“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11).
If you’ve ever tried to coach and encourage a lazy or indifferent individual, you are undoubtedly familiar with the sentiment expressed in the passage quoted above. If we were to rephrase this message for the benefit of a contemporary audience, we might do so by saying, “I would like to discuss these advanced spiritual truths with you at greater length, but you are just not ready for it. You should be much further along in your spiritual development, but your lack of maturity is holding you back.”
The Living Bible paraphrase of Hebrews 5:11 reinforces this idea: “There is much more I would like to say along these lines, but you don’t seem to listen, so it’s hard to make you understand.” Another version of this passage reveals a nuance that is worthy of our attention: “…you have become dull of hearing” (ESV). In other words, these individuals did not begin sluggishly; they became that way. This leads us to an important insight…
“The Hebrews’ spiritual lethargy and slow response to gospel teaching prevented additional teaching at this time. This is a reminder that failure to appropriate the truth of the gospel produces stagnation in spiritual advancement and the inability to understand or assimilate additional teaching (cf. Jn 16:12).” (1)
Jesus’ closing application from the Parable of the Talents offers a cautionary message for those who are “spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen” (NLT)…
“To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29 NLT).
One of the more effective ways to avoid this kind of spiritual lethargy involves a few simple principles that are recorded for us in the Biblical book of Acts. In Acts 2:42, we find that the early church did four important things: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (NIV).
Thus, we can say that these early Christians made certain to concentrate on four critical areas: prayer, Bible study (the apostles’ teaching), communion (breaking of bread), and going to church (the fellowship). If we prayerfully seek God’s help in observing these four spiritual disciplines, it should help us avoid the fate that is described for us here in Hebrews 5:11.
(1) John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Heb 5:11.