Hebrews -- Holding on to JesusНамуна

Growing Up in Christ

Have you ever sat down and flipped through an old photo album? Maybe it was pictures of yourself, your spouse, or your kids. One thought that often comes to mind is how quickly time passes. It seems like only yesterday your teenager was in diapers, or you were on a road trip with friends before college. As we reflect on the passage of time, we also see that life brings different challenges at every stage. What troubles a toddler is very different from what burdens a teen, and those problems are different still from the concerns of someone approaching retirement. For example, if a toddler has an accident in their diaper, we shrug it off; it’s expected. But if a teenager does, it's alarming. Why? Because with age comes the expectation of growth and maturity.

The same principle applies to our spiritual lives. As we grow spiritually, certain challenges should be overcome and should no longer be challenges. In Hebrews, the writer rebukes his readers for not maturing in their faith. By the amount of time they had been following Jesus, they should have been teachers, equipped not only to understand and live out the truth, but also to pass it on. Yet they were still spiritual infants, needing milk rather than solid food. The warning here is sobering: Time spent as a Christian doesn’t automatically equal spiritual maturity. Some believers grow deeply in a matter of months, while others remain stagnant for decades. Growth requires intention, humility, and responsiveness to God’s word.

The writer of Hebrews challenges these believers, saying in essence, “You should be teaching others by now, but you’re still learning the basics.” There’s a sense in which every Christian is called to teach, not formally perhaps, but by discipling others, sharing truth, and living out a mature faith. After all, we often don’t truly understand something until we can teach it to someone else. Spiritual infancy has its place. It’s wonderful when someone is new to faith. But it becomes frustrating and even tragic when someone remains in that state year after year. Infants, physically or spiritually, are vulnerable. As Ephesians 4:14 (NIV) reminds us, immature believers are “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.” They are easily swayed, overly dependent, and often self-focused. Let’s be honest: Spiritual infants cling to “my church” or “my denomination” above the broader body of Christ. Idolize Christian leaders instead of focusing on Christ. Sleep through their spiritual lives, lacking alertness to God’s voice. Complain and divide over small matters. Lack discernment, accepting anything that sounds spiritual, even if it’s false.

The believers in Hebrews struggled with these things and with discernment between good and evil. They were even contemplating giving up on Jesus altogether because of the pressure they were facing. The mature Christian, however, is marked by discernment and an unwavering commitment to Christ. They know that babies will put anything in their mouths, but mature believers know what is spiritually healthy. The author of Hebrews doesn’t dismiss his readers. Instead, he lovingly rebukes them and urges them forward. He calls them to build on the foundational truths, not to abandon them, but to move beyond them into deeper spiritual understanding and obedience.

The danger for the Jewish Christians was subtle. They weren’t rejecting faith altogether; they were tempted to retreat to the “safe” common ground of Judaism. Repentance, faith, ceremonial washings—these were familiar and comfortable. But the problem was this: They were turning away from distinctive faith in Jesus and settling for religion without Christ. And that, the writer says, is a dangerous path.

This warning in Hebrews 6 is often misunderstood. It doesn’t say that if someone stumbles, they’re forever lost. The idea isn’t, “If you fall away, you can never come back.” Rather, it’s this: If you walk away from Jesus and look for salvation somewhere else, even in religion, you won’t find it. There is no salvation outside of Christ. Even in their discouragement, these believers are reminded: There is no going back. You can’t find salvation in a system that denies the sufficiency of Jesus. This is also true today. If someone has truly turned their back on Christ, their lack of desire to repent shows the real issue—not God’s unwillingness to forgive, but their unwillingness to return.

So what about us? Are we growing in maturity? Are we feeding on solid food, or are we still sipping milk? Are we building on the foundation of faith, or are we just camped out there? The call today is simple: Press on. Grow up. Move forward. Let us not settle for spiritual infancy, but become those who can disciple, teach, and lead others. Let’s be people of discernment, deeply rooted in Jesus, our only hope and the anchor of our souls.