The Bible has a poignant label for the biblically illiterate believer …

If you wake up some morning determined to waste some time in your new day, I can suggest a sure-fire way to do it.

First log into Facebook.

Next, spend your time clicking on any number of inane quizzes that populate Facebook newsfeeds, quizzes that ask things like:

“What kind of cartoon character are you?”

“Which historical figure are you?”

“What did you do in a previous life?”

“What bird are you most like?”

“What is your spirit animal?”

“What is your hippie name?”

“What kind of purrrsonality does your cat actually have?”

“Which television detective are you?”

“Which Hogwarts house do you belong in?”

… and there’s even, “What fantasy world should you live in?”

Spend enough time wasting away your days  with such nonsense and you might dull your intellect.

Speaking of dull, that’s part of how one Bible book writer labels believers who have wasted away their time in ways that have not resulted in spiritual maturing. Wanting to write intelligently and maturely to his audience, the writer of Hebrews bluntly notes:

“There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull …” Hebrews 5:11a.

Well, the writer of Hebrews certainly doesn’t pull his punches, does he?!

He doesn’t stop there. He goes on to describe what a “spiritually dull” person is like:

“… don’t seem to listen,” Hebrews 5:11b.

According to the writer, a spiritually dull person is someone who has been a believer for a “long time” (undefined) and should be able to teach other people (Heb. 5:12a) but can’t. In fact, a spiritually dull person is someone who has been a believer for a “long time” and still hasn’t grasped the basics of their faith:

“… Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word …” Hebrews 5:12a.

The writer goes on to compare the spiritually dull to spiritual infants:

“You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant …” and such an infant “… doesn’t know how to do what is right,” Hebrews 5:12b-13.

The writer seems to catch his breath as he writes, “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding …” in Hebrews 6:1a, but then continues to list things that mature believers in Christ shouldn’t have to be taught at this stage of their spiritual development:

“Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment,” Hebrews 6:1b-2.

Finally, the writer states, “And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding,” Hebrews 6:3.

How could someone who has been a believer in Christ be so spiritually dull that they can’t even articulate some of the fundamental beliefs of their faith, like the need for repentance and faith in God? The writer gives us a hint in Hebrews 5:14:

“Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

Mature Christians are believers who have given themselves to training and skill development. They haven’t wasted away their days on nonsensical Facebook quizzes, but have been delving into the Word, building their knowledge, being trained in righteousness, and building their skills to live and love like Jesus did. Such training is something the Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy about:

“Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ‘Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come,'” 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

That’s harder to do in an era of the spiritually dull, where church leaders dumb down their teaching, and actual discipling of new and young believers is woefully lacking (at best) in the church. Even though we’re commanded to teach the disciples we make (Mt. 28:19-20), and church leaders are commanded to equip believers (Eph. 4:11-12), local church after local church are still heavily populated with spiritually dull members who have not been trained and equipped with skills to any degree of spiritual maturity.

What happens when you lack training and skills in being a disciple of Jesus? You lack a proper capacity “… to recognize the difference between right and wrong,” Hebrews 5:14b.

What are we doing in the church, playing silly Facebook quizzes?

Perhaps a better “quiz” we can proffer is, “What kind of a disciple are you, a spiritually dull infant or a maturing follower of Jesus?”

A final note – it has been wildly popular in “church leader” circles to harp about how discipleship is more about relationship and less about teaching, but I think that isn’t nearly as true as some want it to be, and has been grossly abused. Yes, there’s more to discipleship than teaching, but discipleship that doesn’t significantly teach AND develop skills produces a spiritually dull believer.

That needs to change.

Does anybody really want to be thought of as “spiritually dull”?

Scotty