Hebrews 5:11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Babies are a ton of work. They are messy, picky, unmannered, and could care less about what you think of how they behave. But we still love them! Why? Because they are cute, little babies. We expect them to behave the way they do.
Now imagine a teenager who behaves the same way a baby does. They can’t use the restroom properly, play with their food, yell for everything they want, and throw a tantrum when they don’t get their way. We wouldn’t be too forgiving to that teenager, now would we?
The Bible reminds us of a group of people who were once baby Christians. They got saved, baptized, learned how to serve in the church, tithe, and win souls to Christ.
One day, that Christian started to regress. They stopped serving, stopped learning, stopped giving, and even started to live in a way that was against what they previously espoused as the truth!
This person should have been teaching others how to grow in the Lord, but others are having to teach them again. They can’t handle the meat of the Bible like they once did. They were back to a milk-only diet. They started to skip services and cut corners spiritually.
The way we view the teenager that started acting like a baby is the way God describes a Christian who moves backward in their Christian life. This isn’t to say that the Christian life isn’t full of two steps forward and one step back. I mean, a just man falls seven times, right? Show me a man who hasn’t fallen, and I will show you a liar.
The question isn’t about falling. The real problem is these Christians slipped and never got up. It was one small step backward and no steps forward. The problem is that if we aren’t careful, we can turn back from what we have known to be true and helpful.
Where does this problem start? It starts in the ears. We can become “dull of hearing.” It’s true our heart is what changes and can become cold, but sometimes it’s hard to tell that is what’s happening. Our ears are an indicator of our heart which is easy to spot.
· We’ve stopped listening in church.
· We’ve stopped listening to godly music.
· We’ve stopped listening and seeking out godly counsel.
These are some signs our heart has grown cold, and we are reverting to our spiritual baby state.
If you find yourself in this state, not all hope is lost! Get back to listening, helping, and learning again. God is waiting with open arms.
Get back to growing by seeking the meat that God has for you. Return to discerning right and wrong! Not by your emotions, but rather by the Word of God!
We love new Christians; however, God does not like when Christians regress to being a baby.
