Add Knowledge to Your Faith

According to 2 Peter 1:5-7, a Christian must add knowledge to faith and virtue (moral excellence).

Now, some knowledge is already needed to have faith in the first place, because:

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” — Romans 10:17

However, the basic knowledge that first brings us to faith must continue to grow.

The Importance of Studying God’s Word

To grow in Christ, we must know the Word of God. God gave us commands through Jesus and His apostles to shape our lives. These commands help us live holy (set apart for God’s purposes) lives just as He is holy.

God did not give us rules arbitrarily (without reason). He has good reasons for everything He commands. While we must trust His wisdom and obey Him, we first have to learn what He commands—and that requires study.

Learning from Examples

The Bible also teaches us through the examples of godly men and women. Throughout scripture, we see believers who served God in tough times. They often had to stand up against others who claimed to be God’s people.

We are also urged to walk in the same way Jesus walked:

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” — 1 John 2:6

How can we walk like Jesus if we do not read the Gospels? Many who want to live like Christ fail to study how He actually lived. We need to study how Jesus treated others, answered His critics, showed love, expressed anger, and sacrificed Himself. The more we learn about Jesus, the more we will want to copy Him.

Turning Knowledge into Wisdom

As we learn the gospel, we can use that knowledge to handle life’s challenges. Through knowledge, we gain wisdom.

There is an important difference between the two:

• Knowledge is understanding the facts.
• Wisdom is the ability to apply those facts to daily life.

Mature Christians have “exercised” (practiced and applied) God’s Word in their daily lives, as described in Hebrews 5:14. They know how scripture works because they have lived it out.

Consider this comparison: you can read a cookbook and memorize how to bake a cake, but you do not truly know how to bake until you step into the kitchen and do it. Likewise, you may know what the Bible teaches, but you won’t understand how it works until you apply it in difficult times.

Knowledge is a Road Map, Not the Destination

Sometimes we treat knowledge as our final goal. We assume that if we know enough Bible facts, we are good Christians. However, even highly knowledgeable Christians can fall into trouble if they do not use wisdom.

Paul warned:

“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” — 1 Corinthians 8:1

We should not pursue knowledge for its own sake. Instead, we should see it as a tool to help us become complete in Christ:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The scriptures equip us with everything we need to live for God. The Word of God arms us against Satan’s attacks and nourishes us on our spiritual journey.

Knowledge is not our final destination; it is the road map. God will not let us into heaven because we passed a Bible trivia test. He will judge us by how I lived out His Word.