The last thing we looked at found the author of this sermon telling us that solid food is for the mature and that by constant use, that is, putting God’s word into
practice…constant practice is what will give us the discernment to know good from evil, to know what pleases the Lord and what does not.
Remember, he was scolding his congregation saying that they have had so many benefits of Christian teaching that they should be those who are mature and helping others
understand, but what should be true of them…was not…they are still childish.
We pick up the thought in chapter 6:
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. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.
8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
Over the years I have marveled at what an incredible teacher my wife is. She has taught kindergarten for…well…too many years to count and she is a master of her craft,
as many of you who have had children in her class know. What I have not admitted out loud is that sometimes I listen to what they are learning, what these 5-6 years know and I am embarrassed because I don’t know it! All kinds of wonders about God’s creation
that I nod my head at as if to say, “Well, of course.”
For example, I was given a fascinating book in which I learned about the Bombardier Beetle. This beetle when attacked emits a spray which explodes from its body at
212 degrees fahrenheit. It comes out of twin rear nozzles which can be rotated like a machine gun turret. There is a pop and then a cloud of vapor that looks like smoke from a miniature cannon.
I thought that was something kindergarteners would love so I went to tell Dana about it. Oh, but they already knew that…they had already been taught that and yes,
they think it is both fascinating and funny. Explosions from a bug’s bum…come on, any five-year-old would think that is funny.
All that being the case, if you were getting your Masters degree and got stuck working on a paper and started singing the ABC song that you learned when you are five…well…we
might be a bit concerned for you. There are things that are elementary, things that we begin with in any venture that soon are to become second nature so that we might move on to deeper issues…that we might be mature.
The author mentions that we should be moving on from those elementary things. He isn’t saying they are unimportant, just the opposite, they are vitally important,
but they are the beginning…not the end…not even the middle.
I realize the second part of this text is one of the most debated, argued and even divisive passages in the New Testament, but before we get there, I have some
questions about these basic, elementary things that we are to have learned and moved on from;
Repentance from dead works
Faith toward God
Instructions about, (literally), baptisms
Laying on of hands
And the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment
My reticence to move past these elementary things, these doctrines, teachings that we are supposed to know so well, so that we can move on to deeper Christian issues…is
that I am not at all convinced that the church in our era in fact, understands them. Perhaps we are the ones the preacher is speaking about, when he says we still need milk…perhaps.
Repentance…we speak often about repentance. Here there is added, “…from dead works.” The point is that repentance is not about words…we often think that because
we have confessed our sins that we have repented, but that is not necessarily true.
Repentance is about a change in behavior. A change from dead works, a life filled with behavior that leads to death, sinful actions and reactions…to behaviors that
lead to life. New liturgies, new habits, the cultivation of Christian virtue that is the ongoing fruit of an ongoing repentance.
This is not works righteousness or legalism as the immature will shout…this is Christian living…true Christian living. So, do you think the church today understands
repentance from dead works? Do we understand it?
Faith…and of course there must be an object, faith toward God. Pretty basic. But isn’t it true that most of our problems are because we do not exercise
faith? We live in fear because we don’t trust God? The author is going to deal with this issue of faith in great detail in chapter 11 and we will dive more deeply into it there. But let’s admit that being faith-full…faith-filled…is not something to run past
too quickly.
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, I have barely begun to scratch the surface of life lived faithfully before You. Give me a sight of what is unseen so as to cause me to understand
the life of faith and to embrace it joyfully.. And please Lord, keep me from apathy and just going through the motions! Give me a holy zeal that embraces the life of love, the life of my King and Savior, in Jesus name, Amen.
Song: We are One in the Spirit
