Fundamentals

When I was ten years old, I discovered a passion that truly shaped my middle and high school career: softball. From the time that I first stepped on the field, I loved the sport. It wasn’t that I was just naturally talented at it either. I had to work my butt off at it. I drug my dad and my grandfather out into the yard to throw the ball every free second I had. And they loved it too. Both of them grew up playing baseball, and they dedicated so much time into coaching me and teaching me the game. 

When I first started playing, it was all about the “fundamentals.” I had to learn footwork, how to throw and catch properly, how to run correctly, the right way to swing a bat, etc. It took months of hard work, drills, and repetition to get it down. My dad kept telling me, “If you work hard, and do it enough times, it’ll become muscle memory. That’s what you’re after, Liv.” So, I did. I drilled myself to death. And, he was right. It paid off. What I didn’t realize is that there wasn’t really a “graduation” past the fundamentals of softball. I had to keep doing those same drills, and repetitive, boring exercises in order to keep my skills. You see, the fundamentals are essential to everything else about the game. If I ever wanted to make that ESPN top 10 play at shortstop, I had to spend hours practicing the basics of fielding a ground ball. 

Let me connect the dots: The “fundamental” of faith is the gospel. Through it, we learn how to walk out the Christian life. In it is the only way to eternal life with the Father. Without it, there is no faith. 

A very famous verse wraps it up well: John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This is the gospel. God the Father sent Jesus, His Son, to die for you and I so that through His resurrection, defeating death, we might have the choice to believe in Him, and to experience sweet friendship with Him for eternity. 

Fundamentals are easy to forget. That’s why there are so many drills athletes do over and over and over again to remind them of the basics. When we forget the fundamentals, there are no ESPN plays. When we forfeit the fundamentals, we forfeit the central reasoning for the game itself. 

Maybe we, the Church, have forgotten the fundamentals of faith. We have forgotten the central doctrine that ties us all together, and gives us our purpose and mission. I think it is time that we remember together. It is time to remember the finished work of the cross and take it personally. When we do this, we can really make some impacts in this crazy world for the Kingdom of God. 

There is a story in the Bible about a man named Peter. Peter was a friend of Jesus. He walked alongside Him in His earthly ministry. 

Read Matthew 14:22-33.

"22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

In this story, Jesus tells Peter “come.” Peter steps out of the boat and walks on the water toward Jesus. As soon as Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and started to see the reality of his circumstance, he was filled with fear, and he started to sink. Jesus grabbed Peter’s hand and said, “you of little faith.” I wonder if this is exactly what we have done. We have taken our eyes off of Jesus as the central focus. We have forfeited the fundamentals of faith, and started to see the crazy world we live in. And now we are simply scared. Would Jesus grab our hands and say, “you of little faith?” I hope not.

Jesus is calling to each and every one of us, “come.” He is asking us to band together as His followers, and love His people together. We need to ensure that we keep our eyes on Jesus. When our focus falters, so does our mission. 

This idea of “togetherness” is Biblical. 

Read 1 Peter 2:4-10

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

8 and,“A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter labels believers as a “chosen people”, “royal priesthood”, “holy nation”, and “God’s special possession.” 

Peter quotes several passages in the Old Testament that talk about the covenant God made with the people of Israel. Peter shows how that covenant now applies to us, the Church, because Christians have acknowledged Christ as the Messiah. We are a community of people that have agreed on this central claim, and it’s a big claim. 

Let’s stay grounded in the gospel together as we continue to learn about the mission Jesus has set us on. 

It's time that we as the Church, the Bride of Christ, answer the call, yield our lives to Him, pick up our cross, and boldly proclaim the gospel.