Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 5
The author explains why Christians need to become mature. Christians must not believe everything that people try to teach them. Many ideas that people teach are wrong and dangerous (Hebrews 13:9). So a Christian needs to know whether something is good or bad. And he cannot decide that merely by his own thoughts and opinions. Instead, he must use his knowledge of God’s word, that is, the Bible.
Hebrews 5:13 calls the Bible ‘the word of righteousness’. ‘Righteousness’ means the right way to live. It is the Bible that teaches us the right way to live (Psalm 1:1-2). But a Christian who does not know the Bible is like a baby. And the first things that he learns are like milk. They give him the strength that he needs to begin his Christian life. They show him how to start to serve God. And they help to prepare him for the time when he will become more mature as a Christian.
But those first lessons are not enough for a person’s whole life as a Christian. A mother’s milk is only suitable for a little child. As the child becomes older, he must start to eat proper food. And as a Christian develops, he must study the Bible more carefully. He needs to gain experience to know whether people’s ideas about God are good or bad.
That knowledge comes from the Bible. And it also comes by the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life.
Next part: Repentance and faith (Hebrews 6:1)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.