From Pastor John Collins:
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Just knowing what God and Jesus has said will not do you
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“Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors; ‘To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.’” Proverbs 8:1-5 (NKJV).
There is a big difference between biblical knowledge and biblical wisdom. There
are many people out there that can quote the Bible because they have memorized
certain passages that
further their points of view. There are many preachers out there that
can speak with seemingly great amounts of biblical knowledge but
the really smart person is a person that knows how to take that biblical knowledge and apply
it to their lives and show that they have obtained wisdom.
Just knowing what God has said
and what Jesus has said will do you not one
bit of good if you do not obey
them. Just knowing that there was an Exodus from Egypt will not do you any good
if you are not willing to see yourself as
the rebellious Israelite
and alter your ways. Just knowing why
Judah was removed
from their land
is not enough if you are not willing to see
that denying God
His honor and refusing to
submit to His will is repeating the same mistakes.
The Bible
is not just a story. It is not just history.
The Bible is the word
of God and it is our blueprint to
life. The Bible is not
ancient nonsense and it is not
a book to just make us feel
justified in our choices. The Bible
is our instruction, our conviction and it is
there to guide us to heaven.
Being able to repeat some bible verses does not make you a
righteous person. Being able to use the bible to increase your wisdom and bring
hope to another with the message
of Christ is to seek to please the Lord. Being able to allow your heart to
admit its flaws and to seek the forgiveness and lessons of the Lord is to claim
Jesus as your Savior. Be willing to learn and grow in your faith as you seek to
reach out for righteousness and you will come to know wisdom well.
“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.” Proverbs 8:17-21 (NKJV).
