The Six Doctrines of Christ- Part 2

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6:1-3 (New International Version, NIV)

So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding. Hebrews 6:1-3 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Today, we continue our discussion on the six basic doctrines of Christ. Yesterday we identified the following six doctrines and discussed the first three in the list.

1. Repentance from dead works

2. Faith in God

3. Baptisms

4. Laying on of hands

5. The resurrection of the dead

6. Eternal judgment

Laying On Of Hands

Throughout the Bible, laying on of hands is a means of imparting something to someone or transferring something to them, primarily anointing. When hands are laid on someone, it usually for one or more of these purposes:

• Pronouncing blessing (Genesis 48:14)

• Dedicating someone to the Lord ( Numbers 8:10-11)

• Ordaining/ commissioning people (Numbers 27: 18-19, 23)

• Imparting the Spirit to people (Deuteronomy 34:9)

• Blessing children (Matthew 19:15)

• Healing the sick (Mark 6:2,5, Mark 16:18, Luke 4:40, Luke 13:13, Acts 5:12, Acts 28:8)

• Working miracles (Acts 19:11)

• Imparting gifts to people (I Timothy 4:14, II Timothy 1:6, Hebrews 6:2)

• Imparting the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17-24, Acts 9:17, Acts 19:6)

The Resurrection Of The Dead

Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. By believing in Him, we too can expect to be resurrected and live forever with Him. Because we are joined with Him, we can experience the resurrection life beginning right now. Death no longer has a hold over us, and we are assured of life eternal with Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15 is an excellent chapter that speaks of the resurrection of Christ and our promise of resurrection. All who believe in Christ will one day be resurrected at the rapture and will take on new glorious bodies for all of eternity.

Eternal Judgment

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV)

Eternal judgment will happen for every person. Judgment is a word that many people do not like, but for the believer, it is a good thing. There is one judgment for the believer and there is a judgment for the unbelieving (Matthew 25:46). Believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive rewards for what they have done for Christ in this life (Romans 14:10, II Corinthians 5:10). The wonderful thing about this is that as believers, we can plead the blood and we are made righteous in the sight of God. This is where we look forward to hearing Him say, “Well done, enter into the joy of the Lord.” On the other hand, unbelievers will take part in the white throne judgment and will be judged according to their works. They will not have the blood of Jesus on their side. They will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). According to Scripture, a person’s eternal destination is sealed once he or she has died and will not be changed.

These six fundamental doctrines are necessary for the believer to know in order to progress and mature in the Christian faith. We do not depart from these basic truths, but we use them as the foundation of our Christian walk. According to Hebrews 6, God does not intend for us to remain spiritually immature, but we are to grow in our knowledge of Christ and the Word. Study the Scriptures that have been provided and gain a thorough understanding of them. Once you do, you can then build upon them to go to a deeper understanding of Spiritual truths, and you can teach them to others.