There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Hebrews 5:11-14

And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
Hebrews 6:3

• The book of Hebrews presents profound arguments for the superiority of Christ over the Old Covenant system. However, the author pauses his weighty theology with a sharp, pastoral rebuke to his readers.
• The author is essentially frustrated because he cannot teach them the deeper things they need to know… not because the material is difficult, but because the students have stopped listening and have failed to grow up. 
• The author highlights the shame and danger of being stuck in a state of arrested spiritual development.
• "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."
• The author sets a standard based on time. After any significant time in the faith, believers should be capable of teaching the fundamental doctrines of Scripture.
• The Hebrews were instead stuck needing to be re-taught the "ABCs of faith"—the elementary principles. This demonstrates a deep-seated spiritual stagnation that is willful, not accidental.
• "...and you have come to need milk and not solid food."
• Milk: Represents the basic, easy-to-digest truths of the Gospel (repentance, faith, baptism, resurrection). It is essential for new converts, but insufficient for sustained growth.
• Solid Food: Represents the deeper, complex truths of Scripture (Christology, eschatology, sanctification, typology).
• The indictment is that their time invested does not match their depth of understanding. They are mature in age (as believers) but still functioning as spiritual babies.
• The author defines immaturity by its lack of practical judgment and its inability to handle complex truth.
• Immaturity Defined by Diet
• The "babe" is "unskilled" (apeiros), meaning inexperienced or unacquainted with the practical application of the Word of God.
• The immature believer can recite the basics, but cannot apply the "word of righteousness"... the complex, ethical, and theological truths required to navigate daily life and resist false teaching.
• A spiritual baby is dependent on others for feeding and protection. They cannot feed themselves from the Word and are easily led astray by doctrines that appeal to their comfort or emotion.
• The author wants them to move from dependence to competence… to gain the skills necessary to process complex theological arguments and make wise spiritual decisions without constant supervision.
• The final verse defines the characteristics of the truly mature believer and the means by which they achieved that state.
• Maturity Defined by Diet: Maturity is achieved through consistent, practical exercise of the Word. The Greek word implies training or gymnastics. Spiritual muscles only grow when they are regularly and intentionally used.
• The result of this training is that their "senses are exercised to discern both good and evil."
• Discernment (diakrisis): This is the ability to cut through complex or ambiguous situations and rightly distinguish truth from error, wisdom from foolishness, and true righteousness from counterfeit morality.
• Discernment is the ability to take the complex truths taught in your time with RTW and apply them rightly to life's dilemmas, recognizing false teaching, resisting temptation, and making wise choices.
• The message of Hebrews 5:11-14 is a sharp, loving rebuke that demands spiritual progression. After a significant time of teaching, the call is clear: It is time to put away milk and start eating solid food.

Maturity is not automatic, but a deliberate discipline achieved only through the consistent, practical use (exercise) of the Word of God.

Are you still drinking milk, relying on simple truths and others' discernment, or are you consistently exercising your spiritual senses to digest solid food and rightly discern both good and evil?