Is your main spiritual diet milk or solid food

​“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary 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 not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/heb.5.12-14.NASB1995

How many of you are teachers? Not in the public school, but of the word of God. Whether in a large group or one on one discipleship, we all should be ready to teach, explain, or exhort. There will be times when we feel we cannot but then there are seasons when we can’t help but to teach.

“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/2ti.4.2.NASB1995

“Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/1ti.6.18.NASB1995

But then who of you has been walking with Jesus for longer than 5 years and you are not ready to teach? You are who the writer of Hebrews is talking about when he says, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you”. By the time someone has been reading and studying their Bible for 5 years they ought to be ready to begin to be teaching the Bible to someone else. It may be something as simple as teaching Sunday school classes to elementary or middle school kids or one on one discipleship with a new convert that got saved at your church or work. 

All too often we have lacked by not modeling to you an example of discipleship. We the 10 and older crowd have not been shown how to disciple someone effectively and therefore are not able to disciple anyone. In America, we have let all the responsibility fall to the person behind the pulpit to teach, explain, and exhort the Word of God. When will we step up and begin fulfilling the other roles of the five-fold ministry that is to be found in the church of Jesus?

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/eph.4.11-12.NASB1995

And the eight service gifts of motivation

“And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/1co.12.28.NASB1995

And the nine gifts of the spirit.

“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/1co.12.7-10.NASB1995

And the seven gifts of grace.

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/rom.12.6-7.NASB1995

And the nine fruit of the spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/gal.5.22-23.NASB1995

The writer laid down a standard of who has been eating the solid food of the word of God. “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” By the time a baby is eating solid food, they are beginning to understand what is right to do by listening to their parents. The same is true about our walk with Jesus! By learning the milk of the word we begin to learn what is the dos and don’ts of the Christian life and we should be learning how to tell the difference between them. So it becomes less about the rules and more about the principles of the Will of God.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/rom.12.2.NASB1995

If you fall into the 0 to 5 crowd find a Christian who is respected in your church and ask to be shown how to live the Christian life. 

If you fall into the 6 to 120 crowd find a new believer and begin to show them how to live the Christian life.