Near to the Heart of God:
A Study of the Book of Hebrews
Lesson 12
Hebrews 5:11- 6:3
Melchizedek and Maturity
I. Introduction
A. Two lines of thought have converged
thus far in the Book of Hebrews.
1. The supremacy of Christ
a. God’s final word (1:1-4)
b. Vastly superior to angels (1:4-14)
c. Greater than Moses (3:1-6)
d. Greater priest than Aaron (4:14ff.)
2. The deficiency of men
a. Paradise lost (2:5-8)
b. Enslaved by fear of death (2:14-15)
c. Israel’s failure in wilderness (3:7f:10)
The sufficiency of Christ
High Priestly
Ministry:
The Incarnation
Atonement
Help in need
The deficiency of men
I. Introduction
B. Christ as the superior high priest (4:14ff.)
1. Hold fast our confession(4:14-15)
2. Draw near for help (4:16)
3. Christ has superior qualifications to
Aaronic priesthood (5:1-9).
4. Christ’s priesthood is of the order of
Melchizedek (5:6, 10).
C. Parenthetical Pause: A message of
motivation (5:11-6:20)
1. 5:11-6:3 – A cure for sluggish saints
2. 6:4-8 – Those beyond repentance
3. 6:9-12 – Convinced of better things
4. 6:13-20 – Standing on the promises
I. Introduction
D. The structure of our text
1. The author’s assessment (5:11-14)
2. The author’s approach (6:1-3)
E. The importance of our text
1. It assesses our maturity
2. It prefaces a problem passage (6:4-8)
F. My approach in this lesson
1. Answer several crucial questions
concerning our text
2.Suggest areas of contemporary
application
II. Answering the crucial questions
A. To whom is the author speaking?
1. Earlier exhortations are to believers (see
4:11-16)
2. These are Jewish / Hebrew believers.
3. Three tests
a. Hearing = dull /sluggish in hearing (vs. 11;
see 2:1-4)
b. Time = should be teachers by now, but
aren’t (vs. 12a)
c. Diet = milk, not meat (vss. 12b-14; see
also 1 Cor. 3:1-3; 1 Peter 2:1-3)
4. The author’s follow-up in 6:9-12 (note
repetition of “sluggish” in 6:12)
II. Answering the crucial questions
B. What is the malady of these believers?
1. Note: This is the first clear indication of the
problem of these Hebrew recipients.
2. They need Milk
a. According to Peter this is good (2:1-3).
b. According to Paul it is not (1 Cor. 3:1-3).
c. According to our author it is not (5:11-6:3)
1) An indication of poor health
2) Can’t get past the Old Testament
3) Due to ignorance of “the message of
righteousness” (vs. 13)
4) The desire for / need of beginning
elements of God’s utterances (5:12)
5) A need for ABC’s about Christ (6:1)
II. Answering the crucial questions
B. What is the malady of these believers?
3. What must be left behind (6:1-3)?
a. The elementary instructions about Christ
b. The foundation that was laid
1) Repentance from dead works / faith
in God
2) Baptisms (washings) / laying on of
hands
3) Resurrection / eternal judgment
c. We must progress beyond these to gain
maturity
1) Mathematics (algebra to calculus)
2) Apollos (Acts 18:24-28)
II. Answering the crucial questions
B. What is the malady of these believers?
4. Known Jewish problems
a. In 1 & 2 Corinthians
b. In Colossians 2
c. In 1 Timothy 1:4-11; Titus 1:10-16
d. In Galatians
5. Conclusion: Many of the Hebrew believers
were lingering in the “shadows” of the Old
Testament, rather than walking in the light of
the substance of the New.
a. It did not require any dramatic change in
behavior or application or association.
b. It avoided persecution.
c. It seemed to retain a Jewish superiority
II. Answering the crucial questions
C. Why “Therefore” in 6:1, instead of
“Nevertheless”? (Why does the author press
ahead with meat, when they live on milk?”)
1. Part of the answer will come in 6:4ff.
2. Because of what the author has already
said in chapters 1 and 2.
a. God has spoken fully and finally in His
Son (1:1-4)
b. We must listen more carefully (2:1-4).
3. We should understand the shadows in
terms of the substance (see Ephesians 3).
4. People are not challenged to grow by
“lowering the bar.”
5. Melchizedek is the meat they need to grow.
III. Conclusion and Application
A. The test of true maturity: not just what we
know, but what we do with what we know.
(This is also true of judgment – Luke 12:44-48)
B. How mature am I, according to God’s
standard?
C. What needs to change?
1. Realize that we need maturity
2. Teaching should have more meat.
3. Maturity means growing less dependent on
teachers, and being able to teach.
4. Beware of the “safe zone.” Maturity means
greater discernment, and the courage to be
different.
III. Conclusion and Application
D. Application for Jewish believers
1. Pressing Gentile believers into Jewish
mold
2. Living in the past, as though it is better
3. Failure to see the New Covenant as better
4. The temptation to go “back to Egypt”
5. The example of Matthew’s Gospel
E. Application for Gentile believers
1. The gospel means dramatic change (for
example, the Book of Ephesians)
2. Do we mix patriotism with piety, glorify the
past, and strive to go back?
3. Don’t confuse culture with Christianity.
4. Watch out in the coming election.