew 19:28 and Matthew 25:21. The point is we who put our faith in the risen Lord Jesus shall share in His glory, but we will differ from one another in glory. Some will have reflected splendor like the moon. Some will be shining stars. Its all in His hands.

The real glory of it all is that you and I will be quite happy to be who and what we are and will be free from envy and jealousy. Oh what slaves those feelings are. How often do we not struggle with the resentment, longing for someone's possessions, qualities or good luck, as we say. Have you not caught yourself thinking, "Look here, I deserve a promotion more than she does?" Or "How come he gets to drive a new truck and I have to put up with this clunker for another year?" The list is endless.

It appears that even in heaven some will be smarter, wiser, more talented, stronger, in charge of more stuff, etc. than me—and than you. The real difference between then and this new year here on earth, is that we won't care at all. We will no longer be trapped, driven, bound and ground down by envy and jealousy. We will be content, happy and filled with joy in knowing we are His. We will be fulfilled, filled full. I may be a thimble and you may be a great, shining, silver goblet. Ah what a joy it will be for us thimbles to be filled with His love. And what happiness it will be to know that you and all the other goblets are also filled.

I pray that you will be filled with peace, joy and hope even here and now, in this new year.