“So 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. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.” Hebrews 6:1-3 NLT
What would happen if a college student arrived on campus for his first day of classes and found out that every class was going to be reviewing the material he learned in elementary school? What do you think his frustration level would be as he sat with the instructors and tried to get them to understand that he already knew the material, and had no need for a review? I imagine that at some point in the conversation he would get annoyed and walk out if they wouldn’t listen to him.
This is what the writer of Hebrews is trying to convey to the church. The elementary teachings of Christ are not difficult to understand. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27) Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (Acts 16:29-31) Through baptism we died to sin and were raised to life with Christ, and death no longer has dominion over us. Jesus died once and for all, for sin, and through Him the life we live, we live unto God. (Romans 6:3-11) The gift of God is stirred up with the laying on of hands. (2 Timothy 1:6) We lay hands on the sick that they would be healed. (James 5:14) It is by grace we have been saved, through faith, not by our own works. (Ephesians 2:8) Everything we need for life and godliness is in Christ Jesus. (2 Peter 1:3)
These are just a few of the elementary teachings of Christ but they are the very things that have immobilized the body of Christ from moving forward into further understanding. So much time is spent on idol discussions and arguments over the elementary teachings of Christ, that people do not have the time to spend; being taught by the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 2:23-26 teaches us that these discussions only generate strife and they should be avoided. In today’s Christianity we may not worship idols of gold and silver anymore; but many people worship idols of doctrine and standards of holiness. We have to understand that this is a direct tactic of the enemy to get our focus off seeking wisdom and understanding from God, and onto foolish debates over doctrine.
I want you to know that within you dwells the Holy Spirit who teaches you all things if you are willing to listen. His desire is to take you into a greater understanding of who you are in Christ. When you take the time to sit with Him in quiet meditation on God’s Word; He opens the eyes of your understanding so that you can understand the depths of God’s knowledge. But if your time is spent reeling over debates about the elementary teachings of Christ in your mind; there is no room for Him and He will not impose His will on you. It is our responsibility to submit our minds and will to Him, and to seek Him for the truth.
God is a gentleman and in His great love for us, He gives us the free will to decide if we are going to spend time with Him. Through Christ’s resurrection we were restored once again to the communion relationship with God, that Adam and Eve gave up in the Garden when they committed high treason. Each day God comes looking for us as He went looking for Adam and Eve. He says to us, “Where are you? I am here to spend time with you. Come and commune with Me. I have great and mighty things to teach you that will empower you in the dominion I have given you over the earth, through My Son. I want to teach you how to overcome the temptations you face and how to stand up under them until they pass. I want to teach you how to move mountains through faith. Where are you my child? Come to Me and learn from Me.”
Can you see it? Do you comprehend? God has so much more He wants to teach us, but for many of us He cannot teach us, because when He comes looking for us; we are sitting in the midst of a crowd, discussing the elementary teachings of Christ. Or we are hiding in the bushes trying to keep Him from seeing the nakedness of the sin that He already paid the price for on the Cross. Or we are dodging Him because we are afraid if He finds us He will be displeased with what He sees. All of these things are lies that the enemy wants us to believe so we do not grow and mature into teachers of the Word. The teacher, Jesus Christ is waiting for you in the classroom. Are you willing to enter in and be taught by Him? Are you ready to move forward into further understanding? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind so you are able to receive the truths Jesus Christ wants to teach you.
Prayer: Oh Lord, my desire is to be taught by You. I want to fully operate in the mind of Christ that I have been given. I want to commune with you and to walk in the dominion You have given me through Your resurrection. I no longer want to be speak, act, or reason, like a child. I want to put away childish things and become a mature adult who eats the solid food of wisdom and understanding. I believe by faith that as I do this, I will move forward into further understanding of who You are and who I am in You! Amen
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