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A Call To Discernment
Hebrews 5:11-14
Introduction:
A. Context of passage.
1. Context actually begins in
Hebrews 4:11.
2. Background: The audience are 2nd
generation Jewish Christians who are beginning to experience
persecution, though none have yet been injured or martyred for the
Faith. Some were, however, beginning to waver in their commitment
to the Faith and wondering if it might be wiser to return to their
Judaistic roots.
3. It is also very possible that
they had been influenced by the Judaizers.
B. The writer to the
Hebrews, thus, compares Judaism with the superiority of Jesus
Christ.
1. The writer had begun to
compare the Melchizedek Priesthood of Christ with temporary Aaronic
priesthood. When he comes to 5:11 he stops and declares that there
were many other things he would like to have taught them, but they
would not be able to understand them.
2.. Why?
a. They are
slow____learners_____. V. 11.
b. They are___milk____drinkers. V. 12-13.
c. As a result, they are
not____discerning______. V. 14
I. THE PROBLEM OF PERPETUAL
SPIRITUAL INFANCY. V. 11-13.
A. The analogy of the
infant.
1. Babes do not
possess___knowledge______. (Heb. 4:13).
2. Thus, babes are
___feeling-oriented__________rather than principle-oriented.
(I Cor. 3:1---carnal - sarkikos,meaning fleshly,
animalistic).
3. The good news is that
babes___grow________if they are fed proper diet. (I Pet.
2:2).
B. The problems of
infancy.
1. They
are__excited__and___enthusiastic____. So it is with
new converts.
2. But they are also__ignorant of
the Scriptures______.
3. They are__slow to
learn_____.
4. They are____in need of
teaching_____.
5. They are____unskilled in
application_________.
6. They are
____inexperienced________ and
easily____deceived_____.
C. Thus, infants
cannot___discern______between__right___and_wrong_______.
1. Paul's description of the problem
of spiritual infancy in Ephesians 4:14.
2. They cannot
distinguish___truth_____from___error____.
II.
____Discernment_______: a key mark of spiritual maturity.
Heb. 5:14.
A. Definition of
discernment:
1. Greek word for
distinguish/discern in 5:14 is diakrisos, diakrino which
means to separate. It is very similar in meaning to
its O.T. counterpart.
2. The idea of the word is that
through the use of____________discrimination, a person
makes_________________or___________________.
B. How discernment is developed?
Heb. 5:14.
1. Through training
in_____antithetical________thinking. V. 14.
a. Antithetical means to think in
terms of___right ______or ____wrong______.
2. From Genesis to Revelation, the
Bible speaks____antithetically_______.
a. There is only
_God's____way and the_____wrong_____way.
3. Our pop culture views truth on
a___continuum_______filled with__grey___
areas.
a. There is no antithesis;
no__standards______and____absolutes___.
b. The poles of this continuum are
spread so far apart that, for all practical purposes, a definitive
concept of right and wrong is
____impossible______.
c. All
is____relative________, and most of that is determined by
subjective human
___opinion________and____experience_______.
d. The believer is not
to____tolerate________the world, but to
____confront____ it with antithetical thinking. (Rom. 12:2;
II Cor. 10:5).
4. The basis of
discernment:
a. Hebrews 5:13 - being acquainted
with___teaching______about
_____righteousness______.
b. Hebrews 5:14 - through
____practice_________.
c. You
become____skilled________in____discerning______right
and wrong.
1) Trained -
an athletic term - Greek word gumnazo which we get the English
word
2) This implies that developing
discernment takes work.
3) We literally must get into the
spiritual gym and pump some intellectual iron. It doesn't happen by
osmosis. (II Tim. 2:15).
5. The source for teaching
discernment.
a. Back at the beginning
of the context - Hebrews 4:12.
1) The Word of God has the
ability to discern - judge the thoughts and intents of the heart -
not only our actions, but our_____motives______.
Judging in Greek is kritikos - critique
something.
b. Discernment can only
flourish in an atmosphere of____absolutes____.
Application
A. Are you a
_____discerner_______? Be honest.
B.
Are you a____learner_________?
1. Ask yourself a simple
question: How long have I been a Christian? Should
I, like the Hebrews, be farther down the road now
than I really am?
2. What has kept me from
trading in my bottle for a spiritual steak knife and
fork?
a. Laziness in spiritual
things.
b. Pride.
c. Insufficient use of the
resources of my Church.
d. Unconfessed sin in my
life.
3. Can I point to my life
and find down inside a gnawing hunger for the things
of God? If there is no hunger, am I truly a
believer?
C. What has my track
record been in discerning right from wrong, truth from
error?
1. Is the glory of God
worth my redoubling my efforts to conform my thinking and behavior
to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29; II Cor. 3:18).
2. Am I willing to commit
to this right now before Him?
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