“You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God’s Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by practicing doing right” (Hebrews 5:14 TLB).
Most societies have enacted legislation to protect children from various forms of exploitation. These protections are necessary because children generally tend to be vulnerable, inexperienced, and susceptible to deception and/or victimization. Unfortunately, some Christians are similarly vulnerable to deception because they haven’t “…trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (NIV) as we read in the passage quoted above.
This leads us to a discussion of the “solid spiritual food” mentioned here in Hebrews 5:14. This analogy represents the good, sound instruction we receive from reading the Scriptures each day. It also involves knowing what God’s Word says and acting upon it. The approach is reflected in the words of Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (NIV).
However, these spiritual disciplines are important for another reason that bears repeating. You see, a spiritually immature person who is unfamiliar with sound Biblical doctrine is someone who is susceptible to various forms of deceit. The good news is that we can avoid many of the problems that come with spiritual immaturity simply by reading and prayerfully meditating upon the application of God’s Word each day.
For instance, we can start by asking for God’s help in committing to read a portion of His Word each day at a designated time. We can find support for this practice in the Biblical book of Joshua: “Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything” (Joshua 1:8 NCV).
We can apply that passage by asking three questions as we read through God’s Word…
- What does this portion of Scripture say?
- What does this portion of Scripture mean?
- How should I apply this portion of Scripture in my life?
If we seek God’s assistance in understanding and applying His Word in this manner, we are sure to grow in Biblical knowledge and spiritual maturity.
Finally, we can say that times have changed, but people in the Biblical era were much the same as they are today in many respects. As we read about the lives of the Biblical personalities we encounter in the Scriptures, we are certain to find many positive examples to emulate as well as many negative examples to avoid.