Fundamental Doctrines of Christ
Jesus is the author (beginner) of our eternal Salvation (Heb. 5:9). He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:12)
Jesus
Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the
first and the last. He will give to him who is thirsty the fountain of
the water of life - eternal salvation - freely (Rev. 1:8;
21:6; 22:13). Jesus begins and ends every Christian's eternal
salvation. But it is axiomatic that everything God begins spiritually,
through human instruments, must start the smallest.
You were not
separated from your mother's womb as a full-grown, mature human being.
It anywhere from thirteen to twenty years for you to attain maximum
growth in the physical.sphere.
But the point is, you had to
start somewhere. And that start was when your mother conceived. At that
precise moment you were no bigger than a pinpoint or the period at the
end of this sentence.
And it is, figuratively, the same in the
spiritual sphere. There was a time in the
life of each true follower of Christ when he or she began to be a
Christian. All start out as spiritual infants.
And if you
are not yet a Christian, but do want to become one. you must begin as a
babe in Christ - not as a full-grown. mature Christian.
In the first grade a small child does not begin his study of mathematics by solving higher equations. He starts with 1 + 1=2.
In
like manner one must commence his Christian life by learning the first
principles of the oracles of God — the first principles of the doctrine
of Christ (Heb.5:12; 6:1).
The newly begotten Christian must first be thoroughly grounded in the basics.
Every
Christian, when first converted, is likened to one that uses milk,
being unskillful in the word of righteousness because he is a babe in
Christ (Heb. 5:13).
But what are the first principles of the
doctrine of Christ? What is this "milk" of the word." What specific
doctrines should you begin to understand even in "boot camp," that
preliminary period just before you become a Christian (and during your
early conversion period)? Where are they found in the Bible?
Paul lists the following in (Hebrews 6:l-2).
An
in-depth explanation of each one of these fundamental doctrines is
contained in the following studies presented one per week here on this
site.
Good News February 1974
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