David Bahn – Reflections

Hebrews 5:11-14

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ¹² 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. You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

We will go to great lengths to justify our own actions. We make our personal need or pleasure more important than obedience to God’s word. We justify our forays into sinful behaviors by comparing ourselves with other more obvious sin others commit. We set aside the word of God by saying it’s outdated thinking.

Recently someone who was involved in an adulterous affair, and who had abandoned family said, “The Bible was written 2000 years ago.” The implication: it no longer speaks to modern realities and situations. But the ancient battle between good and evil is precisely what is always at stake when it comes to our modern day moral conundrums. The first rebellion was when Adam and Eve determined for themselves what was good and evil. That was precisely the devil’s ploy: he told them that if they ate of the forbidden fruit they would know good and evil – just like God. They could determine for themselves whether this was good or evil.

That, however, is never a good idea. Rather we who follow Jesus are to let the meat of God’s word shape our moral assessments of what is good and what is evil. This is no easy task, for we constantly want to bend the walk of obedience toward the easier path of personal convenience, pleasure, or desire. The truth, however, is that to discern and distinguish between good and evil is a matter of practice and training. We don’t do this naturally.

God’s word speaks to the hearts, shapes the conscience, and guides along the paths of righteousness those who follow Jesus. We don’t follow that path to be saved; we follow that path because we have been redeemed, forgiven, and saved. And that is most certainly good.