Christianity for Dummies Like Me!

We are continuing to look at the idea of "How to Guarantee a Productive and Effective Life" from II Peter 1:5-11. Faith in Christ is the foundation, of course. Then we are challenged to add to our faith, virtue, which I have described as "Taking Out the Trash!" Then in verse five, the text reads that we should add to virtue, knowlege. Luke 11:24-26 tells of a man whose home was cleansed of a demon and the demon found no place of rest so it returned to the house from whence it had left. It found the home swept clean and in order. Therefore this demon brought seven other spirits and moved back into that house. The Bible says that the latter state of the man was worse than the first. It is not enough to take out the trash in our lives, but we must also be diligent to fill that void with the knowlege of Christ. This word for knowlege is very interesting.

1. It is personal, but not private knowlege. Perhaps you have heard it said that religion is personal and nobody's business but mine. The Bible commands that we gossip the Good News of the Gospel everywhere.

2. It is progessive, rather than static. My favorite verse in the Bible is Philippians 1:6 which says, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. I'm sure you have seen the shirts worn by expectant mothers that read, "Under Construction" with an arrow pointing downward to the baby being formed within her. I believe that every Christ follower should wear this type of shirt. We have been lied to. We have been told that we are human beings; when, in reality, we are humans becoming.

3. It is experiential, rather than just intellectual facts. The word gnosis which is translated knowlege in the New Testament is the same word used to describe the fact that Adam knew Eve and they had a child. Knowing Christ needs to be experienced through a daily walk with Him. It is possible to know the facts, but never experience the relationship with Christ as one's own best friend. One man read the 23rd Psalm with all the eloquence of his learning. Then later an older gentleman got up and quoted the same psalm and the wise man who followed stated that we have been blessed to hear from one who knew the Shepherd's Psalm and from one who knew the Shepherd.

It is not enough to just take out the trash in our lives, but we must fill the void with the personal, progressive, and experiential knowlege of Christ.