For many years, I have taught the Bible to small groups as a way to disciple them in understanding God’s ways and living as Jesus taught. Typically, I would communicate something like this to those groups: “If you want to remain immature as a Christian, read the Bible, study it, and even teach it, but don’t live it.”
I derive this principle from Hebrews 5:11-14. The writer tells the Hebrew Christians that by that time, they should have been teaching others; instead, they needed to relearn the basics of their faith. He refers to them as infants and uses a metaphor to contrast milk and solid food, infancy and maturity, dullness and discernment, and knowledge and practice.
The key to understanding this passage of scripture is verse 13: “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.” Hebrews 5:13 (NKJV). The Greek word “apeiros,” translated as “unskilled,” derives from two Greek words that imply “not tested or proven through experience.” In other words, knowledge alone will never mature us in righteousness unless it is coupled with experience that tests our knowledge.
Hebrews 5:13-14 explains the crucial difference between remaining immature through knowledge alone and maturing through practice. Our senses are trained to discern good and evil through experience and by practicing the “word of righteousness,” not merely by acquiring knowledge. To develop discernment that keenly recognizes good and evil, we must go beyond simply knowing what is right and actively seek to apply God’s word of righteousness in every situation.
We practice by first understanding and believing what the Lord has communicated to us through the Word and by His Spirit. Secondly, we practice by acting on what the Word and the Holy Spirit tell us, especially when it contradicts our perceptions, understanding, feelings, and desires.
The best opportunities for growth in spiritual discernment occur when we encounter the greatest challenges to our faith.
Sometimes, we become convinced that we are righteous and discerning simply because we can articulate biblical ideas correctly. However, in truth, speaking the right words without acting on them is hypocrisy. Matthew 23:1-3. Writing these principles to you without practicing them in my private life is hypocrisy for me.
For dedicated Christians, it is not the clear distinctions between good and evil that trip us up, but the subtle and insidious deceptions that ensnare us. The Holy Spirit, our Helper, is poured out on us to teach and empower us to live as Jesus lived in this world.
When Jesus rose, alive from His grave, He ascended to the Father and was granted the privilege of pouring out the promised Holy Spirit to all believers. Acts 2:33, 38-39
Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth in John 14:17, 15:26, and 16:13. Just as Jesus glorified the Father by speaking only what the Father said to Him, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will glorify Him because He will speak only what He receives from Jesus and will disclose it to us. Jesus stated that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth and reveal to us what is to come.
Jesus’ gift to us did not end with the forgiveness of our sins and His promise of eternal life; He also gave us His Spirit to help us while we live in this world. The Holy Spirit will reveal the truth to us, enabling us to discern the subtle distinctions between good and evil, as long as we are willing to listen to and obey His voice.
Please pray with me.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word and Your Spirit, which You have poured out to enable me to discern good and evil as You do. Please help me to be sensitive to Your still, small voice, and grant me the grace to do whatever You ask of me.