Jesus is Greater than Our Immaturity

October 22nd, 2026
by Gary Cheaney

Milk Is a Starting Point, Not a Destination

SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 5:13-14 CSB - Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature -- for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

OBSERVATION:
All of us have areas where we need to mature—none of us have fully arrived. If we think we have, we've revealed our need for further maturity.

The author of Hebrews 5 addresses a particular kind of immaturity: the believer who never grows beyond spiritual infancy. They remain stuck on “milk,” never maturing enough to handle the “meat” of God’s Word—let alone to distinguish between good and evil.

Not moral good and evil, but wholesome and corrupt doctrine. The implication is that the readers’ condition is such as to prevent them from making this distinction. - Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament

This lack of discernment is a symptom of spiritual immaturity.

In the ancient Greek, the sense of this phrase is for he has become a babe (Newell). There is nothing more delightful than a true babe in Jesus. But there is nothing more irritating and depressing than someone who should be mature but who has become a babe.

The warning is clear: we must guard against stagnation or regression in our faith.

So how do we grow? By continually learning, studying, and applying the Word of God. That’s how we move from milk to meat—developing the ability to discern truth from error and good from evil.

APPLICATION:
As we study God’s Word, we begin to take in solid food—sharpening our spiritual senses.

We may sharpen our senses by use. When I was in the tea-trade, my sense of touch and taste and smell became acute to discern quite minute differences. We need a similar acuteness in discerning good and evil. – F.B. Meyer

Do you want to discern truth from deception? Good from evil? Then immerse yourself in God’s Word daily. Just as we need physical nourishment to grow from infancy to adulthood, we need a steady diet of spiritual nourishment to grow in Christ.

PRAYER:
Jesus, in the places where I am still immature, may Your Word grow me to maturity.
Help me never to revert to spiritual infancy. Let me cherish the foundational truths I first learned, but not remain there—help me build on them. Thank You that You are greater than my immaturity. Through Your Word, I can grow into a mature, loving example of You—something the world around me desperately needs to see.

Spiritual maturity doesn't happen automatically with time — it comes from a daily, disciplined diet of God's Word that trains your senses to tell the difference between truth and deception.

Posted in 19 - Hebrews