Are you a “life-long-learner”? That has become a buzz-word to get across the idea that you shouldn’t be satisfied to just rely on what you learned in classes during your “regular” school years; you need to keep studying and learning throughout your life, in order to be a better worker and a better citizen, and get more out of life. I think there is a lot of truth to this idea. That doesn’t mean you have to keep taking formal classes from an accredited educational institution- there are many other ways to keep learning throughout your life.
But how about your life as a Christian? Should you be a “life-longer-learner” of the Christian faith? Most definitely! God inspired the Apostle Peter to write the Book of the Bible we know as 2 Peter, to Christians who were already “firmly established in the truth” (2 Peter 1:12 NIV). He urged them to remember and hold on to what they had already learned. But he didn’t stop there. In the last verse of his letter (2 Peter 3:18 NIV) he told them this: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Why is it important for people who already know Jesus as their Savior to grow in their knowledge of him?
1. So we don’t lose what we have in Christ. As you keep learning more of your Savior each day, you are more likely to keep him in your heart and mind and not let the distractions of this world crowd him out of your heart and life. And the better you know Jesus, and the words he spoke, and the truth that God’s word says about him, the less likely you are to be deceived by people who tell lies about him and try to twist what he said. (Peter warned against such people in 2 Peter 3:16-17)
2. So we have more peace, fulfillment and joy in Christ right now. One example: In Isaiah 25:6-9 there is a beautiful, poetic description of the victory over death that God will give us in Jesus, and the joy we will have when we see our Lord. I didn’t even know those words were in the Bible until I was reading through Isaiah in my own personal Bible reading in my high school years- and what joy they have given me many times since then when I go back to them and let them remind me how good it’s going to be when we are with the Lord in heaven.
3. So God can equip us to bless others. One example: You may talk with someone one day who has a hard time believing God would forgive someone who has done what they’ve done. The more passages and examples in God’s word that you have learned that have given you assurance of the forgiveness of your sins, the more ammunition you have to help someone else who needs the same assurance. (What passages and examples would you use? I would suggest Jesus’ parables in Luke, Chapter 15; the examples of the thief on the cross (Luke 23:41-43), and of Paul, the former persecutor of Christians (1 Timothy 1:12-16), and the passage about Jesus in Acts 10:43 (NIV)- “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”; as some good ones. There are many others! And there are other truths people need to hear, and other ways God has given you to bless them, that God will equip you for as you grow in the knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
How can you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ throughout your life?
There is only one way; but there are many ways to use this one way.
God’s word, that he’s given us in the Holy Scriptures, is what the Holy Spirit uses to strengthen us in faith in Christ, and increase our knowledge of Christ, and fill us more with his grace- his undeserved love for us in Christ- living and working in our hearts. So feed your mind and heart on God’s word.
But there are so many ways to do this! Formal classes like the confirmation classes, Sunday School and adult Bible Classes the churches I serve offer; hearing God’s word read, sung and preached on together with your fellow Christians at worship services; going to your pastor or a seasoned fellow Christian with your questions and hearing what word of God they point you to; talking about what’s going on in your daily life with a Christian friend or family member, and hearing from them what word of Christ or truth of God’s word really helped them with a certain situation.
Don’t be satisfied with just going through confirmation class or Sunday School as a youth and then being pretty much done with learning anything more about Christ; instead, do what Peter said: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” God will bless you as you do!
