From Virtue to Knowledge

Once we obtain virtue which is in fact "moral excellence" then we should add knowledge. In 2 Peter 1:4-11, the Apostle Peter shares with us some valuable information that we should take to heart. "...giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge..." (2 Peter 1:5). Knowledge is a clear understanding of a truth or fact; the act or state of knowing; that which has been perceived or grasped mentally; learning. We must understand that God granted us His precious and magnificent promises. Why? So that we might become partakers of the divine nature. God wants us to do the best we can and to grow each day of our lives to become more Christ like.

Continue in the Christian Characteristics

After we achieve moral excellence then it is very important that we strive to gain as much knowledge of God and Jesus as we possibly can. But we can't stop there because what would we be if we only had knowledge and not the other qualities that go with it. From knowledge we can see in this reading that we are to gain "self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love" (2 Peter 1:6-7). Yes, we need to ultimately have love because if we don't have the love that goes with all these other characteristics, then we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). If these qualities are yours and increasing you will be useful and fruitful. Those that are lacking these qualities are blind and don't know real Christianity. Peter tells us in verse 10 that we'll never stumble if we practice these things.

The Meaning of Discipleship

Before we can ever hope to be an effective Christian, Husband, Father, or Leader in the Lord's church we must understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. A disciple is defined as "A pupil or follower of any teacher or school; A follower of Jesus." (Webster). A Christian learns that we must forsake everything and every person and put Christ FIRST in our life. To Forsake is to "Give up; renounce; to leave; abandon; desert." (Webster). Those unwilling to do so, will not enter into heaven and will never become the leader and servant that Jesus wants us to be. When we grasp the true meaning of discipleship and the importance of FOLLOWING CHRIST then we will become an effective leader and servant in His kingdom.

Many are not able to grasp the true meaning of discipleship and as a result find themselves trying to serve God and at the same time trying to conform to society. Let us understand the truth of Jesus' words as He said: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

Jesus Calls Us

Jesus appeals to all mankind to come unto Him. His words are tender and sweet as he pleads "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). As a result of this invitation, many follow Him, seeking to become His disciples. Jesus warns that we cannot be His disciples UNLESS we first count the cost. We must take a stand for Jesus above all else! Notice from the following verses the cost one must pay to be a true disciple of Jesus: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:34-39). "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:24-25). "And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:57-62). We can see from these scriptures that the Lord wanted all to follow Him - but they first had to count the cost of doing so. If one is not willing to be TOTALLY committed to Jesus he cannot be one of His disciples! By His own life Jesus demonstrated what it meant to be a follower and to deny self (John 7:16; 17:4).

A True Disciple Indeed Is One That Will Continue In His Word

Jesus expects us to serve Him all the time. If one serves only when it is convenient and pleasant he has not denied himself; neither is he the Lord's disciple. To be His disciple we must REMAIN in His word. Jesus said: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32). Paul reveals that it was for this that Jesus died, so that those of us who "live" as a result of His death might stop living for our own pleasure, but for the pleasure of Him who died on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:15). We are exhorted to continue in the faith and as a result will encounter tribulation but all is worth while as we strive for the everlasting kingdom (Acts 14:22; Revelation 2:10)!

A Disciple of Christ will therefore study his Bible daily and desire to come to a full knowledge to the truth and his teacher. Are we like our teacher? If so, then be determined right now to follow Jesus. If we do, we can have peace through His word which says: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

Fellowship with One Another

The book of 1 John, chapter one has some valuable information that is important to us. Sometimes we use the term "fellowship with one another" too lightly. We can only have fellowship with one another if we are walking in the light as Jesus "Himself is in the light" (v. 7). We know from verse 5 that "God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." Therefore, how can we say "we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness?" If we do "we lie and do not practice the truth" (v 6). Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). Most everyone that is a Christian realizes that Jesus is the light and that He is without sin. The emphasis in this chapter is that God does not associate with evil and darkness is not in Him -- He is only light. Therefore, if we are following Christ we must do so on His terms and that is to not associate with darkness but to walk in the light as "He is the light".

If we walk in the light we are told that "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (v. 7). Aren't we all striving to do the best we can so that we can someday be with our savior in heaven? We need to be free of pride so that we can "confess our sins" (v. 9) so that we can be "cleansed from all unrighteousness." Yes, we all sin (Romans 3:23), but what we have as Christians is the avenue of prayer to ask God for forgiveness, knowing that He will "forgive our sins" (v. 9) if we are walking in the light. In the right relationship with God, we have "fellowship with one another!"

Having Life Within

In John 6:53-56 we read, "Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.'"

Some of the greatest gifts from God to man are the blessings of physical and spiritual life, but both are dependent on certain conditions. If we're to live physically, we must have proper food, exercise, sunshine, and air. Let a man shut himself away from all light, food, air, and exercise, and he will die physically. We can't hibernate as do the animals, neither can we hibernate spiritually.

Jesus said, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53). In this statement, Jesus likely had in mind more than the Lord's Supper, but we do know He included it in this declaration, for the bread is emblematic of His body and the fruit of the vine is emblematic of His blood according to Matthew 26:26-28.

Some will forsake the worship for months and still claim to have good spiritual health in Christ. It was the dying request of our Redeemer that we partake of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Him. If we don't gather together, how can we obey that command? Let us do as the early disciples and partake of the Lord's Supper on every first day of the week. (Acts 20:7). Let us live for Him who died for us, and God will bless us.

The Narrow Way

Can one be saved without having faith in Jesus? Our answer is "No," because we read in Acts 4:12, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." This sounds very narrow to the majority of earth inhabitants who do not believe that salvation is a possession of only those who believe in Jesus. However, Jesus said in John 8:24, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Again, Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." This tells us just how narrow the way to heaven really is. It is confined to those who are in Jesus because they have obeyed the will of their Father.

Listen again to the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." In verse 21, our Lord describes those who shall enter the kingdom of heaven, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

Jesus goes on to tell why He will refuse some who profess to be His disciples. He said in verse 23, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" We do not need to hear those words of rejection. We simply need to learn of God's will through a diligent study of the Bible and practice that which we learn.

What Constitutes Obedience?

A passage of scripture comes to mind when I hear the word "obedience" and that is from 1 Samuel 15:22 which says: "And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, {And} to heed than the fat of rams". We all need to understand that to obey the voice of the Lord is our first obligation. The truth is what guides us unto salvation and all men should obey the truth of God (Galatians 3:1-5; 1 Peter 1:22). We can learn from the scriptures that no man was saved by obedience to anything other than God's word. King Saul obeyed the voice of the people and that led to his downfall (1 Samuel 15:21). Adam obeyed the voice of Satan (Genesis 3:1-6). Saul of Tarsus obeyed the voice of his conscience (Acts 26:9). Only when one obeys the commandments of God is one able to be saved.

So how do we obey the truth? Before answering this question, let us first see how we disobey it. We disobey the truth by refusing to do anything at all (John 5:40). We disobey the truth by adding anything to it that God has not commanded or allowed. The Proverb writer says: "Do not add to His words Lest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar." (See also Revelation 22:18; 2 John 9) Besides adding to God's word we disobey Him by taking away that which He has instructed us to do (Revelation 22:19; Deuteronomy 4:2). The only way that we can obey the truth is by doing the exact thing that God commands for us to do. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23). Some may think they are doing God's will because it "feels right", or "it is a good work" but that does make it right!

This point is driven home by the example of Moses when he struck the rock when he was not commanded to do so (Exodus 20:7-12). It seemed such a small thing when Uzza touched the Ark to stabilize it, yet it caused his death (1 Chronicles 13:9-10). If we offend in one point we are guilty of all "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one {point,} he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). Let us strive to do ONLY those things which ARE AUTHORIZED by God!

Stay In Tune To -- Our First Love!

As Christians we have a "first love" and that is Jesus Christ our Savior and King! We need to keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus each day that we live. Remember the Ephesians? With all their positive aspects and glorious past history, with all of their diligent devotion - what did the Lord say to them? "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-- unless you repent" (Revelation 2:2-5).

Don’t Forget Our First Love!

We need to be very careful not to forget our first love like the Ephesians did long, long ago. There are many things that occupy our time and efforts and if we are not careful then before we know it we will also be guilty of leaving our first love, Jesus Christ! There is nothing more precious to us as Christians as having our VICTORY in Jesus Christ. A Christian can reclaim that first love by getting back to the basics of love, duty, and responsibility. We are commanded to be "renewed in the spirit of your mind" and to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Ephesians 4:23; Romans 12:2). In 2015, let’s make sure that we stay focused and stay in tune to "our first love!"