Knowledge

Christianity 101

Paul Greenberg had a piece in Friday’s Washington Times where he talked about the dark prophecies concerning the war in Iraq. He mentions, for example, Al Gore’s speech which stated that the war would have "disastrous consequences for the United States and the world." He mentioned the claim that terrorist attacks would mount and undermine American security at home. Instead terrorists everywhere have been demoralized, he observed. He mentioned statements like, "the home front would come apart as massive protests divided the American people as in the 1960s;" that "Iraq’s oil fields would go up in flames;" that Baghdad would be another Stalinrad, the coalition would be dragged into a quagmire of guerrilla warfare, and "Tikrit was going to be Saddam’s last and greatest stand," that "the Kurds and Turks would go to war against each other," that "each of Iraq’s cities would have to be conquered street by street, house by house," and it would take all summer long in the heat, that "Israel would be inundated with Scuds" and war would engulf the Middle East, that all Arabs would revolt and the entire Arab world would become inflamed, that North Korea would take advantage of our war with Iraq and arm itself with nuclear weapons and even start a war, Rumsfeld does not know how to design a war plan and our troops are unprepared (Paul Greenberg, "‘Arabian mights’ that never were," WT, 5/02/03, A21). You heard and read some of those.

Here’s another one. How many thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the conflict? A Mr. Boris Johnson reported in a British paper that he went to Qusay Ali Al-Mafraji, the head of the International Red crescent in Baghdad. Though some name-tags have been lost, and though some districts have yet to deliver their final tally, the total number that they have confirmed dead, both in the civilian and military population for the Baghdad is 150. Now every innocent death is an awful thing, and undoubtedly the final number will be higher, but does that strike you as an unusually low number for the taking of Baghdad? When you think of the normal death rate of Saddam’s terror state, the war may have saved civilian lives. I quote Andrew Sullivan, "it may turn out, in retrospect, to have been the most humanitarian war in human history" (The Weekly Dish, by Andrew Sullivan, WT 5/2/03, A23).

What would have happened if President Bush had listened to all the false prophecies coming out on the war? Where would we be today? And yet how often people live in that which is not reality. How often we are misled by those who don’t have an accurate grip on the facts? We can have a false concept of the war on Iraq and suffer nothing from it except indigestion, but what happens to us when our understanding of God misses reality?

Peter closes his second book with this command, "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." The first "and" in this verse could be translated by the word, "even." "But grow in the grace, even in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Why change the word? To show that Peter is not talking about two independent subjects (grace and knowledge), but two subjects that are closely connected. You can’t grow in one without growing in the other. You can’t grow in grace without putting your mind to growing in knowledge.

There is a large emphasis in Scripture on growing in KNOWLEDGE. God is very much interested in us using our heads to get things accurately. Hosea, for example, exclaims, when describing the Israelites, the chosen people of God, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). It wasn’t that things were too difficult; it wasn’t that they didn’t have enough equipment and help for the tasks; their systematic self-destruction was caused by contentment with their own ignorance.

Here’s the problem: a Christian either grows in knowledge or wilts on the vine. You life is not unlike that of my tomato plants — you have to have the water of the knowledge of God or you will fade out in the heat of the sun of temptation. And the issue is not how much you KNOW but whether you are GROWING in knowledge.

I want us to think today bout what it means to grow in knowledge. It’s a little different from taking a degree in Engineering at the University of Maryland.

I. God’s Knowledge is RELATIONAL – our definition of knowledge is somewhat restricted today. We think that it is an apprehension by the mind of some fact or truth in accordance with its real nature. And that it is. That’s where we get the word "science." "Science" is defined as "knowledge." It means the apprehension by the mind of some fact or truth in accordance with its real nature.

The interesting thing is that the Bible repeatedly defines the word "knowledge" in a further sense, as understanding a thing or person on the basis of a relationship with that person or thing. So that the Bible talks about knowledge not only in terms of cognitive words of the brain, but emotional words (love, favor, dislike) and words of the "will" (choice, turn, listen).

Genesis 4:1 has one of the early uses of the word "know." Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore a son named Cain. The word "know" here is speaking of more than knowing her shoe size and what she likes for breakfast. It is talking about a knowledge that is relational. Adam had a physical, sexual relationship with his wife. And that is described by Moses using the word, "know," to know intimately.

Thus the word, "know" has more to it than just knowing "about" something. It is connected with knowing something. It’s like the difference between an amateur and a skilled musician. The amateur knows something "about" music, but the skilled musician knows music. What Peter is saying is, "don’t remain an amateur Christian; don’t keep playing the music of your Christian life with one finger. Get to know and love Jesus Christ and become skilled in playing His music in your life.

Notice this relationship component of knowledge in the book of Proverbs – 1:20 Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares. 21 She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words: 22 "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge. 23 Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies."

Wisdom is pictured as a woman, crying in the streets for people to come and listen to her, and get to know her and learn to love her. The problem is that people don’t think that she is very attractive. For example, she comes to us with reproof (23). Think of that. What man wants to listen to reproof? From a woman? Who does she think she is? Only the person that listens closely to and obeys her begins to realize the glory and wisdom of her person — that she is actually the voice of God!

Why does everyone not chase after this woman and grab hold of her and not let her go? Why are people content to remain in their ignorance?

II. Knowledge is a highly competitive field.

There are other people presented to us in Proverbs. And those people introduce us to different kinds of knowledge, pseudo-wisdoms – alternate candidates for divine understanding. The picture in Proverbs is of a young man starting out in the life of knowledge. Three different schools send him a full scholarship to come and study with them. Look at who they are.

There is wisdom that comes from a man: 1:10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit; 13 We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil; 14 Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse" -- 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path; 16 For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood. 17 Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.

This man is saying, "you and I have such a heavy duty cognitive ability that we can rise up, take over and get what we want." The man and his philosophy appear a couple of times in Proverbs where he makes his offer in the streets and alleyways of Israel. He offers a kind of knowledge that PAYS. He offers POWER to his followers, so that they can rule others and get/take something from them.

But the man is lying. His wisdom is a false wisdom. He can’t deliver on what he promises. His education is bogus. Verse 19 says that those who follow this man find that it "takes away the life of them who have it."

The man represents not only a thief, who thinks that he can get what he wants from other people, but the man represents a way of thinking, a way of life, a kind of wisdom. In 2:12 "To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths."

Solomon is talking about an alternate way of thinking, a way that may look more desirable than the knowledge of Jesus Christ. The man represents the knowledge of how to get, the knowledge of success, of accomplishment, of power. The scholarship being offered here is to the University of POWER.

But there is a woman who appears also in Proverbs, introducing us to another form of knowledge. As a prostitute, she introduces us to all who think like she thinks. Listen to her description: 2:16 To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words, 17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God. 18 For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead; 19 None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life."

Her approach is with "flattery" (16); she cares nothing about genuine relationships because she has forsaken the companion of her youth (17); and the fact that she has made a covenant with her God means nothing to her (17).

We see her again in 5:3: "For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. 6 Lest you ponder her path of life -- Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. 7 Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8 Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, 9 Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; 10 Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; 11 And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, 12 And say: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me."

This "strange" woman introduces us to the University of the SENSES. She is teaching that we will never know real life until we know emotional excitement, and feeling. She has "smoothed" her words to make them flattering and enticing. She offers the kind of knowledge that gives an experience, a mood, an excitement. Each time she appears in Proverbs (chapters 2, 5, 6, and 7), she offers sensual knowledge — the kind of wisdom that comes from your experience through your senses. You don’t make money by following this woman like you would do in following the man; but you have the experience of your life. It will put you on cloud 12; it will put you in a new world, and you will love it.

But notice the exclamation of the person after finishing his studies at her school. Verses 12 and 13 detail his cry: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me." What would he have gained had he listened to and obeyed the voice of his teachers? True wisdom. The woman has become the substitute wisdom which has allured him from God’s kind of wisdom.

Do you see the difference between the man/education at PU and the woman/education at SU? Both are self centered; both promise to give you the ultimate in life, what everyone wants. While one focuses more on power and control and the other focuses on sensuality, they are both promoting a brand of "wisdom."

And you can get a "full ride" to each of these schools. Scholarships are offered every day on TV and in the media. Your peers are trying to get you to attend these schools; even people at Belcroft promote this kind of wisdom at times.

But a third scholarship exists, at the University of real LIFE. It’s REALITY U in the true sense of the term, not the way it is used today on American TV. Prov 3:13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her. 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens; 20 By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And clouds drop down the dew. 21 My son, let them not depart from your eyes -- Keep sound wisdom and discretion; 22 So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck. 23 Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.

How important is it to enroll at Reality U and concentrate on God’s knowledge? The simple answer is that it makes the difference between success and disaster in your Christian life.

III. Our knowledge of God controls our Christian lives.

Have you ever said, "I wish I had known that a couple of years ago; it would have made life a whole lot easier?" Students say that when they become seniors: "I wish I had learned to write papers that way as a Freshman." Married couples say that on their 25^th anniversary: "I wish I had learned to listen better; what a difference that would have made." The same thing happens with Christians. We can live in ignorance of what God has given us and miss out.

Think of the way Paul prayed for the Ephesians. His prayer in the first chapter is based on his concern that his readers might misunderstand what they have in Christ. He starts off in 1:3 by praising God for the boundless blessings He has given us in the heavenlies in Christ. He says that we have been blessed with ALL spiritual blessings. And then he prays that we might be given a spirit of wisdom (1:17) that we might understand all that God has granted us — all the changes that took place at salvation.

Why doesn’t Paul pray that they might all be well physically, and that they will make a lot of money and have no church problems? Those issues are insignificant in light of the importance of understanding what they have in Christ. What really worries Paul is that these Ephesian Christians, who have been given millions of dollars worth of heavenly gifts, who have been set up by God for a life of amazing victory, so that they can accomplish, like Moses, things that no one dreamed possible, he is worried that these Christians are going to sit around playing video games. All because they don’t understand what they have in Christ. Some day in heaven they will wake up and say, "I wish I had known that when I was down on earth." But it will be too late to make use of that knowledge.

Think of how different Paul’s prayer is from our prayers. We pray that God might give us something. We need so many things, and we need them so urgently. Thus we desire to wake God up somehow so that He will meet our needs. Paul prays on the basis of the fact that God has already met our needs — but that we are unconscious of what we have. The greatest problem is not in getting more, but in getting an understanding of what we have. If we go on living in our ignorance, we will live lives of poverty, in the spiritual ghetto.

How can a person worship God in truth when they are convinced that He is withholding the best from them? For what do we thank God when we are ignorant of the incredible blessings given to us in Christ? How can we walk with God when we don’t know where He wants to go?

A. W. Tozer says, ". . . the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. She can never escape the self-disclosure of her witness concerning God."

How important is it to enroll and attend classes at God’s University of life? Peter says, "grow in Grace even in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

IV. We Grow in KNOWLEDGE and GRACE when we PLAN for them.

Growth does not come accidently or automatically. Look at Wisdom’s command in Prov 1:23: "Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you." Let me make two extremely important observations here:

A. God’s knowledge is a GIFT! He gives it away. "I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you." The requirement is not a high IQ, the education does not depend upon my past school grades or educational background. The same point is made in Proverbs 2:6 "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints."

Why do you think Daniel was such a man of wisdom? Why did he have ten times more brain power than the other students at Babylonian U? Daniel 1:17 says, "As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams."

God’s knowledge is a GIFT! The amazing fact of Scripture is that God hands out wisdom like a soup kitchen hands out soup. And if you are starving spiritually it is not because the "soup" is not there. God hands it out freely. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously" (James 1:5).

B. God’s knowledge is only given to those who WANT IT!

To whom does God pour out His Spirit? To whom does He hand out His wisdom generously? Prov 1:23 begins with, "Turn at my rebuke." In other words, God does not give out His wisdom to those who scorn it, to those who refuse to turn; to those who don’t like God’s rebuke, to those who are too busy to turn. He gives it only to those who want it. And the people that miss it, miss it because of their attitude. Prov. 1:29 says, "Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke."

But how badly does a person have to want it? There are many shades of "wanting." Prov 2 shows how God evaluates our "wanting:" "My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God." This passage says you must want it enough to go toward it, to set a course in your life after it. You "incline" your ear; you "apply" your heart; you "cry out" for discernment; you "lift up your voice" for understanding. You don’t gain God’s wisdom by just going through life "normally." You interrupt your life to "turn" to focus on God’s wisdom.

The key is to schedule yourself to turn to God and listen to Him. That may be

why you came to church today. That’s the reason you read and study your Bible, or listen to a good program on Christian radio, or read a good book, or talk to someone about a passage of Scripture. All of these things engage our brains at God’s University.

It all comes down to putting it into your schedule, to planning for it. I love this translation of Proverbs 4:7 that says, "The beginning of wisdom is: Get Wisdom." Think of that statement. That’s a rather direct way of saying that what it takes to gain wisdom is not an extra measure of brain power or two more hours in a day; what it takes is a decision to "get wisdom." Do you want it? Come get it! It is just as available as anything else that you set your heart after. Nothing happens until you make the decision that says, "I am going after God’s wisdom, by His Grace. And I will schedule time into my life." The great thing about God’s university is that you don’t have to go full time. The president of the school understands your circumstances and situation, and will respond to your heart’s desire.

Think about this past week. Have you applied your heart to understand God? Have you picked up your Bible to read? Have you listened for the purpose of learning and remembering and changing? I find personally that if I am not turning repeatedly to listen to God, it doesn’t take long before I don’t want to turn. It usually takes me less than 24 hours to develop a calloused attitude toward the Bible, so that I don’t really care about opening it up and listening to it. It’s like these huge thorn bushes grow up around this greatest treasure that make it more difficult to get to the treasure. The cure? The Bible. All I have to do is sit down and read the Bible and again amazing new areas are opened up in my mind by God’s gifts, and wonder and appreciation set in.

Pray Psalm 119:18 as you read: "Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law."

How long has it been since you have been in class? Since you have had a good read from the Bible? I would encourage you today to turn from what you are doing, and set aside a specific time to spend listening to your Lord. Remember Peter: "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

05/04/03, BBC, am

04Knowledge.MEF - 07/23/25