As I’ve thought about the mission of our Gathering, I come to some conclusions about the direction of our future studies. Here’s what we know.
God has called us to be a Word-centered people infiltrating our families, our work, and our churches with the Gospel of Christ.
To fulfill this mission requires that we be firmly rooted in understanding the Scriptures, and what’s more, that we be able to use them intelligently and wisely to be salt and light in the present age. I think this means getting beyond the typical superficial pabulum spooned out in most churches. Most Christians never seem to get beyond Christianity 101. Obviously, it’s important to teach new believers the catechism of the faith. Programs like the Alpha Course in the Anglican Church are essential. But at what point do we go further than Alpha to explore Beta, Gamma, and Delta?
This series is called Christianity 501 in response to God’s speaking to us in Hebrews 5:11 – 6:1.
We have much to say about this (the priesthood of Christ in the order of the ancient Melchizedek), but it is hard to explain because you have become bored with hearing. In fact, by this time, you should have become teachers yourselves, but you still need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s Word over and over again. You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives only on milk is a spiritual infant, inexperienced in the teaching about righteousness. Solid food is for the mature who by constant use have trained themselves to discern good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary lessons about Christ behind and go on to maturity.
Christianity 501 is the attempt to be skilled at such a level so as to fulfill our mission. Master’s level courses begin with 501 in college. As this Scripture says, let’s move beyond the 100-level introductory materials to mature as teachers, as Word-centered people. If we never update our Sunday school impressions of God’s word, there is no way we can fulfill our mission. Without deepening our knowledge and improving our skills we will be more changed by the world than world changers. And by “world” I mean more than just our individual spheres of influence, family, friends, and work. I also mean preparing ourselves for standing firm in an uncertain age, being confident of God’s sovereignty in the midst of the growing satanic rebellion against righteousness and good.
What are the elementary or foundational teachings Hebrews is referring to? They are spelled out in the next verse (Hebrews 6:2).
… Repentance from dead works, faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
Scholars debate exactly what this text is referring to because we’re not sure who is the audience being addressed. If these are Jewish Christians then the text appears to be talking about foundational principles of how we are saved (repentance and faith), how we come into the Church (baptism and confirmation), and eschatology (resurrection and judgment). If, as is suggested in verses 4-6, these are professing but unbelieving Jews, the “elementary lessons” referred to are Jewish teachings that Christ contradicts. But in any case, the truth of these words can be plainly seen in churches today who never get beyond Christian kindergarten. Partly this is due to the evangelistic function of worship in fundamentalist and revivalist traditions. Bless God for churches that focus on the new birth and coming to Christ. Unfortunately, many believers become discouraged in these churches because it’s a steady diet of repentance and baptism and avoiding hell. It’s not that they disagree with any of this, but there is a hunger for getting at the meat of doctrine – knowing what they believe and why they believe it. At some point the question arises, what am I saved for?
Other churches never get beyond the basics because they never laid the proper foundation of life in Christ in the first place. Salvation becomes a subjective experience of a burning bosom. The Gospel gets cut loose from his historic truth to be re-rooted in subjective, narcissistic anecdotes of personal spirituality or social inclusiveness. Such a hot-house plant never can flourish because it is not rooted in the Scriptures. Hence people grow bored as the writer to Hebrews said, bored with hearing doctrine (truth) because:
a) It’s just someone else’s subjective bed-time story;
b) Spiritual experience becomes addictive, requiring greater claims and more bizarre behavior to attain the high of that first revivalist response. To avoid boredom one needs new revelations and fresh signs and wonders.
In both cases, for both liberals and conservatives, the problem is the Post-Modern Captivity of the Church.
(To be continued)
