For our scripture reading this evening, I would ask you to turn with me to the book of Hebrews. Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. We have gathered over the last few weeks a couple of allusions or references to the family visitation theme, from milk to meat. And so now, tonight, we have an opportunity to of a sermon dedicated to that subject. And so we turn and give our attention to the word of God that deals with that. And that's Hebrews chapter five. We will begin reading at verse 12. And we will read through chapter six, verse three. I think the bulletin says verse two, but we will include verse three. Actually, as I'm looking at it, let's begin our reading at verse 11. We'll know why right away, but we'll start at just that second half, verse 11. But hear the word of our God. You have become dull, hearing for though by this time you ought to be teachers you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God and you have come to need milk and not solid food for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness for he is a babe But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection. not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God and of the doctrines of baptisms, of laying on of hands of resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. As far our reading of God's holy, inspired, and infallible word. May he add his blessing to the preaching thereof. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an analogy that we will open with here shortly, one that is used from time to time. It is one I have not used, but many do use this. And it has to do with auditing. Auditing not your taxes, not auditing your finances, but auditing in an academic environment. auditing a class. Now what an auditor does, auditor literally means one who listens and that's really all they do. They come to the class and they sit there and they can have the experience of hearing the lecture and coming to the classroom without having to do all of the assignments. They don't have to write the papers, they don't have to do the readings, they don't have to study, they don't have to take the exams or anything at all. They get to sit there. This sounds nice, I'm sure, for many of us, and it is indeed, from time to time, a neat thing to do. But what the auditor comes away with at the end of the term is really only just the memory of the experience, and maybe a few nuggets of information. And then you have those who take that class for credit. They've got to study for the exams. Then they got to take the exams. Then they have to do the readings. They have to research for a paper and then write the paper and submit the assignments. And they all have to do every part of that that is up to the standard of the quality of that institution and that program. They need to meet those requirements. But what they come away with at the end of it all, This isn't just a piece of paper or a degree that is just it, but it is an accredited proof that they have fulfilled those requirements. They've successfully completed that program and have acquired a certain skill. And so there is an emblem, as it were, that represents those years of work and commitment that they've put in toward that goal. Now, no analogy, of course, is perfect, and so it's not one-to-one. Not everything overlaps here, but we will say this far that it is impossible to audit Christianity. No one is a Christian and an auditor of the Christian faith and of the religion. Everyone is enrolled for credit, so to speak. What that means is that we must learn the lessons of faith and you can pretty much bet on the fact that there will be tests. Tests of faith. In other words, church is homework too. This isn't it, this, we take it, and there are things that we are called to do, to take home. And so the Lord has provided for us the things that are necessary for us to learn these lessons of faith and to endure these tests and to grow, to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so that is what we will, Lord willing, consider tonight under the title and the theme, From Milk to Meat. And we see that's connected to the family visitation theme, but it is also something derived directly from our text. And we have then the subtitle, Growing in the Grace and the Knowledge of Christ. It's telling us then, describing for us what from milk to meat means. And we'll consider this under three points. The reasons for growth, first. That's to ask and to answer why. Why must we grow? Secondly, the purposes of growth, or what's the goal? What's the aim of this? And then last, the means of growth. How do we grow? And so first we consider the reasons for growth, the why. And there are three. And there are actually many reasons that we could give, but tonight we will mention just three that our text mentions. And the first reason has to do with our natural proneness to forget. This is why we began our reading in verse 11, because it says, you have become dull of hearing. We need to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ so that we do not become dull in hearing. How does one become dull in hearing? Well, it's in the word itself for dull. The word that's translated here as dull has the sense of someone that is not easily stirred or moved. Someone that is inactive. Some people might say that they're dense, that they're thick, but it has to do with one that's in contrast with someone that is diligent in his business or who is industrious to hearken to and attend to the Word and thereby to cleave unto those things that he hears. There's the opposite of diligent. The opposite of industrious. is one who simply audits and sits back. And so the writer to the Hebrews here is bringing a chastisement to them, saying, well, these things are hard to explain, these things about Christ and the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. We should be able to be discussing these things or be writing about these things, but it's hard to explain because you Hebrews here have become dull of hearing. He's not saying that they lack any ability. He's chastising them for their negligence. Now John Owen put it this way, summarizing very well what it is that he is saying here by saying that you've become dull of hearing. He's essentially saying, and I quote John Owen, you stir not up the faculties of your souls and of your minds, and of your understandings, to conceive right and to comprehend the things that are spoken unto you. You treasure them not in your heart, in your conscience, in your memory, but you let them spill out and you forget them. And after several more words and as he exegetes these things, there is the conclusion that this is because of our depravity, our sinful natures make us prone to forget, prone to wander, prone to be slack. It doesn't make us to be sharp, but dull. And so it is one that makes us prone to neglect our duty. And so what this means is that we need to be growing because if you're not growing, if you are not one who is industrious or diligent, you're diminishing. There is no in-between here. It's not as if, well, I kind of stopped growing, kind of as you do as you grow up past your teenage years into adulthood. You just, you hit a point, maybe at six foot and you're done. No, with this, you're either growing or you're shrinking. There is no in-between. It's going to be one or the other. So which are you? Are you growing? Or have you become dull of hearing? The next reason that we consider here is time. That's one reason why we need to grow, time. We see in verse 12, for though by this time, time which had passed and gone since their first profession and indeed there is the sense where it is going to be different for every single individual but as we consider the church as a whole And specifically here, the Hebrew church. These are the Hebrews which are in the city of Jerusalem. And so we consider the biblical history of when this church began. It was on the day of Pentecost. And that's when in Jerusalem 3,000 were added. And so the amount of time then that had passed since Pentecost to the writing of this letter was somewhere around 30 years. I don't know about you, but if you have somebody that is 30 years old, you will not expect them to look like a little infant. They're gonna be a full-grown adult. And during this time, what these Hebrew believers had was the ministry of the apostles. Jerusalem there, they were coming and they were going, and many of the apostles ended up staying there and continuing to teach the people there. They had the Old Testament scriptures. They had many New Testament letters, including this one, And so what they had was no shortage of opportunity given to them. No shortage of means that were given to them for them to grow. And they didn't. May we then consider the time that we have been given. The time given to us where we enjoy the privileges given to us of the preaching of the word, the ministry of the gospel and instruction in that. These things are a matter of which we must give an account. The time that's been given to us. Not all of us are given the same amount of time. The Hebrews had 30 years, give or take. You may have 30 years. Maybe you have 30 minutes. We do not know. But maybe you have been given 30 years here. The 30 years of the faith, or 40 years, or five years. What we need to do is take heed then to what Ephesians 5 verse 15 and 16 tells us, where the apostle Paul says, see then that you walk circumspectly, meaning very carefully, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. And saying redeeming the time is, Not saying, well, by the way, we use our time if it's good or if it's bad, then we are being little saviors or something to that effect. That's not what that text is saying there. It is essentially saying that we are to be those that make the best and the wisest use of the time that is given to us. Redeem it by rendering it unto God and utilizing it by coming to know our God. And we must give an account for the time that he has given to us. And not just the time in general, but the particular point of our text is the improvement upon what we have been given. Improvement here meaning something similar to what is in the parable of the talents of those servants. Remember the story that Jesus told about a master who gave his servants each a sum of money. And many, a few of the servants took that and what they did was they redeemed the time and they invested that money and they came out the other end having more than what was given to them. But then there was one wicked and foolish servant who was given these things, but he buried it. And it was the use of his time, the time that was given for him to improve upon That amount of money the master had given. That's the idea here. It is expected of us to use this time in this way to grow utilizing what God has given us. This is very clear in our text when it says you ought to be teachers. It is expected as a duty to enjoy this time that God has given to us in such a way that it's fruitful, beneficial, and even to the degree that we would be able to teach and to instruct others in the matters and in the doctrines of the gospel. Lord willing, we may expand on that in our next point, the idea of teaching and instructing others, but there is that expectation that is given. That is another reason for us, is the expectation that we are to grow. And this expectation can be seen in many other places of Scripture by way of commandment. like the subtitle from our sermon. It's taken pretty much straight from 2 Peter 3.18. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That word grow is an imperative, meaning it's a command. Or you could think of 1 Peter Chapter two, verse two, just before our assurance of pardon, where Peter says, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. You may grow by this word. This brings us to the same word picture or analogy of our attacks. And so it's expected because of the command, but not only that, it's the natural outcome of a steady diet. And we would grow if we have a steady diet. And so we read the analogy that is given here. There is a likeness that is given between the food that we eat, normal food, and then the word of the gospel. And we have that they're described as milk, and then solid food, or meat, or something that is hearty and stout. It's got all of the vitamins and nutrients that you need. And then there are those that eat the food, and that represents the hearers of that word. And that is described, those that eat the food are children, and then there are those mature adults. And we recognize then that there is a variety of food that's suited to the variety of stages and states of growth that we are in. And so what is expected of newborn babes? They're going to get some milk. It's good for them. They need that milk. And in fact, that's about all that they can handle. You moms and dads, if you're a little six-month-old or a very young baby, you would not set them at the table and then proceed to plop down right in front of them a plate that's got this big old juicy steak on it and expect them to eat it. Well, they may grab at it for sure. Of course, this is what babies do. And you know, when they grab it, they're gonna put it in their mouth because that's also what babies do. But what happens if they do that? Well, they may choke, but we just know that they're not ready for this solid food. In due time, we expect that they will. They'll move on to pureed peas and carrots or whatever that goop is made out of that comes in the jars. And then after that, you try to introduce more and more solid food. And then you'll expect that they're able to eat more things. And at the same time, grow by it. They'll grow out of their clothes. They'll grow out of their shoes. They'll grow out of the home. And into their own home. By the time your child is four or five or six and all they have still is milk. And they still look like a little baby. There's something wrong here. Because you expect them to grow. and expect them to grow because we've been feeding them. That's the expectation. That's a reason enough. What God expects of his people. God expects his people to bear fruit. Isaiah chapter 5 describes the people of God as a vineyard that he himself cultivates and expects them to bear forth fruit for harvest. And when God expects fruit from his vineyard, He gives it not only the time to grow, but also all of the other things that are necessary for its growth and for its improvement. And we consider the Hebrews, well, they had plenty of time. They had been given plenty of resources. It was not enough for them simply to just not renounce the faith as many others had done and had left. It was expected that they should grow and thrive in knowledge and in holiness that was proportional to the time and the means that God had given to them and the ability that God had given them. They had not. What about you? Congregation, how long have you been at Bethany? How many means of instruction has he provided in these years? What is your spiritual diet? How hungry are you? And what do we have to show for it? Have we grown? Do we know more doctrine and theology than we did 10 years ago, five years ago? Have we dove deeper into the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God? We have the reasons. It is expected of us. It is also commanded of us. We're given the time. And we need to not backslide and fall away and become dull of hearing. Secondly, what are the purposes? What is the aim in growing in this knowledge? There's a twofold purpose or twofold aim and one is our own edification and the other is that of the edification of others. And so for our own edification, we can consider two things under that as well. The first is mentioned at the end of chapter four, or verse 14, where it says, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The purpose of growth is for us to be able to discern good from evil. This is wisdom in action. There is, therefore, an inherent practicalness to doctrine and to theology. If anything, it helps with discerning good from evil, right from wrong, truth from error, wickedness from holiness. You hear this word senses in verse 14 is still thinking on the analogy of the food that is here, a sense of taste. To know what's bitter, to know what's sweet, to know what's bland, to know what's savory, but really to know then what is good for the body for growth and what is not. What is poison? What will ruin us? And so in the spiritual sense of the word, the senses are speaking of the faculties of our understanding of our minds and our hearts, but that also of judging certain spiritual things and doctrines to determine and to discern what they are. And to discern is to give an exact judgment, to put upon a right discerning of the different nature of different things. Being able to say that this is A and this is B. Being able to make that distinction. And we have then that distinction here of good and evil. That is what is being discerned here. Good and evil, things that are true doctrinally, things that are beneficial for a life of holiness and for our spiritual well-being, and that is distinguished from the things that are false, things that are not true, and therefore things that are harmful. We need to recognize the fact that there is nothing in Scripture except that which is good, that which is beneficial for us. And yet, this ability of judging or discerning between good and evil, a seasoned and a mature palate, so to speak, on these things. It's necessary for us as we consider the explanation of the Word, the application of that Word, such as we are doing right now, to be discerning that even in the present moment between good and evil, Many will go and to propose something, some teaching, some direction as though it is taken from scripture, which is indeed it's not at all. It's snake oil. It's not wholesome food. It's not something that will benefit us, but it is in reality poison for our soul. Whether it be an opinion or whether it be somebody venting out of their corrupt mind, or whether it be an error, a misapplication, even though it may be true in some regards in its proposal or in the doctrine of the matter, but the misapplication of that truth is going to be something that is not beneficial and will not serve to our growth. And so to avoid this, it is necessary to grow. The purpose of that is to have our senses exercised unto the discerning of good and of evil. And so we need to eat. We need to grow. We need to be exercised. Which means we need to be familiar. Continually going over this so that we are ready and fit, so to speak, for this discernment. Another matter of personal edification. It's not mentioned in our text so much as it is in other places of Scripture, but this instruction in Scripture and in doctrine is not only for growth in our knowledge and our understanding, but when it is properly apprehended by the exercise and enabling of faith, it is the principal source and means of our growth in godliness and holiness. Even the Apostle Paul identified this goal as God's objective in giving to us the Bible, scriptures, by inspiration. This is what he says in 2 Timothy 3 verse 16 and 17. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete. Thoroughly equipped for every good work." In the Word, we learn that God requires his people to be holy, for he is holy. In the Word, we learn what that holiness looks like, how we pursue it, It's not enough for us to just know and grow in a head knowledge and leave it there. It must enter into our hearts, be applied to our heart by the Holy Spirit, and work itself out in our faith, in our life. We cannot separate the two. The knowledge, the facts and data, if you will, of the gospel. and the living and the life. Many in our day will say that really what all that matters are just kind of the basics of the gospel, the fundamentals, but anything beyond that is unnecessary and frivolous. And so long as they believe the basics and they live a life that is holy and well, then that's it. And we recognize the work of God's grace in people's lives and know that God doesn't give to everyone the same ability or even the means and the time to go deeper into these things, but it's a false dichotomy. You can't separate the knowledge of the doctrine of the glories of our God and of the gospel and of the Lord Jesus Christ from following Christ. being patterned after him. We come to know more of the gospel, and as we come to know more of that truly, we are conformed to his image in doctrine and in life. Another purpose, another aim of this goal. that then through this, through the personal application, through the exercise of this, that then we would in turn instruct others. And so there is, not only for our own instruction, but that we then, with the blessings that we have been blessed, turn in gratitude to God for that, bless others and instruct others and guide others as well. You ought to be teachers. On the one hand, there is a sense where it's the encouragement for those to study and attain a goal for teaching, for preaching ministry. And he's saying that that begins in the church. You're, to speak in this way and by way of analogy, you're in seminary right now. Not actually, not really, but there is that instruction in the matters of the gospel given to you so that you may grow thereby, but then you in turn spread the gospel. and instruct others. There is a goal, an attainment, a level that we are expected to have in our mind so far as God gives that to us. And so indeed we would want to emphasize the great need that we have for trained and educated ministers of the gospel. How many vacancies are in our federation right now? Far too many. And the amount of students enrolled in seminaries like Mid-America and Puritan Reformed that are seeking to serve the United Reformed Churches do not match the vacancies. Why is that? Because we as a federation of churches are not growing in this knowledge. But we take it then in a general sense, teaching and instructing others, those that are around us, your homes, our little seminaries as well. It's the seed bed in which the waters of the gospel are watered upon your children who are seeds for them to grow and to bear fruit. Is this the purpose and the growth you have in mind? To study and to learn and to dig and to hear so that you may communicate that to others. Be able to correct error, to guide others to truth and to righteousness. That's a purpose for growth. Before we move on to our third point, we would be remiss in not mentioning that the great purpose of growth is growth in the knowledge of our God, growth in the knowledge of our Lord and our Savior. And we come to know that by diving into his word, and that brings us to our third point, the means of growth, and there are several means. One, personal devotions. There is the corporate worship, and there is prayer that we have, but we start by this personal devotions, reading the word. This is the primary means of growth. Read the Word. Read the Bible. Too often, and I'm as guilty as the next of this, we rely on books about the Bible. rather than studying the scriptures themselves. And there's nothing wrong with books about the Bible. They can be helpful and edifying, but there is no substitute for personal study in the Word. It is the entrance of the Word of God into the heart that gives that light to our path and that wisdom, a light unto our souls for salvation, and that we, with our own heart and mind, may come to know our Lord and our Savior. There is the means of growth. It's in the Word. Read it. Proverbs 2 describes about the seeking truth as if it were silver or seeking for wisdom as though it were a hidden treasure. These are pictures of mining and of digging and of unrelenting, unrelaxed diligence of pursuit in order to Attain this silver and this hidden treasure. This is what God's Word is compared to, which tells us that the prize, the reward, the benefit of coming to a certain knowledge or meaning or understanding of a passage is not always going to be on the surface. We need to have a constant growth, constant and diligent and persistent meditation upon these things. We tend to have a habit of unless there's something that doesn't jump out at us right away, we'll move on until something does and we find that surface lesson. So we need to be those that seek the truth and to grow in the Word and to the knowledge as though we are digging for treasure. Be fully engaged. Be earnest about it. Persevere. Read the Word and it must be attended by prayer. Psalm 119. It is a prayer to God. In verse 18, it says, open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. And then verse 27, make me to understand the way of your precepts. And here there's that vital thing. Reading the word, it does engage the mind, but it is not only an intellectual exercise. It is vital fellowship and relation with the Lord. Another means of growth is to, as Hebrews 10 will come to admonish them and to instruct us to not forsake the assembling together of ourselves. Come to the worship of God. Come to sit underneath the preaching of the word. We have typically many families on Sunday will have a bigger meal than normal. It's a big feast. And spiritually speaking, we have a bigger meal than normal on Sunday. And a sermon, ideally, is going to have all of these little elements involved with it. A full course meal, as it were. Yes, you will have your meat. You'll have your steak or your pot roast. That is the hardened substance, hopefully. But then you also will have other things involved. Potatoes and vegetables. And, of course, a glass of milk. And so with the sermon there will be the meat and the hearty truths, but then there will be all of these other elements that suit the various stages of growth and development. And so it may be the case that not all are ready for that pot roast or steak, spiritually speaking. But then also on this day, this is why we have Sunday school and catechism classes. To help and assist with that, to help us to grow that we may have this solid food. It's not just the ones on Sundays, there are those Bible studies that are there on Wednesdays and on other times throughout the week. God has given us the time. and he has given us the opportunity. Do you desire to grow? Was your spiritual diet is only on Sunday? You were malnourished. We need to be in the word ourselves daily. We are to lay hold of the opportunities that are given to us. to prayerfully approach these things in humility, to speak with others about it, and be sharpened, and have others sharpen you. And by this, and in due time, and with the Lord's blessing as he works in and among us by his Spirit, we will, and we do, grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen, let us pray. Gracious God and Father, we do pray for that growth. We thank you for your desire that your children would grow and providing the means for us. We ask that every one of us, myself included, would be diligent unto these things, that we would know our God more and know better how to praise you, to worship you, and to walk in a manner that is pleasing to you. And then we may instruct the rising generations and tell them of the wonderful works of our God. And so we pray that you will bless us and that you will uphold us and apply these words to our heart. It is in Jesus' name we pray, amen.