0731 BACK TO BASICS

JULY 31 = HEBREWS 6

BACK TO BASICS

At the end of chapter 5, the author concluded the subject of Jesus as our great high priest by saying it is hard to understand. But the fault is not in the truth, nor in its teaching, but in the inconsistent hearts of the hearers.

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

How does a believer in Jesus come to remain immature, unable to understand the more profound teachings about Christ? The author says that for this book’s readers, they seem to “no longer try to understand.” Have you ever been there, in school or otherwise? You are being instructed in some area, but you really think that you know all you need to know, or at least all you want to know, about it. So you mentally simply stopped listening, and therefore stopped learning. So what you heard is “Jesus is (blah blah blah).”

This, the author says, is the equivalent of drinking only milk like a baby instead of solid food. Solid food is for the mature, who the author says, “through constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” So it seems to be moral and ethical matters, and not just nuances of doctrine and belief, that is the mark of spiritual maturity. 

And I agree with that assessment for my own life. When I “drift” spiritually, without giving focused attention to reading and meditating on Scripture, and then my personal habits are not guided by the Spirit training me in righteousness, then I sort of wake up some months later, thinking, “What just happened to me? How did I somehow “forget” to pray? Or focus on my inner moral life? One bad habit at a time, is the answer. The path of least resistance is the path of immaturity, you know. I ought to be a teacher by now, teaching my own children, teaching neighbors and those I come in contact with. But I am teaching no one because I am adrift.

And that’s when the writer reviews topics that they call “elementary teachings.” Hmmm. I wonder if I have a good grasp of these teachings myself?

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.”

These are “elementary teachings!” So far from Master’s level work, it is still second grade level. And yet, in American Christian culture, several of these are simply not a part of our cultural vocabulary within the church, so we only imagine that we know what that topic says. Let’s see what those six basic topics are:

Repentance from acts that lead to death. … We know about this, at least with regard to our original conversion experience. As for me, I was just 12 years old when I responded to the Gospel and to making Jesus the Lord of my life. I knew I needed to turn over a new leaf and get a fresh start, but I did not fully appreciate the radical changes that were implied. I needed to clean up my vocabulary. To change friends. Stop doing vandalism and subscribing to certain magazines. Treat people differently behind their backs. All of these and more were “acts that lead to death.” Jesus is either Lord of all of our lives, or he is not lord at all. Lord means master, and that means we say Yes when he tells us to jump.

Faith in God … This is also pretty foundational, wouldn’t you say? It is the kind of basic faith that we should have built in those early years. But faith takes on some much more mature roles when we are praying for the needy, or wondering about finances or healing, or turning prayers into a kind of “group worries list,” rather than a source of our requests. Faith trusts that God is there and interested, even when evidence does not confirm it. Faith acts based on belief rather than using simple logic or selfish ambitions.

Instruction about cleansing rites  … The Jewish readers would understand this better than most of us would. You wash your hands before eating, and you make sure you have no contact with blood or with death. You empty your house of leaven each year, and you devote children and animals to be acceptable to God. All of these cleansing rites actually have to do with Jesus, who fulfills it all. So knowing the background of why and how, and then learning how Jesus accomplishes our cleansing, is certainly worthy of advanced study, as well as foundational basics.

Instruction about laying on of hands. … Laying on of hands was a Jewish practice, both in the slaughter of animals by the priests, and also of the priests and others dedicated to God. The laying on of hands of elders and evangelists we have seen in recent letters of Paul. It includes prophetic declarations and charges given in the presence of witnesses. Jesus laid hands on children as he blessed them. We lay hands on those whom we heal in Jesus’ name.

The resurrection of the dead… Jews did not have a strong theology of eternal life before the time of Jesus. They slept with their fathers, and they left an inheritance in their own children and family. They believed in heaven, but not necessarily as the eternal home of the saints. Jesus changed all this as well by his own resurrection. It proves that the resurrection of the dead is possible, and provides a path for that resurrection. This single teaching may be the most life-changing doctrine a thousand years from now for each of us. How do we obtain to the resurrection of the dead?

Eternal judgment… This also is as significant as any other teaching. We all will face an eternal judgment, in which we long to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your master.” But what are the implications of eternal judgment for those who are not found to be in Christ? And what are the implications for each of us, if we are choosing to remain immature in our life in Christ? How good is good enough to not be condemned? How do we avoid it? How do we help someone else avoid it? Essential questions to know the answer to.

May you and I choose to grow in grace, and may our lives demonstrate our priorities for eternity. Amen.