Hebrews 6:2 –
You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
We talked yesterday about starting to take the pursuit of God to the next level. How we needed to wean ourselves off milk and start going after Jesus and God more in depth. Well the writer continues this though in this chapter and focuses on the “basics” which makes me wonder if I am still on a milk diet!! As I read verse 2 it goes through the “basics” that should be understood by all before moving on. Then I go through the check list.
First, is a baptism which I have been actually three times; once as a child, one at the UMC Church when the family was “sprinkled” and once at Shadowbrook when I got dunked. I understood the meaning and what it symbolized. So I can check that one off. Next is “laying of hands”, which in my book means praying over a person and touching them. I also associate it with healings and being able to pray, touch and heal an individual. I “understand” this completely but have never seen it happen and would love to be able to heal someone by touch and prayer. Is my faith not strong enough or do I just not have this gift? Can I “check” that one off?
Next on our check list is resurrecting the dead. Jesus did this a few times in His ministry, Paul and Peter both did this so it wasn’t limited to Jesus. Again I have never seen or heard of this being done recently. So does that mean we have strayed far away from Jesus’ original message that no one can perform these miracles anymore? One begs to question if this happens daily in our hospitals and ER’s? People die constantly and are shocked back into life. Did Jesus just know CPR or did He do this by touch or command? Again I understand the concept but have never done it before. So check or no check?
Finally, the writer mentions eternal judgment for our sins. This is a simple concept; we are sinners and will be judged for our sins after death. The only way to absolve ourselves is through confession and the belief that Jesus died for our sins. So I can “check” this one off. Right now if it’s an “understanding” of these ideal I am batting 1000, if it’s “performing” them than I am quickly down to 500 or even 250, since I haven’t stopped sinning!! The question lies if understanding is enough to grow? What do you think?