A. INTRODUCTION
1. All Christians should grow spiritually. “As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow” (I Peter 2:2).
2. Non-growth is rejected by God. “You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk . . . and when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life” (Heb. 5:12-13, LB).
Three Truths From Hebrews
Every Christian should be serving God.
We must learn the Bible to be strengthened for service. There is more to Christianity than basic salvation.
3. The problem of non-growth is a heart problem not a head problem. “We have many things to tell you, but you are dull of hearing” (Heb.5:11, ELT).
• Dull means they were lazy, not caring.
• Dull means they were un-taught, not studied.
• Dull means they were spiritually deaf and blind, not able to learn.
4. The solution to the problem is our will, we must choose to grow. “For everyone that is still on milk is unskillful in the word” (Heb. 5:13).
• We must choose to do right, i.e., “Word of righteousness.”
• We must know what is right.
• We will grow when we do right.
5. I want everyone to memorize four verses each week for the next four weeks. What will memory do for you?
• Memorizing scripture will make you victorious over sin. “How can a young man cleanse his way? Buy taking heed according to Your word . . . Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:9, 11, NKJV).
• Memorizing scripture will make you successful. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8, NKJV).
6. The B-Rations is Bible Rations. Just like a soldier in the field must have K-Rations to stay alive, the Christian must have the foundation of B-Rations.
• Assurance of salvation
• Bible study
• Prayer
• Witnessing
B. THE FOUR BASIC FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIANITY
1. The assurance of salvation. You can know that you are saved.
• “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31, NKJV).
• “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may [continue to] believe in the name of the Son of God” (I John 5:13, NKJV).
• What does doubt do to you? (1) Takes away your joy. (2) You won’t witness. (3) You will ignore the Word. (4) You will not pray in faith. (5) You won’t resist temptation and sin.
2. Bible study. You grow through the Word of God. “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16, NKJV).
• What happens when you ignore Bible study? (1) You won’t grow. (2) You open yourself to doubts. (3) You ignore the example of other believers (Acts 17:11). (4) You remain weak (Heb. 5:13-14).
3. Prayer. You must talk to God each day so He can lead you to do what is expected of a Christian.
• “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24, NKJV).
• What happens when you ignore prayer? (1) You don’t get God’s blessing and leadership. (2) You are not in partnership with God for ministry. (3) You don’t abide in Christ (John 15:7). (4) You are left to your own resources. (5) You don’t see and hear spiritually.
4. Witnessing. You must talk to unsaved people about Christ.
• “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).
• What happens when you don’t share your faith with unsaved people? (1) They are lost and will go to Hell. (2) You are disobedient to God’s expectations. (3) We don’t carry the love of Christ to them (II Cor. 5:14). (4) We miss out on rewards (I Thess. 2:19-20).
C. YOUR ASSIGNMENT THIS WEEK: MEMORIZE
I John 5:13
I Peter 2:2
John 16:24
Acts 1:8
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
To receive this lesson, log on to www.elmertowns.com. You will find it under Sunday School lessons. To email Dr. Towns, eltowns@liberty.edu. For more information on the class, log on to the Internet for TRBC Home page at www.trbc.org/pbc.
