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. Heb 5:11-14

The author rebukes the Hebrews for being dull of hearing regarding things about Jesus. They have been Christians long enough that they should be able to teach, but they need to be taught the basics. Because they are still having problems paying attention to the gospel, they are in danger of drifting away.

This is the state of most people in the US who call themselves Christians. They know just enough to understand that salvation is in Jesus. But, they don’t have enough understanding about the gospel to realize that that the gospel pertains to every aspect of their lives. It is about how to live holy lives, to overcome temptations, how to treat others, how to be more like Jesus and less like the world around them.

Why are they in this “barely saved” condition. The end of the paragraph is the reason. They have not become mature in their faith because they don’t have discernment. Discernment can only come by constant practice identifying good from evil. In other words, they have not been consistently studying their Bibles, the whole Bible, not just favorite passages or books. If they are reading, they are cherry picking the verses that tell them what they want to hear. They listen to preachers who tickle their ears with what they want to hear. They don’t check what their teachers are telling them against the Bible. If they are saved, the remain baby Christians feeding only on milk and not solid food.

Lord, help me to be consistent in my Bible study. To become mature and live a life that brings glory to you.