Grow in Faithfulness

KEY VERSE: “Let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.” —Hebrews 6:1, New International Version

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 5:11 to 6:10

THE LIFE OF a consecrated Christian is one of personal activity and growth. Examples of this are given in other scriptures, such as Romans 12:2: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”; I Corinthians 9:24: “run [to win the prize]”; Galatians 5:22,23: We are to develop “the fruit of the Spirit,” and to “grow up into him [Christ].” (Eph. 4:15) To remain idle or to fail to grow is a dangerous condition for the Christian.

The Apostle Paul taught this important principle in his letter to the Hebrews. The letter was written to those who had already obtained a basic understanding of the plan of God. His admonition to grow in faithfulness by going beyond the basics, “the first principles of the oracles of God” (Heb. 5:12), to the solid food needed by the mature Christian, is as relevant today as it was to the Early Church.

The new Christian, being “unskillful in the word of righteousness” (vs. 13), is not able to apply the proper scriptures to situations arising in his Christian walk. Paul refers to six basic doctrines as the milk of God’s Word, important for laying the foundation of our faith. (Heb. 6:1,2) After the words of our Key Verse, Paul states these basic doctrines as “repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” (Heb. 6:1,2) These elementary teachings are the foundation for the solid food that the mature Christian needs. “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness.”—Heb. 5:13, NIV

When Paul speaks of leaving the elementary principles behind and going on to maturity, he is speaking of using God’s Word with more understanding, and being able to apply the Word of God to properly distinguish good from evil. “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (vs. 14, NIV) The use of solid food goes beyond the distinguishing of good from evil. It includes the determination to choose the good and to reject the evil, whatever the cost.

Going on to ‘maturity’ or ‘perfection’ means going on to ‘completeness’, (Greek, telelotes), which is being used by Paul to indicate the type of life God intends for us to live. It is being “conformed to the image of his Son.” (Rom. 8:29) This growth is toward an understanding of the deep things of God—which does not mean complex types and shadows, or scriptures difficult to understand. Rather, it is referring to an understanding of the underlying principles of God’s Word. This type of growth includes ever increasing faithfulness to the end by being “followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”—Heb. 6:12

Paul concludes this exhortation to growth by showing that the end result of the watering of truth can either be fruitful and be a blessing to God, or can produce thorns and thistles, worthless growth. Let us be diligent in growing in faithfulness.

| Home Page | Table of Contents |