In John 10:35 Jesus said, "... the Scripture cannot be broken." None of God's truths are isolated. They are all interrelated and do not stand alone: As Psalm 119:160 states it: "The sum of Thy word is truth." All of Scripture fits together in the most intricate, beautiful, harmonious pattern, just like the balance of nature in the creation. Balance is an important word if we are to understand and walk in biblical truth.
An article I once read stated that if the earth deviated from its orbit around the sun just the equivalent of one eighth of an inch over a one hundred mile distance, we would either freeze or fry. The forces that keep us in such a tiny little slice of space that supports life are the gravitational pull of the other planets, our moon, and the earth's "wobble" on its axis. If any of these forces were changed we would have a catastrophic deviation from our orbit. In a similar way we too must be in a right relationship to the foundational biblical truths. The "spiritual gravitational pulls" of these truths on our lives will keep us in the right "orbit" that supports true life.
There are foundational doctrines of the faith that we must keep in harmony and balance if we are going to stay on track. These basic doctrines of the faith cannot be compromised or changed. They should each have their proper influence to keep us in the right place. In Hebrews 6:1-2 we are given these basic truths:
of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
The basic teachings are: 1) Christ, 2) repentance, 3) faith, 4) sanctification (instruction about washings), 5) spiritual authority (laying on of hands), 6) the resurrection, and 7) judgment. All of these together provide the proper "gravitational pull" in our spiritual lives to keep us in the proper orbit so that we continue to abide in true spiritual life.
The earth's "tilt" on its axis provides for the changing of the seasons. If it were not for the seasons on earth, the ice would form only on one side, causing the earth to wobble out of its proper orbit. Likewise, we too may have seasons in our lives when certain truths are emphasized. We need to continually flow from one to the other just like the natural seasons. This helps to keep us in balance so that we do not wobble out of the path in which we have been called to walk.
As great as each of these foundational truths are, the over-emphasis of any one of them to the exclusion of the others will throw us off of the path of life. For example, a strong foundation of repentance is essential for a healthy spiritual life. However, if it is not also balanced with a strong understanding of faith, it will lead to the black hole of self-centeredness. Likewise we need to have a good understanding of God's judgment, but it must be balanced with an understanding of the resurrection. All of these truths are meant to have a "gravitational pull" on our lives, but they must be kept in balance with each other so that none of them overly dominates.
Also, as Hebrews 6:1 begins by encouraging us to "leave the elementary teaching about the Christ" so that we can press on to maturity, we must understand that this is not an encouragement to leave the teachings about Christ, but only the elementary ones about Him. As we press on to maturity our knowledge of Him should be continually increasing, but we do not need to continue in just the elementary teachings about Him, we must go on to the deeper ones.
Spiritual maturity is described in Ephesians 4:14-15:
but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.
The more any plant grows, the further its branches will get from the roots. Even so, it is a strong connection to those roots that allows the branches to keep growing. We are called to be "oaks of righteousness" (see Isaiah 61:3). It is said of oaks that their root system is equal in size and span to their branches. What you see above the ground is matched by what is under the surface. If we want to be a great planting of the Lord we must give as much attention to developing our hidden spiritual lives with the Lord as we do to any outward ministry. Sadly, studies have shown that the average pastor spends less than five minutes a day in prayer. Could this kind of shallow root system be why so many large ministries are so easily toppled?