The book of Hebrews demonstrates that Jesus is the greatest of God’s messengers. He is greater than the angels. He is greater than Moses. He is our High Priest who has offered the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. By means of His sacrifice, our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is restored. Through Christ we have the promise of entering eternal rest. If all this is true, then why would some of the followers of Christ turn away from Him and go back to what they had known before? There are many reasons. One of them is carelessness – we don’t put forth the effort to grow and advance in our knowledge and understanding of our faith. In chapter 5, verses 11 through 14, the writer of Hebrews says, “About him we have many words to say, and hard to interpret, seeing you have become dull of hearing. For although by this time you should be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is not experienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. But solid food is for those who
are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.”
When a child is first born, it requires milk. However, as it grows, if a child never makes the transition from milk to other food it will become sickly and die. In the same way, a follower of Christ must grow in his faith if he is to remain healthy, spiritually. In the beginning, he will need to learn the basic teachings about Christ and salvation. In a short time, however, every follower of Christ should advance to the point where he is capable of telling others about his faith. As the Apostle Peter writes, “…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV) Unfortunately, many people remain incapable of doing this even through they claim to have followed Christ for many years.
The writer of Hebrews points out that one consequence of not advancing beyond the basic teachings of Christianity is that it soon becomes necessary to learn even the basics again. If we are not advancing in our faith and in our knowledge of Christ, we will forget even the things we know. Jesus taught His disciples this principle, “…The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Matthew 13:11-12 NIV)
Another consequence of remaining a spiritual infant is that we will not be acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. Infants and small children must be taught proper behavior. They must learn how to conduct themselves in society. They same is true for a new follower of Christ. The character of Christ is not yet formed in him. He will not live a righteous life because he does not yet know what righteousness is. However, over time, he should progress until his life reflects the character and nature of Christ.
Still another consequence of remaining spiritual infants is that we do not learn to distinguish good from evil. We do not know how to avoid evil because we do not recognize evil for what it is. Similarly, we do not know how to recognize what is good and pleasing to God. To learn to distinguish good from evil takes effort and practice. We must train our minds. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2 NIV)
What are the elementary teachings we must know before we can progress in maturity? In chapter 6, verses 1 through 3 the writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection – not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. This will we do, if God permits.”
The writer lists 6 elementary or foundational teachings. When he says “leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ” he does not mean that we should abandon them, but that we should build on them or advance from them. The 6 teachings are:
1) Repentance. Repentance literally means “to change one’s mind.” We must learn to have a different view of those things which separate us from God, that is, cause spiritual death. We must learn to shun them.
2) Faith toward God. This is not merely an acknowledgment that He exists, but confidence in His character and His ability to fulfill what He has promised. As it says in a later chapter, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)
3) Teaching of baptisms. The Apostle Paul writes, “…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4 NIV)
4) The laying on of hands. This speaks to our being set apart by God for service.
5) The resurrection. The Apostle Paul writes, “…if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:16-19 NIV)
6) Eternal judgment. The Bible says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV)
Each of us needs to ask ourselves what we believe about these 6 foundational teachings. Do we still have struggles or doubts in these areas, or are we ready to move on to maturity?