Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will  do if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

As you may remember, I spoke before on the first of these six foundations of the Christian faith spoken of in Hebrews 6:1-3.  Repentance, Faith, Baptisms, the Laying on of Hands, the Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment. Having covered repentance, now we move on to the second doctrine of Christ, and that is faith towards God.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

The second of the foundations of Christianity is 'Faith towards God', this refers to your attitude toward God. Some men hate God and rebel against Him, others are afraid of Him.   But scripture states that your attitude should always be one of faith. Faith and repentance are both necessary for genuine conversion.

If you turn to God without forsaking sin is not true repentance and to try to forsake sin without turning to God in faith ends in failure. The ministry of Paul to the unsaved was about both repentance and faith toward God being necessary for salvation.  

I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)    

 But what is faith? Faith means to believe and have assurance of something. To believe means to have trust.  The words "faith, believe, and trust" all mean the same thing when we use them in relation to God. The Bible defines faith as:  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)   

The Amplified Bible adds to this definition:

Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see, and the conviction of the irreality. Faith is perceiving as real what is not revealed to the senses.(Hebrews 11:1)   

Faith gives assurance that the things promised in the future are true and that unseen things are real.  What then is hope? Faith differs from hope.

Hope is a desire or attitude of expectancy concerning things in the future. Faith is belief in something you cannot see but have assurance you already possess.  Hope is in the mind. Faith is in the heart.  But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (I Thessalonians 5:8) In this verse faith is associated with the region of the heart as a breastplate and hope is a helmet associated with the head. Hope is a mental attitude of expectancy about the future and faith is a condition of the heart producing belief in God:

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.(Romans 10:10)

It is not enough to accept the Gospel with your mind.  If you only accept it with your mind and you do not apply it to your heart is not true Scriptural faith and does not produce change in your life. True Scriptural faith, believing with the heart, always produces change in your life. And the result is something experienced in the present, not something hoped for in the future.    

There are two reasons why faith toward God is required. The first reason faith toward God is important is that it is necessary for salvation.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)  The second reason faith is important is that you cannot please God without it.  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

When we talk about faith here it's good to make the difference between faith and works.  By faith I mean "that which you believe,” and by works I mean "that which you do.”  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith is the gift of God to believe. James sums up the connection between faith and works by the example of the relationship between man's body and spirit. The Bible teaches that when a man dies, his spirit leaves his body. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:26) Your actions should reflect the living faith within you. Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)          

I would like to end give you a scriptural example of faith.  

In Hebrews chapter 11 it lists the names of many people who were great examples of faith, but there is one man in the Bible who is called "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11). His name is Abraham, because of his faith toward God, Abraham was justified.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. (James 2:23)

When Paul wanted to illustrate faith toward God, he used Abraham as an example because Abraham listened to God’s promises and heard His Word.  It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. (Romans 4:13,21) He not only heard the promises of God, he believed, and believing, he turned from his hopeless condition which resulted in a change in Abraham’s life.

Just as men and women lost in sin, Abraham faced a hopeless condition in the natural world. The promise to become the father of many nations could only come through God because Abraham and Sarah were too old to have children. Yet Abraham accepted God’s promise as a fact, this is faith toward God.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, (Romans 4:20)

Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.  There is no other way you can receive the promise except by faith in His plan of salvation: So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Ephesians 3:17)  

The faith toward God demonstrated by Abraham is an example for us all to follow. We must:      

-Hear the Word of God.        
-Believe the Word of God.    
-Turn from your hopeless condition (change through repentance from dead works).           
-Accept God's promise as fact. His promise is that you are justified by repentance and faith toward God through Jesus.

Let us pray,
Abba Father, we are unworthy of your many blessings. Yet still you have made a promise to us of your eternal salvation. You are Love Lord. Please give us the faith to accept your promise and the hope to carry us on until we stand in Your presence. Amen.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,  of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  And this we will do if God permits. (Hebrews 6:1-3)

In Hebrews 6:1-3  Paul speaks of the six foundations of the Christian faith: Repentance, Faith, Baptisms, the Laying on of Hands, the Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment.  I have touched on each of these briefly before, but today  I will be unpacking the first of these doctrines, repentance.

My wife and I were blessed to go and see a musical a few months ago.  The musical was Les Miserable, if you haven’t seen it then you need to it is amazing.  The premise behind it is the story of Jean Valjean, a man who stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister's son, he was caught and imprisoned for a total of 16 years.

He gets out and finds he is marked by those around him as nothing more than a criminal, unwanted and unworthy; not even fit to work so he can feed himself.  Starving, Jean despairs over what his life has become until a kind priest takes him in, feeds him, and gives Jean a place to sleep.  Jean Valjean , embittered by what is life has become, returns the priest's kindness by stealing the silver cups and silverware before running away in the middle of the night.

You see Jean has learned from the world that when you sin against it the world may forgive, but it never forgets.  He has to take what he can when he can and be darned with the consequences.  The authorities of course, catch him and beat him before bringing him before the judge with every intention of throwing him back into slavery for stealing again. 

Much like Jean Valjean, we sin repeatedly against the Lord.  Again and again we act out our own sinful natures and though we ask forgiveness, we often repeat these sins when we are stressed by the world or tempted by the enemy.  In the play, Jean is brought before the judge and the priest comes to his defense.  The priest claims he gave the silver to Jean Valjean, and that in his haste to leave, he had even forgotten to take the silver candlesticks as well, "Here, would you leave the best behind?" he asks.

Jesus came for all of us, He came to stand before the judge and vouch for each and every one of you.  "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)  Now, although a great alliteration for salvation, what does this have to do with repentance?

After Jean Valjean leaves the court free to continue his parole, he cries out in agony, the priest reminded him he has a soul. He still has a place in God's kingdom; the priest had rescued him from not only the chains of physical bondage, but of spiritual bondage as well, chains he need never wear again.  Christ was waiting patiently for Jean to repent from his sin and turn towards God's light of truth. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

After this moment of understanding and repentance brought about by a simple act of faith by a Christian living a Christ-Like life; Jean Valjean continues through the play acting on his renewed faith never again returning to his old ways, even though sorely tested.

Repentance is a change in mind, that results in a change in action.

By changing our minds and making a conscious decision to stop acting on a specific sinful impulse, we turn that sin over to God and walk into a renewed covenant with Him, lightened by the loss of one sinful burden.  Every time we discover a new area of our lives in need of repentance we can turn that over to God and again lighten the burden on our hearts. I cannot stress the importance of this first principle of Christianity.  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Revelations 3:3)

Every one of us has things today we need to surrender to God.  Every one of us have already had the price for our sins paid for by the blood of Christ, now we need only accept His forgiveness by repenting in our hearts.

Let's pray.
Dear Lord, I do not deserve your great mercy.  Yet still you grant me grace and accept my honest and earnest repentance.  Abba, Father show me the things I still need to release to you.  Bring me into a right relationship by casting light into the corners of my soul Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

Over the next few months we are going to be looking at the basic doctrines of the Christian faith as described in Hebrews 6:1-3.  A doctrine is a collection of teachings on a certain subject, and the basic doctrines of the Christian faith are the teachings of Jesus Christ recorded in the Bible.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3)         

Webster's dictionary defines 'theology' as "the study of the religious faith, practice, and experience." The word 'theology' actually means, God (theo) talk (logy). We are doing theological work whenever we talk about God. When we do theology, when we are talking about God; and when we think about the difficult teachings of the Bible, we show our passion for His word. In fact, theology can be considered an act of worship. Unfortunately, not all Christians see it that way. 

A famous evangelist's daughter wrote a book, "Don't Give Me Theology, Just Give Me Jesus." Many Christians seem to agree. They see theology as boring, something that seminary students and pastors do, but not particularly relevant for the church. That approach can be very dangerous. One cannot describe the ministry of Jesus without doing theology. What was the incarnation? What does atonement mean? Without theology, how could you explain the difference between the true Christ and the Mormon Jesus (brother of Satan) or the Islamic Jesus (just a good teacher). 

Without theology we cannot fully appreciate the glory of God. We cannot understand how His mercy and His wrath go hand-in-hand. Without theology our faith is anemic, our defense of the faith impoverished, and the future of our church endangered. Jesus, the Word, knew a little bit about theology. He taught it to His disciples. He taught it to His followers. 

In the encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus talked about theology. "You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews." (John 4:22). This knowledge, Jesus said, drives us to worship God. "But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth" (v. 23). God wants informed worshipers. 


How do we do that? Theology. The Apostle Peter warned the church that there are "false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you" (1 Peter 2:1). These prophets and teachers, he wrote, bring into the church "destructive heresies." How will we recognize them? How can we combat them? In a word: theology. As a church we do theology when we study the Bible. We do theology when we hear a sermon. We do theology on Sunday night. We do theology even during our prayer meeting. We do these things not because your pastor is a theologian. We do them because we love God and we want to know more about him. 


In the end, theology is not just for theologians. It's for the children of God. It's for worshipers.