God's Way or Our Way

“But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2Peter 3:18)

This is the last Scripture in the second letter that Peter wrote. It’s his final counsel, to actively and passively increase in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus. Peter tells us in his first letter how to do this. “Therefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings, and all evil speakings, desire the sincere milk of the Word, as newborn babes, so that you may grow by it; if truly you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1Peter 2:1-3) We have to abandon the flesh impulses to lie, to deceive others, strivings to be better than others and gossiping. Leave the flesh and cling to God’s Word. The Word of God is living. It has the power to transform us if we obey it. “For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Many are the people who know the Scriptures but are not obeying it. It’s in their minds, but not in their heart. So, it’s not so much about being able to say the Scriptures, but to do them.

The knowledge of God is everlasting life. “And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) When we come to know Him, we will live. It’s a phenomenon. To know God and grow in the knowledge of Him, the light of God gives us discernment which is a gift of the Holy Spirit. He makes known to us what Truth is and what is not Truth, what is of God and what is not of God. The Holy Spirit living in us wants to hear more of the Truth of God. But the person who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit isn’t interested in the things of God. “We are of God. He who knows God hears us. The one who is not of God does not hear us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” (1John 4:6)

The beauty of it all is that the Lord didn’t leave us to flounder about trying to find out what will help us grow in the knowledge of the Lord. He has given us the Holy Spirit. And He has given to the church gifts working in the church to help us grow in the Lord. “And truly He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, and some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit. But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16) There are many who say they believe in God, worship Him and obey Him, but cannot get themselves to worship in a church. They may watch a church service on TV or worship the Lord in their own way. But the Truth is that we are commanded to congregate. “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful who promised) and let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25) There is accountability in a congregation. The author of Hebrews writes for us to incite or encourage each other. If you are not part of a congregation, you have no one to encourage you.

There are also gifts given to the church to help us grow in the Lord. At home worshipping alone, you miss the revelations God gives the church through the teachings of pastors and teachers. It’s easy to get deceived when there is not a pastor or teacher to correct us. If a person doesn’t want to sit under the teachings in a Bible believing church, more than likely that person wants to worship God in their own terms. The problem with that is that is what Cain wanted to do. God set the terms on how He wants worship. Cain wanted to do it His way and offered something God didn’t accept. He was angry about it and killed his brother Abel because of it. But God tells him that he knew to do right but chose to do it his own way. “And Jehovah said to Cain, Why have you angrily glowed? And why did your face fall? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door; and its desire is for you, and you shall rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7) Cain would have had victory over sin if he’d done right. Missing church seems like no big deal, but it’s the way God wants to be worshipped.

Growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord has to do with obedience, obedience to God’s Word and doing things God’s way, not our way. God’s Word is light revealing Truth to us as we read and study it, thereby growing in the knowledge and grace of the Lord.