BEYOND THE BASICS
Hebrews 6:1 CSB
1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God,
The writer of Hebrews had just referred to the subjects of his letter as sluggish, unskilled, and immature. Now he is encouraging a move toward maturity, which means moving beyond the basics.
The two basic or elementary teachings that are mentioned are repentance from dead works and faith in God. These are two foundational teachings that the believers were already supposed to have established in their lives.
But what are the dead works to repent of? The Bible talks about different kinds of works. There are good works that should accompany the life of every follower of Christ. Jesus said to His followers in Matthew 5:16 to “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Believers are called sons of light and ones who have been called out of spiritual darkness. So because we are different spiritually, we are to live differently. Our light is allowing what is on the inside to show up on the outside in how we act and conduct our lives. We are called to be a reflection of Christ to our world. No, this does not mean being perfect, but it does mean living in such a way that God is glorified by what we do. Good works would be walking unselfishly in love, forgiving, returning blessing for cursing, showing kindness, speaking words of grace. All these are good works. So what are dead works?
Dead works are man’s efforts to earn his own salvation. There are still many people today who hope that their good deeds will cause them to be accepted by God. They are thinking that their good deeds will outweigh their bad and gain them access to heaven when they die. The problem with that thinking is that the Bible directly contradicts it. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJ “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” The problem with dead works is that it nullifies grace. Grace is God’s power and favor toward us that was unearned. God’s grace and love were based on His character, not our works. And yet some still try to work their way to God. But because we can not work our way to God, our efforts are dead works. It’s by receiving what Jesus did for us that we are saved, and that leaves no room for bragging because our salvation is a gift. Now our good works are not an effort to be accepted by God but a byproduct of what He has done in us through the new birth.
The other foundational teaching is faith in God. This one surprises me because it is a subject that so many know so little about. But our life with God is based on faith. Faith is being confident of what we expect and convinced of what we do not see. That is a great definition I heard years ago. It is a translation of Hebrews 11:1, and I do not remember exactly which translation, but I love the simplicity of that explanation of faith. We live by faith. We please God by faith. We enter God’s kingdom by faith. We are saved by faith. We receive by faith. I understand why the author of Hebrews considered it an elementary teaching, but it makes me see that we still have a long way to go toward maturity.
But moving on to maturity is a goal worth pursuing. Spiritual maturity is a blessing in this life and will benefit us in the life to come.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for helping me grow to maturity. There is so much more available in You and Your kingdom.