Everyone Who Lives On Milk

“for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.”

This verse is set in the context of apostasy, which makes it all the more serious. The writer to the Hebrews gives six warnings to his readers (2:1–4; 3:7–14; 5:11–6:20; 10:26–39; 12:15–17; 12:25–29). These warnings are exhortations to encourage the believer to continue in his or her faith. They are not merely hypothetical warnings (imaginary) but real warnings. This means we must listen to them and respond correctly. To ignore the warnings is perilous. The danger sign at the edge of a cliff is there for a reason. If you respond to it correctly, you would save your life, but if not, you would fall and die.

This is what the warnings mean in Hebrews. They are designed to prevent destruction. Ultimately, then, the warning passages in Hebrews have to do with salvation. Those who are truly saved will persevere and heed the warnings, and those who are not, either need to be saved or cannot be saved due to apostasy. They are also about the danger of profession. Just because we say we are Christians does not make us Christians. Lip service saves no one. The real evidence, at least outwardly, is fruit—” you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16, 20).

Our verse is set in the broader context of apostasy. Apostasy means abandoning the faith—a faith previously confessed. It is turning away from the faith. The writer to the Hebrews gives us little road signs to warn us. For instance, he says in Hebrews 5:11 that his readers “have become dull of hearing.” There is lethargy to their listening. It is a spiritual lethargy. The writer also says, in the same verse, that he found it “hard to explain” what he was trying to teach them due to their dullness of hearing. The moment he tries to explain difficult truths to them, they are unable to respond as they ought. He, therefore, cannot teach them in additional truth.

The sad thing about this is that it is the same today. Many Christians cannot listen to deeper truth because they have not comprehended basic truth. This failure is largely due to laziness or lethargy. Some people struggle to get out of bed, and perhaps, ultimately, become very slovenly in personal habits and disciplines. The ability to listen is also connected to the ability to read, to write, and to speak. Since God has given his Word in writing, reading and hearing are required. Those who will not read will ultimately not listen. When they are taught deeper truths, they will complain that it is too much for them or too deep for them.

Now, the fact of the matter is that all truth, as you progress in it, requires more effort, but as you progress, it is no longer an effort to comprehend basic truth. And this is where the dividing line is. Work in spiritual matters is not easy. Spending any serious time in the Bible requires diligence. You cannot spend two hours in your Bible today, nothing more for the rest of the week, and say that you have really worked hard. Reading the Bible requires diligent work. Our troubles are that we read devotionals about or around the Bible instead of first reading the Bible.

In Hebrews 5:12, the writer states that he expected his readers to be teachers, but instead he found it necessary that they learn again the basic principles of the oracles of God. For the 1st century Christian, the oracles of God were the Old Testament Scriptures. Most 21st century Christians are quite ignorant of their Old Testaments. These basic principles of the Old Testament Scriptures are called milk. In order to know the basic oracles of God, you have to read and listen. You must read your Bible, and you must listen to the Word of God preached. Christians make the mistake of listening to too many sermons. The sermons you hear on the Lord’s Day should provide enough food to chew on throughout the week. When you give babies solid food for the first time they usually mash their food together—they don’t know how to discern between different kinds of foods. It is the same with our reading and listening. They require discernment. Not one of us expects a baby to drink milk forever. There has to come a day when that baby must take in solid food. Solid food is necessary for growth and development. It is also important to digest the right food at the right time. You start with a little meat here and there, combined with some vegetables with a little milk to wash it all down. The Bible teaches us to learn “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little” (Isa. 28:10, 13).

The writer to the Hebrews obviously expected far greater development from his readers than they were capable of. The problem and result of living on milk only, as a Christian, is that “… everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child” (Heb. 5:13). Eating deeper truth provides skill. But it is a skill in rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). The fruit of this skill is the discernment in matters of righteousness. The “word of righteousness” here is a word about the righteousness of Christ. But it is also used in the sense of practicing righteousness, as Hebrews 5:14 makes clear: “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” So feeding on milk alone means you are a child and, therefore, unskilled in the discernment of good and evil. The result of maturity, therefore, has to do with practicing righteousness.

So listening beyond the basics leads to biblical discernment. Reading beyond the basics leads to the same. But how do we go about making this progress? First, we must realize that this is a lifetime goal. It is not achieved in a week, or a month, or a year; but significant progress can be made within those timeframes. Second, there has to be a basic commitment to reading the Bible from start to finish at least once a year. This requires diligence and persistence. Third, there has to be deeper reading around the Bible. This applies to areas of history, geography, language, word studies, backgrounds to the books of the Bible, and so on. Fourth, there must be the learning of doctrine in some systematic form, beginning with the doctrine of Scripture and God and going on from there.

By now you will begin to realize that if you are going to be a serious Christian feeding on a diet of solid food you will pay a price. Time is necessary and you just have to make the time. We are not talking about becoming an expert or an academic professional. We are simply saying that we must begin with reading and we must probe what we read and learn. To listen to a sermon without discernment is of no value. You would be like the person that Paul warns against: “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:14). We are tossed because we do not know how to discern aright. This is what a child is like—immature.

So what will you feed yourself in the coming year? Will you make some progress or remain an infant, feeding on milk. If you read a daily devotion, will you go a little beyond that and try and, read something deeper? And if you are already reading deeper then continue. Hebrews 6:1 says that we must leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity. It will not be easy but it will be worth it. Make it your aim then, to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus.