The Doctrine of Christ

The Doctrine of Christ Foundational Principles For Christians By David Redmond

Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. — 2John 9
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. — Hebrews 5:12

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;... — 1Peter 4:11
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking bread, and in prayers. — Acts2:42

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement. — Hebrews 6:1-2

If you ask most Christians, "what is the doctrine of Christ?", you will most likely get a shrug of the shoulders in reply. Likewise, if you ask most Pastors or those ordained into ministry, "what is the doctrine of Christ?", you will get the same shrug of the shoulders or they will go into a litany about their denominational creed. Yet the apostle John stated in 2John 9, that whosoever does not abide (dwell, continue, or remain) in the doctrine of Christ, has not God. In other words, they aren't saved! Does that give you some idea of how important the doctrine of Christ is in the life of a born-again believer? As we proceed in this study, you will find out what the doctrine of Christ is and how it applies to your life in Jesus Christ.
When starting to build a house, the most important task to perform is to lay a good foundation. A house with a poorly built or weak foundation will not stand the test of time and will eventually crumble in the face of environmental adversities. Likewise, throughout the New Testament, there are scriptures that refer to the spiritual foundation that is built in believers. In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus spoke saying "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great". Paul, in 1Cor.3:10 speaking to believers tells them that he, as a wise master builder, had laid in them the spiritual foundation upon which they are built. He goes on, warning them to take heed how they build upon that foundation, for no other foundation can be laid in them; only the foundation which is Jesus Christ. In John 1:1, it tells us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God". Further down in verse 14, it says the "Word was made flesh", speaking of Jesus and that he dwelt among us. Therefore, if Jesus is the Word and if our foundation is to be built on Jesus Christ, then we can consequently say that our foundation is to be built upon the Word of God.
To say that our foundation must be built on the Word of God is a gross generality. We need to be more specific than that. Fortunately, the Bible is more specific. Ephesians 2:20 states that we are to be built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. The Greek word translated as "foundation" here, and in the previously referenced scriptures, is used metaphorically and means: The beginnings or first principles of an institution or system of truth. Therefore, as born-again believers, we are to be built upon the first principles of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the prophets. Acts 2:42 tells us that the early church continued stedfastly in the apostles doctrine. 1Peter 4:11 states that if any man is going to speak, then let him speak the oracles of God. Paraphrasing Heb.5:12-13, it tells us that whosoever does not know the oracles of God is as a babe and is unskilful in the word of righteousness.
So what are the first principals of Jesus Christ? And what is the apostles doctrine? And what are the oracles of God? Again, the Bible is specific in providing us the knowledge of God's word. Hebrews 6:1-2 identifies six principles of the doctrine of Christ: 1) Repentance from dead works, 2) Faith toward God, 3) Doctrine of Baptisms, 4) Laying On of Hands, 5) Resurrection of the Dead, and 6) Eternal Judgment. Within these six foundational principles, you will find the primary building stones of our faith in Jesus Christ and the foundation of the spiritual house that God is making us into. When you study the teachings of Jesus Christ during his 3 1/2 year ministry prior to his crucifixion, you will find that he taught nothing outside of these six foundational principles. That's right! Every one of His teachings can be linked to at least one of these six foundational stones. Likewise, when you study Acts and the Epistles, you will find that the apostles and prophets taught nothing outside of these six foundational principles. Why then do you not hear them taught in church? Over the centuries, the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Mt.9:35, Acts 8:12, Acts 28:31,...) has degenerated into something called denominational Christianity. The church has mutated into a ritualistic religion much like that which existed when Jesus preached to Israel. In Jesus's day, he encountered the Pharisees, Saducees, and the Herodians. Today we have all three of these religious sects alive and thriving within the church. The Pharisees added to the word of God to the point where Jesus rebuked them saying " your doctrines have made the word of God of none effect" (Mt.15:1-9). The Saducees took away from the word of God, in that they did not believe in angels, spirits or the resurrection (Acts 23:8). The Herodians compromised the word of God with the world system to maintain their position and status in society (Jn.11:48). Jesus warned the disciples not to partake of the leaven (or doctrine) of the Pharisees, Saducees, and Herodians (Mt.16:12, Mk.8:15). If Jesus warned the early disciples not to partake of these doctrines, then we as present day disciples of Jesus Christ should heed the same warning; and be assured, you will find at least one aspect of these three doctrines in 90% of the churches today. Think about it, there are over 250 different denominations in America alone that call themselves Christian. Therefore, we need to go to the basic doctrine of Jesus Christ to ensure that our spiritual foundation is built on the solid rock of the word of God. Without a strong foundation of the doctrine of Christ in our lives, we will either be limited in how large our spiritual house can get or our house will end up having cracks, causing it to eventually crumble and fall.
The first and most important stone in our foundation is that of Repentance From Dead Works. The word "repent(ance)" is used about sixty times in the New Testament. Repentance is where we must start in laying our foundation. If we don't understand repentance or if we have a loose, sloppy attitude toward repentance; if we are seeking an easy, painless approach to the Gospel and our service to Jesus Christ, our spiritual lives will be weak and unstable. The Greek word for "repentance" in the New Testament means, to have a change of mind or, literally, to have another mind. Dead works are basically actions that we do to make us self-righteousness, self-justified, or that God has not asked us to do. Even "good" works or works of ministry can be classified as dead works if God has not called you to perform them. As we study the word of God concerning Repentance from Dead Works, it will bring light to those areas of our life that need to be changed and also those things we are doing that rely on our own strength, ability, talent, effort, and potential. The Bible tells us that we are to REPENT, CHANGE OUR WAY OF THINKING (Mt.3:2, Mt.4:17, Mk.6:12, Acts 2:38, Acts 20:18-21).
When we partake of repentance and stop relying on our own efforts to approach the things of God, it will cause us to turn our Faith Toward God. Many Christians think that this simply means "believing" in Jesus or in God. We will see as we begin to study this foundational stone that it means far more than just belief in Jesus. For example, when God made his promises to Abraham, his believing God meant far more than just "head knowledge". Abraham's faith encompassed trustworthiness, loyalty, obedience, fidelity, and stedfastness (Gen.15:6, 18:19, 22:16-18). Our faith toward God will cause us to walk in submission and obedience to God's word thereby manifesting an outwardly observable life that witnesses the fact that Jesus is our Lord.
Many Christians think that the Doctrine of Baptisms is about water baptism or the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Actually, it is much more than that: The Greek word translated as "doctrine" here is didache which means: teachings, instructions, or concerning something. The word for "baptisms" is baptismos, which means: washings or immersions. In other words the doctrine of baptisms is teachings about different aspects of our immersion into Jesus Christ. In the New Testament there are at least 7 different baptisms referenced, those being: the Baptism of Repentance (Acts 13:24, 19:4), the Baptism of Water (Mt.3:6, Acts 8:36-39), the Baptism of the Holy Ghost (Mt.3:11, Acts 1:5), the Baptism of Fire (Mt.3:11-12, Lk.3:16-17), the Baptism of Suffering (Mt.20:22-23, Mt.26:42, Lk.22:42), the Baptism into the Body (Ro.6:3, 1Cor.12-12, Eph.1:22-23), and the Baptism into the Cloud (1Cor.10:2). Each one of these baptisms teaches us something about a particular aspect of our relationship with Jesus Christ, Father God, and the Holy Spirit.
When we look at the principle of Laying On of Hands, you will see that there are at least 5 different aspects within this principle: Ordination (Nu.8:10, Acts 6:6, Acts 13:3), Consecration (Lev.1:4, Lev.8:22), Blessing (Gen.48:14, Mt.10:16), Healing (Mk.16:18, Acts 28:8), and Impartation (Acts 8:17, 1Ti.4:14). Paul tells us in 1Ti.5:22 not to lay hands suddenly on any man. What was he talking about? In our study on the Laying on of Hands, we will find out what Paul meant and a lot more.
The Resurrection of the Dead is one of the most important principles that Christians partake of and look forward to; it is an essential part of the gospel (Acts 1:22, 2:31-32, 4:2, 33, 17:18, 24:15), not only in preaching salvation to the lost but the resurrection of Jesus Christ is key to our hope of eternal life (1Cor.15:12-19). If Jesus was not resurrected, then our hope is in vain. The Bible tells us that by the resurrection, Jesus was manifested and declared to all that he is the Son of God (Ro.1:4). The resurrection is not just a hope for the New Testament saints (1Pe.1:3, Acts 23:6), but was also for those of the Old Testament (Job 19:25-27, Ps.16:9-11, 17:15, Isa.26:19). As born-again Christians, the resurrection affects our whole being, spirit, soul, and body in a three-fold process. When we were born-again our spirit was resurrected to a new life and relationship with God the Father (Ro.6:4, Eph.1:5), our soul is being resurrected in that our minds are undergoing a process of renewal (Ro.12:2, 2Cor.4:16, Col.3:10, Eph.4:23), and our body will be resurrected when Jesus returns to gather the church unto himself (1Jn.3:2, Col.3:20-21, Ro.8:23). As you can see in this brief synopsis of the Resurrection of the Dead, this principle will involve a great deal of study to establish a foundation in it. A good majority of the church focuses on the future aspect of the resurrection, that of our body, in what is referred to as the rapture. Isn't that unfortunate? The Lord wants us to partake of the resurrection life now! The sad thing is that a large part of the church is waiting for an event that is a lie of the Devil. The event that I am speaking about here is the pre-tribulation and mid-tribulation rapture. When we get into our study on the resurrection of the dead, I will prove by the scriptures that the resurrection of our body can only take place when Jesus returns to the earth at his second coming. In the mean time to whet your curiousity, here is a little nugget to consider. 1Cor.15:23-24 tells us that there are three stages to the resurrection: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming, and then cometh the end when Jesus delivers the kingdom back to God the Father. Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection, it has already happened. The second stage is the resurrection of those that are Christ's, in other words, believers (both Old and New Testament). The third and last stage of the resurrection will be when the ungodly are resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne judgment which is referred to above as "the end". Now! The resurrection of those "in Christ" has to occur as a single event which can only happen "at his coming" (which occurs at the end of the great tribulation). Don't believe me? Consider this: 1Th.4:15 tells us "by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or precede) them which are asleep (dead)". This says that those who are alive at the coming of the Lord cannot partake of the resurrection of their body before those who have died. Now read Heb.11:35-40 and notice that the context is dealing with the resurrection. Verse 39 tells us that all the saints who have gone on to be with the Lord have not received the promise. What promise? The context is dealing with the resurrection, so that is the promise spoken of. Verse 39 is speaking of those saints who have died. Verse 40 is speaking to those saints who are alive in reference to the dead. "God having provided some better thing for us (who are alive), that they (who are dead) without us should not be made perfect". The Greek word "perfect" here is teleioo, which means: to bring to an end by completing or perfecting. The context of these verses is the resurrection, so the perfection spoken of here is concerning the resurrection of our body. It says that those who have died shall not partake of perfection (the resurrection of our body) without those who are alive. If you put 1Th.4:15 together with Heb.11:39-40 that means that the resurrection of ALL the saints HAS TO OCCUR at the same exact time!!! For all the saints to partake at the same time, that means the fullness of the resurrection has to take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ, which occurs at the end of the great tribulation. Now, I encourage you that are reading this and have been brought up in rapture theology NOT to get riled up in your soul and stop reading this. In the study on the Resurrection of the Dead, we will look at a multitude of scripture to ensure that our foundation is based solidly on the word of God. Also remember that the Resurrection of the Dead does not deal only with our body. In this study, we are going to cover the entire principle of the Resurrection of the Dead.
The principle of Eternal Judgment goes hand in hand with the resurrection of the dead. Just as there are two distinct resurrections, that of the just and unjust, there are also two distinct judgments, one for the righteous and one for the wicked (Ecc.3:17, 2Tim.4:1). We will see that the righteous will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, not to be judged for our sins, but for the works we have performed in the Lord as a result of our salvation (Ro.14:10, 2Cor.5:10, 1Cor.3:12-15). Also, sadly, we will learn of the righteous judgment of God that falls upon the wicked and the fate that awaits them (Jude 15, Rev.20:11-15, Isa.66:24). We will also see that Jesus was judged for our sins and that they have been eternally put away (Col.2:14, 1Pe.2:24, 2Cor.5:21). Praise the living God!
As we proceed in this study, I encourage you to receive the word with all readiness of mind, but search the scriptures to see if these things be so (Acts 17:11). You must study (2Ti.2:15). Be convinced and taught by the Holy Spirit and these words will become life to you. If you just take my word for it, then you will be walking in the doctrines of men, regardless of the truth within these teachings. For when you share, your source will be David Redmond and not God's holy scriptures.
Finally, it took Jesus three years to lay a basic doctrinal foundation in the apostles. Paul went through a process of discipleship for three years in Arabia, where Jesus revealed the doctrine to him (Acts 9:25-26, Gal.1:11-12, 17-18). When Paul taught the disciples of Ephesus, it was for a period of three years (Acts 19:9-10, 20:31). What this should tell you is that your study of the foundational principles of the doctrine of Christ should not be just a few days in duration. Also, you won't learn these foundations in a "six week discipleship seminar". If the foundational learning process took the apostles three years, and they were with him 24 hours a day, then how long do you think it should take you? In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus said that before you begin to build, you need to count the cost. I pray that you enter into this study with the right attitude and it will cost you, but you will reap a multitude of benefits in your spiritual relationship with the Lord. All glory be to the Lord

Repentance From Dead Works Faith Toward God Doctrine Of Baptisms Laying On Of Hands Resurrection Of The Dead Eternal Judgement

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