Young Adults Gathering
Notes
Transcript
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.
The Basics of the Faith
The Basics of the Faith
Repentance from dead works and faith towards God;
Instruction about washings and the laying on of hands;
Resurrection of the dead and eternal Judgment
all of these are seen as the bare essentials of christianity. Lets go deeper and explore these in depth core foundation doctrines
one thing were gonna look at is that all of these things share some similarity with old testament practises this
Repentance and Faith
Repentance and Faith
Repentance
Repentance
This at its core is the turning from sin and sin-full practises and trusting in God.
Repentance is the first step in becoming a christian. It is an absolute essential. This is the intentional and sincere turning from sin. Repentance allows us to enter into right relationship with God. through out scripture God has a call for us His children to turn from doing evil an pursue him :2 Kings 17, 1 Thes 1:9, Psalm 34:14. Isa 55:7, Acts 14:15 and more all call us to turn from sin and pursue God
However it is not simply a change in our actions attempting to will ourselves into favour with God it is rather an honest place of confession and recognition of our need for forgiveness and needs to be genuine.
Repentance is not easy however it enables us who are flawed imperfect people into a relationship with a perfect God.
Faith
Faith
Dictionary of Bible Themes 8021 faith, nature of
Confidence in and commitment to God and Jesus Christ. These attitudes remain sure even though the objects of faith are unseen. True faith is seen in obedient action, love and continuing good works
faith comes with Repentance. Later on in hebrews we see the most famous passages on what faith looks like and how it is enacted in peoples live
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
its is by faith repent and believe in the Gospel, it is by faith we pray, it is by faith we have been saved
Washing and laying of hands
Washing and laying of hands
Washing
Washing
Washing in the Jewish context was done for all forms of ceremonial rites, it was done as a symbolic act of purification from defilement as explained in Lev 11-17. it was a cleansing of before special acts such as sacrifices or offering also seen in Lev 16, Numbers 8 and Exodus 19, 29, 40.
while this is the context that the Hebrews people would have been familiar with the word used by the author of hebrews is, Baptimos which was the baptism that John the baptist was focused on in Mark 1 for the forgiveness then later seen in the
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
then later in regard to believers
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Baptism is the ceremonial rite of the christian faith. if you have an ESV bible you will see a foot note under washing which will state “or baptism (that is the cleansing rite)
just to ensure we are all on the same page we believe as christians that baptism is the submersion of a believer in water symbolizing the death of our old self and the resurrection that takes place in have a relation ship with God. through the holy spirit baptism links believers with the death and resurrection fo Jesus
Jesus him self participated in this providing an example for us believers.
Baptism is the initiation on into the christian faith. it is not a matter of salvation however in the new-testament there is not one example of a believer who is not baptized in water
the early church in order to be apart of christian fellowship required baptism and this remains in many christian traditions to this day
Laying of hands
Laying of hands
17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
The laying on of hands in the OT and the early NT had to do with the anointing leaders in the community and the church.
It appears to be a common practice in the new testament of laying on of hands
Resurrection of the dead and Eternal Judgment
Resurrection of the dead and Eternal Judgment
Resurrection:
Resurrection:
Jews had a hope for the resurrection of the dead so when the evangelists talked about this to the people christ became the true fulfilment of this hope
The resurrection of the dead is the centre point of the christian life. Jesus was the first person to have been raised from the dead. It affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ, marks the words and deeds of his ministry with God’s seal of approval and opens the way to the future resurrection of believers
This what we believe with our baptism that we can be raised with Christ
This doctrine is of the utmost important and I will be as bold to say if you do not believe in this resurrection you are not a Christian.
Eternal Judgment
Eternal Judgment
This is the most uncomfortable of the topics however it is something that is essential and necessary
The doctrine of eternal judgment refers to Gods ability and right to judge all people in all creation
judgement is generally associated with the idea that those who do not repent and believe in the gospel will suffer the wrath of God in the eternal state
the final judgement will take place at the end of the age when Jesus returns and judges the living and the dead.
Elementary
Elementary
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
all of the things mentioned are the elementary or essential doctrines of Jesus. they are the foundation in which our hope in christ is established on.
how do we then go from where we are now to a place of maturity.
We do not need to leave these all in the past. quiet the contrary we need to hold fast to these points knowing that they are the very basis in which we stand
if Christ is not risen
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
If there is no repentance there is no forgiveness
if there is no baptism we are not honestly claiming christ
If there is no judgment there is not justice
not laying a new foundation.
This the foundation we have
there is no need to add to it or take away we have this perfect foundation though this message
Let these change us
we do want to continue with these by asserting these as foundational truths however we want to go deeper.
Moving on to maturity we want to apply these going deeper with the foundation already laid up in christ going forward in our faith
not solely just focussing on the bare minimum of knowing the facts of God
elementary means we have just simply learned it. and know the facts
maturity means going and trusting in these realities and living in them.
14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
Conclusion
Conclusion
elementary teaching is the foundation that all things rest on. we do not want to stay there we want to grow in our faith towards to maturity.
We want to move from just the basics of milk and move to meat
we must continually strive for sanctification which is growing and coming like christ. not simply knowing about his but actively living like that
How do we do that?
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Here are some examples:
we live out repentance lives, confessing our sins to one another and to God growing in faith, realizing we cannot do it on our own. not just knowing this doctrine but moving it into practice
having faith, but also living out our faith as if it matters and it has changed us James 2:17 “17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Just knowing and having faith is just the beginning we want to live out our faith
We dont want to know what baptism is but rather we are called to be baptized!
not just knowing about the spirit but actually believing he is alive and active. and perhaps getting prayer or praying for others
realizing that Jesus has been raised to live and that you your self have also been raised. which means living our lives renewed daily
and realizing there is an eternal significance to this message that must be shared
3 And this we will do if God permits.
God will permit this and is calling us into unto relationship with him,
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.