Sunday, August 4, 2019 am
Concerning First
Principles
Hebrews 6:1-2
Today, I want to begin something new.
On the first Sunday of each month I plan to take a break from our
theme. Instead, I intend to
present some foundational lessons from God’s word designed to remind us
of our roots, and something suitable to bring someone with you to help
introduce the Lord and His church to others.
This is not saying that any lesson cannot be of benefit, but when
we are in the midst of an ongoing series or theme, when one visits, they
do not get the complete picture. (BTW, that is why whenever I see a
visitor, you will likely get a review leading up to our lesson.)
So
I want to begin introducing some first principle lessons in this monthly
slot. We will typically
discuss subject such as: What is faith?
What does it mean to be faithful? Does it really matter what we
believe? What do we need to
confess? Is repentance
important? Why should I be baptized? The importance of remaining
faithful. What happens when I obey the gospel? Why do we need to follow
God’s word and authority? The blood of Jesus and the cross?
Why should I obey the gospel? Why should I follow Jesus? What is
God’s eternal plan for me? etc.
We may also use this time to address specific verses or texts,
such as John 3:16, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 4:12, John 18:36,
etc. Or we may go through one of
the “trails” we have developed in our Bibles to help us answer questions
about various studies. We
developed these “trails” in our monthly Friday night evangelism studies
at our home (and there are more to come, perhaps some of these lessons
will lend themselves to developing such).
These lessons will be designed to spark interest in further pursuing
studies with our family, friends and acquaintances.
It will also give us an occasional break from the extensive
themes that I am devoting a year (or more) to fully develop.
So these are my plans, and as always, there may be reason I will
veer from them. But this is
something I want to try, with the hopes that it can help each us as we
seek to further the borders of God’s kingdom in this community.
If
there are other specific lessons you would like for to develop, perhaps
to help you be better prepared to answer fundamentals of our faith, talk
to me about it. As you can
see from this list, this is an extensive task that can be ongoing, if it
effective. Let me know your
thoughts.
Today, I want to begin with a portion of a text we have discussed in
times past. Hebrews 6:1-2
a.
Defined – the basics.
The foundation upon which our faith is built.
2 Peter 1:5 – we build upon our faith.
1 Corinthians 3:11 – we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
b.
NOTE: The idea of a
first principle – not always easy to understand, but fundamental in
grasping more mature concepts.
This of the basics that the coach teaches a team.
They may be difficult to master, but until you do, you are not
ready to move on to the more detailed aspects of your position and the
sport.
Think of a math teacher – there are incredibly advanced levels of math
and science that require an understanding of the basics in order to
advance. And in some cases,
they say the prerequisites are more challenging than the actual course
(because they develop the principles that you must fully grasp in order
to make application at higher levels of math or science).
c.
Thus, when we speak of
first principles, we are speaking of elementary subjects that need to be
grasped so that we understand what we are doing and why.
These are the FOUNDATION upon which we build our faith.
When you fully get these, you are ready to move on to “the meat
of the word”.
a.
The interlude
– the writer of Hebrews is seeking to challenge his audience to not quit
following Christ. The
readers were at a crossroads between remaining faithful and paying the
price, or to quit and live peaceful lives.
He has been explaining the priesthood of Jesus being of a
different order than that of the Hebrews.
Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
He wanted them to understand this, BUT it required they have an
elementary understanding of certain things.
Thus, in the midst of addressing the priesthood of Jesus, the
writer deviates from the discussion and rebukes them.
That is what Hebrews 5:11-6:20 where he gets “back on track”.
b.
The gentle rebuke –
5:12-14
i.
By this time, they ought
to have been teachers (vs. 12) – they had, had sufficient time to mature
so that they could teach the first principles to others, and move beyond
JUST understanding the basics, to a deeper understanding, which would
strengthen their faith.
ii.
Instead they needed to
be reminded again of the first principles, the milk of God’s word
(5:12-13)(used to describe the food of newborns in Christ) – we must
NEVER forget the basics, which is why from time to time we need to study
them.
iii.
But the writer says, you
must go beyond that. (5:14) You need to “mature in the faith” so that
you can digest the “solid food” of maturity.
c.
The challenge (6:1) –
therefore let us go on to perfection, leaving the discussion of
elementary principles. The writer is NOT saying to never again discuss
the elementary things, but rather you know them so well, you can EASILY
explain them and apply them.
His point is – learning the basics is not the end of the road of your
learning. In reality, it is
just the beginning.
a.
However, we still need
to “get back to the basics from time to time”.
In this text, we have some examples of “the elementary principles
of Christ” or “first principles of the oracles of God”.
The word here means, “the beginning part”.
b.
The foundation of
repentance from dead works.
Repentance is a fundamental subject – it needs to be understood
BEFORE one becomes a Christian – Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30-31, etc.
The idea of repentance is change.
Lit. it is a change of mind, that leads to a change in conduct.
We have put off the old man and his deeds – Colossians 3:9-10, Romans
6:6 – our old man was crucified with Him (and buried vs. 3-4), that the
body of sin might be done away with.
True repentance is described in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, and demonstrated
in the prodigal son (Luke 15:17-19ff, and Matthew 21:28-31 – the parable
of the two sons.
Dead works – would be the works of the ungodly (those dead in sin) –
Ephesians 2:1,5. Or maybe even
“works” that lead to spiritual death.
We must understand the importance of change in becoming Christians and
remaining faithful. This is
FUNDAMENTAL to our faith.
c.
Faith toward God – this is elementary in every way.
While our faith can and ought to mature, it is always the
foundation of our Christian lives.
2 Peter 1:5 – to it we add other qualities that can make our call
and election sure (1:9-11).
Hebrews 11:6 tells us without faith, we cannot believe in God.
It is so fundamental, that at times, it is used to describe everything
we do to become and live as Christians (e.g. “the faith” – Romans 1:5,
16-17, Colossians 2:7, 1 Timothy 1:2, etc.
Of course, this is an active faith as we have noted often (James
2:14-26, Hebrews 11).
It is faith that will provoke us to move forward and grow.
Faith will sustain us and keep us from quitting.
Faith will ensure that we trust God, even when we face
uncertainties in this life.
d.
Doctrine of baptisms
– we understand the importance of baptism.
Clearly it is fundamental to our faith and salvation.
Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 22:16, 1 Peter 3:20-21, Romans 6:3-4,
Galatians 3:27, etc.
It is crucial we understand what baptism is – immersion in water (cf.
Acts 8:36), and WHY we are baptized.
There is so much misunderstanding about this today, and it has
been so almost the beginning.
There is a challenge to this phrase in this text – it says “baptisms”
which is plural. The NASB
translates this as, “instruction about washings”.
To the Jews, to whom this letter was written, there were several
“baptisms” they were familiar with – there were “washings” associated
with Jewish and priestly rituals (Mark 7:4 – washing before they eat, as
well as various dishes, etc.; and Hebrews 9:9-10 – the priesthood
involved sacrifices, foods and “various washings”.
There was also the baptism of John vs. the baptism Jesus taught.
They had to wrestle with all of these.
Of course, where our salvation is concerned, there is only ONE
baptism (Ephesians 4:4-5), it is fundamental to our faith.
e.
Laying on of hands
– when we hear the expression, what usually comes our minds is some one
laying on hands so that they can receive spiritual gifts (Acts 8:16-19),
or some sort of miracle (Acts 28:8) that resulted in one believing.
While a challenging concept to us, to first century Christians, that
would have been fundamentally understood.
In fact, it was crucial to their teaching as they did not have
the completed word of God yet (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, Matthew 9:1-8,
etc.). It became a major
source of confirmation that God was with them and that they had the
truth. And that is
fundamental.
The phrase could also simply mean the approval or appointment of one.
Acts 6:6 – the 7 chosen to help widows – the apostles laid hands
on them; Acts 13:3 – Paul and Barnabas sent on their first journey.
Since we now have the completed word, this does not have the same
meaning to us. BUT, we can
see the need to respect the authority of God’s word and how fundamental
that is to our faith – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – they
received it as the word of God.
f.
The resurrection of the dead – how fundamental is this?
The resurrection of Jesus is what sets the Christian apart from
all other religions. In
Acts, it was the focal point of most sermons, and also the point of
reaction – both positive and negative.
All 4 gospels deal make their case for the resurrection of Jesus.
Paul defended the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10.
But THEN, he proceeded to tie it to OUR resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
Paul assured the Thessalonians that there will be a resurrection
– 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
He further clarified it in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
Why are we here? Why do we
endure what we endure? IT is
because of that hope – 1 John 3:1-3 – that hope is what causes us to
purify ourselves.
Can you see how fundamental this understanding is to our faith?
g.
Eternal judgment
– We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ – Romans
14:10-12. Hebrews 9:27 –
after death, men face judgment.
Acts 17:30-31 – Paul’s message to the Athenians – He has appointed a
day.
And that day will be for all – both the righteous and unrighteous – John
5:28-29, Matthew 25:31-46. IT is fundamental that we understand why we
are doing what we do.
As Paul told the Corinthians, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men – 2 Corinthians 5:11.
That points to the gravity of the occasion and how important it
is at the foundation of our faith.
And
thus we can see numerous “first principles” as outlined in this text.
May we learn these things well enough that we can teach them to
others as we seek to let our lights shine in this dark world.
What impact has God’s word had on you?
What do you need to change?
How can we help?
Think about it!