2001-01-15 - Growing in Knowledge

Isaiah 2:3 And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

I recently came upon a statistic that reported that the percentage of Americans that want to change their bodies in some way is 75%. But the percentage of Americans that would want to change their intelligence is only 13%.

Remember in Luke 24 when Jesus, on the road to Emmaus spoke with two of His followers and opened up to them, "the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." (Verse 27) When they realized that it was Jesus with whom they had been talking, they say in verse 32, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us."

It was Jesus, imparting knowledge to them that caused excitement. Christ was explaining the way of salvation, starting with Moses, and their hearts were opened, and they understood. If you have ever had the chance to explain the way of salvation to someone, you know when they understand, because you can almost see the light go on in their mind and heart. Their expression changes, and they smile, when they understand God's grace. However, to share with others, we have to know about our faith ourselves.

Paul admonishes Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:14, to "Continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them." Of course continuing in what he had learned meant for Timothy, that he had been learning about his faith previously. This is the example left to us in Scripture, we are to grow in the knowledge of our faith.

There is always more to learn in the Christian faith. One of the wonders of being a Christian is that in our knowledge, faith, practice, and understanding, we can always grow deeper. We will never exhaust the depths of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Scripture is clear about our responsibility here, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, 'examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good."

Lastly, we read in 1 Peter 3:15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts; always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." Always being ready to make a defense...that means in all areas of our faith.

It is a huge undertaking to live the Christian life. It is a life that is to be advancing in the understanding and knowledge of our faith, of all areas of our faith. This is why there is always room to grow in our knowledge and understanding. It may be that we start small, maybe in prayer and reading some short passages of Scripture, but grow we must. No matter where we are in our faith and understanding, none of us have "arrived" and we must press on, and continue to learn and practice more and more faithfully our precious faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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