Foundations of the Christian Life. Chapter 1 - The Foundation and How to Lay It.

Foundations of the Christian Life.
Chapter 1: - Introduction: - The Foundation and How to Lay It.

When a person becomes a Christian one of the ways we describe what has happened to them as being “born again”. This suggests that:
* Becoming a Christian is a new beginning – a bit like birth.
* There is the potential for development or growth.
In this series what we want to examine how to make sure we get this process of growth off to a good start.

THE STAGES OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

1 John 2:12-14. Three stages of Spiritual Growth.
"I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one."

Identifying Characteristics of Each Stage.

(1) Children - Literally "infants" – newborn Christians.
(a) Know God as their Father.
(b) Know their sins are forgiven.

(2) Young Men.
(a) Have in their experience overcome sin, Satan and the world.
(b) They know what it is to wage warfare in the Spirit.
(c) The Word of God “lives in them” – it is alive and relevant to their daily lives.

(3) Fathers.
(a) Mature believers who KNOW God in an intimate way.
(b) Are Spiritual "Fathers", begetting children in their own likeness. I.e. they are role models.

The aim of God is for every Christian to grow to be a "Father".
But how do we grow spiritually to become a “father”?

The Bible uses several pictures to talk about the development of the Christian life. Two of the most important are:
(i) The parallel of spiritual growth with physical growth.
(ii) The parallel of “building a life” with building a building.
These two pictures reveal a simple, but profound, pattern for spiritual growth.

THE ILLUSTRATION FROM HUMAN LIFE.

The natural growth pattern for human beings is the pattern for spiritual growth: babies, children, adults.

Infants are born with all of the potential for everything they ever will be. So too, as Christians, we are "reborn" with everything we will need for spiritual growth and development. But this needs to be developed.

Growth takes time - we do not become physically mature at birth, nor do we become spiritually mature at new birth. We must grow through the stages, in the divinely appointed order. We cannot take shortcuts.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS NOT AUTOMATIC WITH TIME.

Hebrews 5:11-14.
"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn...
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."

* These people had been Christians for over 30 years. The writer wanted to bring them a deeper understanding of the work of Christ but he realises that, even though they had been Christians for such a long time, they were unable to understand what he wanted to teach them. They were still “babies” as far as their level of understanding was concerned.
* The writer says, “You are infants, needing milk.”
* The goal is to be “mature” – to be able “to distinguish between good and evil.” In the context this refers primarily to teaching, but it flows on into actions and lifestyle.
IGNORANCE IS NOT A CHRISTIAN VIRTUE.
* The solution is “milk”; the teaching of “the elementary truths of God’s word”. However the writer is clear – one should not live on milk for too long as to do so prolongs the period of infancy unnaturally.

In the growth process correct diet is important: Milk - Mashed Vegetables - Meat.
If you feed a new-born baby meat it will be sick; but a person of 21 who has only drunken milk would be physically, and probably mentally, retarded.
Many Christians are spiritually “retarded” because either:
(i) They did not get the right diet when they were first converted or,
(ii) This diet never developed into solid food.
It is possible to be a Christian 50 years and still be a spiritual baby. Everyone loves a baby when it's "baby time", but we find it uncomfortable to be around someone who has not developed properly, who is in some way “retarded”. “Retarded” Christians cause the same reaction, and bring dishonour on the name of Christ.

THE ILLUSTRATION FROM ARCHITECTURE.
The Picture of a Building.

The Bible regularly uses this picture to illustrate this "growth" teaching.
In Hebrews the writer immediately goes on from talking about the difference between “babies” and “mature” people to talk about "foundations".

Hebrews 6:1-3
"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 judgement. And God permitting, we will do so."

* The “Elementary teachings” were previously called “milk”, but now are “a foundation”.
* The writer is not suggesting we “leave” this teaching in the sense that we forget it altogether. Rather the idea is that they should have laid this foundation well by now and be prepared to “go on” and build the rest of the building of their faith. The foundations of a building are a necessary part of the daily existence of the building. So too these “Spiritual Foundations” are something we will “live out of” every day.
* About this “going on” the writer says “This we will do if God permits”. God is our building inspector. He will only allow us to “go on to spiritual maturity” if we have the foundation is properly laid, just as a building inspector will not allow the building to be erected if the foundations are not properly complete. The prime reason why many Christians never go on to maturity is because the building inspector, God, has not allowed them to “go on”. The reason for this is that they have never laid the necessary foundation in their lives.

You cannot grow spiritually if you do not do it God’s way – He will not let you!

Another Scripture dealing with the same problem of lack of growth:
1Corinthians 2:1 –2.
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

1 Corinthians 3:2
"I fed you milk not solid food because you were not ready for it – and you are still not yet ready for it!"

1 Corinthians 3:10-12.
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

* These people had been Christians for several years, yet Paul had to write to them saying, “You are of the flesh”; i.e. they were spiritually immature, still following their old way of life. The growth Paul expected was missing.

* Note the parallel phrases:
"I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified"
"I fed you milk"
"I laid a foundation which is Christ"
These three phrases mean the same thing.
The spiritual foundation is the person and work of Jesus Christ in history, 2000 years ago.

WHAT IS OUR SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION?

Our Spiritual foundation is made up of three parts:

(1) CHRIST.
1 Corinthians 2:1&2, 3:2,10-12: - "A foundation which is Christ." “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified”

In 1 Peter 2:2-6, Peter says the same thing, telling us that Christ is the Chief cornerstone of the spiritual house we are building. The cornerstone is the first stone laid in a building and from it all the angles and lines of the building are drawn.

1 Peter 2:2-6
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

The milk, or foundation of the Christian life, is the Lord Jesus Christ, and his work of redemption on the Cross. Christ is the Rock on which we build.

1 Corinthians 10:4 “… and that rock was Christ.”

The revelation of Jesus as the Christ is our starting point (Matthew 16:16-18). From it we are to derive all of our understanding and experience of spiritual reality.

Matthew 16:16-18
"Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

CHRISTIANITY IS CHRIST.
He is the sum of all we believe, experience and do.
The historical event of Christ is the OBJECTIVE foundation on which we base our faith.

(2) THE WORD OF GOD.
The record of the Christ event, including the preparations for it and its meaning for us, is found in the Bible. Christ is the Word, the message God has for mankind (John 1:1ff), and the record of this Word is the Bible. The Bible itself is not the revelation of God, Christ is, but the Bible records this revelation and gives us the essential interpretation of it.
Hence, just as Christ is our foundation, so too is the Bible.

(3) A FOUNDATION IN EXPERIENCE.
The objective foundation of Christ needs to be applied to each of us personally if it is to be meaningful. The third part of the foundation is, therefore, a practical understanding and experience of what Christ has done for us.
Hebrews 6:1-2 (above).
The Writer here gives us two necessary things:

1. Two principles which make God's word real and alive to us:
(a) Repentance.
(b) Faith.
These are the foundation. Repentance digs the hole - it removes the dirt from our lives. Faith fills the hole in our lives with God's provision.
Repentance and Faith are not just two foundation stones we lay once for all, but are two life giving principles which we need to operate every day of our lives. We never “leave” them in the sense of “have nothing more to do with them”. Rather they become part of our lives in such a way that we cannot live without them.

2. Along with these two principles are four things which we need to be instructed in if we are to get started and grow in God:
(a) Baptisms (plural),
(b) The Laying on of Hands,
(c) Resurrection of the Dead,
(d) Eternal Judgement.
It is by the understanding and doing of these things that Repentance and Faith find their living expression in our lives at the beginning of our Christian walk. The instructions also have abiding results in our lives.

HOW DO WE LAY OUR FOUNDATIONS?

Three things need to be done:
1. We must have the right materials.
What we believe is important. There is a correct intellectual understanding of certain truths which is necessary. What we believe about Christ, the Bible, and the truths in Hebrews 6 is vital.

2. All of the materials must be there.
We cannot avoid some things because they are controversial or hard to understand.

3. They must be correctly fixed in place.
James 1:22-25
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it- he will be blessed in what he does."

The foundation is laid by living in faith and obedience to the Word of God.
But failure to do it results in no growth.

Matthew 7:24-27. The Two Houses.
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

To build a building we need to lay proper foundations, then we build the framework, then the lining. So too, in the Christian life, we need a proper foundation or else when the stresses come on us our lives will fall apart.
The issue here is in the preparation each made when he began to build. Jesus is not saying one went out to look for sandy soil and the other for a lava flow - in Palestine there are few lava flows. We must assume they began with the same sort of dirty terrain. The point of this story is in the foundations - both men built equally impressive houses but one had taken the trouble to get the dirt out of the way before he built. Jesus is telling us that we need to get rid of the dirt in our lives if we want to be strong Christians - otherwise the stresses of life will cause our faith, and our life in general, to collapse.
We need proper Spiritual foundations.

What are you building?
Are you building:
* A spiritual shed?
* A spiritual garage?
* A spiritual house?
* Or a spiritual sky scraper?

The interesting thing is that with the building we do in God to some extent we determine the end result. We get to decide to some degree what sort of building we eventually end up with - and we decide that by the sort of foundations we lay. How we start will determine how we finish.

1 Peter 2:2-3.
“…long for the pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

* There is a "growing" in our salvation we can experience.
* This growing is dependent on our drinking “spiritual milk”.

As we proceed through this course we are going to examine these foundations and seek to lay them into our lives in a theoretical and experiential way.


HOMEWORK:

1. The following three New Testament passages talk about spiritual immaturity. List the characteristics of spiritual immaturity for each passage.

(1) 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.
(i) ________________.
(ii) ________________.
(iii) ________________.
(iv) ________________.

(2) Hebrews 5:11-14.
(v) ________________.
(vi) ________________.
(vii) ________________.

(3) Ephesians 4:11-16.
(viii) ________________.
(ix) ________________.
(x) ________________.

2. The following passages talk about spiritual maturity. List the characteristics of spiritual maturity for each passage.

(1) Hebrews 5:11-6:3.
(i) ________________.
(ii) ________________.

(2) Ephesians 4:11-16.
(iii) ________________.
(iv) ________________.

Add to these the list of stages and characteristics from 1 John 2 found earlier in this study.

Where do you personally stand in the process of spiritual growth?
_________________________________________________

Where do you want to be?
_________________________________________________

3. Three parts make up the spiritual foundation of the Christian. What are they?
(i) ________________.
(ii) ________________.
(iii) ________________.

4. Spend a few minutes thinking about each of the following and how much you understand them:
* The work of Christ.
* The place of the Bible.
* The six things mentioned in Hebrews 6:2.
Identify and write down below anything you do not understand or have not attained to the experience of in these areas. Are there any areas of foundation missing? What things do you want God to teach you about?

5. Use the Transformer verses and prayers every day this week.

TRANSFORMER VERSES:
Laying Foundations: 1 John 2:12-14
"I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

Hebrews 5:12- 6:3.
"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundations of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God, with instruction about Baptisms, the Laying on of Hands, the Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgement. And God permitting we will do so."

TRANSFORMER PRAYER:

Father God,
I see it is your desire still today that mankind be your image. You want us to be fathers just like you.
I thank you that you have received me into your family. I thank you for new birth. Father I pray that you would put your hand on my life. I want to be a father just like you – bringing to birth many sons and daughters in your kingdom.
I commit myself today to spiritual growth. Father I want my life to be a continuous line of growth. I pray that you would hold me in your hand that this would become true.
I confess my need to rebuild the foundations of my life. I ask that you, O God, would, as the Great Building Inspector, examine my life and begin to root out all that would make me unstable, all that is false. I open my heart and mind to you at the beginning of this course, asking you to begin to change my mind and heart. Expose to me that which is untruth, teach me the truth, that I might learn to walk in it.
In Jesus’ name I ask this, Amen.