As I write this blog post, my family and I happen to be visiting with our sister for the weekend.
For a long time, her apartment overlooked a wooded piece of land that was a welcome respite from sight after sight of buildings and apartments.
This time though, it’s different. We found the wooded sight gone! The trees had been cut down. The sight was a hustle and bustle of activity; it was now a construction site with a new building coming up.
What was on my mind as I heard the masons chipping away at the building stones, working tirelessly to form the foundation of the building?
A Compromised Foundation
I found myself wondering: What if they compromise the foundation? What if the owner argues, for instance, This hardcore is too costly; the cement too? Let’s reduce the materials by just a quarter. It won’t matter; we’ll still do a workable slab.
He could also argue: We don’t have to dig that deep. All we need is a house. What we’ve done so far will suffice.
Well, you and I have had occasion to hear of, or perhaps witness firsthand the caving in of a building, loss of property, and livelihoods, not to mention the worst of them all – loss of lives!
However long it takes, it’s a matter of time; a compromised foundation will eventually show for it. It is dangerous, to say the least.
The Foundation We’re Talking About:
In the last blog post, having talked about the cracks that can adversely affect our spiritual foundation, I mentioned that I will clarify what foundation I’m actually talking about. You can find that blog here.
For one to be formed into all that God wants them to be, they must have a certain kind of foundation.
My reading of Matthew 7:24 – 27 from the Bible as I quoted in the last blog reveals to me what this foundation is: Hearing the words of Jesus Christ and putting them into practice.
This foundation is also Jesus Christ himself as 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us.
The words of Jesus are the words of God. The words of God are found in the Bible.
The best place to find out what kind of foundation I need for a fruitful stable life is in the Bible.
The Foundation Stones of Our Faith
We will begin by reflecting on Hebrews 6:1 – 3. This will be our main text. We will look at other Scriptures as we go along.
“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.”
The Hebrew writer is encouraging the believers to go on to perfection or maturity.
He makes a very fundamental assumption: That a certain foundation has already been laid.
Let me summarize the 6 that he is calling elementary teachings. Keep in mind that elementary also means basic or fundamental:
- Repentance
- Faith
- Baptisms
- Laying on of hands
- Resurrection
- Eternal judgment
Anything basic or fundamental refers to the foundational aspect of that which is in question.
The Hebrew writer was referring to certain foundational teachings that needed to have been established in the believers he is addressing.
It then follows that when we talk about a spiritual foundation, these are the basic components of our spiritual foundation.
Let’s look at each of the 6 components of our spiritual foundation.
We will keep referring to other scriptures that point to what the Hebrew writer summarized as the building stones as it were, of our spiritual foundation:
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Repentance
I’d like you to imagine with me as I describe a scenario that happened several years ago. It is recorded in the book of Acts in the Bible.
The Holy Spirit had just been vividly poured out on the disciples who’d gathered for days in an upper room in Jerusalem.
They began speaking in other languages to the effect that the Jews and other God-fearing people who’d gathered in Jerusalem to worship, could understand them as they proclaimed the mysteries of God.
There was no little confusion as a group gathered, perplexed by this strange phenomenon.
Peter boldly seizes the golden opportunity availed by the curious crowd to answer their questions.
He explains why this was taking place. He walks the crowd through the Scriptures and brings them to an understanding of what was going on.
The Word truly is sharper than any double-edged sword. The people are cut to the heart.
They respond with a question that has been repeated over the years, in varied ways, by many inquirers eagerly seeking the truth.
This is the question:
“Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)
Peter replies:
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
Why would Peter give this answer to the people?
Why wouldn’t he tell them, for instance, to ensure they begin attending the meetings they’ll be holding?
Why wouldn’t he tell them to go read the Holy Scriptures and pray to God then they’ll be okay?
The first word comprising what they were to do was to repent.
It is that serious to God that you and I, the moment we get convicted of sin, that we get to understand that we must repent for the forgiveness of our sins.
God is a holy God. He cannot stand wickedness of any kind.
Because He loves us and wants us to relate with him, he made provision for the forgiveness of our sins through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
No other sacrifice would have covered our sins. It had to be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus, who is in the very nature God, became that sacrifice because he was that perfect lamb of God without blemish.
This understanding has its foundation in the Old Testament right from when man sinned.
God made a temporary solution for man’s sins to be covered by the sacrifice of animals again and again.
The book of Hebrews then explains that Jesus, being the perfect offering, gave his life once and for all, so that you and I could be saved.
This is why when you and I make the decision to follow Jesus, we must deal with the problem of sin.
We must repent of our sins.
Repentance is simply having a change of mind about your sins and choosing to turn away from them.
You then ask God for his forgiveness for the sins you committed against him.
Paul preached that men should repent, turn away from their sins and prove their repentance by their deeds.
When one repents, the proof of genuine repentance is deeds that please God.
This is a vital foundation stone or component without which the spiritual foundation of your life will be greatly compromised.
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Faith
The next vital component of our foundation is faith, demonstrated by the act of putting our faith in the Lord Jesus our Lord and Savior.
It’s basically taking the reins of control of our lives and handing them over to Jesus.
It is trusting him fully and making the choice to live by His Word. Remember, Jesus is the Word of God.
Having taken the time to explain to the believers in Rome the implications of living by the law, explaining that salvation is not obtained by keeping the Law but by faith in Jesus, Paul states these words:
“But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 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 10:8-10)
He then quotes part of Isaiah 28:16 in the next verse: “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Paul illustrates the need for you and me to put our faith in the Lord Jesus.
It is not a blind kind of faith. It is a faith based on facts. It is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross by which you and I are made righteous.
It is Jesus’ blood shed on the cross that atones for our sins. God then imparts the righteousness of his Son on us.
If our faith is therefore not in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice for us on the cross, then our spiritual foundation will not stand.
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Baptisms
By using the word baptisms, the Hebrew writer is definitely talking about more than one kind of baptism.
My reading of the scriptures reveals that one of these baptisms is baptism in the Holy Spirit. The other one is baptism in water.
In relation to matters of foundation, I haven’t come across another kind of baptism in the Scriptures.
Because we will talk about baptism in the Holy Spirit in the next component, let’s focus on baptism in water.
When Peter went to Cornelius’ household, as he was sharing the good news of salvation in Christ Jesus, he and his companions were surprised to witness the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Gentile believers.
They’d thought this is for the Jewish believers alone.
This was, however, sufficient proof to them from the Lord that he had accepted Gentiles who turned to him in faith.
Peter did the next thing he knew was vital for their foundation in the faith: He ordered that these believers get baptized in water.
Paul, in Acts 19, baptizes the believers he found at Ephesus after explaining to them the way of salvation more adequately.
Water baptism is therefore an integral part of a believer’s spiritual foundation.
I hope to write a dedicated blog post on baptism in water where I will explain the biblical way of baptism in water.
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Laying on of Hands
On the day of Pentecost, all who were gathered in the upper room received the Holy Spirit without exception.
Each of the verses I have shared so far has the component of receiving the Holy Spirit, either as explained by the apostles, or demonstrated as was the case with Cornelius.
The Lord expected each of those who would believe in him to receive the Holy Spirit.
Except for the believers in the upper room and those in Cornelius’ house, the rest received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands.
This fourth component hence points to the fact that it is the will of God for each believer to receive the Holy Spirit once they get born again.
Sometimes, as was the case with the believers at Ephesus, converts may not be baptized in the Holy Spirit because of ignorance or lack of knowledge as we have often seen in our day, fear, and false teaching.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to lead a godly life. He enables us to do the will of God. He also works the character of Christ as we cooperate with him.
How then, can we possibly think we can lead the Christian life without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit?
This is why the laying on of hands as expressed in each believer being filled with the Holy Spirit, is an integral part of a Christian’s foundation.
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The Resurrection
If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
These are words Paul wrote as he discoursed about the resurrection in 1Corinthians 15:32.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, our foundation is devoid of a fundamental pillar without which, our foundation will fall flat.
It is because Jesus resurrected that the believer in Christ has the assurance of salvation from the power of sin and the devil.
It is because Jesus died, was buried, and rose again that we know that the penalty for sin that was ours has been paid for in full.
It is because of the resurrection that we know we will resurrect in Christ and experience eternal life both now and in eternity.
It is because of the resurrection that we have hope.
Hope causes us to know that this world is not all there is. We are living for a higher cause. We’re living to please our Father in Heaven. We will spend eternity with him when we die or at the end of time.
This makes life worth living as we await the blessed appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have hope beyond the grave because Jesus resurrected from the grave and made the way to the Father to whomever would believe in him who is the way, even the Lord Jesus.
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Eternal Judgment
Why in the world would Eternal Judgment form part of a believer’s foundation in the faith?
It is God’s will that we would know God holistically.
Actually, John 17:3 describes eternal life as knowing God and his Son Jesus Christ.
Knowing God as loving, compassionate, slow to anger, and a God who extends his hand to receive us to himself when we repent, means we must know the other side of him.
He is a God of vengeance and wrath. He will execute both perfectly and righteously because he is holy.
Eternal Judgement as a component of our foundation, is understanding the reality that we will all stand before his judgment seat.
We will be judged for every action we undertake and every word we say. The thoughts of our hearts will not be spared either.
He who sees even our most secret thoughts will judge us for those.
The reality of eternal judgment causes us to seek to live in a way that we are pleasing him with our thoughts, words and deeds.
It causes us to live with a sense of urgency. We trust him that others will know Jesus and not have to face the eternal judgment that will come.
We know that this is the final component that will determine the destiny of every person who’s had opportunity to live in this life.
This reminds me of this simple illustration. A child will often do right because he is aware of the consequences that await should he choose to act otherwise.
How much more will you and I be driven to live right when we know we will stand to be judged before a holy God!
How much more will we evangelize to those around us because we know it is worse for them: They’ll be judged for rejecting God’s Son.
The resurrection and judgment are the components of our spiritual foundation that will keep pointing us to the future as it were.
We are helped to fix our eyes on Jesus and not on earthly things. This is why these last two are an integral part of our spiritual foundation.
We must keep in mind that this world is passing away. Life beyond the grave awaits; a life without end, either in heaven or in hell.
These last two components are so vital as they help us maintain a biblical perspective in having our priorities right as we live in this world and face all its allures.
May God hence, help you and I ensure that our foundation is right, comprising each of the six components of our spiritual foundation in him.
Recommended:
Why Rising up Early is Biblical: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series
7 Reasons Why you Need to Rise up Early: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series
7 Rhythms and Routines of the Noble Woman: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series
The Most Misunderstood Verse in Proverbs 31: Tracking the Proverbs 31 Woman Series
Are there Cracks in your Spiritual Foundation? 4 Reasons Why your Spiritual Foundation is Weak