Congratulations. You have mastered the alphabet. You know your ABCs. If you are a preschooler, then you deserve a medal of honour. But if you are my age and still gloating over the accomplishment, that’s another story.
The writer to the Hebrew believers was bursting to teach them about the Melchizedek Priesthood of the Lord Jesus, but he paused: “They won’t have a clue what I am writing about because they are even forgetting the ABCs of their Christian faith.”
The writer pivoted from the teaching on Christ being a Priest after the order of Melchizedek to focus on their deteriorating spiritual condition. First, the Christians needed a thorough assessment by both an audiologist and a nutritionist. They were failing the basic hearing tests and had reverted to baby food and breast milk again.
How did they react when the letter was read? Were they indignant? Did someone say: “The next time that teacher stops by to give us some teaching, I’ll let him know what I think. The problem’s not with us – it’s him. He’s just not a teacher!” Hopefully, they didn’t say that.
The writer to the Hebrew believers, didn’t hold back from zeroing in on what he perceived to be their spiritual competencies level.
The writer had just mentioned Melchizedek, and then he says this:
“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. 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, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” Hebrews 5:10-13
The ‘hearing’ issue may have gone undetected by an audiologist. The problem wasn’t their tympanic membranes. They had become lazy Christians who tuned out when the teaching got a little deep. They were no longer digging for themselves in the Word of God. They had shut down their mining operations despite the fact they were sitting on the rich ore deposits of Scripture. They were even forgetting the ABCs of the Bible – the first “principles of the oracles of God.” 
We’re living in a fast-food society. Drive-thrus are great, and so is the Uber Eats app and its competitors. There is too little time for building a meal from scratch. Peeling potatoes, slicing carrots, and cooking a roast takes far too much time. Why bother when you can get pre-cooked stuff, zap it in the microwave, stir and eat? And really, if you have no time even to sit down, buy one of those nourishment-for-a-day milkshake combos. Suck it up, and it’s equivalent to a meal!
I can’t spiritually grow if I’m not taking the time to dig into my Bible and not responding to and obeying the Scriptures. When have I last had three fingers inside my Bible separating the pages as I compared one verse with another somewhere else? When did I last hi-lite a verse I enjoyed? When did my fingertips last speed over a keyboard as I tried to capture the thoughts that flooded my mind as I studied my Bible?
If the only spiritual nourishment I’m getting is when I go to a local church gathering or a Bible conference or when I listen to a podcast or read someone’s blog – if I’m relying solely on bottled milk and spoon-fed food, then it’s time to conduct an in-depth spiritual progress assessment. I’ve got problems.
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ,
Peter Ramsay
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