Hebrews 5:12-14 “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. (13) For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. (14) 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.”
Hebrews 6:1-2 “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, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
In the above quoted passages of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us the first principles of the oracles of God. In other words these are the foundational doctrines to the Christian faith of which there are six, i.e. repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And so because these doctrines are foundational, every believer should have a clear understanding of each one of these doctrines and live by them. Those who have a clear understanding of these doctrines and who also live by them will have a sure foundation to their Christian faith and they will not be deceived by any false teachings that they may come across in their Christian walk. The above passage reveals to us that these doctrines are in fact the milk of God’s word and not solid food, thus implying that all new born believers should feed on these particular biblical truths. However even mature adults drink milk as part of their natural diet, and in the spirit that principle remains the same. And so it is good for mature believers to also revisit the foundational principles of the Christian faith from time to time to ensure that their foundations remain solid.
Acts 20:18-21 “And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, (19) serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; (20) how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, (21) testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Of the six foundational doctrines, there were two that the apostle Paul taught on extensively in the churches. The two that he emphasised were the first two listed in the book of Hebrews, i.e. repentance from dead works and faith towards God. We see that truth evidenced in the above quoted passage of scripture, for in this passage Paul, in speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus for the last time, specifically reminded them that he had taught these two doctrines during his time at that church. Obviously the reason that Paul emphasised these two doctrines is because they are the most important of the six. So why is that? The reason, as we will see in this series, is because it is essential for believers to have a clear understanding of these two doctrines in order for them to be able to walk in this life as the Lord intended. Although in mentioning these two doctrines Paul uses slightly different terminologies to the ones mentioned in the book of Hebrews, they are nevertheless still the same doctrines. The doctrine of repentance from dead works, Paul refers to in this passage as repentance towards God and the doctrine of faith toward God, Paul refers to as faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, (15) and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Further evidence that the doctrines of repentance from dead works and faith toward God are foundational to the gospel of salvation, is the message that our Lord Jesus proclaimed when He was on the earth, for as revealed in the above quoted passage of scripture we can see that the Lord Jesus proclaimed a simple message of “repent” and “believe”. Our Lord’s message of repentance refers to the doctrine of repentance from dead works and His message of believe refers to the doctrine of faith toward God. And so clearly we can see that these two doctrines form almost the cornerstone of the Christian faith so to speak. In this series we will examine the doctrine of faith toward God, which is the second of the six foundational doctrines.
Michael E.B. Maher
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