This post is mostly just an effort to show off a newly learned word – abecedarian. What it means is the elementary things – the ABC’s , or if you will, the ABCD’s. You can see this just looking at the word: A,Be,Ce,Dar-ian.
So what are the elementary things of the faith? If we are doing the elementary things of the faith then we will be able to begin to do some of the more mature things of the faith. Someone once said that the reading, writing and arithmetic of the Christian faith is Scripture reading (~reading), prayer (~writing), and fellowship (~arithmetic). If we are not doing these basics how can we ever grow in maturity in faith?
The church got off to a great start in this regard. The account of Pentecost tells us “So those who received his [Peter’s] word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls and they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:41-42, ESV modified). These three thousand souls were not just added to a church roll, they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching (reading) and fellowship (arithmetic), to the breaking of bread and the prayers (writing). So the church from the beginning had a sound foundation of reading, writing and arithmetic – Scripture study, prayer and fellowship. Therefore, one of the oaths taken at baptism is a promise to devote yourself to the reading, writing, and arithmetic of the church.
But this was not universally the case among the New Testament churches. Paul tells the Corinthians, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?” (1 Cor 3:1-3, ESV). The problem here was the arithmetic – fellowship. The problem was not church growth numerically. The problem was that there were fractures in its existing fellowship because they were not getting along with one another. This was also causing problems in the breaking of bread (1 Cor 11).
In all of this it is important to note that the reading, writing, and arithmetic is public. To be sure, Bibles were not available as easily as they are today so to hear the Scriptures you had to hear them in worship. But hearing Scripture and praying publicly was not just for convenience – there are very deep theological reasons for these three cohering together. But today most people have forgotten that the abecedarian things of the faith are done together during Worship on the Lord’s Day. Many are content to read and study Scripture on their own, often people who have never stepped foot in a church will protest that they pray often (even daily or more), and they do not see the need at all for fellowship. This is a sad state of affairs. Many in such a situation have not been born again – they are not infants in the faith. This is worse than the Corinthians, who at least gathered together even if they were not ready for solid food due to their bickering.
It is also worth noting that reading, writing, and arithmetic on the Lord’s Day should be accompanied by reading, writing and arithmetic on the next six days of the week. In fact, Acts went on to say, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (2:46-47a, ESV).
We can also discuss under the category of “reading” an elementary doctrine of Christ. For example, the author of Hebrews tells us, “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 instructions about washings [perhaps baptisms], the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits” (6:1-3, ESV). Perhaps this is why Christians have such a hard time with the book of Hebrews as it gets beyond the basics. Some would be content to have a simple evangelistic message every Lord’s Day and never go on to maturity in our doctrine of Christ. Thus beyond Hebrews 11, using the chapter to discuss the foundation of repentance and faith, the rest of Hebrews largely goes untouched in preaching. Actually the larger problem is one of biblical literacy. One can begin to understand the complex doctrine of Christ presented in Hebrews only if one has a firm foundation of biblical literacy when it comes to the Old Testament. Thus in most churches preachers know they cannot move beyond the elementary doctrine of Christ until they teach their congregations the basics of how to read the Old Testament in light of Christ.
Let us build upon the elementary practices and doctrine of the Christian faith. This is one of the goals of this blog. I want to get beyond the basics. We can agree with all true churches about repentance from dead works and faith in Christ, the resurrection of the dead, eternal judgment, and a great many other doctrines. The Apostle’s and Nicene Creeds are good for a summary of what all Christians believe with regard to basic doctrine. The most basic of which is that the Triune God is the true and living God. But if we are going to go on to maturity in our doctrine then we must not only defend the abecedarian things, but also wrestle with the claims of Romanists, Anabaptists, Pentecostals, and dispensationalists, and others. If Presbyterians fail to offer reasons for being Reformed rather than adhering to these or other teachings, then why not join those churches? While they are my brothers and sisters in Christ, I profoundly disagree with those I may agree with on the abecedarian things.
But to bring this discussion around – coming to conclusions subject to further reformation according to Scripture on these mature issues requires reading, writing, and arithmetic on the Lord’s Day. Someone once said that the ABC’s of Christianity are Admit you’re a sinner, Believe in Christ, and Confess it to all with thanksgiving to God. This is only a beginning. Let’s build on it.
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