As Peter says, "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in hour hearts" (2 Pet. 1:19, NKJV, emphasis added). It is easy to fall into a spiritual rut and rest on your laurels, thinking you've arrived or made it; however, Paul says to Philippians (3:12, NKJV): "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected...." However, we are all works in progress and cannot claim spiritual perfection or complete sanctification, which will only take place in glory. As the psalmist said, in Psalm 119:9 (ESV): "I have seen a limit of all perfection...." We will never overcome all sin: in time: "Who can say, 'I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin?'" By analogy: No one is so destitute as one who thinks he's wealthy and isn't.
We don't have permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit! We have the security of our salvation, but not of spiritual growth, since that is a cooperative or synergistic effort--some infants in Christ never seem to grow up and become mature in Christ, only feeding on the milk of the Word. We are never to get lax spiritually, and lackadaisical in our spiritual ambition. It is wrong to get comfortable and take it easy, living a life of undisciplined spiritual luxury. The backslider in heart needs to heed God's correction and realize that God can heal him, but his downfall has been his sin (cf. Hos. 14:1). Jesus is looking for "overcomers" to reign with Him and this life is merely a dress rehearsal or tryout for eternity.
We are soldiers, who are to live a spiritually disciplined life, not getting entangled in the affairs of the world. There is one main plumb line to measure us by the Word of God--our standard is perfection, but our test is direction, as we strive to become "perfect, even as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48). It is always tempting to take the easy path of least resistance and go with the flow or follow the crowd instead of obeying the Lord. Amos 6:1 (NKJV) says, "Woe to you who are at ease in Zion...." (The book denounces luxurious living and general complacency of God's people.) Woe unto those who are in great need and don't realize it: Martin Luther said that the sinner doesn't know his own sin, and it's our job to show it to him.
The Christian life is a marathon and not a sprint to be run, a battle to be fought, a crown to be won; and we should realize that we can be disqualified, even if we've preached to others per 1 Cor. 9:27 (NKJV): But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." We ought to take the spiritual conflict seriously, and endeavor to continue fighting the good fight; woe unto us when our relationship with Christ degenerates into a perfunctory one lacking zeal--though zeal without knowledge is not good, we need to do our work heartily, as unto the Lord. It is necessary to learn the doctrines of the Bible for growth and maturity, but not sufficient--we need to apply what we know and live out the Word, not just appreciate it.
The Bible-believing or preaching church isn't complete unless they are completing the Great Commission and get their members active in fulfilling it, so the church doesn't just become a place to hang out once a week and catch up on the latest gossip with friends--having a social function. Bible doctrine is good, but it can leave a person cold if not applicable or put to work. When we just have an intellectual interest in the Bible and don't love it as the Word of God, Jesus sees through the veneer and we learn in vain, for mere academic reasons. I don't know of any church that Jesus rebuked for being inadequate in doctrine or impure, or not as orthodox as they should be, but to those who didn't apply what they did know were culpable.
Knowledge does "puff up" and we all have knowledge or reason to be arrogant, if we let our so-called knowledge go to our head (it should be cause for humility), but we must realize that the important thing and the aim of our profession is love of God and each other, not to increase head knowledge--as some merely have an intellectual assent or the gospel merely in their heads, not their hearts. Billy Graham says, "A vague knowledge that He exists will not satisfy ... We yearn for a relationship with Him." We must realize that to know Him is to love Him, not just to acknowledge the facts about Him.
The real fulfillment is in knowing Him (cf. John 17:3) as Lord and Savior, not just becoming educated or informed about Him. We don't learn for the sake of knowledge, and it is not an end in itself, but we must take action and apply what we know and make it real in our relationships with others--just why do we want to know? We need knowledge turned into wisdom or its right application.
Only the Bible tells it like it is: God's nature and ours--it's our lifeline to reality! As a precaution: We should know ourselves and our weaknesses because the devil sure does and takes advantage of his knowledge (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8, ESV: "... Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." My final admonition is to be ever vigilant and not to look back after putting your hand to the plow, but keep your eyes on Jesus and the prize that we can gain as motivation. Soli Deo Gloria!
We don't have permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit! We have the security of our salvation, but not of spiritual growth, since that is a cooperative or synergistic effort--some infants in Christ never seem to grow up and become mature in Christ, only feeding on the milk of the Word. We are never to get lax spiritually, and lackadaisical in our spiritual ambition. It is wrong to get comfortable and take it easy, living a life of undisciplined spiritual luxury. The backslider in heart needs to heed God's correction and realize that God can heal him, but his downfall has been his sin (cf. Hos. 14:1). Jesus is looking for "overcomers" to reign with Him and this life is merely a dress rehearsal or tryout for eternity.
We are soldiers, who are to live a spiritually disciplined life, not getting entangled in the affairs of the world. There is one main plumb line to measure us by the Word of God--our standard is perfection, but our test is direction, as we strive to become "perfect, even as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48). It is always tempting to take the easy path of least resistance and go with the flow or follow the crowd instead of obeying the Lord. Amos 6:1 (NKJV) says, "Woe to you who are at ease in Zion...." (The book denounces luxurious living and general complacency of God's people.) Woe unto those who are in great need and don't realize it: Martin Luther said that the sinner doesn't know his own sin, and it's our job to show it to him.
The Christian life is a marathon and not a sprint to be run, a battle to be fought, a crown to be won; and we should realize that we can be disqualified, even if we've preached to others per 1 Cor. 9:27 (NKJV): But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." We ought to take the spiritual conflict seriously, and endeavor to continue fighting the good fight; woe unto us when our relationship with Christ degenerates into a perfunctory one lacking zeal--though zeal without knowledge is not good, we need to do our work heartily, as unto the Lord. It is necessary to learn the doctrines of the Bible for growth and maturity, but not sufficient--we need to apply what we know and live out the Word, not just appreciate it.
The Bible-believing or preaching church isn't complete unless they are completing the Great Commission and get their members active in fulfilling it, so the church doesn't just become a place to hang out once a week and catch up on the latest gossip with friends--having a social function. Bible doctrine is good, but it can leave a person cold if not applicable or put to work. When we just have an intellectual interest in the Bible and don't love it as the Word of God, Jesus sees through the veneer and we learn in vain, for mere academic reasons. I don't know of any church that Jesus rebuked for being inadequate in doctrine or impure, or not as orthodox as they should be, but to those who didn't apply what they did know were culpable.
Knowledge does "puff up" and we all have knowledge or reason to be arrogant, if we let our so-called knowledge go to our head (it should be cause for humility), but we must realize that the important thing and the aim of our profession is love of God and each other, not to increase head knowledge--as some merely have an intellectual assent or the gospel merely in their heads, not their hearts. Billy Graham says, "A vague knowledge that He exists will not satisfy ... We yearn for a relationship with Him." We must realize that to know Him is to love Him, not just to acknowledge the facts about Him.
The real fulfillment is in knowing Him (cf. John 17:3) as Lord and Savior, not just becoming educated or informed about Him. We don't learn for the sake of knowledge, and it is not an end in itself, but we must take action and apply what we know and make it real in our relationships with others--just why do we want to know? We need knowledge turned into wisdom or its right application.
Only the Bible tells it like it is: God's nature and ours--it's our lifeline to reality! As a precaution: We should know ourselves and our weaknesses because the devil sure does and takes advantage of his knowledge (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8, ESV: "... Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." My final admonition is to be ever vigilant and not to look back after putting your hand to the plow, but keep your eyes on Jesus and the prize that we can gain as motivation. Soli Deo Gloria!