What the Bible Says

     In the book of Hebrews we are are given a list of six principals, or foundational doctrines, that the writer assumes believers of all levels of maturity should understand. In Hebrews 6:1-2 these are listed as, “the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment,” (KJV). These beliefs may not all be listed in The Apostles Creed, The Baptist Faith and Message, or the Church of God's Declaration of Faith, yet they are the basic lessons we should learn as Christians beginning to know our faith. We cannot begin to delve into the deep mysteries of the Bible until we have come to recognize these introductory truths.

Repentance from Dead Works

     What do these Scriptural statements mean though? Le us start with “the foundation of repentance from dead works.” Before Jesus paid the price for our sins, John the Baptist went before Him preaching that people needed to turn from their evil ways and dedicate their lives to the Lord. This was John's message of repentance. It was necessary for the people of that day to be willing to make room for God in their lives by deciding that they did not want to do anything that would keep them separated from Him. This is still required today. Those who are seeking to know peace and be set free from their sins must make a conscious decision to try and obey the Lord in all that they do and say. This requires that we admit we are wrong when we realize we are sinning, and devote ourselves to a different kind of lifestyle that will please God. We have to accept His standards for righteousness, instead of just doing whatever we would like.

Faith Toward God

     The second foundational truth is “faith toward God.” This simply means trusting in God, believing that He is real, that His Spirit is with us, and that He is in control of everything that goes on around us. This allows us the comfort of knowing that we were created for a purpose, that there is someone in Heaven who listens to us when we pray, and that we have a spiritual guide to help us to fulfill our callings. Both this teaching, as well as “the foundation of repentance from dead works,” are beliefs that not only Christians hold, but sometimes Jews and people of other religions as well. Yet still these are a vital part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Baptisms

     The third basic truth of Christianity is “the doctrine of baptisms.” Notice that the Bible did not say “baptism,” but “baptisms.” This means that there are multiple washings, or periods of submerging, that Christians need to experience. These different baptisms are all described in two passages of the Bible, Acts 8 and Acts 19. We see in these passages, as well as others, that there are three types of baptism. These include being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16) , John's baptism (Acts 19:3), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15, 19:6, and Luke 3:16).

     Being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus simply means that one accepts Christ as the Lord over their life, and prays to have Jesus' blood applied as the payment for their sins. This is the “one baptism” that unites us as members of one faith and one Church (Ephesians 4:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13). The second baptism, “John's baptism,” is simply a submerging in physical water. This is a symbolic act a person does to portray having new life, rising up after burying their old, sinful self in the water. The third, and most often overlooked baptism, is when we “receive the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 19:6). This is when God's presence comes upon a person so heavily that they can sense Him, becoming just as aware of Him being there as they would with a person they could see. This baptism gives believers a new revelation of just how real God is, which helps them to more faithfully share about Him with others (Acts 1:8). All three of these baptisms are helpful for living as a Christian, but only the baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus is required for ensuring eternal life (John 3:16, Romans 10:9).

Laying On of Hands

     The fourth basic teaching of our faith is the “laying on of hands.” This is the practice of a Christian placing their hands on another person to allow the power of God to be channeled into the one that they are touching. Christ often laid His hands on people to heal them (Luke 4:40, Matthew 17:7, Matthew 20:24), Paul did so for men to be filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 19:6), and Timothy received a spiritual gift through this method (1 Tim. 4:14). This practice is also sometimes used to minister God's peace and comfort to someone being prayed for, or to cast demons out of someone in need of exorcism.

     It could be said that part of the reason God has His people practice the laying on of hands is because it is a simple gesture of kindness or affection. It therefore allows the Spirit of God, who is love, to flow more freely into a person. Or it may simply be what some call a “point of contact” for one's faith, giving the person who receives hands laid on them something to apply their trust to in receiving a miracle from Jesus.

Resurrection of the Dead

     The fifth elementary teaching of Christianity is the “resurrection of the dead.” During the New Testament period, when somebody would die the others would say they were now “sleeping.” Jesus Himself said this of Lazarus in John 11:11. This was not just a polite way to say “the person is dead.” But just like we mean it when we say someone has “passed on,” there was deep meaning in this Jewish phrase. It literally meant that the body of the dead person was only in a sleep-like state. One day it would awake, when God bought that person back from the dead.

     The Bible explains in 1 Thessalonians 4 that Jesus will one day return to the Earth, and as He comes down His people will be gathered to Him in the sky. Among those who will meet up with Him in the air will be “the dead in Christ.” This is our hope for eternity (1 Thessalonians 4:18). It is that we will be raised from the dead and get to live with Jesus forever in our bodies, not that we will get to go to Heaven and just be spirits for the rest of eternity. Revelation 20:4-6 refers to this as “the first resurrection,” stating that those who rise from the dead will rule with Christ on Earth for 1,000 years. Following that there will be a second resurrection, when all who chose not to serve Christ will be brought before God to face Him for their sin (Revelation 20:11-15).

Eternal Judgement

     The teaching of “eternal judgement” is tied closely to the teaching of “the resurrection of the dead.” Those who do not get to be raised in the first resurrection will one day have to meet their Maker, and God will judge them by throwing them into “the lake of fire,” (Revelation 20:15). This is called the second death (Revelation 20:6,14), and it may actually be the complete end of these people's lives. However, those of us who know Jesus will have our names written in God's “Book of Life,” and therefore will be allowed to live forever with Christ on the new planet He will create (Revelation 21:1-8). We will be free from all crying, death, pain, and any negative aspect of the former world (Revelation 21:4).

The Importance of Knowing The Basics

     For centuries Christians have been divided by people arguing over what to believe, from the Church councils of old, to the Protestant Reformation, to the modern debate between fundamentalists and emergents. These doctrines listed in Hebrews 6:1-2 are not all necessary beliefs for someone to have to be a Christian, but they do provide a very simple, easy to define set of basics for believers to follow. If the whole Church would simply unite behind what the Scriptures themselves list as foundational truths, we could walk in a lot closer unity, and as the first verse of this passage states, “leave the elementary teachings of Christ and go on to maturity,” (NIV). We could finally begin to receive the deeper revelations God has waiting to show us, and in fact, would be more prepared for Christ to come and reveal Himself! Ephesians 5:21 says He is coming back for a pure and blameless bride, and part of being pure is having orthodox, Biblical beliefs. This is why it would help for us turn to Hebrews chapter six a little more often.