Called to GROW!

2 Timothy 2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Be Strong

2 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Paying attention to Scripture

¹² Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught.¹³ And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live.

Commentary from The New Living Application Bible

Outstanding coaches constantly review the basics of the sport with their teams, and good athletes can execute the fundamentals consistently well.  Believers must not neglect the basics of their faith, even as they go on to study deeper truths.  Just as an athlete needs constant practice, Christians need constant reminders of the fundamentals of our faith and of how we came to believe in the first place.  Don’t allow yourself to be bored or impatient with messages on the basics of the Christian life.  Instead, take the attitude of an athlete who continues to practice and refine the basics.

 Heb. 6:1-3 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. ² You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³ And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

“Commentary”

Heb. 5:12-13 – These Jewish Christians were immature. Some of them should have been teaching others, but they had not even applied the basics to their own lives.  They were reluctant to move beyond age-old traditions, established doctrines, and discussion of the basics.  They wouldn’t be able to understand the high-priestly role of Christ unless they moved out of their comfortable position, cut some of their Jewish ties, and stopped trying to blend in with the culture.  COMMITMENT TO CHRIST MOVES PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES.

Heb.5:12-14- In order to grow from infant Christians to mature Christians, we must learn DISCERNMENT.  We must train our conscience, and our SENSES, our mind, and our body to distinguish good from evil.  Can you recognize temptation before it TRAPS you?  Can you tell the difference between a correct use of Scripture and a mistaken one?

5:14 – Our capacity to feast on deeper knowledge of God (“solid food”) is determined by our spiritual growth.  Too often we want God’s banquet before we are spiritually capable of digesting it.  As you grow in the Lord and put into practice what you have learned, your capacity to understand will also grow.

6:1-2 – Certain basic teachings are essential for all believers to understand.  Those basics include the importance of faith, the foolishness of trying to be saved by good deeds, the meaning of baptism (s) and spiritual gifts, and the facts of resurrection and eternal life.  To go on to maturity in our understanding, we need to move beyond (but not away from) the basic teachings to a more complete understanding of the faith.  And this is what the author intends for his readers to do (6:3).  Mature Christians should be teaching the new Christians the basics.  Then, acting on what they know, the mature will learn even more from God’s Word.