Bible Illiteracy Among Believers - Hebrews 5:12-14

Before doing this study, please read the one-minute introduction Are You a Bottle-Fed or Meat-Eating Christian?  It explains that the modern church has a serious problem in regard to growing up in the Lord. Instead of craving maturity - the "meat" of the gospel, most Christians are content to feed on the basics - the "milk" of the gospel. 

All three passages below talk about this concept of milk and solid food. It's a fitting analogy because babies start on milk and progress to more and more solid food. At first, they must be fed by others, but eventually they learn to feed themselves. 

1. This first passage is the positive aspect of the "milk" of the Gospel.

1 Peter 2:2-3: Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

It's essential for new Christians to start with basic truths.


2. The passage below explains some signs of immaturity among Christians.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4: Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 

The quarreling and jealousy seems centered on favorite teachers, a sign that Christians are depending on the knowledge of others more than their own knowledge. "Worldliness" - thinking and acting like the unsaved world - is a sign that a Christian has not moved beyond the basics.

3. Part of "worldliness" is ignorance of right and wrong, good and evil.

Hebrews 5:11-14: We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. 

We don't become mature overnight anymore than a milk-fed baby goes from milk to steak in one day. We must consistently add wisdom to our diet, growing in our knowledge and seeking a deepening understanding of our faith. 

(1) Bible Illiteracy;    Other resource:  Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy
copyright 2016, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, edited and updated in 2024