For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV
How do we interpret the Bible? Should we learn and research the cultural and historical context of the place and time it was written? Do you respect the literary genre? Do you go to the original language and research the meaning of the words (use Biblehub its free)? Know and learn the entire context of the work, letter, or book, and do not use specific portions to justify your desires. And then ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind and to help you understand what you are reading.
When you grow out of ‘drinking milk’ and you want solid food, you must learn more skills. So questions like… are tattoos a sin? Or what about women preaching? Or what constitutes cursing in the Bible? All of these can be answered with study and research and wise interpretation. So how do we become wise and not just smart? Seek Wisdom. In the Old Testament wisdom is a pronoun. Who is considered Wisdom? The Holy Spirit. One can be extremely smart and intellectual and have zero wisdom. Academics in itself does NOT bring wisdom.
So many in western Christianity have not learned how to be a good disciple. Mainly because of the modality of system of the religious order in the main “service” of the “Church”. The western American Church Sunday service is more Roman than Christian in style and tradition. It also is set up to serve the ‘teaching’ gift over all the other gifts Jesus gave to the ekklesia (Ephesians 4:11-12). The ‘teaching’ gift has taken precedence over all other models within the ‘gathering’ of the assembly. In the American Church the Body of Christ has been highjacked to serve and exalt the ‘teaching’ gift first and foremost. Why? Control and comfort. Centralization and power is utilized fastest through a systematic formulaic teaching modality. When numbers become your measurement of ‘success’, the academic teaching system is the fastest way, and throw in the evangelist gift UNDER the teaching structure and it will fuel the growth of numbers even faster. So is there anyone really discipling … you? Are you actually discipling someone else?
Discipleship Jesus style is MUCH more relational than academic. It is life lived by example that all the disciples see on a daily basis. Questions flow freely during all manner of the work during the day between the one who is discipling and the ones they are mentoring. What were the ‘classroom’ settings that Jesus utilized where He just lectured? Who exactly was the target audience for the Sermon on the Mount? Weren’t the disciples allowed to ask Him questions? Jesus’ style was the one of a shepherd. How did the shepherds do their job in the first century Jesus was teaching? Did Jesus utilize the Pharisee’s methods of teaching with His disciples?
Who really is your Teacher? If the Holy Spirit isn’t your first answer, you’re still drinking someone else’s milk.
Grow up.