Day by Day - Hebrews 5:12-14

Using as a base for devotions, Day by Day by Charles Swindoll.

Hebrews 5:12-14  ESV

¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

And here it is in the NIV

 ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

 I have to admit, I am so used to looking at things in context that I find myself wondering...what comes before this for him to say "for though ..."

Ah... here is verse 11 which shows why this is an issue:   

¹¹ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand.

The people the author is writing to are no longer trying to grow in their faith.  They are old enough as believers to being taking in the meat of the word but all they want to do is take in the easy stuff.   They are being encouraged to eat more meat!

This is the struggle isn't it?
To work out our salvation as God tells us to.   We mustn't be satisfied with what we have, we must continue to hunger after the truth of God's word.

What Charles has to say: He talks about how spiritual growth needs work "it's a painstaking process that God takes us through, and it includes such things as waiting, failing, losing, and being misunderstood --each one calling for extra doses of perseverance."  We need to apply what we learn into our lives.