KNOWLEDGE We all know some things through both formal education and life experience. Unfortunately, much of what we learn is wrong. Sometimes with our limited knowledge we deceive ourselves into thinking so positively that we think we know more than we actually do.  It’s an ego thing.  With certainty,  we know today that smoking greatly increases health risks with cancer and the heart.  Alcohol has over fourteen million slaves in America that most   people don’t want to talk about.  It is easier to pretend there isn’t a real problem with over 17,000 lives lost every year in America due to drunken drivers.  That is the knowledge our society has today in our “politically correct” world.  We could talk about the knowledge we have of illegal drugs like methamphetamine and still possess great ignorance. Spiritually speaking and physically speaking, people often self-destruct because of their ignorance or lack of knowledge.  God says it this way in Hosea 4:6 as He speaks of His people, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.  Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will  reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”   God will not have purposefully ignorant people be His representatives on planet Earth.  God’s people are to be diligent not lax as they present their lives before the ever-present, living God in seeking His approval (2 Tim. 2:15).   Being in possession of all the knowledge that he can know, the Christian never fully matures.  There is always more.  To me this is one of the exciting things about being a Christian in that there is always so much more out there that with which our God wants us blessed.  Peter concludes all his inspired writings  admonishing us all to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pronounces a blessing upon those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness (what is right) (Matt. 5:6).  Well, obviously God is always right!  God has a will or a word that through inspired writers He gave to those who love Him.  Being God, He has been able to preserve his word/standard for all generations and for use in the final judgment.  Now with all of us knowing with certainty that we will die, we need to be asking ourselves some questions of ourselves like, What then?  According to our God and His inspired and preserved word, we will all be judged by His word.  This means the Bible.  Our attitude about the Bible as God’s authoritative word will certainly play a part in the judgment.  In the first century Paul was on his second missionary journey and was preaching in synagogues in different communities.  Just like today, different congregations have different mindsets or personalities.  He went to the synagogue in Thessalonica where some Jews had started a riot in the city; however, in the next city of Berea the Jews were more fair minded.  In that synagogue they received the word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things concerning the Christ were so (Ac. 17:11).  In every age including today, God seeks a people who will search the Scriptures to see if the things spoken by religious leaders about the Christ are in fact true. John the apostle instructs us regarding his preserved and inspired writings.   “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13).  We all have heard it said that “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”  It also has been said, “Half knowledge is worse than ignorance.”  These proverbs are true because many people act as if they “know it all” with the little bit of knowledge that they do have.  Most of us have heard of    Socrates.  Most will acknowledge that he expressed wisdom in his teachings.  One of the reasons he has both knowledge and credibility is because he communicated from a spirit of humility.  Socrates said, “As for me, all I know is that I know nothing.” It is through knowledge that we can check out or prove all things (1 Thess. 5:21).   We do this when we comparison shop for the best product and value.  It is with the knowledge of what our God has said in His inspired and preserved word that Christians can try, test, or prove various religious spirits to see if they truly represent the living God (1 Jn. 4:1). Many around us choose to be immature or irresponsible regarding knowledge.   It is by their fruits that we know these things.  The evidence is clear.  Babies need milk, and the mature can handle meat.  The Hebrew writer offers a rebuke to those who should have matured but have chosen to stay on a milk diet.  They can’t teach others.  They are so weak that they can’t even discern the difference between good and evil (Heb. 5:12-14). The knowledge of the faith once for all time delivered (Jude 3) comes from the word of God (Rom. 10:17).  Our faith is built upon a rock and is not changing with every new generation.  The knowledge of this faith gives us stability and boldness wherein we trust not in ourselves or our churches but the word of knowledge that God fairly and equally makes available to all in His word.   Let us with meekness   receive the implanted word (knowledge) which is able to save our souls (Jas. 1:21).