Scripture
1So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Hebrews 6:1-3
Observation
The author of Hebrews is about to delve into some “adult lessons” on how a person can become so apostate in their refusal to repent that they are effectively “re-crucifying” Christ with their rejection of the faith. Before he gets there he lists some “ABC’s” of the faith that every mature believer should already have down. In other words, the author wants to move beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic to deeper things of the faith. You have to learn that 1 + 1 = 2 before you can solve algebraic equations. The problem is that when these Hebrews 6, six foundational teachings and practices of our Christian faith are listed, I can’t help but wonder if we don’t all need to go back to school. According to this passage each of these should not only be something we practice but truths we can actually teach others.
Repentance from dead works- Rom. 3:23, 6:21, Eph. 2:2-3, 1 Jn. 3:4, Heb. 9:9, 14, Mt. 3:8, Acts 11:18
Faith toward God- Rom. 4:17-21, Heb. 11, Acts 27:22-25, 20:21, Jn. 20:29, Mk. 1:15, Gal. 2:16
Baptism- Rom. 6, Matt. 3:11, 4:4, 5:18-20, 2 Cor. 5:21, Acts 2:38
Laying on of hands- Mt. 19:13, Acts 13:2-3, Acts 8:17, 19:6, 1 Tim. 4:14, 5:22, 2 Tim 1:6, Lk. 4:40, Jms. 5:14
Resurrection- Dan. 12:2, Jn. 28-29, Acts 24:15, 1 Cor. 15, Rev. 20:6-12, 19:11-21, 1 Thess. 4:14-17, Zech. 14:4
Eternal Judgement- 1 Pet. 4:17, Mt. 16:27, Rev. 20, Ecc. 12:14, Mt. 25:31-46, 2 Cor. 5:10, 1 Cor. 3:15
Just as an example. How many of us are aware of the multiple teachings in scripture for laying on of hands during prayer: As a blessing (Mt. 19:13), for healing (Jms. 5;14Lk. 4:40,Mk. 7:32), for commissioning into service (Acts 13:3), for Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17, 19:6), for sending out on a mission (Acts 13:3), in ordination (1 Tim. 4:14, 5:22, 2 Tim. 1:6). This is just one of the six basics believers should be practicing and passing on to others.
Application
When Barna Research released its trends of Biblical Engagement in 2019 it became clear that we needed to go back to school. Two findings, in particular, were discouraging: “The first is that Bible Centered adults have decreased from 9 percent to 5 percent in the past year. The other trend is that more than one-third of adults (35%) report never using the Bible in 2019, a 10 percentage point increase since 2011 (25%).” To make things more concerning recent data collected during the Covid-19 quarantine has revealed that not only has engagement with Scripture dropped but so has any engagement with the Church in general: “One in three practicing Christians has stopped attending Church during Covid-19. Half of practicing Christian Millennials are not viewing services online.” I share all of this because we need to go back to school by going back to God’s Word and staying consistent in our engagement and involvement with the local church- whether online or in-person. The only we way are going to move from surviving to thriving during this worldwide Pandemic is by staying consistent with the basics of our faith.
Prayer
Lord, these are challenging times and receive the challenge of Your Word this morning to stay in Your Word. Your command in Hebrews 10:25 has never been more important then it is right now: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Bring to our minds those we need to reach out to that we have stopped seeing or hearing from that may be disconnected during this time of isolation. Help us to stay strong in the basics so we can grow deeper in the shallow areas of our faith.
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