Remembering the Fundamentals

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time."

1 Peter 5:6 [AMP]

God, indeed is faithful! The Bible says in Philippians 1 vs. 6, "I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return]."

In our Christian journey, many believers struggle with something as they continue to grow... the humility to relearn and remind themselves of the fundamentals of the faith. In elementary school, we learned the multiplication mathematical function and the very essence of it... how it worked, its symbols, and the rules of what guided how it could and could not be used. All that information provided the basis for our understanding of algebra, trigonometry, geometry, calculus... the list goes on. However, no matter how advanced one gets in their understanding of mathematics if one misuses that multiplication function, no matter how brilliant their calculations may be, it would be incorrect. If that error were at the beginning of the work, then many numbers and calculations would need to be corrected.

Similarly, we need not forget the consensus foundations of our faith... the basic principles expressly documented in the bible. In many cases, however, believers have just been so set in their ways that they have warped the truth or strayed away from the faith for a significant period that they have forgotten or started to forget those basic principles.

Spiritual Infants

In our bible study, someone recently talked about how they felt convicted by Hebrews 5.

Hebrews 5:11-14 [AMP]

11Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food. 13 For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and] unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant. 14 But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.

In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews was talking to the Jewish people about Jesus as our high priest. However, he could not expound on the intricacies of what that meant because it would have been like trying to explain Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity to a toddler. In that study, we discussed the reality of many believers who have backslid and turned away from God for some time and the humility and presence of mind needed to realize that one needs to be taught the elementary principles again.

We often see our spiritual growth as a straight-line graph. We grow, we plateau (when we make mistakes and sometimes let guilt take us from his presence), and then in his mercy, he draws us back to Himself, and we find our footing in him again and continue to grow. While that seems true, we believe it is more like a wave graph of ups and downs. We must understand that there is no shame in relearning what we know or think we know. It is okay. If anything, it only reaffirms and deepens our knowledge of these basic principles.

Practice makes Improvement

Romans 8:1-2 [AMP]

1Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

One of our team members used to play the saxophone, and he explained that when he had not picked up his instrument in a while, he could not hold notes as long as he knew he could. So, before he began to perform, he would practice his breathing and tuning exercises. Those basic five-minute exercises made a very significant improvement in his ability to hold notes for longer.

It is the same with things of the spirit. For instance, when we make a mistake and feel the brunt of guilt and shame, we start to beat ourselves up because we are unworthy of God's love. In those times, we can read scripture on our new covenant and remind ourselves of the finished work of Christ on the cross-- that he took that burden of shame and gave us the nature to live above sin and death.

To All Believers

There is a tendency to neglect basic things in the "pursuit" of further knowledge, but it is paramount that as a:

1. New believer, you understand that growth takes time and is a gradual process. Do not try to move faster than the pace the Holy Spirit is guiding you at.

2. Prodigal believer, be humble enough to relearn the foundational truths so that you may discover through the word how to run your race diligently and faithfully without wavering or being tossed to and fro by the wind.

3. Mature believer, you need to relearn the foundational truths to help new believers understand those truths, and you do not want to be teaching wrong or misconstrued principles.

Keep in Touch!

If the Holy Spirit taught you something, please comment so we can all benefit.

God bless you. Jesus loves you!

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