Stop Dumbing Down the Gospel!

An Exposition of Hebrews 5:11-6:3

Hebrews 5:11–6:3 NKJV

of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.

Last week, we continued in the study of Jesus who is our Great High Priest which was introduced in Hebrews 4:14-16. Chapter 5 teaches us that Jesus is High Priest as well as King and Prophet. Psalm 110:4 is quoted to show us that Jesus belonged to a priesthood of the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek is a mysterious person who appears first in Genesis 14:18. But the writer of Hebrews takes pause at this point. He knows what he wants to tell the church about Melchizedek and how it relates to the priesthood of Jesus. But he seems to realize that his readers will not get the picture. They should know about Melchizedek but they don’t. Their hearing had become dull. So the writer of Hebrews puts the argument aside for a moment to deal with their ignorance. They should have been able to teach the subject at this time. In fact, they didn’t even have a firm understanding of the very basic tenets of the Christian faith. This foundation of the fundamental doctrines needed to be established. Using a well-known metaphor to describe these, he told his listeners that they needed to be weaned from the gospel milk so that they could eat the solid food. Just like all babies need to drink milk at first because they could not digest solid food, the hearers still needed to be weaned. It is alright for infants to drink milk. In fact, it is totally appropriate. But if one is still drinking milk instead of solid food several years after birth, that is a problem. It seems that the author of the sermon is frustrated over their lack of progress and lets them know it. Because they lacked understanding of the basics, they were not able to discern what was proper and what was not. this is more than just knowing right from wrong. It was the inability to discern between what is false doctrine and what is sound doctrine. This left them vulnerable to the wiles of the devil.

In Hebrews 6:1-2, we are told some basic doctrines which make up the milk of the gospel. The first of these is repentance from dead works. Repentance comes at the very beginning of the Gospel. John the Baptist called upon Israel to repent. Jesus called out: “Repent and believe the good news.” On the day of Pentecost, those who were cut to the heart by the sermon asked what they were supposed to do. Peter commanded them to repent. these are but a few examples. Repentance is the very first step required. But what is repentance? We need to be reminded of this. Many think is is feeling sorry for their sins. But that is not really repentance. In Hebrew, the word for repentance is “Shuv.” The idea is that of turning away from something toward something else. Those who accept the gospel must turn from their former way of life toward the Christian life. In the Greek, the word “metanoia” is translated “repentance. This Greek word has the meaning of “rethink.” One needs to think things over and this time make the correct choice. both of these ideas come into play. The one who would be a Christian must think rightly about their predicament, that they are on the road to destruction. They are now called to accept the new way of thinking and to go down the road to life. Leave the dead works and pursue living works.

The second doctrine Hebrews brings out is to have faith in God. We must understand that faith is not the same as intellectual assent. Their must be some action corresponding to this belief. One might believe that the ground in front of one’s feet is solid and not quicksand. This would be the faith of mental assent. But the faith we are talking about is actually stepping out on that ground. Christian faith is based upon believing the things about Jesus and demonstrating this by following Jesus, even if the way is filled with danger, toils, and snares. This is the faith that pleases God. The Christian understanding of God is not an abstraction. Neither is faith an abstraction. The God we believe in is the God who reveals Himself in Holy Scripture and affirmed by the Holy Spirit. The ultimate revelation of God in Scripture is centered around the person and work of Christ.

The next doctrine Hebrews mentions concerns baptisms. The use of the plural has caused some difficulties for theologians and interpreters of the Bible. Some think that because they believe that the book was written to Hebrew Christians, he is referring to the various washing rituals contained in the Book of the Law (Torah). However, it is not clear that Hebrews was written to Jewish believers in Christ, at least not exclusively. The previous “repentance from dead works” usually referred to the works of Gentiles. also the use of “departing from the living God” is set in contrast to “dead gods (the gods of the Gentiles. It must also be noted that the early church incorporated the Old Testament fully into their rule of faith. Believers coming from either the Jewish or the Gentiles were taught the Christian understanding of the Old Testament.

I think the better way of understanding this is that the New Testament refers to two baptisms, one in water and one by the Holy Spirit. This was the testimony of both John the Baptist and Jesus. As some think that Hebrews was a exposition based upon the Pentecost texts in one of the Jewish lectionaries. Both baptism in water and the baptism of the Holy Spirit are foundational to the Christian faith. Both water and Spirit baptism doctrines have been hotly debated within the church and deserve a deeper treatment in a later sermon. But the milk of these doctrines is that believers are commanded to be baptized in water and the Holy Spirit.

Next comes the laying on of hands. there are several possibilities here. James tells us that when one is sick that the elders of the church should be called. The sick are to have hands laid upon them by the elders of the church and anointed with olive oil with a prayer of healing.(James 5:14) the laying on of hands has a negative connotation such as “they laid hands upon him” (arrested). this isn’t what we should understand here. Paul in writing to Timothy talks about the laying on of hands as the means of consecrating and ordaining of leaders. The elders of the church of Antioch fasted, prayed and laid hands upon Paul and Barnabas before they departed upon their first missionary journey.(Acts 13:3) Considering that this section of Hebrews is centered in the appointment of Jesus to be the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek probably tells us that this is what is meant of laying on of hands means here. The local churches are to have God-called and approved elders who are capable of leading the flock. One of the roles of the elder is to instruct the members of the church in the Scripture and doctrine. This fits in especially well as these believers were chided for still being immature when they should now be teachers. Teachers need to be godly and thoroughly prepared to teach.

Next comes the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. The church to whom Hebrews was originally addressed was in danger of falling away. Increasing pressure (tribulation in Greek) was coming from both the Jews and the Romans for these Christians to renounce their faith. Without a strong grasp upon the certainty of their future resurrection from the dead, the temptation to fall away in times of trial would be too great. Those who might find some of the teachings of the Bible useful for getting along in this world and how to order one’s life and achieve worldly prosperity aren’t the people who would remain steadfast when arrest, torture, and death stare them in the face. Living “your best life now” becomes meaningless in these circumstances. We are taught that “all who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

The doctrine of eternal judgment fits hand in glove with that of the resurrection of the dead. The Bible teaches that all will be raised from the dead. One will either enter into eternal bliss or everlasting punishment. We need to be reminded that there is a hell. The Book of Hebrews says that this awaits the wicked. It seems from Hebrews 6:4 which we will address as a separate sermon that those who renounce their Christian faith will suffer this fate also. Let the hearer be warned.

So what does this mean to us today, especially here in America? Before going on with the necessary warning here, let me affirm that there are many faithful churches as well as faithful believers in unfaithful churches. It is only fair to have a sense of balance lest we be overwhelmed with grief. Jesus provided both commendations as well condemnations to the seven churches of Revelation in various proportions. Churches and believers need to be praised for what they are doing well. Nothing motivates like praise. We must make sure the praise is earned and guard from becoming full of pride.

Having said this, it is concerning to see how ignorant of even the basic doctrines of Christianity many believers have. when it comes to the Bible, “evangelical” believers who hold to the innerrancy of the Scripture usually score lower in tests of Bible knowledge than groups like Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Catholics. Too many cant even articulate what they believe beyond some personal decision to accept Jesus (on their terms). This makes for a very unsound faith and leads members of evangelical churches as sitting ducks for all kinds of heresy and error. The idea of simplifying the gospel as a means of outreach to the lost might seem like a good idea. But I have heard churches that claim they want to address only the first couple of rungs of the ladder and to cut the next rung off. Those who want to dig deeper into the faith are invited to go elsewhere. It is as though we are saved by ignorance.

Faith has to have a starting place. This is true. The unbeliever is called to act upon the preaching of the Word in faith. At first, the content of this faith is limited just as a baby is not expected to be a PhD at 2 years of age. But when growth ends, decay and death set in. The call to be a Christian is not one of leaving one’s mind at the door and follow blindly as non-Christians often accuse us. The truth is that unbelievers are famous in telling their followers to leave their minds at the door and let the experts think for them as they blindly obey. This is not to be the rule in the church. The “faith in God” is a dynamic process. The Word of God as we learned in Hebrews 4:12 is living and powerful. The content of faith is to grow. We must never say that we must always keep it simple because simple people cannot understand the depths of the Christian faith. But is is the deep rooting in the faith that will enable the Christian to stand in evil days. I met someone who seemed reasonably intelligent who said that it was too hard to remember a bible verse for VBS. But this same person could list the batting averages and other statistics of a great number of baseball players. What does this tell you? This person could learn but simply does not want to learn. One should winder if this person is a Christian at all.

Scripture with the aid of the Holy Spirit can teach us much about the faith. The very fact that these deeper teachings are contained in the Bible such as in Hebrews and Ephesians tells us that God expects us to know these things. We must be able to teach these things to others. We must go beyond the dumbed down gospel toward a better understanding of the faith, After man years of study and pastoring, I still need to learn more. Even the greatest of Christian theologians and preachers have things to learn. This will make us strong and able to stand in difficult times.

Our closing hymn is “More About Jesus.”