How does the author show Love?

II. An Exhortation to Steadfastness in Faith, Longsuffering and Hope (Hebrews 6:1-20)

A. Warning Against Immaturity and Apostasy (Hebrews 6:1-3)

The writer of Hebrews was concerned about those who had come out of Judaism, and who seemingly were not experiencing normal Christian growth, were stumbling and fumbling in what is referred to here as the “principles of the doctrine of Christ.” The elementary yet very important principles were to be the stepping stones to Christian maturity. The foundation had been laid and there is no need to re-lay it. The Christian must constantly move forward in faith toward the goal of maturity. What advantage will there be to us and to the world if we only acquire the principles of Christianity without putting them into practice. It is not that we push them aside or let them slip from our memory, but that we should learn them well, make them a part of our life, yet proceed to mature Christian practice. We never stand still; we are either moving forward or backward. If we are not growing in Christ, walking with Him, we are drifting away from Him. Great truths always come one by one. We build precept upon precept. They are discovered by those who diligently search for them and very often are the product of much and great toil. We are to leave the elementary principles and intelligently and deliberately go on into the fullness of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We must recognize the fact also that God is a teacher who uses “His Book.” We must know what the Word teaches if we would go on to a fuller revelation of spiritual truth. The Bible is a rich mine in which we find hidden gems to give us guidance for our daily Christian walk, which will bring maturity. Spiritual knowledge is essential to spiritual health. You can’t feed your mind on the garbage of the world and expect to grow spiritually, which so many are trying to do. The books you read, the radio and television you mentally or visually observe, are a gauge of character development and are vital to either a spiritually healthy life or a sickly half-committed Christian life. If you’re not growing or maturing in your Christian experience, take a little time for inventory of your interests and habits, and ask God to help you adjust to those concerns that will help you develop into a healthy example of all God wants you to be. Much of our problem in Christendom is that we win people to Jesus Christ, but we fail to teach discipleship. To progress as a Christian is a walk, a journey, a contest. Christian virtues must be carefully cultivated. This is what we are learning about in this lesson because of the dangers associated with immaturity.