Today we are starting this 52 lesson school discipleship and what we are covering is the introduction to section I, which is called The Established Foundation. What you are partaking of in this school of discipleship is the result of my journey and walk with God over the last 35 years.
During this journey I’ve witnessed a problem and it’s the same problem that many believers face today. It was the same problem that I faced as a new believer which is a lack of knowledge concerning what the Bible says and teaches. In my search I discovered the one and true foundation: Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Bible.
Now studying the Bible can be a very intimidating, confusing, and sometimes a complex task.
I think for a lot of people they just don’t know where to start and they just don’t understand how it all fits together. The Bible does not tell us everything about world history nor does it tell us everything about how to live life. The Bible is history, but it’s telling us the story of God’s redemptive history in time. It’s God’s love story to humanity showing us His redemptive hand through the Hebrew people; his chosen vehicle to redeem a fallen humanity bringing us back to Himself.
What I am trying to accomplish through this material is to help you develop your spiritual life, discover your spiritual gifts and fulfill the will of God for your life. Now to be able to grow spiritually the first thing you have to do is get a strong Biblical foundation. You have to become grounded in a foundational understanding of the message of Christ. Discipleship is at the very root of that message since the church is not a building but a group of people learning to live the cruciform life of Christ in them.
The result of completing this first section will be a basic understanding of the foundational doctrines of Christ which will put you on the road to spiritual maturity.
It will also help you to begin to study the word of God for yourself by providing a foundation for understanding. I am going to be presenting to you theological concepts. However, I am going to be presenting them as a practical guide for the sole purpose of accomplishing mission. Mission is at the heart of the gospel and central to that mission is to teach all that Christ has commanded us to do.
The teaching style I always try to use is presenting truth in a way that is simple, attainable, and applicable. Learning retention is the ability to store new information in one’s long-term memory so a person can easily recall it and put that knowledge to use in the future. Jesus was a great teacher and he applied a variety of teaching styles.
The National Training Laboratory developed what’s called the learning pyramid. It’s a pyramid showing how effective each teaching style can be in your students retaining information.
It’s estimated that people normally only retain 5% of the information they learn in a lecture. 10% through reading and 20% through the audio-visual method which may include pictures, charts, videos, slide shows, whiteboards, and more. Demonstration and coaching raise learning retention to 75%. The most effective learning retention is when you begin to share with others what you’ve learned. If you start sharing with other people what you have learned it means that you understand it well and can easily recall it whenever you need to.
Jesus implemented all of these teaching methods and it’s important that we utilize all of these methods if we want to be disciples and make effective disciples.
It’s why in this school of discipleship we have lecture, which is what you listen to in the video portion of this lesson. We have reading like this blog post and I also encourage you to get a copy of the 'Building Your Spiritual House' workbook so that you can read and study it. You can purchase this book if you go directly to Amazon. As you are listening to each lesson follow along in the workbook so you can take notes. You will find study questions at the end of each lesson so take the time to answer the questions, it helps you retain what you are learning. Each lesson has group discussion ideas because it’s important to get other people’s perspective which helps with learning retention.
Mission can only be extended to the degree that you are embracing and putting the teachings of Christ into practice. I hope as you listen and learn that this is more than just knowledge you put in your head. I hope that it becomes a practical guide to help your spiritual community learn, grow and function together so that you can fulfill His mission. For spiritual growth to begin in your life there needs to be put in your heart a strong Biblical foundation. That is why the main focus of this section will be Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1 thru 2 which is an outline of the basic teachings of Christ.
Hebrews 6:1–2 (ESV): Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
You will see that in Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12 the author is correcting these believers for still being immature. In the New Living Translation it says that, you have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. The word of God teaches us that as we grow up into Christ, we will not only learn, but we will also learn to share what we’ve been taught with others. Babies just receive from their parents, but as a child grows he has something to share.
The author of Hebrews says that we need to share with others what God's word says.
This is not saying that you have to stand in front of a pulpit or classroom and teach. It is saying, however, that as a believer you should know the word of God well enough to share it with your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. You should be able to share with others what the Bible says concerning salvation, faith, baptisms, judgment, etc. This should be one result of our maturing in our faith.
Doctors, educators, and psychologists tell us that the first three to five years of a baby's life are the most important. The foundation that a child receives in these formative years will stay with them the rest of their lives. This same truth applies to us as believers. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 12 says that we need to be taught the first principles of the oracles of God. The Phillips translation calls them the ABCs of God's revelation to men. The Kenneth Wuest Translation says they are the rudimentary things of the very beginning in the oracles of God. The phrase the first principle of the oracles of God reads literally in the Greek,…certain principles of the beginning of the words of God. The Greek word for principles is stoicheia. This was used in classical Greek in the sense of walking in line and being in rows. It's like when I was taking care of my infant son. I put him on formula at 3 months old. He started out on infant formula, and then went to the next step of formula until we put him on regular milk. There was a progression in his growth.
The author of Hebrews calls these first principles of the oracles of God the milk of the word. Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1 thru 2 list six different milk bottles and calls them a foundation of
Repentance from dead works
Faith toward God
Doctrine of baptisms
Laying on of hands
Resurrection of the dead
Eternal judgment
Paul in II Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 tells us that we become new people when we accept Christ, but just as a baby grows in stages and matures, so do we. Peter the apostle was instructed by Jesus to feed new believers in John chapter 21verse 15. Also, in Peter’s first epistle chapter 2 verse 2 he says that "we should be like newborn babes, longing for the pure milk of the word, that by it we may grow in respect to salvation". It’s the nutrients that we get from a consistent intake of the word of God that will cause us to grow spiritually. Peter uses not only the example of partaking of nutritional milk for spiritual growth, but also talks about believers being built into a spiritual house with a solid foundation.
Now it’s common knowledge that when you build any type of structure the foundation is laid first.
Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1 thru 2 gives us the teachings upon which our faith is built, which is the revelation of Christ Himself. These six foundational areas establishing us in Christ must be laid down in each believer's life. The purpose of a well laid foundation is so that we can build upon it to fulfill the plan of God for our lives. In I Corinthians chapter 3 verse 2 thru 10 Paul gives us three examples to teach us that spiritual growth comes in stages. He talks about babies drinking milk and developing into adults. A builder who lays a foundation and builds upon it. Then a farmer who plants seed in the field and it grows into a crop. There is an old saying which says that Rome was not built in a day. Spiritual growth will not happen overnight, but spiritual growth can be helped and nurtured if we keep our lives centered on Christ.
You know it’s the desire of every parent to see their children grow up healthy and live productive lives. As some of you may already know, parents cannot control their children, but can only lay a good foundation in their lives and hope that they will stay true to it. However, in this world there will always be forces that will try to blow us off the right course. The apostolic writers established the foundations of our faith and since that time Satan has been attempting with every wind of doctrine to blow it away from its original foundation. The main weapons of the enemy are enticing philosophies with a scriptural foundation that have been taken out of context.
Every serious Bible student knows that context means everything since you can make the Bible say just about anything you want it to say if you take it out of context.
In Genesis chapter 3 verse 7 we see that Satan's first assault against mankind was when he deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden by twisting what God had originally said. When she paid more attention to what Satan said instead of what God said it then caused her to doubt and be confused about God’s original instructions. Satan's main weapon against us continues to be deception.
In I Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 Paul the apostle said that some will fall away from the faith, or you might say they will be blinded from seeing and understanding the truth by paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. In this verse it’s quite obvious that the words spirits and demons are in the plural and not the singular. It’s not often Satan personally who is the one that blinds people’s minds, but the blinding comes from false concepts, false ideas, false philosophies, and false teachings inspired by evil spirits. If we pay attention to these weapons of deception then they will lead us away from a central devotion to Christ. This is why John warned us in I John chapter 4 verse 1, to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God".
You see, the spirit of error is truth that has been taken out of proportion to the whole body of truth.
We cannot build our doctrines or teachings on just one portion of the word of God, or we will fall into error. I Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 tells us to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth". Christ is the center of our walk of faith and when we are moved away from that center then our lives of faith are affected in a negative way.
Let’s look at heresy because it’s a word that is thrown around a lot these days. It’s been my experience that if someone disagrees with you then you are quickly labeled a heretic. Yes, there are heretical teachings today just as there have been since the days of the original apostles. 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1 says "there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them". A heretical teaching is basically one that takes your focus off of the centrality of Christ.
You can look on the internet, turn on the tv and find some strange teachings out there and actually there are far too many to address. If we spend our time trying to correct false teaching then we are going to miss our mission. Instead spend your time focusing on the truth found in Christ and the mission of reaching others with that message.
Do you know how the federal government trains its people to detect counterfeit dollars? Federal agents don’t learn to spot counterfeit money by studying the counterfeits. They spend large sums of time studying genuine bills until they master the feel, touch and look of the real thing. John the apostle was known as one who had a very close relationship with Jesus. He wrote one of the gospels, three epistles and the book of Revelation. In I John chapter 1 verse 1 he says: "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life". He experienced the real thing up close and became intimately familiar with Christ. As a result, he could quickly detect an imposter and it’s John who coined the term antichrist.
If you get to know the real thing up close and intimate then when you see the false presented to you it’s easily recognizable. We have to focus on the Majors and become so acquainted with Christ so that when we hear a false portrayal of him, we reject it.
All the basic heresies concerning the person of Christ were manifested during the time of the early church and were dealt with in the gospels and epistles of the apostolic writers. Jude the apostle felt the necessity to write the early church which was being influenced by false teaching, and to appeal to them that they contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. The faith...delivered to the saints is the apostolic teaching given to believers in the earliest days of the church.
In II Timothy chapter 2 verses 17 thru 18 Paul talks of a group of men "who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and thus they upset the faith of some". From the way heresy is used in the epistles, we can conclude that certain groups have doctrines and ways of spirituality that are deeply destructive. Paul said these false teachings are like a cancer and Peter called them destructive heresies. Heresy is best seen as a form of belief that ultimately ends up subverting, destabilizing, or even destroying the core of the faith. It’s why getting established on the foundation of Christ is so important and vital.
It is only by staying true to the central message of Christ that we can live healthy and productive lives as a people of mission.
The word for sound in Titus chapter 2 verse 1 actually means to be healthy, sound and physically well. Sound doctrine always produces healthy living. The power of the Holy Spirit is important, but the Spirit’s teaching makes us of sound mind. You can always know a teaching by its fruit. What fruit do you experience in your life when you receive a teaching? Is it producing liberty or bondage? Is it producing sound living or chaotic activity? You have a responsibility to test everything. Acts chapter 17 verse 11 says that the Jews in Berea "received the word Paul was teaching with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily" to see if the things they were being taught was true or false. Don’t just take my word for it, do your own research.
You know when I got delivered from drugs at the age of 19. I would read the book of Ephesians, Romans and I Corinthian's where it talks about their being one body of Christ, one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. I came to realize that there is only one body of Christ, but there are many different parts of that one body. You have Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, Nazarenes, Non-Denominational, House Churches and the list goes on. This can sometimes be quite confusing for unbelievers and new believers. The question I am sometimes asked is, if there is only one church of the Lord Jesus then why so many denominations and Christian groups? I’ll give you an analogy. It’s like going into a neighborhood where they’re building new homes.
If all they had in the neighborhood was the foundation of the homes you could not really tell one apart from the other. The foundations are all made from concrete. It’s not until the house is built that you see the distinction between each one. The foundation is made of the same substance, but the structure of the house is distinct.
Our foundation is the common bond that unites the church together no matter what Christian group we identify with. That bond is the basic teachings of our faith in Christ centered around the blood and broken body of the risen Christ. Every local church, denomination or network of churches will have their own distinct house or type of ministry, but there is only one foundation. Paul in I Corinthians chapter 3 verse 11 says that:
"no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In Acts chapter 2 verse 42 we see that the early church converts, "continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine, and in fellowship and breaking of bread and prayers". In the New Geneva Study Bible it says that the basic teachings of Hebrew chapter 6 verses 1 thru 2 can all be found in the books of Acts which are the ABC’s of Christian doctrine. It’s like when we go to school. In kindergarten we all learn the same basics or foundation, but by the time we are in college we have our own distinct focus of study. In Acts chapter 2 verse 42 we can see that it is the measure of common teaching between believers which will determine the measure of our fellowship with one another, resulting in our ability to fulfill the purpose of God.
I am under no illusion that we are all going to agree on everything, but my mission is to help believers return to focusing on the foundation of Jesus Christ where Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13 says the unity of the faith is established. I am convinced that if we will focus on the centrality of Christ that we will no longer be children, tossed here and there and carried around by every different teaching.
Yes, there are some non-negotiable areas we need to have agreement on.
For example, we must agree on such foundational truths as Jesus being born of the virgin birth and God manifested in human flesh. That salvation is by grace through faith as a result of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. That the body of Christ is founded on what Christ did for us through the cross and that we are joined to His throne of grace through one Spirit. That the mission of the body of Christ is to proclaim this message until He returns in a resurrection body. At that time we shall be changed, given resurrected bodies and forever be with Him. A good policy to follow is in essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty in all things love. Another wise little word is to major on majors and minor on minors.
If we want to fulfill the mission then we have to stay focused on the main thing. Its why sound doctrine is so important.
Romans chapter 12 verse 2 tells us not to be "conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God". A person is formed by what they believe whether it is the vain philosophies of men, doctrines of devils, or the inspired word of God. In our postmodern culture relativism abounds where there appears to be no absolutes, which makes teaching and learning sound doctrine a necessity in our day. As I’ve previously said the word sound actually means healthy therefore sound doctrine produces healthy living.
In the world you will find many different versions of who Christ is, but you must decide for yourself who He is and how you will respond to Him. Discovering who He is and responding to Him will determine your eternity and your purpose in this life. It will actually determine your mission and if it is successful. Paul was an apostolic team leader who planted churches and established organizational structure. Paul was a spiritual father to the communities he founded because he was the catalyst who brought them into existence by the gospel.
Paul worked with other team members and in those days they didn’t have email or zoom so the way they communicated was through letters or what they called epistles. Paul had two younger protégés Timothy and Titus with whom he became particularly close and were part of his apostolic team. He had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete so that they could help strengthen the local body of believers in both places.
I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus are what is referred to as the pastoral epistles. It was instruction from Paul back to his young protégés on how to establish foundations and organizational structure to further the mission of Christ. In 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 16 Paul told Timothy to "pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching, persevere in these things, for as you do this will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you". This is why it’s so important for you as a believer to understand the word of God and to be able to teach family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
I am not saying that just agreeing with sound doctrine is going to give you a relationship with Jesus Christ, but we see in II Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 that "the word of God is able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus". In I Timothy chapter 4 verse 13 he was commanded to "give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhortation and teaching".
Paul knew that to build something with a lasting effect in people’s lives there had to be sound doctrine laid in the believers lives.
We see Paul following this same pattern with Titus who was left in Crete, so that he might set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as Paul directed him to do. Paul knew for Titus to accomplish this he would have to "speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine", that’s in Titus chapter 2 verse 1.
Paul also helps us to understand that we are not just seeking knowledge. Knowledge by itself causes spiritual pride. In I Timothy chapter 5 Paul says the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a clear conscience and a sincere faith. You see it’s only faith that will please God, not abiding by rules and regulations or just agreeing with certain facts. Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word concerning Christ". It’s why in the first section of this school we are going to cover the fundamentals of the faith and establish you in Christ. Remember the whole goal of this school is to make disciples who fulfill the mission. It’s what Paul was teaching us in Romans chapter 6 verse 17. So, as you hear the word of God, I want you to become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching that has been committed to you.
My teaching philosophy is to make the word of God simple, attainable, and applicable. If it’s not simple, then you won’t understand it. If you don’t understand it, then you won’t be able to attain it.
As John said we must touch, taste, and experience the word of God so that we can apply it to our lives. If we are not applying the word of God to our personal lives then what we have learned is of no practical benefit to us nor to anyone else. Love must also be one of our main goals as we learn the word of God. In I Corinthians chapter 13 we are told that if we know all mysteries and all knowledge…but have not love, we are nothing.
It’s important to try and avoid the pitfall of legalism, which can happen when we make learning sound doctrine and end in itself. I’m grateful for the Bible and the tremendous amount of resources to help us understand today, but the Bible cannot take the place of the Spirit. If we allow that to happen then we become nothing more than legalist and earthly minded people walking in the flesh.
Legalist just have a form of religion because they’ve denied the power of the Spirit. Paul said the letter by itself kills, but it’s the Spirit that gives life.
The disciples during the book of Acts did not walk around with a Bible in their hands because they didn’t have one. It was estimated that only about 10% of the population could read during the time of Christ and its why Timothy was told by Paul to give attention to the public reading of scripture because it was the main way information was passed along. All they had was the Torah or the Old Testament which was kept in the synagogues. You did have the epistles or letters that were being written by the apostles being distributed among the churches, but not everyone had access to them.
The early church did not have access to the amounts of information that we have today, however they impacted the world around them in a dramatic way. The question we should be asking is how did they do this? It’s because they relied on the power of the Spirit.
Don’t misinterpret what I am saying, because I believe as you know by listening to this lesson that I’m big on sound doctrine because sound doctrine produces sound living. Sound doctrine is like railroad tracks, but if we don’t have a participation of the Spirit the train is going to just sit on the tracks and move nowhere.
In looking at the foundational doctrines of Christ it’s important that we grow in grace which is a participation of the Spirit and love, not just knowledge. Just as Paul said in Acts chapter 20 verse 32 it’s my desire to see you established in the Lord and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Knowledge is not our goal, but being established in the love of God produced through the Spirit working in us, is one of our primary goals.
Having a clear conscience should be another of our main objectives. The word of God should produce in us a clear awareness of ourselves in our relationship with God, so that we can fulfill his purposes in this life. If our conscience is not clear, then it will hinder our relationship with Him and spoil our testimony before the world. It should be our desire to have the same testimony as Paul in II Timothy chapter 1 verse 3 when he said, "I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience".
I don’t want to say this is the last word on sound doctrine. In the first section of this school I am attempting to cover the fundamentals of the faith and relate them in such a way that you will be grounded in Christ our foundation. Whether you go through this school of discipleship on your own, with someone else, or in a small group setting, be established in Jesus Christ who is the only true foundation. As you go along don’t just be a student, but get involved so later you can teach others.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 1 - Who is God?
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