This Book was written with a twofold purpose. First and foremost it is intended to assist you in developing and strengthening the Spiritual Foundations by which to base and live out your Christian faith. Secondly, since the Bible teaches us that faith comes by hearing (or reading) God’s Word, this book is also intended to assist you in the study of His Word.

In the New Testament book of Hebrews the Apostle Paul, before he warns his readers about the danger of falling into sin and encourages them to move on to maturity, he reminds them of the elementary principles or foundations they were taught concerning the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Since it is these elementary principles that were the inspiration for this book, let us go and read them from,

In the above scriptures we find seven Spiritual foundations. They are: (1) the elementary teachings about Christ, (2) the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, (3) faith in God, (4) instruction about baptisms, (5) the laying on of hands, (6) the resurrection of the dead and (7) eternal judgment.

Because this book addresses more than what is covered in the above two scriptures, is not organized in a one for one correspondence to these seven foundations. Thus, to assist the reader, the following list of the seven foundations correlated to the applicable chapter of this book, is provided.

1. Elementary teachings about Christ (Chapters 5-8).
2. Repentance from acts that lead to death (Chapters 9, 10, 15-18 and 24).
3. Faith in God (Chapters 5-16, particularly 9, 10, 14, 15 and 16).
4. Instruction about baptisms (Chapters 10 and 11).
5. Laying on of hands (Chapters 11, 20 and 21).
6. Resurrection of the dead (Chapters 24 and 25).
7. Eternal judgment (Chapters 6-12, 24 and 25).

The second intended purpose of this book is to assist you in the study of God’s Word, the Bible. To accomplish this, the book is designed to be a collection of Bible studies. It begins by showing that the Bible is not only a unique and factual piece of literature but is in fact the Word of Almighty God. After these facts are established, the remainder of "Spiritual Foundations" provides the Biblical basis for the elementary principles or foundations that are associated with faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For your convenience, directly underneath each Bible reference, the text of the New International Version (NIV) Bible translation is provided (see the above reference of Hebrews 6:1-2). If, however, you are more comfortable reading from a different Bible translation I encourage you to do so.

It must also be pointed out that in order to achieve the maximum benefit from reading this book, each Bible reference must be read and prayerfully contemplated. Since the Bible also teaches us that Jesus Christ is the Author and Perfecter of our faith and that He, through the Holy Spirit, is our Teacher it is important that prior to reading or studying the Bible we come before Him and ask for ears to hear, eyes to see and a heart to receive His teachings. Therefore, each chapter will open with a word of prayer.

Finally, since it is my belief that the Bible interprets itself, outside reference material (referenced to the bibliography by a small superscript number) such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and historical references are only used to supply necessary background material. The only exception is Part I where, through the use of outside material, the uniqueness and authenticity of the Bible is established.

As you now begin your reading of, "Spiritual Foundations",