Going on to Perfection

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic elements of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food; for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, let us go on toward perfection, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And we will do this, if God permits.” – Hebrews 5:12-6:3

Two things popped out at me in these verses this morning—the first is for the older believer (not in age but in experience with the Lord): once we’ve grown in our faith and learned the foundational principles of following Christ, it’s time to move on from these principles rather than rehash these lessons over and over again. We should move from students to teachers, not only learning the principles of the faith but demonstrating them through action and instruction. We should be living the faith daily, loving one another and loving God as we have been instructed. Like Philippians 1:6 says, God who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion – “let us go on toward perfection.” The foundation is only the basement. If we stay at the level of learning the foundational truths of God, which are important, we’ll never build up the walls, windows, and rooftops that show the world the dwelling place of God.

The other is for the new believer: you are new in Christ. It will take time to learn the principles of God, and to grow in faith, and this is granted to you. Thank God for his patience as we grow from bottles of milk to strained peas all the way to solid foods!