How long have you been a Christian? If you have been one for a while, say a few years, have you grown any or do you still have the same type of relationship with God as when you first got saved? If you have not grown in any significant measure since first becoming a Christian, then I really want you to take a good look at today's devotion and search yourself. For today's devotion, we're going to examine Hebrews 6:1-3 and give some encouragement to those who haven't grown in the faith.

Hebrews 6:1-3 tells us, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits." Basically what this passage is saying is that we need to get past the basics of the faith and move on to greater things. That is to say, we need to be diligently discipling new Christians so that they are grounded in the faith and can then move into more involved areas of the faith, and disciple others in those same principles.

This passage really speaks to the heart of discipleship and making disciples. I see it so many times in churches where there are Christians who are not grounded in the faith and you have to continually speak to them on the same foundational issues that are so basic to the Christian faith. If we, as seasoned Christians, do a better job in discipling new Christians, then this type of passage wouldn't even be necessary; meaning, there would not be a need to continually go back and teach the basics of the faith. And even for those who are not necessarily being discipled, you must take it upon yourself to dig into the Scriptures and grow in your faith because you are responsible for your own salvation. Yes, we are to help others along, but come judgment day, each individual will be responsible for what they know and did with God.

Now check this, I think that this passage speaks to the reason why Christianity is in such disarray today (in terms of false teaching) and why Christians are not actively involved in discipleship and evangelism. How can these elementary school Christians possibly teach others when they don't even have the basics down themselves? How can they tell someone about what faith is if they don't even know what it is or means themselves? If we would just get back to the fundamentals of the faith, which includes making disciples, then we would be better equipping Christians to walk out the Scriptures and not have to continually go back and teach these basics to those who have been Christians for a long time.

So, today, are you an elementary school Christian? If so, take it upon yourself to get involved in a church that is involved in true discipleship and making disciples. If you're a seasoned Christian and you see that there isn't discipleship going on in your church, then do your part and get it started so that we can stop having elementary school Christians. The only elementary school Christians that we should have are new believers, not those who continue to be held back year to year. It's a call for all of us, so we each need to do our part. Amen? Amen.