2007 Book of Hebrews Series – “Foundation of Faith”
Hebrews 6:1-3
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – April 8, 2007

Prayer Introduction: I once heard someone say, “If all there was to Christianity was obeying the Golden Rule, I would sleep in on Sunday.” Leonard Sweet has written, “The church is filled with many Golden Rule Christians whose motto is ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ and not enough Platinum Rule Christians: ‘Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.’ What is lacking, however, is Titanium Rule Christians, practicing the most powerful command of all ‘Do unto others as Christ has done unto you.’”

            And that is what Easter Sunday is all about. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means he is victorious over sin and death, and – by the Holy Spirit – this victory is applied to our lives.

            We can love as those who have been loved. We can forgive as those who have been forgiven. And we can get better and better at doing this as we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. The closing words of Hebrews chapter 5 and the opening words of chapter 6 encourage us always to grow in spiritual maturity. Let’s pray, that we may see what God would have us see…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!

READ Hebrews 6:1-3

I. Therefore

Our passage begins with that word, “Therefore” – which means we should ask “What’s it there for?” It points us back to what was just said at the end of chapter 5. We must always be on guard that we don’t get stuck in a faith rut for too long – but continually press on towards greater spiritual maturity.

            And so the author of this letter to the Hebrews says, “let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of” the Christian faith.

The author is not saying that we should abandon the foundation and never think about them again. You never leave the foundation of the house. You build on it.

Imagine building a house, but your contractor just keeps working on the foundation. It has already been laid, but every day he comes and sweeps it off. Keeps taking a level to check that it hasn’t changed (it hasn’t). Sits and admires it. He breaks it down and rebuilds it again and again. But never builds the house!

            To be sure a solid foundation is important; and if the foundation is non-existent or wrong you need to fix it before you build. Some people try and build spiritual houses where there is no foundation or it is way off.

That is not the problem with the Hebrews, nor is it the problem with you. We’ve got the foundation. Don’t we? This morning we will visit the foundation – and make sure we’ve got it – so that we can build on it along with the Hebrews.

II. Foundations

There are 6 foundations of the faith that are listed in verses 1-2, coming in 3 pairs of 2.

A. Repentance

First is the foundation of “repentance from acts that lead to death” or more literally translated in the King James Version “repentance from dead works.”

Where are the children? Question #58 of the children’s catechism (that we teach in Sunday School) asks, “What must you do to be saved?” Do you remember the answer: “I must repent of my sin and believe in Christ as my Savior.”

            Question #59 asks specifically, “How do you repent of your sin?” The answer: “I must be sorry for my sin, and hate and forsake it.”

            Most basic to the Christian Faith is repentance. What was the first message of Jesus (along with John the Baptist and the apostles) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (cf. Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Acts 2:28; 17:30).

The person who has truly received God’s regenerating grace – and is born again – shows it by beginning a life of repentance.

In Hank Ketcham's “Dennis the Menace” comic strip, Dennis is kneeling beside his bed saying his prayers. “I’m sorry, but I've got a whole bunch of ‘'I’m sorrys’ for you tonight!”

Repentance, though, is more than just saying, “I’m sorry.” Oswald Chambers, who is best known for his devotional book My Utmost for His Highest, wrote, “Never mistake remorse for repentance; remorse simply puts a man in hell while he is on earth.”

It has been said repentance is “to be sorry enough to quit.” To be “sorry for my sin, and hate and forsake it.” Why, asks Question #60 from the Children’s Catechism? “Because sin displeases God.”

Repentance is a lifelong pursuit of sanctification – we are always working at repentance. This is basic, but many people in churches don’t know it. They have only been taught to “believe in God.” True belief includes repentance. We must always remind ourselves about this foundation, that we may be sure of our salvation. As Isaac Watts said – “There's no repentance in the grave.”

B. Faith

Next comes the foundation “of faith in God.” Repentance and Faith are almost always uttered in the same breath. While they are two different realities, you cannot have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. Genuine faith is shown in genuine repentance and genuine repentance shows genuine faith.

            Faith is about more than just belief. A family tells the story of driving through an Amish area and their seven-year-old grandson couldn't get over all the Amish buggies. “Why do they use horses instead of cars?” he asked. “Because they don't believe in automobiles,” his mother explained. It was quiet for a minute, then the boy said, “But can't they see them?”

            Faith is trusting in God as opposed to trusting in the world, which means turning away from (repenting from) the world towards God.

            Faith and repentance is also not just about “going to church and trying to be a good person.” There is an old cartoon with a pastor saying, “We have a special gift for a lady that hasn't missed a service in forty-five years. Judy Smith! Where is Judy sitting? Judy? Judy? ...”

            It has been said, “To repent is to alter one's way of looking at life; it is to take God's point of view instead of one's own.” To do this you must have faith.

            Now, as Presbyterians we might quickly want to talk about the doctrine of predestination and election when talking about faith and repentance. But I appreciate what George Whitfield said, “Let a man go to the grammar school of faith and repentance before he goes to the university of election and predestination.”

            Repentance and faith are foundations of the faith. Election and predestination are for those who want to move on to spiritual maturity.

C. Baptisms

The next foundation is “instruction about baptisms.” There is, of course, two schools of thought about baptism. Some of our Christian brethren affirm believer’s baptism – that only those who have professed faith and demonstrated repentance should be baptized by full immersion. While we Presbyterians, and others, affirm paedo-baptism, the sprinkling baptism of children of believers.

            Now I must admit that immersion baptism has better jokes. Perhaps you’ve heard about the young boy who was baptized at a nearby lake. With tears streaming down the father’s face, the parents watched as he came out of the water, then excitedly asked if he felt any different. “Yeah, Dad, I do,” he replied. “Now I have water up my nose!”

            Whether affirming full immersion believer baptism or sprinkling paedo-baptism, in both cases we affirm the foundational truth that baptism is a visible sign of entrance into the church – the body of Christ. Presbyterians affirm that children of believers are part of the church just as circumcised children were part of Israel.

            In both cases we affirm that baptism is a visible symbol of the washing away of sins by the blood of Christ. Presbyterians affirm that children of believers symbolize that the washing away of sin is a gift of God’s grace, which precedes faith and repentance, just as a child is baptized before he or she professes faith and repents.

            In both cases we affirm that baptism is a sacrament or an ordinance – ordained by Christ who was, himself, baptized.

            So whether a person affirms believer baptism or paedo-baptist, we all affirm baptism as a foundational truth of the Christian faith.

            As comedian Mark Lowry quipped, “It doesn’t matter if you got sprinkled or dunked. If you don’t know Jesus you just got wet.”

D. Laying on of Hands

Next comes the foundation of “the laying on of hands” which refers to the receiving of a professing believer into the life and ministry of the church as a full member, who has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. When we receive a new member we bring them up front and lay hands on them as we pray for them and welcome them into the church.      For children this is called “Confirmation” as they make a confirmation of the vows taken in their baptism.

            Arthur W. Pink’s commentary suggests that the original audience of the Hebrews would have heard the Old Testament imagery here from Leviticus 16:21 – “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat, and send it away into the wilderness...”

This is a reference to the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement (we read about this a couple of weeks ago). It is quite feasible that this is exactly what is meant here – the atoning sacrifice of Christ foreshadowed in the scapegoat.

In receiving a member, the laying on of hands certainly recalls that imagery, as the new member professes faith in Jesus as their Savior – who took on their sins and suffered death in their place.

            So we have repentance and faith coupled together, so baptism and laying on of hands is coupled together. Also resurrection and eternity is coupled together.

E. Resurrection

These last two foundations of the faith we affirm in the last two affirmations of the Apostles Creed – “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”

We believe in the resurrection of the dead – we celebrate it weekly – especially on Easter. Perhaps you’ve heard about the pastor who was driving down the road with his young son when they passed a dog kennel. After sounding out the word “k-e-n-n-e-l” the boy asked, “Dad, what's a kennel?” “It's where they raise dogs,” replied his father. With a look of surprise, the boy said, “You mean from the dead?”

The reason that Christian’s worship on Sunday, instead of on Saturday – the Jewish Sabbath – is that Sunday is the day of resurrection. Sunday is the Lord’s Day. Sunday is the first day of the week.

            Look on your calendars – Sunday is the first day of the week. This is not the end of the weekend – this is the first day of the new week.

In fact, I am told that the Russian word for Sunday, “woskersicnye,” means resurrection. Even during the atheistic, communist regime, every Russian had to speak of the resurrection when referring to the first day of the week!

            The resurrection of the dead is not the end of life, it is the beginning of eternal life. When we become Christians, we begin to live the resurrected life. We were dead. In fact, we were born dead! We were born spiritually dead. When we come to Christ we are raised to life and begin living the resurrected life in Christ. Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

F. Eternal Judgment

And finally we come to the last foundation “eternal judgment.” Returning from Vacation Bible School one summer day, a young girl asked her mother if they could stop at the library. When asked why, the girl explained, “This morning my teacher told me that the only way we get to heaven is if our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I just want to make sure that my name is in there!”

            Do you know if your name is written there? The pastor Donald Barnhouse used to ask, “When you stand before the judgment throne, and the Almighty God asks, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven’ what will you say?”

            If your answer is, “Well I try to be a good person and do good things. Hopefully my good deeds outweigh the bad ones.” Your name is not in the book of life.

            “Why should I let you into my heaven?” asks God.

            “Jesus” is the only answer. “Jesus died for my sins and was raised on the third day. He took the guilt for my sin and gave me the credit for his righteousness. He is my only hope.”

III. God’s Will

And those are some of the foundational truths of the Christian faith. That is not an exhaustive list; but it gives you a sense of the foundation upon which we are “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (cf. Ephesians 2:22).

            This building up – and being built together – takes place as we move ever forward to spiritual maturity. On this I heard there was some confusion about last week’s sermon.

            Apparently some of you thought I was crediting myself with the spiritual growth that has taken place in this congregation. It really surprised me that any of you thought that I would ever say such a thing.

            Hebrews 6:3 says, “And God permitting we will do so” that is, God permitting we will move on to spiritual maturity. With our emphasis on God’s sovereignty; with our emphasis on doing everything through the plurality of the elders – rather than the pastor acting on his own – do you really think, for one minute, that I would take any credit for your spiritual growth?

            If it is spiritual growth, it can only be from the Holy Spirit. It is my great pleasure and privilege to be God’s instrument – by preaching and teaching his Word. But spiritual growth can only come by the working of the Holy Spirit.

            The obstacle to spiritual growth is also spiritual. There is an evil spirit who works hard to frustrate us from pursuing spiritual growth.

            Satan causes the grumblings, excuses, wrong priorities, and self-centeredness that keep us from building the house of spiritual maturity on the foundation of our faith.

            But the good news is that Jesus is risen. He conquered Satan. He conquered sin. Jesus is the risen King of kings and Lord of lords. Nothing can stop Jesus from building the Kingdom of God.

            May God be pleased to continually move us forward to spiritual maturity.

MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!