FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE FIRST
PRINCIPLES - XV
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles
of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward IAUE,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and
of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal
judgment.
THIS WE
WILL DO…IF
Last week, we ended with this comment:
We do
not have the luxury of living for ourselves any more. The original sin was the rejection of IAUE’s
right to rule; and that is the heritage of all who are IN ADAM. Our restoration is in our acquiescing to
Messiah’s right to rule. How are we any
different than those who are IN ADAM if our lives still reflect the same
choice…that we have the right to rule our own lives and not obey the will of
our Master? Those who would be genuine
disciples of the Master, Yahushua Messiah, must understand the revelation of
the Messiah in this first principle of eternal judgment. He died that we might
be dead in him and made alive in a new bloodline…one that is not condemned
already; but rather, one that has been judged and found righteous.
Now
that we have discussed all six of the “first principles” of the teaching about
Messiah Yahushua, we need to revisit WHY these principles are important, and
what comes next.
Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have
need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of IAUE;
and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
The setting for Hebrews 6:1-2, the first principles, is a statement from the writer of this letter
to the Hebrews that his readers need a spiritual diet of “milk” because they have not continued to mature as
they ought. When, by this time in their walk in the Spirit, they should be teaching
others, they have become in need of baby food, themselves.
Hebrews 5:13 For every one that uses
milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
It is not a positive thing to be a babe in Messiah unless
one is a newborn in Messiah. In the same way a newborn child survives on milk
in the early stage of its life and eventually is weaned from milk to eating
solid foods, so too should the believer become weaned from milk to a more solid
diet in Messiah. Every one that still “uses” (“metecho” – partakes of) milk when it is no
longer necessary has regressed to a condition that is unnatural, undesirable,
and even worse, not useful. They become
a liability to the Body rather than an asset.
The deficiency the writer identified as their root
problem, the reason why they have regressed, is they lacked skill in “the word of righteousness.” (We
will come back to this, later.)
The remedy to this problem is once more to lay the
foundation securely once and for all, and then to move on from there. That is
our setting for Hebrews 6:1-2, the foundational teachings of Messiah
Hebrews 6:1
Therefore leaving the principles
of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection…
The very first of the “first principles” was
repentance from dead works. The very
first call of the gospel message was/is to repent. If one does not get passed
this most basic requirement, it is impossible to live and walk in a manner that
is pleasing to IAUE; and if we are not dedicated to that purpose, then Messiah
is made of no effect to us. We should
look at these first principles in this way:
- Repentance
from dead works. Got it? Good.
Now, move on.
- Faith
toward IAUE. Got it? Good. Now, move on.
- Teaching
about baptisms. Got it? Good.
Now, move on.
- Teaching
about laying on of hands. Got
it? Good. Now, move on.
- Resurrection
from the dead. Got it? Good.
Now, move on.
- Eternal
judgment. Got it? Good. Now move on.
The writer of Hebrews is addressing believers who
are in a very precarious state. Today,
Christian theology does not recognize the possibility of a precarious state for
professing believers. It fails to
recognize many of the teachings of New Testament Scriptures in this regard; not
the least of which is the next verse.
Hebrews 6:3 And this will we do, if IAUE permit.
We are not guaranteed spiritual growth and
maturity simply because we prayed a “magic prayer” of accepting Messiah “into
our heart.” In fact, we are not
guaranteed anything if we will not repent and forfeit our will to take up the
will of IAUE, and to yield ourselves unto discipleship to Yahushua Messiah who
will show us how to walk in the Light.
1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of Elohim which is given unto me, as a
wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.
But let
every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation
can no man lay than that is laid, which is Yahushua Messiah.
Yahushua
is the foundation. There is no
substitute for him. Anything built upon
a different foundation is irrelevant.
Anything built improperly upon the foundation of Messiah is a hazard.
It
is not sufficient to have repented once; only to fall back into selfish living.
To do this is to regress to a state where we need milk and not meat for our
spiritual diet; and we become unnatural to the Body of Messiah. (Just imagine a
congregation full of adults drinking milk out of baby bottles.) We also bring ourselves to a place where IAUE
may no longer extend grace to us to enable us to do His will. This is not something we can take for
granted.
I
recall, as a young boy, hearing the older members of our congregation speaking
of the zeal of a new convert, a young man in the military who was stationed in
a nearby military installation. This young
man was unstoppable in his endeavors to bring others to Messiah; so much so
that the older believers stood back in an almost air of contempt. They actually said, “Give him a week or two
and he will calm down and be like the rest of us.” They could not relate to this young man’s
zeal and fervor to do the work of the Master. He was not like the rest of them;
which meant he did not fit in with the rest of the congregation. Unfortunately, this young man’s zeal did not
wane after two weeks, three weeks, not even four weeks; and when he finally
offered himself up to become a member of the church…they voted NO, and rejected
him as a member of the congregation.
I
know this might sound like an isolated event; but the conditions for this
attitude exist in almost every Christian congregation on the planet. Why is this?
It is because Congregational Christianity embraces a basic catechism of denominationally
sanctioned beliefs, then settles in for the long-haul, as it were, of living life
in compliance with the expectations of the Christian culture; all the while
living their personal lives however they see fit. The foundation of Yahushua Messiah is never
laid; thus they can never move on in him.
Instead, the entire congregation becomes an unnatural thing that
disqualifies itself from the grace of IAUE.
If they will not repent and obey the gospel; there is no need to extend
grace (the power IAUE gives that enables men to do His will.).
We
can advance in Messiah only IF IAUE PERMITS us to do so.
Hebrews 6:4 For it is impossible for
those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were
made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 And have tasted the good
word of IAUE, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away,
to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son
of IAUE afresh, and put him to an open shame.
The
writer of Hebrews would not be discussing these conditions if they were not
possible. How many believers have you
known (or possibly yourself) that have experienced the new birth in Messiah;
and have received the Holy Spirit; and have experienced the gifts of the
Spirit, and have received revelations from the voice of IAUE; and have drifted
away into a passionless life where going to church on Sunday morning is the
extent of your identification with Messiah?
All such people should be on their faces before IAUE in fear that He
might no longer extend to them the grace to do His will. Their lives put Messiah to an open
shame. The world mocks and scoffs
contemporary Christians and Christian churches.
Why is this? It is because the
life of Messiah and the zeal of IAUE is not found there…they are just religious
people, more of whom the world has no need.
Please
forgive this crude illustration. Contemporary
Christianity is very much like the Masons, today. Thousands upon thousands of men around the
world join the Masons and work up to the third level (Master Mason); then they
quit pursuing additional levels; because that third level is where everyone begins
functioning as members of a fraternity where they all share something special
in common. It is only in pursuing the
higher levels of Masonry do they ever discover the sinister nature of the
organization to which they belong. So
too, Christians establish the most basic framework that helps them understand
the Christian culture; then they stop pursuing the revelation of the person of
Messiah. They begin functioning as a
social order that shares something in common.
They never press on to discover the wonders awaiting them in a life of
momentary obedience to IAUE.
Laying
the foundation of the revelation of the person of Yahushua Messiah is
mandatory; but that is only so one may begin building carefully upon that
foundation.
1
Corinthians 2:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of IAUE, and that the Spirit
of IAUE dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of IAUE, him shall IAUE destroy; for the temple of IAUE is holy,
which temple ye are.
Moving
on to perfection may not be an option; but wisdom would compel you to try.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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