Get Past The Elementary Stage

I. EXORDIUM:

Are you mature in the faith?

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show that we need to stop laying the foundation of basic elementary teachings of faith and move toward completeness.

IV. TEXT:

Hebrews 6:1 (Amplified Bible)

6:1 THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,

V. THESIS:

I am perfect and complete in CHRIST. CHRIST laid the foundation, I won't do it all over again.

VI. TITLE:

Get Past The Elementary Stage

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Date of writing: Before AD. 70

B. Style of writing: Best Greek style

C. Authorship: Not specific, but generally attributed to Apostle Paul. Can be also ascribed to Barnabas, Luke, Apollos

D. Audience: Hebrew Christians

E. Theme: Christ is superior to the prophets; Christ is superior to angels—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible

F. Purpose: The chief doctrinal purpose of the writer was to show the transcendent glory of the Christian dispensation, as compared with that of the Old Testament.—Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines

G. Keyword: better

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. Advance steadily toward the completenes and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity

"THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity."

Hebrews 5:12-14 (Amplified Bible)

5:12 For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food.

5:13 For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]!

5:14 But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.

B. Don't lay again the foundation of repentance, abandonment of dead works and of the faith to GOD

"Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,"

Let's not lay down again or repeat the following:

1. foundation of repentance

2. abandonment of dead works

3. foundation of faith to GOD

Foundation of repentance:

Isaiah 55:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

55:6 Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near.

55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon.

Foundation of abandonment of dead works:

Galatians 5:19-21 (Amplified Bible)

5:19 Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,

5:20 Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),

5:21 Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Foundation of faith to GOD:

1 John 5:10-13 (Amplified Bible)

5:10 He who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] has the testimony [possesses this divine attestation] within himself. He who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him out to be and represented Him as a liar, because he has not believed (put his faith in, adhered to, and relied on) the evidence (the testimony) that God has borne regarding His Son.

5:11 And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

5:12 He who possesses the Son has that life; he who does not possess the Son of God does not have that life.

5:13 I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, eternal life.

IX. CONCLUSION:

I am perfect and complete in CHRIST. CHRIST laid the foundation, I won't do it all over again.