Okay, I’m am going to have to get controversial in this piece. This subject shouldn’t really be controversial at all; but it has become so. A sign of the times. My subject is the imperative for a genuine disciple of Christ to study in order to be able to “grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). The failure to do this is responsible for most of the ills in the church today. So I just want to open up this whole subject of study, the need for it, and how to do it. (Don’t worry; it’s only a 10-minute read!)

The wellspring is that “the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). What is it that comes out of His mouth? That’s right. His Word. So many think that God just infuses His people with knowledge, wisdom and understanding in some kind of mystical manner. This is not generally the case at all; although He may, from time to time, when necessary, directly inspire us — a classic example of which is in Luke 21:12-15. But that situation will be greatly enhanced if we have studied to accrue the knowledge beforehand. We are not divinely-directed robots! He expects us to do the work and He works with that, enabling us. It is a big part in our progressive sanctification process. This is the way with the sanctification of true believers. If we show the first initiative, He steps in and enables us. But is not like that with salvation. That is all of the Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 6:44,65). [I realise that this cuts right across the usual semi-Pelagian teaching which most professing Christians believe today. But then most people are more interested in humanistic teachings than biblical ones. They just do not want God to be God. Not completely].

The Lord expects us to get wise and He counsels us to aquire wisdom. “Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). How many professing Christians do you know who are wise? Seriously. Are you yourself wise on any level? There is nothing egocentric about being able to reply “Yes” to oneself. We need to be able to examine ourselves and see a quiet progression in our level of wisdom with the passing of each year of our lives. But if wisdom is the most important thing and reigns supreme, why do so few of us acquire it? What is the aversion which prevents us from accruing wisdom? I will tell you what that aversion is: It is a lack of diligence because of behaviour learned from the world. Let me expand on this a little.

Paul says to Timothy, “Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth” (1 Timothy 2:15). The words “Make every effort” are a translation of the Greek word σπούδασον , spoudason, which means to be eager or earnest, to want to make every effort, to be “always conveying an active, forward-leaning diligence” (Topical Lexicon). In fact, this Greek word is from where our English word “speed” is derived. It implies a huge sense of impetus. “Make haste” is a good translation. One can hardly wait to study to improve one’s knowledge — not in order to accrue knowledge for its own sake but so that knowledge can be turned into wisdom.

The reality is that the truly genuine Christian loves to study. So why is there such a reluctance on the part of so many professing Christians to do so? I think that there are a number of reasons. Firstly, because they watch television and are brainwashed by the media, people have allowed themselves to be infected by the global contagion of being ‘dumbed-down’, to only want soundbites and brief summaries. Secondly, people have become lazy and revel in that laziness, believing it to be the norm because that is what they see around them. Thirdly, many who claim to be Christians are not even regenerated so they have no will to study. Fourthly, there is the charismatic mindset of thinking that actual study is unnecessary for the one who has a hotline to the Spirit and receives direct ‘words of knowledge’ and “walks in the supernatural”, as they put it. (To understand what a “word of knowledge” or “word of wisdom” is really all about, see pages 82-89 of my free eBook “Signs, Wonders and Divine Revelation”, downloadable at this link: https://diakrisis-project.com/2023/05/13/new-book-signs-wonders-divine-revelation-the-gifts-of-the-spirit-their-abuses-in-todays-churches/ ). When one looks at the charismatic scene one can discern that for all their alleged “walking in the supernatural” they are woefully deficient in theological understanding! They regard serious study as being for lower-level people who do not have the Spirit to the degree that they have. But there is no two-tier Christianity.

Another aspect of this is that God calls on us to be able to articulate our faith to others in a logical and compelling manner. “Always be prepared to give a defence to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). This involves the need to have a studious understanding of what one believes. When one gives that defence (apologia), one is teaching. Paul states that a servant of the Lord must, amongst other things, be “able to teach” (2 Timothy 2:24). In that context, Paul is addressing Timothy as a pastor. But the term “servant of the Lord” also applies to all believers (e.g., Ephesians 6:6; 1 Peter 2:16; Revelation 19:2, 5; Revelation 22:3) and all believers should be well-versed in Scripture and able to instruct others on an informal basis (e.g., please see Acts 18:24-26 for a highly relevant example). In the Letter to the Hebrews, the recipients were accused of being “dull of hearing” and the letter went on to say,

“Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food! For everyone who lives on milk is still an infant, inexperienced in the message of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:11-14).

The salient points of interest in that brief text are as follows: 1) The people are told that by that time they ought to know enough to be able to be teachers of others, but they plainly did not, for they did not even know the “basic principles of God’s word” — an accusation which could easily be applied to a great many Christians today. 2) The people are reproved for still only being infants who could not take more than breast milk in symbolic terms of teaching rather than having graduated to solids. Could this also apply to many today who do not think that it is necessary to study and who eschew any teaching which is more than a few paragraphs long? 3) The letter more than implies that studying the solid food of the Scriptures (and other works which expound them) prepares one to be able to distinguish good from evil. In other words, serious study develops discernment in the student, which is vital for the child of God to have in this wayward world and subverted church.

Of course, some will complain that parts of the Bible are hard to understand. All the more reason to study then! Listen to the teachings of your pastors and teachers and ask them to recommend good books to you which will explain the difficult bits of the Bible. Peter alludes to this when he speaks about Paul’s letters as having parts that,

“are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:16-18).

What can we learn from this? That distortion of the Scriptures is practised by those who are ignorant and unstable. Those who are false teachers are, in turn, also ignorant and unstable, which ignorant and unstable (unlearned) people follow en masse. Ignorance and instability go hand-in-hand together, each element breeding the other, and they are all unaware of their ignorance and instability and, ironically, imagine that they are know-it-alls! Being ignorant and unstable is what you want to avoid at all costs. How do you do that? Study! Become a more profound disciple of Christ who cannot bear just living on the surface like the rest of the world.

None of what I am saying here is about intellectual snobbery or superiority or the level of intelligence quotient (IQ). All God’s children have the capacity to study, to a greater or lesser degree. There is nothing clever in this. Each should be helping the other. But I have seen illiterate converts with little education diligently learn to read after their regeneration and then study with joy the Scriptures and even theological tomes. This is what happens to people who have been transformed. It is a supernatural thing which is applied practically. I have also seen Ph.D.’s humbled to simplicity when they realise that it is not their intellectual prowess or qualifications which get them there but spiritual diligence. Diligence. Diligence. Diligence. I’m always saying it: “We have to do the work!”

[I should add that I recognise that some disciples of Christ may have a genuine disability and thus be less capacitated in terms of learning. Or they may be children whose cognitive level corresponds to their age and experience. So when I say, “We have to do the work”, obviously that work is to a level which is commensurate with our mental abilities. Though I have to say that our God can and may enable such a one to progress to surprising levels. Also, the mentally challenged and kids can be surprisingly discerning and attain to a level of wisdom beyond their ability and years if they have the right environment around them and if the Lord so wills it. We have to be charitable in spite of our expectations].

Finally, people often say to me, “Your writings are too long. Can’t you shorten them?” I write about things which need proper exposition. I like to run deep. That’s what I do. The strange thing is that people will happily read a number of books in succession because each one is brief. Yet, together, they amount to the length of a longer book. So why can they not simply treat a longer book as if it was a few of the books of a size which they don’t mind reading and just read a portion at a time until it is finished? I have no answer to that. Logic does not play out well today! Or they say, “If you make your book into an audio-book then I will get it because then I can then do other things while I listen”. That is not the way to study! Close attention is necessary. Now I suppose I will just get a whole bunch of people complaining! 🫣 Oh well!🙂

Anyway, to conclude, I will just say it again: “We have to do the work” both in the sense of self-improvement through the process of sanctification and also in our knowledge of the truth through diligent study.

.

.

.

© Copyright, Alan Morrison, 2025
[The copyright on my works is merely to protect them from any wanton plagiarism which could result in undesirable changes (as has actually happened!). Readers are free to reproduce my work, so long as it is in the same format and with the exact same content and its origin is acknowledged]

.