Add it Up (3)
January 25th, 2007 by Matt
Two weeks ago we looked more in-depth at faith and moral excellence from 2 Peter 1. The next quality that needs to be added to the foundation of faith and moral excellence is knowledge.
There is a heck of a lot of “knowledge” out there. What knowledge is this talking about? Does learning about programming languages count? (I think we can definitely rule that one out 
they didn’t have programming languages back when this was written.) 2 Peter 1:8 sums this knowledge up nicely as the “true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s a great blanket statement covering everything that has to do with our Messiah.
We need to backtrack here for a moment…The first quality listed was faith. However, we need to have faith IN something. Initially, the knowledge of the gospel is what we are to have faith in, both that the Kingdom of God is coming, the atoning work of Christ, and repentance in light of those things. That’s just the beginning, however. We are supposed to be growing in all of these qualities, so now we can start seeing a cycle: Hear the gospel, have faith in the gospel, repent in light of the gospel (moral excellence), learn more about the Messiah, have faith in what we learn, repent in light of what we learn, and so on.
Now that we’ve looked at just three of these qualities, a cyclical pattern of growth is emerging. Next time we’ll add more to the list and see if the pattern changes any.
Bible reading is important. I think a constant devotion to reading our Bibles – OT and NT is important.
God is powerful – so powerful that even the simple and unlearned can understand the Scriptures. One should not discount reading (along with prayer for understanding) for any reason. Bible study is not just for the pastors, teachers, scholars, or the “serious Christian.” We should all be serious and read the Scriptures that have been amazingly and accurately preserved to today.
“O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. I have more insight than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have observed Your precepts. I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word. I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me. How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! From Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.”
Psalm 119:97-104
-Victor
Absolutely, the “true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” really can’t come from anywhere else than the Bible.