"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" (John 13:17).
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain..." (John 15:16). "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Of course, I realize that my title was also the title of a famous book by A. W. Tozer, but I must borrow it to make my point right off the bat. Is knowledge about God a requisite for knowing Him? Can we afford to be ignorant but good people? What good does it do to know a lot "about God?" You must turn this knowledge about God into a personal knowledge of God. Because to know Him is to love Him! If you really study Psalm 119 (probably written by the Bible scholar Ezra), you will come to the realization that the psalmist loved the Scriptures and they were his meditation all the day long. But loving the Bible does no good if we are not applying our knowledge. When God opens our eyes and enlightens us we are responsible to share our insights or pass them on if we want more, and thus be good stewards and faithful witnesses to His light.
This is not an attack on learning or the thirst for knowledge per se, which has its own reward and we should thank God for our enjoyment of it. If one studies law, he should pray God turns it into His glory in some ministry so that all that study is not wasted. The pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of God are two separate goals unless the knowledge is to the glory of God. We are not just to be philosophers or lovers of knowledge, but lovers of God. "Whether you eat or whether you drink, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). This is being purpose-oriented. We may enjoy history, for example, but unless it is to the glory of God and put into practice it is bunk as far as the kingdom of God is concerned.
The reward of knowledge is in the putting it into practice ("...knowledge puffs up, but love edifies" and "to whom much is given, much is required"), like the ultimate reward of studying medicine is in the healing of people not getting educated. We enjoy a lot of things in life, and we should thank God for them, but we are not rewarded just because we enjoy them (e.g., eating, drinking, reading, sports, politics, and even sex). God blesses us all with common grace to enjoy and have a capacity for life--"...who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17). The subject of this post is the pursuit of God and being rewarded at the Bema by Christ, not how much we enjoy the blessings of life.
To delineate the problem with many believers, what they are guilty of is balking at the deeper things of God while leaving the so-called doctrine or dogma to the theologians or clergy. Erasmus said that doctrine is the bugbear of the Church and many believers today have followed suit--thinking it is just philosophy. Actually, theology is the Queen of the Sciences! They have come full circle from the Reformation, in that they blindly follow the clerics and don't become like Bereans, who search out matters for themselves and study their Bibles. An understanding of sound doctrine is necessary for a sound life; one cannot live a sound life apart from sound doctrine. On the other hand, you can know all the doctrine and get a degree in it, or great kudos, and not have a sound life to be practicing what you preach or know. You could say that doctrine is necessary, but not sufficient (you have to use it as a means to an end, not as an end per se) because there is more than just knowing or being familiar with doctrine.
We are all theologians in that we come to our own basic understanding, interpretation, or viewpoint of Scripture. The question is, is how good of a theologian are we and do we subscribe to false doctrine. What we believe has a definite impact on our behavior (orthodoxy or right doctrine influences orthopraxy or right ethics). We cannot ignore basic and sound doctrine because that is not an option for the believer who wants to walk close to Christ. We make so many mistakes simply because of our ignorance and Paul repeatedly says he would rather not have us ignorant. Now it does say in 1 Timothy 2:9 that an elder must hold to the deep things of God with a clear conscience--he is obliged to have the lowdown on doctrine and be able to correct those who contradict it.
The believer must be cognizant that he has decided to be a disciple or "learner" while being enrolled in the school of Christ and dedicated to His curriculum all his life--the search for God and truth never ends and one should never be complacent and think he knows it all, but always positive and receptive to learning more and never even getting tired with the milk of the Word, even when we crave the meat or solid food and have been weaned from our spiritual infancy. "As the newborn baby desires the pure milk of the Word" so are we to never get bored with Scripture or be blase and apathetic, which Christ calls lukewarm and is odious to Him in Revelation 3:19.
Our knowledge of God does no good remaining just "theory" or knowledge that isn't applied. In other words, we don't pursue knowledge as an end in itself or, you could say, for its own sake. Yes, it is a sign of spiritual health to be interested in spiritual matters, and in the 17th century it was the hobby of a gentleman to be conversant with theology or "God-talk;" however, one can get spiritual "intoxicated" with the deeper truths and become unbalanced and losing focus of the basics of our faith, especially the marching orders of Christ, the Great Commission
But knowledge about God should ultimately lead to knowledge of God and a closer relationship with Him, because "knowledge puffs up [making us feel superior and important, as it were]" according to 1 Cor. 8:1. I have it said by friends that they want to take a college course on the Bible to learn it in more detail. I have to ask them "Why?" Do they feel led by the Spirit to do this or do they just have a desire to be "informed" or in the know about spiritual matters? If they have been called to teach it may be necessary to prepare for a life-long study of the Scriptures, but to do do it for its own sake, as an end in itself, if vain in God's eyes and will accomplish nothing.
I'm not for ignorance, but I am against knowledge without purpose and end in mind, (knowledge is the means to an end). You can be so preoccupied with the Word, actually doing nothing but reading it all day like a monastic monk and not apply it: "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only." We must not only intake but have output to be healthy. Just like inhaling and exhaling for our bodies. The proof of the pudding is in the eating they say; what kind of believer we are depends upon our attitude toward Scripture.
You must contemplate why you are pursuing knowledge and you must also distinguish knowledge of God from mere knowledge about God. You can literally know a lot about someone and not really know them at all on a personal level, too, as an analogy. The goal is a relationship with Christ and a closer walk with Him. According to Colossians 1:10 we are: "Bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." See how they correlate? Putting our knowledge into action reinforces it and cements it into our spirit and makes it good for something--not just theory or philosophy. Two extremes to avoid are having Bible fatigue on the one hand whereas we get bored and it has lost its zing and being engrossed in the Bible in an academic approach on the other hand, like just having the desire to know all the answers.
One doesn't have to be privy to some secret, arcane, or academic knowledge to know the Lord (in fact you may know very little and know the Lord quite well), and make the same mistakes as the Gnostikoi in the Apostolic age who claimed that knowledge was the secret of salvation and they were "in the know" (gnosis means to know). We are responsible for what we know or had the opportunity to know (no one can claim ignorance--there is no excuse for not knowing God) and God distributes gifts according to our abilities and His purposes, not ours. Some may have the gift of knowledge, for instance, and God may entrust them with much knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Much knowledge is a byproduct of a productive life, not the goal itself. Just like one may acquire a knowledge of trivia unconsciously and know more than he realizes.
Knowledge per se is not the measure of a believer's productiveness, because we are rewarded according to what we sow, not what we know! Just imagine someone saying he wants to study medicine but has no plans to practice medicine, or one who go to law school for the heck of it and doesn't want to practice law! We must be practicing theologians putting our faith into action! They say that if you can't do, you must teach; that is one option and that is probably why we have preachers professors, and even scholars who are heavy on the learning and light on the application.
Soli Deo Gloria!
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain..." (John 15:16). "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Of course, I realize that my title was also the title of a famous book by A. W. Tozer, but I must borrow it to make my point right off the bat. Is knowledge about God a requisite for knowing Him? Can we afford to be ignorant but good people? What good does it do to know a lot "about God?" You must turn this knowledge about God into a personal knowledge of God. Because to know Him is to love Him! If you really study Psalm 119 (probably written by the Bible scholar Ezra), you will come to the realization that the psalmist loved the Scriptures and they were his meditation all the day long. But loving the Bible does no good if we are not applying our knowledge. When God opens our eyes and enlightens us we are responsible to share our insights or pass them on if we want more, and thus be good stewards and faithful witnesses to His light.
This is not an attack on learning or the thirst for knowledge per se, which has its own reward and we should thank God for our enjoyment of it. If one studies law, he should pray God turns it into His glory in some ministry so that all that study is not wasted. The pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of God are two separate goals unless the knowledge is to the glory of God. We are not just to be philosophers or lovers of knowledge, but lovers of God. "Whether you eat or whether you drink, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). This is being purpose-oriented. We may enjoy history, for example, but unless it is to the glory of God and put into practice it is bunk as far as the kingdom of God is concerned.
The reward of knowledge is in the putting it into practice ("...knowledge puffs up, but love edifies" and "to whom much is given, much is required"), like the ultimate reward of studying medicine is in the healing of people not getting educated. We enjoy a lot of things in life, and we should thank God for them, but we are not rewarded just because we enjoy them (e.g., eating, drinking, reading, sports, politics, and even sex). God blesses us all with common grace to enjoy and have a capacity for life--"...who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17). The subject of this post is the pursuit of God and being rewarded at the Bema by Christ, not how much we enjoy the blessings of life.
To delineate the problem with many believers, what they are guilty of is balking at the deeper things of God while leaving the so-called doctrine or dogma to the theologians or clergy. Erasmus said that doctrine is the bugbear of the Church and many believers today have followed suit--thinking it is just philosophy. Actually, theology is the Queen of the Sciences! They have come full circle from the Reformation, in that they blindly follow the clerics and don't become like Bereans, who search out matters for themselves and study their Bibles. An understanding of sound doctrine is necessary for a sound life; one cannot live a sound life apart from sound doctrine. On the other hand, you can know all the doctrine and get a degree in it, or great kudos, and not have a sound life to be practicing what you preach or know. You could say that doctrine is necessary, but not sufficient (you have to use it as a means to an end, not as an end per se) because there is more than just knowing or being familiar with doctrine.
We are all theologians in that we come to our own basic understanding, interpretation, or viewpoint of Scripture. The question is, is how good of a theologian are we and do we subscribe to false doctrine. What we believe has a definite impact on our behavior (orthodoxy or right doctrine influences orthopraxy or right ethics). We cannot ignore basic and sound doctrine because that is not an option for the believer who wants to walk close to Christ. We make so many mistakes simply because of our ignorance and Paul repeatedly says he would rather not have us ignorant. Now it does say in 1 Timothy 2:9 that an elder must hold to the deep things of God with a clear conscience--he is obliged to have the lowdown on doctrine and be able to correct those who contradict it.
The believer must be cognizant that he has decided to be a disciple or "learner" while being enrolled in the school of Christ and dedicated to His curriculum all his life--the search for God and truth never ends and one should never be complacent and think he knows it all, but always positive and receptive to learning more and never even getting tired with the milk of the Word, even when we crave the meat or solid food and have been weaned from our spiritual infancy. "As the newborn baby desires the pure milk of the Word" so are we to never get bored with Scripture or be blase and apathetic, which Christ calls lukewarm and is odious to Him in Revelation 3:19.
Our knowledge of God does no good remaining just "theory" or knowledge that isn't applied. In other words, we don't pursue knowledge as an end in itself or, you could say, for its own sake. Yes, it is a sign of spiritual health to be interested in spiritual matters, and in the 17th century it was the hobby of a gentleman to be conversant with theology or "God-talk;" however, one can get spiritual "intoxicated" with the deeper truths and become unbalanced and losing focus of the basics of our faith, especially the marching orders of Christ, the Great Commission
But knowledge about God should ultimately lead to knowledge of God and a closer relationship with Him, because "knowledge puffs up [making us feel superior and important, as it were]" according to 1 Cor. 8:1. I have it said by friends that they want to take a college course on the Bible to learn it in more detail. I have to ask them "Why?" Do they feel led by the Spirit to do this or do they just have a desire to be "informed" or in the know about spiritual matters? If they have been called to teach it may be necessary to prepare for a life-long study of the Scriptures, but to do do it for its own sake, as an end in itself, if vain in God's eyes and will accomplish nothing.
I'm not for ignorance, but I am against knowledge without purpose and end in mind, (knowledge is the means to an end). You can be so preoccupied with the Word, actually doing nothing but reading it all day like a monastic monk and not apply it: "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only." We must not only intake but have output to be healthy. Just like inhaling and exhaling for our bodies. The proof of the pudding is in the eating they say; what kind of believer we are depends upon our attitude toward Scripture.
You must contemplate why you are pursuing knowledge and you must also distinguish knowledge of God from mere knowledge about God. You can literally know a lot about someone and not really know them at all on a personal level, too, as an analogy. The goal is a relationship with Christ and a closer walk with Him. According to Colossians 1:10 we are: "Bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." See how they correlate? Putting our knowledge into action reinforces it and cements it into our spirit and makes it good for something--not just theory or philosophy. Two extremes to avoid are having Bible fatigue on the one hand whereas we get bored and it has lost its zing and being engrossed in the Bible in an academic approach on the other hand, like just having the desire to know all the answers.
One doesn't have to be privy to some secret, arcane, or academic knowledge to know the Lord (in fact you may know very little and know the Lord quite well), and make the same mistakes as the Gnostikoi in the Apostolic age who claimed that knowledge was the secret of salvation and they were "in the know" (gnosis means to know). We are responsible for what we know or had the opportunity to know (no one can claim ignorance--there is no excuse for not knowing God) and God distributes gifts according to our abilities and His purposes, not ours. Some may have the gift of knowledge, for instance, and God may entrust them with much knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Much knowledge is a byproduct of a productive life, not the goal itself. Just like one may acquire a knowledge of trivia unconsciously and know more than he realizes.
Knowledge per se is not the measure of a believer's productiveness, because we are rewarded according to what we sow, not what we know! Just imagine someone saying he wants to study medicine but has no plans to practice medicine, or one who go to law school for the heck of it and doesn't want to practice law! We must be practicing theologians putting our faith into action! They say that if you can't do, you must teach; that is one option and that is probably why we have preachers professors, and even scholars who are heavy on the learning and light on the application.
Soli Deo Gloria!