Everyone begins spiritually where they began physically—infancy. But where there is a new birth, growth should follow.
Hebrews 5:11-12 is written as a warning to “baby” believers not to stay in spiritual infancy but to “grow up” to spiritual maturity. These believers had heard God’s Word, but they hadn’t allowed it to change their hearts. They had hard hearts and were no longer trying to understand His Word. Like babies, they wanted biblical teachers to spoon-feed them God’s Word instead of reading and understanding it for themselves.
A Warning for Those Who Are Hard of Hearing Spiritually
“…of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.—Hebrews 5:11
Many of the ancient Hebrews were dull of hearing spiritually. Their hard hearts prevented them from growing in spiritual maturity. They started to follow Jesus and took their first steps, but they didn’t take their next steps. The author goes on to say…
“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.”—Hebrews 5:12
These verses are written to warn baby believers not to stay in spiritual infancy but to grow up to spiritual maturity.
In the same way that a baby craves their mother’s milk so they can grow physically, baby believers need mature believers to teach them how to follow Jesus and study God’s Word. This is called discipleship. When you start reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word, it should change you from the inside out. As you learn more about who God is and who you are as His child, you will start to show signs of spiritual maturity.
We all start as babies, but the goal is not to stay a baby. The goal is to grow to maturity instead of staying in infancy. For some of us, it’s time to grow up! This is what the writer is telling the ancient Hebrews.
God’s Goal for Our Spiritual Growth
God’s goal for your life is that you become like Jesus. The process of spiritual growth is called “sanctification.” Sanctification is how we grow through spiritual maturity from infancy to becoming increasingly like Christ, which is the goal of the Christian life.
Our salvation comes in 3 stages:
- Justification
- Sanctification
- Glorification
Just as it takes years for babies to mature into adult bodies, it takes time for baby believers to grow to spiritual maturity. When you confess Jesus as your Savior, and you’re delivered from the penalty of sin, the Bible calls that “justification.” You are justified in God’s eyes and it’s just as if you’ve never sinned. But that’s not the end; it’s just the beginning!
Through sanctification, God wants you to grow spiritually to become like Him. Sanctification is an ongoing process and stage we will be in until we reach heaven, where the final stage, glorification, happens.
3 Marks of Spiritual Maturity
If God’s desire is for you to become like Jesus, how can you identify marks of spiritual maturity in your life? In Hebrews 5:11-6:3, the author gives us 3 characteristics that mark a believer who is growing in their faith.
- A humble heart.
For many of us, our hearts are shaped by the world around us rather than the Word in us. The ancient Hebrews struggled with this, and the author addresses this issue in Hebrews 5:11.
The Hebrews’ problem was that they had hard hearts. They were prideful and unwilling to learn. You cannot grow spiritually without a heart of humility. You can hear God’s Word and gain knowledge about Him, but your heart will stay hard until you start listening with your heart, too.
Spiritual maturity is never about your intellect. It’s about your heart, and that is what God is trying to communicate to the ancient Hebrews through this letter. Is your heart open to receiving what God wants to teach you?
2. An obedient heart. (Hebrews 5:12-14)
Christianity is not built on a list. It’s built on God’s love and grace. If you have a humble heart, you will live obediently.
As a follower of Jesus, your goal isn’t simply to know God. It’s also to be obedient to Him and take your next steps of faith. The mark of maturity spiritually is when you’re willing to live obediently even when it’s costly.
Your obedience to God should come from a heart of love toward Him. Obedience is not easy, and it is costly. It requires denying your flesh and taking up your cross (Luke 9:23). But you will never be more gratified than when God is greatly glorified in your life.
3. A heart focused on eternity.
Jesus set the example for how we should live as we mature spiritually. He selflessly served the people around Him, and His actions were always consistent with His words. He lived with an eternal perspective because He knew there was more to life than what this world offers.
We need to live out the Word of God, not simply study it. Spiritual maturity is not reflected in knowing much theology. It’s in living for the things of eternity and asking God to give you an eternal perspective as you go about your life.
Reflection
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you reflect on the marks of spiritual maturity:
- Are you living in obedience to what Jesus is telling you to do?
- Who are you discipling spiritually?
- Who is discipling you?
- How often do your conversations lead to discussing what God has done in your life?
- Do your words, thoughts, and actions show that Jesus has changed you?
- Are you seeking opportunities to share the gospel with those around you?
These questions will give you a metric to measure your spiritual maturity. If you want to mature spiritually, you must have a humble and obedient heart that is focused on eternity. When you foster those characteristics, you can be confident that God will continue to grow you and complete the work He started in you (Philippians 1:6).
Do you want a free resource that guides you through the book of Hebrews and helps you pursue spiritual maturity? Get a copy of our FREE Book of Hebrews Bible Study here!