Revcort's Ramblings

Scripture Focus

“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)

Devotional Thought

Hebrews 5 contains one of the sharpest spiritual rebukes in the New Testament. The writer pauses in the middle of explaining the greatness of Christ’s priesthood because the people have become “dull of hearing.” The issue was not that the truth itself was unclear—it was that their spiritual growth had stalled.

He tells them something that would have stung deeply: “By this time you ought to be teachers.” Enough time had passed that they should have been spiritually mature, able to help instruct and strengthen others. Instead, they still needed someone to reteach them the most basic truths of the faith. They were living on spiritual milk when they should have been eating solid food.

This passage reminds us that spiritual maturity is not measured merely by how long someone has attended church or claimed to be a believer. Time alone does not produce maturity. Growth requires continual submission to God’s Word, consistent practice, and a heart eager to learn and obey.

There is nothing wrong with spiritual infancy at the beginning of the Christian life. Every believer starts there. Peter even tells us to long for the pure milk of the Word so that we may grow. But the problem comes when a person remains spiritually immature year after year, never progressing beyond the basics, never deepening in understanding, never developing discernment, and never becoming useful in strengthening others.

The writer says mature believers have their “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Spiritual discernment does not appear automatically. It is developed through continual exposure to Scripture, obedience to truth, prayer, and daily walking with Christ. The mature believer learns to recognize truth from error because their mind has been shaped by God’s Word.

That warning feels especially important today. We live in a world flooded with false teaching, shallow theology, emotional manipulation, and constant confusion about right and wrong. Many people are spiritually vulnerable simply because they never move beyond a surface-level understanding of Scripture. A believer who neglects the Word will eventually lose discernment and become susceptible to deception.

The solution is not prideful knowledge for its own sake. The goal of spiritual maturity is Christlikeness. God does not want us permanently dependent like infants. He desires believers who are grounded, discerning, stable, and equipped to encourage others with truth.

Hebrews challenges every one of us to ask an uncomfortable but necessary question: Am I growing spiritually, or have I become dull of hearing?

The Christian life was never meant to stand still.

Reflection Questions

1. In what ways have you seen spiritual growth in your life over the past few years?
2. Are there areas where you have become spiritually passive or “dull of hearing”?
3. How does consistent time in God’s Word strengthen discernment between truth and error?
4. What practical steps can you take to pursue deeper spiritual maturity?

Closing Prayer

Father, forgive us for the times we have become spiritually lazy or indifferent toward Your Word. Give us hearts that hunger for truth and desire to grow in wisdom, discernment, and obedience. Protect us from deception and help us become mature believers who are grounded in Scripture and useful in encouraging others. Train our minds and hearts through continual practice in Your truth so that we may distinguish good from evil and reflect Christ more faithfully each day. In Jesus’name, amen.