Elementary: Growing in our Understanding

Intro

for those who went to public school, remember when you would miss a day or two? Whether you were sick or had a dentist appointment, you would miss the whole day, and as a result miss a lesson on up to 6 different topics. The first day back was awful! The teacher would continue with the lesson plan, but you knew you were missing a few pieces of information. Things just didn’t quite line up from when you left off.

This was only compounded when the teacher would start a new section. Now you are tryng to piece together a lesson which you have absolutely no prior knowledge. It was tough

Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there, does it. For some of us, when we are asked, “You know how to do this, right?” we can sometimes get ourselves into trouble. When it is perceived that this is something we should know how to do, we will often say, “Yes” just to save face.

The problem is, the first question is often followed with, “If you know how to do this, then this other thing will be no problem!” That is when we are really in trouble. Again, we can either save face, or hope we can piece things together before the truth is really found out.

When it comes to anything in life, it is so important to start with a solid foundation. In fact, without that foundation firmly in place, anything new or advanced we try to learn will eventually start to crumble.

I would dare to say that this is often the case when it comes to things of faith. When we get saved, we are often thrown into the deep end, expected to pick up where everyone else is. Except for the few cases where there is plan to develop new believers, a young Christian can often miss those basic teachings, which can rob them of their confidence as they learn new things.

The problem is that half truths won’t carry you very far, and we often don’t know what we don’t know.

So for the next 6 weeks, we are going to let the author of Hebrews guide us through those foundational truths, and my hope is that we will lay a foundation that will help you understand some of the deeper things of faith. I hope that we will answer questions you didn’t know you had, and shine some light in areas that may have been dark.

So to start things off, I want you to write down any questions you might have about faith. You can do it in the app in the space provided. You can do it your notes app or your journal. If you don’t have a journal, we have these really nice OneChurch ones I could give you.

As we go though the series, I want you to make note if and when we bring clarity to anything.

With that lead up, let’s dive in. We will be looking at Hebrews 6 to kick off this series.

Hebrews 5:11–14 NLT

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

Mature Enough to Teach

Could you teach someone about Jesus and faith? This is what the author of Hebrews is asking those believers and asking us today.

This is the question that is fueling this series. Many of us in church have been believers for a long time, yet when the idea of teaching comes up, we have a lot of excuses about why we can’t. Or you just expect that the pastor is supposed to do all the teaching.

Yet it is through teaching that we pass along our faith. It is through teaching that we really learn and solidify the things we believe. It is through teaching that we really grow.

When the author of Hebrews talks about babies drinking milk, he is refering to believers who only get into God’s word on Sunday mornings or through podcasts. It is when we rely on others to get into the meat of Scripture, digest it, and give it to us in a way that is easy to take in.

Just like in life, in order for our kids to really grow, they need to stop drinking milk and start eating solid food for themselves. They need to use the teeth God gave them to get the nutrients for themselves

The same goes for each of us. I need to start using your spiritual teeth and really start getting into God’s word for yourselves.

Hebrews 6:1–3 NLT

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.

Foundations of Faith

So here are the 6 topics we are going to look at for the next 5 weeks.

Repentance

Faith

Baptism

Laying on of Hands

Resurrection

Eternal Judgment

some of these have been hotly debated topics, while others carry some of that, “You understand this, right?” It seems basic enough that we think we do, we hope we do, or we simply don’t want to let on that we don’t.

God confirmed that this was an important series for us as a church about a month ago. As we were going through Romans on Wednesday night, I asked the group if they knew what faith was. Of course, some quote Hebrews 11:1, but when I pushed a little harder for them to unpack it, no one really had an idea. Faith is a word used in Scripture so much, and we use it in church language, but do we really know what faith is. More importantly, are confident enough in our understanding that we could help someone else understand what it is.

Change of Culture

The biggest reason we need to go through this series is the change in our culture. For a really long time, the church has operated with the benefit that most people had some understanding of who Jesus was and what the church stood for.

Those days are gone. We are living in a time when people really have no idea what church is about, or who Jesus is or what He taught.

Romans 10:14 NLT

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?

if you aren’t confident enough to teach someone about faith, are you confident enough just to share? Would you be willing to give an account when the time came?

If we believe that real life, salvation is found in Christ alone, we should want to share it. My hope is that as we dive into these things, we will be ready to share.