Daily Thought

Having introduced the Melchizedek priesthood of Christ, the writer wonders whether they were able to understand such teaching. They were ‘dull of hearing’, 5. 11, that is, slow to understand. ‘Dull ears cannot receive deep truths’, John 16. 12 Believer’s Bible Commentary. They were not always like that. They had reached a point and stopped there. There was lack of progress and spiritual growth. They should have been teaching others, but they still had not mastered the rudiments. At the beginning it was no disgrace to require elementary teaching, but to continue thus was deplorable. Sadly, many Christians are content to stay as they began, content with their earliest grasp of truth. They still feed on milk, not solid food, spiritual infants. Those who are mature partake of solid food. Spiritual maturity is not gained by apathy or slothfulness. It is gained by regular meditation upon the word of God, and results in spiritual discernment. So, press on, he says. He describes what these ‘elementary teachings about Christ’ are, Heb. 6. 1, 2 NIV. The list is of things which both Jews (excluding Sadducees) and Christians accepted. There was nothing distinctly Christian about them, as for instance, the deity of Christ. From these they must progress if they are genuine believers. They must go on to perfection, to maturity. But what of those who had no desire to do so, and had fallen away, gone back to Judaism, and in effect asserted that Jesus had been justly condemned? v. 6. Were they, or had they ever been true believers? Note what is said of them and not said. They had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit to understand the message of Christ, but not born again. They had tasted of the heavenly gift, Christ, but tasting is not enough, John 6. 53. Partakers of the Holy Spirit, but not sealed; tasted of the good word of God, cp. Matt. 13. 21, but even sinful men sometimes enjoy a good sermon! They had tasted of the powers of the world to come in the signs and miracles they had seen, but so had the leaders of the people and they had not believed. Note now the change of pronouns - ‘they’, v. 6, and ‘you’, v. 9. There were others of whom the writer was persuaded better things.