Elementary

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,  instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6:1-3

On Sunday our Pastor preached on “What’s Next.” I got stuck on the verse above from Hebrews and the whole issue of elementary teachings. Do we really have a grasp of the elementary teachings? What is elementary? If asked to summarize Christianity in a paragraph, could I do it. These questions worry me, because it’s so important to get the basics right. Don’t we all know Christians who love to discuss graduate level Christianity, but seem to have no concept of the basics?

I’ve been a lawyer for 33 years. When encountering new attorneys I sometimes wonder what they are teaching in law school these days. These “kids” don’t seem to know how to phrase a question, deal with another lawyer or show respect to the court. They can spout complex legal theories, but have no idea about the basics. They want to win but have no sense of justice or concept of right and wrong. Maybe they should be in church? They might feel right at home.

So I decided to try to put Christianity 101 into a paragraph. Here’s what I came up with:

Man’s sinful nature creates a gulf between God and man unsurpassable by any human effort.  The Bible records man’s rebellion and God’s initiative to repair the broken relationship.  God bridged the gap and made reconciliation possible by the removal of man’s sin through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.  Man can only enter into this declared reconciliation by turning away from his sin and putting faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

Your reaction will likely be like mine was in reading my summary paragraph: “But you left out …” Surely there is more say, but is that more Christianity 102? I think I really need to spend some time absorbing the enormity and the wonder of 101. What about you?

Be blessed.