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Hebrews 6:1 says to leave “the elementary doctrine of Christ.” But to what extent does that elementary doctrine reach? Commentators say it includes the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. Beyond that, though, it is a bit murky. They say the elementary doctrine, which is a point of reference for Jesus in his teachings, includes various parts of the Law and the precepts it upholds. The inference of Hebrews 6:1 is to advance beyond the ceremonial aspects of the Law, along with certain of its parts and precepts. Does helping others survive the cut in leaving the elementary doctrine, or is it left behind as part of the parts and precepts of the Law that those, who have borne witness to, and experienced, the Light of God through Lord Jesus, are now permitted, even expected, to not spend any more time on since by now it’s inherent in them to some degree?
We who abide by God through Christ apparently have enough respect for the Old Testament that it is included in the Bible along with the New Testament. Is it there to serve as a reminder of what we are expected to advance from, or is it there because Jesus upholds it when he says that nothing is accomplished until it is fulfilled, as he says in Matthew 5:17-18? Could Jesus have conveyed to us an understanding of God without referencing the Old Testament? Could he have spread the Word to non-Jews, such that it has become the focal point for many around the globe, from the West to the East? It is apparent that Jesus believed the Old Testament, with its ceremonial Law along with all the parts and precepts, to be important enough to address in his mission to save mankind.
About the Old Testament...Helping others is rooted in its Law. Leviticus 19:34 says to love the stranger among you as you love yourself, just as Egypt under the rule of the Pharoah Ramses I welcomed the family of Jacob who needed a place to live because of the famine where they presently lived. And Deuteronomy 24:19-22 says to leave any excess harvest for “sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow,” in the spirit of remembering the Hebrews having been “a slave in the land of Egypt” under Ramses II, until Moses led them to the Promised Land.
What would leaving the “elementary doctrine of Christ” mean, in the context of abiding by any of the Laws of the Old Testament, presuming that the Laws involving helping others, constitutes part of the elementary doctrine that Hebrews 6:1 tells us to leave? How would it pan out in the context of the New Testament?
The New Testament implies that when you love God and have faith in Him, the expectations of the Law are imbedded in your heart. As an analogy, what if there was a Law that says we shall breathe, that we may stay alive? Do we need someone to tell us to breathe? Seems that to a certain extent, in the context of Hebrews 6, and perhaps Hebrews 5, certain parts of the Old Testament are figuratively commanding us to breathe. But the Hebrews who were already receptive enough to breathing, that they did not need to be told by the Law to do so, must have felt some sense of relief that, as provided for in Hebrews 6:1, they need not be taught again how to breathe, if even they had to be so taught.
In that context, can helping others amount to breathing as well? Well, the New Testament seems to lean to helping others. Jesus, at least in Mathew 25:31-46 warns us that those who don’t help the poor and needy will end up in a Lake of Fire prepared for them, but those who do help them will join Jesus in God’s Kingdom.
Why does Jesus feel it’s important to help the poor and needy? The Bible doesn’t say. Seems it’s because it says in the Old Testament to do so, and did Jesus not say he would uphold the Law and the prophets? But if Jesus says to help the poor and needy, we can surmise that it’s part of the Will of the Father that Jesus refers to when he says it won’t help a person who merely says “Lord, Lord” without doing the Will of the Father, as it says in Matthew 7:21. Seems then that those who love God and have faith in Him, need not be told to help others as if it’s part of the “elementary doctrine,” but it should be as natural as breathing.
We who abide by God through Christ apparently have enough respect for the Old Testament that it is included in the Bible along with the New Testament. Is it there to serve as a reminder of what we are expected to advance from, or is it there because Jesus upholds it when he says that nothing is accomplished until it is fulfilled, as he says in Matthew 5:17-18? Could Jesus have conveyed to us an understanding of God without referencing the Old Testament? Could he have spread the Word to non-Jews, such that it has become the focal point for many around the globe, from the West to the East? It is apparent that Jesus believed the Old Testament, with its ceremonial Law along with all the parts and precepts, to be important enough to address in his mission to save mankind.
About the Old Testament...Helping others is rooted in its Law. Leviticus 19:34 says to love the stranger among you as you love yourself, just as Egypt under the rule of the Pharoah Ramses I welcomed the family of Jacob who needed a place to live because of the famine where they presently lived. And Deuteronomy 24:19-22 says to leave any excess harvest for “sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow,” in the spirit of remembering the Hebrews having been “a slave in the land of Egypt” under Ramses II, until Moses led them to the Promised Land.
What would leaving the “elementary doctrine of Christ” mean, in the context of abiding by any of the Laws of the Old Testament, presuming that the Laws involving helping others, constitutes part of the elementary doctrine that Hebrews 6:1 tells us to leave? How would it pan out in the context of the New Testament?
The New Testament implies that when you love God and have faith in Him, the expectations of the Law are imbedded in your heart. As an analogy, what if there was a Law that says we shall breathe, that we may stay alive? Do we need someone to tell us to breathe? Seems that to a certain extent, in the context of Hebrews 6, and perhaps Hebrews 5, certain parts of the Old Testament are figuratively commanding us to breathe. But the Hebrews who were already receptive enough to breathing, that they did not need to be told by the Law to do so, must have felt some sense of relief that, as provided for in Hebrews 6:1, they need not be taught again how to breathe, if even they had to be so taught.
In that context, can helping others amount to breathing as well? Well, the New Testament seems to lean to helping others. Jesus, at least in Mathew 25:31-46 warns us that those who don’t help the poor and needy will end up in a Lake of Fire prepared for them, but those who do help them will join Jesus in God’s Kingdom.
Why does Jesus feel it’s important to help the poor and needy? The Bible doesn’t say. Seems it’s because it says in the Old Testament to do so, and did Jesus not say he would uphold the Law and the prophets? But if Jesus says to help the poor and needy, we can surmise that it’s part of the Will of the Father that Jesus refers to when he says it won’t help a person who merely says “Lord, Lord” without doing the Will of the Father, as it says in Matthew 7:21. Seems then that those who love God and have faith in Him, need not be told to help others as if it’s part of the “elementary doctrine,” but it should be as natural as breathing.
