Tuesday Evening Service 24/6/2025

Skilled In Righteousness - Part 3

Hebrews 5:12-14

Watch the Full Sermon HERE.

Well it’s been four weeks since we last met on the Tuesday night. Where unlike most Tuesdays, instead of walking through a puritan teaching, we have been working through a small but important section of scripture from the epistle to the Hebrews.

I have entitled these teachings ‘Skilled In Righteousness’. The scripture verses are Hebrews 5:12-14

The context is that the writer of Hebrews is challenging and rebuking predominantly, the converted Jews, who have become lazy in their devotion, and stopped maturing.

The reason we as an eldership wanted to teach this, is not to rebuke, but to give some insight into why we want to do what we will be on Sunday nights, or maybe Tuesday nights, come August - where we feel it is important to bring a series of teachings on the fundamentals of faith: some history, some understanding of doctrines, and maybe even a basic workshop-type lesson on biblical Greek. Basically a sort of in-house seminary. That will be a tool and a help in your walk, towards maturity and being skilled in righteousness.

Yes, we have been imputed the righteousness of Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:21

For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

However, we have to put in the effort, in order to continue to walk in that.

Ephesians 4:1-3

I, therefore, the prisoner of the lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Paul uses that word a lot in his writing:

“I beseech you.”

παρακαλέω - părăkăléō

It means to summon, to call someone aside, to implore.

It’s a call to action. To become skilled in righteousness, is a work, it requires action.

The Jews, stopped putting in the work so they stopped maturing, in fact they didn’t just stop they went back the way.

Before I read the scripture, and maybe bring us up to speed with the previous two teachings and verses on this, let me read our puritan prayer. I read this at the first sermon on this series - but its title and topic is so fitting for tonight also and is from  the ‘Valley of Vision’ page 254 (139 in the paperback version), and is called: ‘To Be Fit For God’.

THOU MAKER AND SUSTAINER OF ALL THINGS, Day and night are thine, heaven and earth declare thy glory; But I, a creature of thy power and bounty, have sinned against thee by resisting the dictates of conscience, the demands of thy law, the calls of thy gospel; yet I live under the dispensation of a given hope. Deliver me from worldly dispositions, for I am born from above and bound for glory. May I view and long after holiness as the beauty and dignity of the soul. Let me never slumber, never lose my assurance, never fail to wear armour when passing through enemy land. Fit me for every scene and circumstance; Stay my mind upon thee and turn my trials to blessings, that they may draw out my gratitude and praise as I see their design and effects. Render my obedience to thy will holy, natural, and delightful. Rectify all my principles by clear, consistent, and influential views of divine truth. Let me never undervalue or neglect any part of thy revealed will. May I duly regard the doctrine and practice of the gospel, prizing its commands as well as its promises. Sanctify me in every relation, office, transaction and condition of life, that if I prosper I may not be unduly exalted, if I suffer I may not be over-sorrowful. Balance my mind in all varying circumstances and help me to cultivate a disposition that renders every duty a spiritual privilege. Thus may I be content, be a glory to thee and an example to others.

Okay…

Hebrews 5:12-14

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.

We went through the first two verses, tonight we will conclude with unpacking the last verse. Let me, as I said, just share a few things on the first two to remind us of them.

Verse 12

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.

Although these Jewish coverts should have been teaching others by now, being examples by now, they themselves are the ones who are having to be taught the very basics.

A.W. Pink says:

The Hebrews were too lazy to make any effort to improvement.

Nothing wrong with having to learn the basics, however, if you never move on from them, then that is a real issue - never maturing, never growing, never really learning; in other words never becoming ‘skilled in righteousness’.

Righteousness is to be in a state of mind and heart that is acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.

δικαιοσύνη - dik-eye-o -soona- ah

• To be in a condition that is approved by God, and because its approved by God, we walk in the ways of God.

We must always be looking for improvement, and working towards improvement.

One the great lessons in my life, and I know that we as an eldership, and I also know some of my closet brothers and sisters, exercise this principle. And it’s that of learning and being honest, and looking for ‘the kernel of truth within every lesson’.

Often we miss the lessons and the opportunity to mature because we won’t, or can’t, or refuse to look at the kernel of truth in everything.

Things happen throughout our Christian walk, often things that are even unfair, or heavily weighed in our innocence - not all, as some are just down to us. Regardless, I believe there are amazing lessons and opportunities to mature when we ‘look for the kernel of truth’ -even if it’s only a small part; a tiny part.

To mature to learn to be skilled, we must look at ourselves intently and ask: what could I have done that would have been more Christlike on my part? Where was I less than Christlike?

The immature, the way that never matures us, is that we only look to others’ unrighteousness. Now, I’m not saying we can change situations, or others’ choices, but in order to become more like Christ, we have to always be willing to look at our own stock. Sometimes in the greatest unmerited attacks, is a kernel of truth.

Anyway, that is me getting ahead of myself and taking us into the final verse. Back to the first verse for a moment.

Note, as I’ve said previously, that the writer writes: ‘you have come to need, milk, and not solid food.’

We don’t come to need milk, we do need milk, but in this metaphor of spiritual food, we don’t mature onto milk. In order for us to ‘come to need’ tells us that they have stopped not only maturing but they are regressing.

Again I quote A.W. Pink on this:

Spiritual slothfulness not only prevents practical progress in a Christians life, but it produces retrogression.

Meaning it actually reverses and takes you back to a worse state.

You end up with no appetite for truth, no appetite for correction, no appetite for anything other than that which requires little effort, in effect, you only have a desire for that which feeds your carnal lusts. And if you by that had to add the very last few words into this behaviour, you would certainly as a result not be able to discern the good from the evil.

Have you noticed how blind those who don’t work at their faith are? Have you noticed how they can’t spot the difference between what is good for them and not?

Isn’t it one of those things that can frustrate us when we see immature, blind Christians making the most crazy decisions? And when you tell them, they are often like: “it’s no big deal, I wasn’t actually doing anything”.

While the more mature see the absolute insanity and utter danger in the actions they are so nonchalant about.

Listen, if you don’t mature and become skilled in righteousness, you will never know what is good and what is not, because your flesh will be all that calls the shots, and it will say it’s good.

Just as Satan said to Eve: its good, have a taste. you won’t die, you will become like God. It will fulfil you.

Eve was unskilled in righteousness. Why? She did what didn’t please God – that which pleased her carnality. She was unable to discern the good from the evil.

The writer writes in the next verse:

Verse 13

For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

John Brown on the immature Jews wrote:

They had by their indolent (laziness) neglect of the proper nourishment of the mind, that it spoiled their spiritual appetite and power of digestion, bringing them back as it were to a state of second childhood.

He added to the point:

They could digest nothing else. That person is one who is unskilful in righteousness.

A lack of diligence, a lack of labouring, a lack of proper spiritual nourishment, and eventually you will have only an appetite for the flesh, the carnal, for baby food.

Like most of the teaching we hear today in church, with entertaining illustrations, and set designs that only appeal to the immature, often its geared towards the unbelievers, its ‘seeker sensitive’ – yes, well I will tell you what happens in constant immature seeker sensitive services: those who should be teachers, become undernourished, to the point they only have an appetite for milk.

We will close with verse 13 and next time share more on that along with verse 14.

John MacArthur on verse 13 says:

A spiritual infant is not accustomed to the deeper truths.

He adds:

The spiritual system, like the physical, has to grow in order to handle that which is more difficult.

And again here lies a great challenge, without maturing, you will develop no skills to overcome, no strength to withstand the temptations, and no wisdom to tell the difference between truth and lies, nor good or evil. You are unskilled in righteousness.

Okay, final verse as we draw these teaching to a close:

Hebrews 5:14

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.

The writer continues with the metaphorical analogy of food.

“solid food belongs to those who are of full age”

Solid food is the diet of those who are mature. Those who are skilled in righteousness, have no appetite for easy soaping, for childish sermons, for entertainment. In fact they balk at it, they vomit it up, it turns their stomach. Because they desire to please God, who tests their heart, and not man.

Paul in his writing to the church in Galatia, who were starting to be taken in by false teachers, Judaizers who were distorting the gospel, writes this to them:

Galatians 1:6-10

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. but even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. for do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Note Paul, writes: “turning so soon” - so easily taken in, unskilled, not knowing good from evil. Unable to discern that which is good , and that which is Godly.

Note what the writer of Hebrews says about the mature, the skilled, in verse 15 of Hebrews 5 again:

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.

I love how its written in the legacy standard bible (LSB),

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice, have their senses trained.

The Greek word is closer to ‘exercised’ than practiced.

‘gymnadzo’ - where we get gymnasium from.

Over the years I’ve heard a lot of talk about discernment. The gift of discernment - and it’s a gift as far as it’s a blessing. However, it’s not a supernatural gift that is bestowed upon some and not others, as if it’s some special anointing.

Discernment:

διάκρισις - de- ak-ri-sis - to distinguish, to judge.

To know and distinguish good from evil, to know what’s of God and not; to know truth and lies requires not a heavenly gift but hard work.

That hard work comes from feasting on solid food, it comes from hearing truth, and capturing every thought.

Again I refer to Sunday and Corinthians, it’s not that they didn’t know, it’s that they stopped going to the spiritual gym. They stopped listening and applying the Word.

How dull and unaware are immature believers’ senses at times? They are immune it seems to prompts or warning signs. Mostly due to a lack of truthful, solid spiritual exercise.

Yet are skilled in ‘milk activity’. By that I mean: blame, excuses, justification.

They don’t discern truth because they are in the baby gym, and as result they inevitably, as John brown puts it:

Have become very inept to receive spiritual instruction.

And as a result, are so easily enticed by the lures of Satan, because they lack decrement.

Brothers and sisters, we must continue to exercise our senses, and we do so by continually developing an appetite for God’s Word and the truths that lie within.

We as an eldership are called to help you attain that, and teach in a way, and correct in a way, and instruct in a way - that the man of God may be complete and lack nothing.

That we will not be easily snared, or tempted, but by sound reason become skilled in righteousness, and as result live a life worthy of our calling .

Amen.