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KNOWLEDGE - WHO NEEDS IT?
In the middle of last August, about noontime,
a young man in Phoenix, Arizona received a call from his boss. His boss
wanted him to immediately drive to Yuma to deal with a particular problem. Without
hesitation, and without wasting time, the young man hurried home, threw some
personal items together, and headed toward Yuma.
Approximately forty miles west of Gila Bend he
pulled off to the side of the road with car problems. This didn't surprise
him as much as it irritated him. As in the recent past, he figure he'd
sit there for about twenty minutes and the car would probably start right up. It
didn't! So he got out, lifted up the hood, and stared at the engine. But
not being a mechanic he didn't see any obvious problems.
So he left the hood up, hoping someone would stop. But
car after car flew by as if they had urgent business in Yuma. He understood
but was becoming concerned for he had thrown everything he needed in the car
with the exception of water. He found shade but at two o'clock in the middle
of August in the Arizona desert shade is of little help.
Finally, a man in a dress shirt and tie stopped. He
got out of his car, grabbed a brief case out of the back seat, and quickly approached
the young man. As they met, the man opened up the brief case and offered
a tie to the young man for only twenty dollars. In a hoarse voice, the
young man said "No thank you" and asked if the guy had any water. As
if the salesman hadn't heard the question he dropped the price of the tie to
$10. Again the young man said "no" and repeated his question
as best he could -"Do you have any water?"
Again the salesman ignored the question but not
his desire to sell the young man a tie. He said, "Look, if you can't
afforded to spend $10 I will tell you what I'm going to do - I will sell you
the tie I'm wearing for only $5." By this time the young man was angry,
as well as dehydrated, but managed to say, "Look, I don't want your tie
or any other tie. Do you have any water?"
"Hey!" replied the salesman, "If
you don't want a tie just say so and I'll be on my way." The guy did
and the salesman closed up his brief case and left. The young man then
did something no one in their right mind should do - he started walking toward
Yuma. Thirty minutes later he was stumbling and staggering alongside the
highway. And about the time he could go no further he thought he saw a
cafe up ahead. Of course, in his state, in the heat of the day, it could've simply
been a mirage. But he stumbled toward it and soon found himself on the
wooden steps which seemed real enough. He staggered toward the door and
as he reached for the handle he saw a sign that read, "No one admitted without
a tie."1
Did he have a tie? No!!! Could he
have had a tie? You bet!!! In fact, a tie was practically given to
him but he refused it. He died on the steps leading up to that cafe, forty-seven
miles west of Gila Bend, for the lack of a tie.
This was God's concern as he spoke through the
life and words of the prophet Hosea. For in Hosea 4:1 - 6 we read:
Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because
the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There
is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There
is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Because of this the land mourns, and
all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea are dying. 4 "But let no man bring a charge,
let no man accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against
a priest. 5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother- 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
Hosea indicted the nation for blatantly disobeying
the Decalogue - the Ten Commandments. In v. 5 his accusation
was extended to include the religious leaders. The priest in particular
had ignored their duty to communicate the nature and laws of God to those under
their charge. Then in the midst of Hosea's indictment the prophet made
the sobering observation that God's chosen people were being "destroyed
for lack of knowledge."
This was also Peter's concern as he penned his
second letter to Christians scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia. For false teachers had infiltrated the churches of
Asia Minor and were teaching doctrines that were contrary to the Scriptures. And
apparently, some in the church were embracing the heresy that was being peddled
by bold and arrogant men for, in fact, the false teachers were harming the church.2
3
Peter's counsel to Christians, his answer
to heresy, is to grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. It
is interesting to note that II Peter 1:2 and the very last verse of the letter
are practically identical to each other with the same emphasis on "knowledge." In
the former verse we read:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through
the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
In the latter verse, the last verse of the book,
we read,
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
This is no accident. By focusing on "knowledge" at
both the beginning and end of the letter, Peter draws attention to what he believes
is the solution to dealing with false teachers. In fact, in what could
be called Peter's last will and testament he takes time to tell them that his
desire in his last days is to make every effort to remind them of what they already
know. For in II Peter 1:12 - 15 we read,
So I will always remind you of these things, even
though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13
I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this
body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus
Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that
after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
In other words, not long before his departure
Peter did what he could, such as writing this second letter, to help those he
cared about to remember what they had a tendency to forget. In essence
he said to them, in these few verses, that he makes no apologies for helping
them "to remember not to forget."4
How about you and me? Are we in the habit
of reminding people "to remember not to forget"? Are we in
the habit of reminding them of what they already know and now is the time to
apply it to their particular circumstances? Quite frankly, most of us,
at our age, do a pretty good job of helping each other remember what we have
a tendency to forget in the ups and downs of life.
In regards to the knowledge of God we must initially
be convinced that it is knowledge that is available to all men. Scripture
assures us that such knowledge has been available to us since the beginning of
time. Let me give you four examples.
The first one is found in Exodus 31:1 - 5 we read:
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "See,
I have chosen Bezalel (Be zal e el) son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe
of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability
and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work
in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and
to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.
God had commanded Moses to build the tabernacle
and in his grace had provided Bezalel, and others, with the skills and knowledge
to be an extraordinary craftsman, a craftsman that would glorify God with the
work of his hands.
The second example is found in II Chronicles 1:7
- 10. We read:
That night God appeared to Solomon and said to
him, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
Solomon answered God, "You have shown great
kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now,
LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made
me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10
Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to
govern this great people of yours?"
Solomon was young and inexperienced. The
maturity that comes with age was not his and had he applied for the job as king
his application would have been ignored. He had nothing going for him,
nothing but the belief that the God of Israel was a gracious God who kept his
promises. So he boldly ask God for wisdom and knowledge to govern the nation
and God gladly and readily honored his request.
The third example is found in Psalm 19:1 - 4. We
read,
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing
to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit
to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is
perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making
wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the
heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are
sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than
much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11
By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden
faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule
over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your
sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
According to C. S. Lewis, this is the greatest
poem in the book of Psalms and it has the greatest lyrics in the world. From
our point of view it contains the clearest summary of the doctrine of revelation
to be found in the Old Testament. It not only speaks of general revelation
that is available to everyone everyday of the year, it speaks of supernatural
revelation as found in "the law" as in the Bible that Jesus read for
himself. Both the heavens and the law reveal the nature of God to mankind.
Finally, I want you to look at Psalm 119:66 -
72. We read:
Do good to your servant according to your
word, O LORD.
Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I believe in your commands.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.
Though the arrogant have smeared me with
lies, I keep your precepts with
all my heart.
Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
It was good for me to be afflicted so
that I might learn your decrees.
The law from your mouth is more precious
to me than thousands of pieces of
silver and gold.
My tendency, our tendency, is to stop listening
to instruction, to stray away from words of knowledge, to abandon our relationship
with God for what appears to be more urgent business. Perhaps this
is why God allows us to be afflicted with all sorts of troubles - whether it
be a natural disaster, illness, or the natural consequences of our own
decisions. He knows our tendency to wander away from Him and he graciously
brings us back so we can once again enjoy a relationship with him. A relationship
that grows deeper and sweeter as we come to know him better.
This was Peter's concern - he was fearful that
those he loved would be carried away by lawless men. He was afraid they
would lose the sense of joy and peace they had in being securely under God's
wing. So he wrote a second letter to them and encouraged them to continue growing
in the grace and knowledge of God. May we do the same.
1 Whenever I've shared this story with students
I applied it by reminding them that they are being offered an education at
practically no cost to them other than effort. If they refuse to take
advantage of what is being offered they will someday come across a sign that
says, "No one admitted without an education." In the present
context the sign reads, "No one admitted into the kingdom of God or its
joys without knowledge of the Holy One."
2 In his opening verse Peter doesn't specifically say that
he is writing a second letter to the same group of churches as found in I Peter. But
in II Peter 3:1 we read, "Dear friends, this is now my second letter to
you." So it is safe to assume that this second letter was aimed
at the churches in Asia Minor.
3 See II Peter 2:13. They infiltrated with all the
right words and none of the right stuff.
4 I'm indebted to Mike Tucker for this phrase.
PETER: THE MAN AND HIS LETTERS 5/11/08 1
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