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| The Six Basic
Teachings of Christianity (Part 1) Jesus Christ Himself is the chief corner stone! There are six basic teachings that complete the foundation of the Christian faith. They are found in Hebrews chapter six, verses 1 & 2. I will list them here for the sake of clarity.
When a house is being built, the very first thing that is constructed is the foundation. Without a good, solid foundation a house will collapse over time. A foundation is what everything else rests upon. And when a house is completed it is extremely heavy; thousands and thousands of pounds rest upon the foundation. The Christian life is very much like a house. But it is a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5). Certain building blocks go into a Christian's life to make him a solid person for God. The writer of Hebrews is clearly showing us what the foundation blocks need to be in order for us to grow up into a mature believer. Without this foundation under us we can expect a terrible collapse in the future. We should not be any more surprised in the collapse of a Christian's life, than we should if a house did not have a foundation and it collapsed. We would expect it to collapse if the foundation was weak—or if it didn't have a foundation at all. Even the earth has foundations! “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, of you have understanding. Who has laid the measures of it, if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone of it:” (Job 38:4-7). “Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not be forced to flee” (Isaiah 28:16). “Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone: In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom you also are built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22). The last time I was in Jerusalem I walked through the tunnel that leads from the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) to the Via Dolorosa. The most significant thing that I remember about the tour was that the guide pointed out the chief cornerstone of the Temple Mount. He informed us that it weighed 560 tons. 560 tons! I touched it and just stood there for a long time in astonishment. It was just difficult for me to absorb the thought of a 560-ton foundation stone. And there were dozens of them. The guide went on to say that no one knows how those huge foundation stones were moved to that location. He said that even today no one has a machine that can lift and move such a heavy object. Immediately I began to consider the importance of a firm foundation for a building. And I began to think about the importance of the proper foundation for the building a spiritual house. My thoughts turned to Hebrews 6: 1-2. Many, many years ago I put these six teachings to memory: Repentance from dead works, Faith toward God, Baptisms, Laying on of hands, Resurrection of the dead, and Eternal judgment. I also have gone back to them repeatedly, making sure that I understood them and had them all in place. Many people become involved in cults because they do not have a firm grasp of the basic teachings of Christianity. And very often it is not their fault. No one has taught them. That is why I am placing this teaching on our web site. I want every believer to have a solid foundation on which to build his Christian life. Many people who are ignorant of the Bible are ignorant because they want to be. But there are many, many others who do not have access to God's Word and they have never had a good Bible teacher to show them the way. I know a woman who has been in church every Sunday for 60 years. When she found out that I always have people in our Bible Study Group lay hands on me and send me out to the mission field with prayer she exclaimed, “That is of the devil!” She was basically saying that the laying on of hands was of Satan. How could she say such a thing after being in church for more than 60 years? And how could she say this about something so simple that every believer in the world should know? It sounds impossible, doesn't it? And yet there are countless thousands of Christians who are just as ignorant of God's Word. Obviously, it is not enough to go to church. We need to learn something while we are there. We need to hear large portions of God's Word taught during the meeting. A few verses here and there will merely put together a building that will eventually crumble. I like what the Jews do. And I respect them very much. They call their meeting places Yeshivas—which simply means schools. They actually go there to learn. And learn they do. I attend their classes every time I'm in Israel. I have never heard any pastor teach the Old Testament like the Rabbis do. It is stimulating, exciting, Spirit anointed, and extremely interesting. It is not uncommon to see 200 young men studying and copying the Scriptures together all day – every day! I have never seen that in any church anywhere in the United States, regardless of the denomination. No wonder the Jewish people have the lowest crime rate of any people group in the world! I have said all this to point out the importance of knowing foundational truths in God's Word as a starting place. So in this teaching we will take each one of the six foundational truths and examine it from a Scriptural viewpoint. Repentance From Dead Works The word “repent” and “repentance” is mentioned in the Bible at least 61 times. We will not belabor the point by listing all of the verses, but I want to mention a few of them. First of all we need to know the definition of “repent”. The dictionary says: “To feel such regret over an action, intention, etc. as to change one's mind.” The Latin “re” means “again”; and the Latin “paenitere” means “repent”. Putting the two of them together we have “again repent”. As a foundation stone in the Christian life there could not be a better definition. If you are a believer you know that as you progress in your Christian life you find yourself repenting again and again. “Dead works” can best be defined as anything that does not minister life to your spirit-man. If it tears down the spiritual house, then it needs to be repented of. Repentance is truly the first foundational stone in building a successful and strong Christian life. If you don't think that the Christian life is like a building then consider what 1 Peter 2:5 says: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” We are a “spiritual house”. The Bible declares it to be true. So we must make sure that our “house” has a firm foundation. We often hear of famous Christians whose lives fall apart. It is so disappointing to those of us looking on. But in every case the person's life collapsed because of a weak foundation—or no foundation at all. The first thing that John the Baptist preached was repentance. Matthew 3:1-2 states: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is interesting to note that the very first thing that Jesus preached was also repentance: Matthew 4:17 states: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” So we clearly see that repentance was very important to both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. It is easy to assume that if this was the first thing that both of them taught, then it is of primary importance. Here they both were, placing a huge foundational stone in the spiritual house. They both knew the importance of repentance. It is also interesting to note that they both preached it. It is not enough to assume that people will automatically repent if left on their own. In fact, they won't. They need to be taught to repent. They need to hear repentance preached. If it was good enough for Jesus and John the Baptist, then it should certainly be good enough for us in the 21st century! People need to be told to repent. Left on their own they will not do it. Therefore the major building block will not be there. We need six 560- ton foundational blocks under our spiritual house to support it. The first one is repentance. “But go and learn what that means, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:13 “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Mark 6:12 “I tell you, Nay: but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3 & 5 “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:7 “And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.” Luke 16:30 “Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.” Luke 17:3 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38 “Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.” Acts 8:22 “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Acts 11:18 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent:” Acts 17:30 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 20:21 “ . . . they should repent and turn to God, and do works suitable for repentance.” Acts 26:20 “Do you despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Romans 2:4 “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Romans 11:29 “For Godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death.” II Corinthians 7:10 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” II Peter 3:9 “Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.” Revelation 2:5 “Repent; or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:16 “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” Revelation 2:21 “Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” Revelation 2:22 “Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come upon you.” Revelation 3:3 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19 <-- Back to TEACHING Main Page Contact Us! Full Life Crusade 1-574-267-7546 EMAIL |