“Don’t Forget The Basics”

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Basics. Fundamentals. Foundations.

The Hebrews writer said, “...let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” (Heb. 6:1-2) There is a categorical need for spiritual growth in the life of a Christian, and part of that is to move on to more mature thinking—not simply a continual repetition of the basics.

This, however, does not necessarily mean that we never speak again of the fundamental matters of faith. You’ll notice the writer says “not laying again a foundation.” In saying it this way, he assumes that those previously-laid foundations will remain intact and remain strong.

As a church of God’s people continues to influence the world around them, we should expect to see varying levels of understanding about the foundations of faith. And we must, therefore, repeat the fundamentals often enough to keep them at the root of our identity. Without properly-laid foundations—“the elementary doctrines of Christ”—we will never attain to maturity anyway.

And so, we would all do well (this writer, especially) to learn not to disdain those necessary messages on the fundamentals. One writer said, “Repetition… is a pastoral necessity.” It’s important that we reinforce our foundations of belief in Christ, the importance of baptism, and the necessity of repentance.

Basics. Fundamentals. Foundations.

- Dan Lankford, minister

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