some thoughts on Hebrews 6.

Some thoughts on Hebrews 6.

1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
3 And God permitting, we will do so.

It is amazing to see long term members who still do not truly understand the way things are done in the Bible, or the real message God has for us in the Bible. This was especially apparent in the church group from which I came. Many of them honestly believed that Jesus came to promote non-instrumental worship and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

When those things were minimized by others, they became mad. After all, wasn’t that the center of religion, wasn’t it pure religion and undefiled, wasn’t it the form of sound doctrine Paul spoke of in Romans 6? If not, why not?

And it seemed that all of the explaining in the world couldn’t show them why. They had studied for years with blinders on and could not understand the forest for the trees. They had become so involved in fine points that they couldn’t see the broader picture: the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6).

This, of course, is not just true with the Church of Christ. It is true with most churches. Each group considers its small defining characteristic as being from God and the center of theology.

The Baptists can’t see beyond “once saved always saved,” the Pentecostals think that tongue speaking is the greatest thing, legalists can’t see beyond the written word, liberals can’t see beyond their own desires, isolationists can’t see beyond their own group, compromisers can’t see beyond their own fear of confrontation, every church has its point or points and become hung up in them to the exclusion of the greater good and grace of God.

The writer says that what we need to do is move on from basics. All these things mentioned above are real and valid and important. However, to get hung up in any one of them is hurtful to the rest.

It makes us incapable of coming together with any real dialogue of growth and maturity because each person or group feels it must be agenda-driven; in turn, each group is afraid of the others’ agendas.

He says move on. Get beyond the basics and move into the real meat of the gospel. He says to go toward maturity, not talking again and again and again about repentance, and faith. By now we should have repented and had faith in God. Move on from baptism, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment, all those things that are basic. Move into growth, entering the real faith and maturity of the gospel.

The problem is, however, that study is painful. The more you know, the more you are responsible for. And, besides, a lot of study tends to point out the inadequacies we have in our lives, it shows how we have failed.

And that is never fun.

No one likes to venture into areas that might be painful, so what people do is specialize in stuff they already know. Since they know it already, they are on familiar ground and there is no fear of stepping off somewhere that they might feel uncomfortable.

This many times is fault of preachers. They know that people are uncomfortable with new ideas so they stay with the old. People like to be reminded of what they already know. It makes them feel superior and knowledgeable.

It is when a preacher gets into new and uncomfortable theology that people get antsy. That is the hardest part of ministry in many ways: the preaching. You have to talk to a group of people from all levels of understanding and feed them all. There has to be something for those who are new and don’t know much and there has to be something for those who are old in the faith and know a lot. Both need to be fed.

Your job as a pastor is to give each of them something to chew on. If you don’t, you have hurt one group or the other. Too much meat, and the babies starve. Too much baby food and the adults are stunted in their growth.

It is kind of like the chili supper I cooked for our Christmas party. I made a lot of chili for those who like chili. I also made a small bowl for those who like their chili stupidly hot, and another bowl of stew for those who digestive tracts can’t take chili.

Then there was cornbread for those who like chili but like it moderated with cornbread, and there was nothing for those who were too ornery to like what I cooked. Something for everybody all in one meal, all made from the same basic ingredients.

That is your average Sunday sermon: basics for those who are new, and something to chew on for those who are not. And the ones who don’t care can just sleep (although not too many do that). It takes a lot of preparation by the preacher, but it is worth it.