Knowing The benefits of knowing God Growing In The Grace and Knowledge Of God Knowing The benefits of knowing God

Knowing accompanied with Faith The Bible is very plain that God's will needs to be done. Following commands and examples does this. Applying the principles that are taught. Avoiding things that might be prohibited.

1 John 2:3 “And by this we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments”. Making a diligent effort does this. We have to really work hard to get this far in a relationship. We have to make every effort and our very being must be dedicated to God to do His will.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” KJV says those who diligently seek Him.

We need faith `Lots of the things of the past we must accept by faith. As we read about the children of Israel or the trials of the prophets, we can accept them as fact due to eyewitness accounts. However some things must be accepted by faith.

Faith To Accept Creation No one was there to report the events. We have to take what Moses said at face value and as fact. This is not hard for a believer to do. Some groups might try to rationalize certain facts like the days of creation as actually being ages or many years each. God said it was a day. Twenty-four hours long each. If God can create these things, why would it take years to accomplish? God is all-powerful, and can speak things into existence. There is no need to try to explain the how’s and why’s of the way things are. Like the bumper sticker says: "GOD SAID IT, I BELIEVE IT".

Why do we need faith? The Bible fills us in on a lot of background information. Someone once asked why Moses wrote Genesis. If you remember, when Moses was sent to Egypt to demand the release of the Israelites, he was asked the question: "who is this God?' Exodus 5:2 “But Pharoah, said,’Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go’.”

Why we need faith Wouldn't it be appropriate to explain who God is and how God deals with His people? We can turn to the Bible to see how God dealt with people of the past and since God is the same now as then, we know He will deal with us in the same way.

We learn from the past Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

Knowing God and His Will Knowing the character of God can be learned through His word. Once again, we must emphasize the fact that the Bible is the word of God. It is to be accepted by faith as fact and not fiction. If we are to have any hope of the promises being fulfilled, we have to know that every word of God is inspired, and profitable for us. If anyone decides that any part of God's word is not important, they can throw the book out the window, because it becomes meaningless.

Knowing God And His Will Those people who twist the scriptures to practice their own lust and desires are misusing (abusing) this book. Those who leave out part of the Bible in order to match their doctrines, are in truth; lying. We know that God does not lie. Anyone who teaches a different doctrine than the Gospel of the Bible is lying. Any doctrine different than God's is false.

Knowing God And His Will When we compare man's religions against the Bible, we see differences. If man's religion is not the same as God's, then he is wrong. Man must conform to God's will, because God will never change His will to match our doctrines.

Why Study Is Necessary Because there are so many different doctrines. There are millions of people who call themselves "Christians", but participate in human institutions of religion. The Christian must have confidence that they are right. There is only one standard of right. Many will die with a false confidence and be disappointed on judgment day. With souls in danger of being lost, it only makes sense that one would want to be certain.

Conclusion God has revealed Himself to us. God has revealed His will to us. Our duty is to know God and follow His will. Our obedience is conditional upon our obedience driven by faith accompanied with Grace, with the ultimate end of our souls salvation.