FAITH + VIRTUE + KNOWLEDGE

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.”
― Stephen Hawking



We taught that faith is acting on what you believe and virtue to mean standing for what you believe,especially for what is right and just.
But the Bible also says “add to virtue knowledge”; lets just rest and define knowledge according to 2Peter 1:5.

WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE
Firstly lets define knowledge according to Dictionary.com “Knowledge is acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition”
Simply put knowledge is the acquisition of facts,the gathering of information,and knowledge in us is power in its potent form.
A person full of knowledge is potentially a powerful individual,and can be distinguished from his peers,sometimes the difference between two people is in what they know.
Knowledge must be acquired first before its put to use,if you don’t have knowledge how can you apply it? so its important that we acquire knowledge and it can be acquired through study and research.
In the processing of data,the first step is to gather information,then the information gathered is processed to data,then its useful.But first, information must be gathered.
The word knowledge in 2Peter 1:5 is the greek gnosis meaning general intelligence,understanding,knowledge of the christian religion,deep and perfect knowledge of this religion.It is gotten from the root word ginosko meaning to learn to know,come to know,perceive,feel,to have knowledge of.
I have met christians who claim to be christians without the basic knowledge of salvation.Knowledge is vital for success in the christian work and here I am talking about general knowledge about the christian faith,not revelation knowledge.When you become saved at first,you need the knowledge about your faith,to be able to stay in the faith.
In the book of Hebrews paul in his writing shows us some very basic foundational information that every child of God should have in their walk with God.The very elementary principles of the christian faith,things every new christian should know,I would state them below as paul listed them,Hebrews 6:1-2;

1. Foundation of repentance from dead works
2. Faith towards God
3. Doctrine of baptism
4. Doctrine of laying on of hands
5. Resurrection of the dead
6. Eternal Judgment

These are the elementary knowledge every believer should know,they are basic and it’s the foundational knowledge of every child of God.Some of us have been saved for many years without any solid foundational information on all that is stated in Hebrews 6:1-2.
The understanding of repentance from dead works,understanding our faith and some of the doctrinal issues that is the dividing issue between different denomination today.No information is useless,you cannot be a mature christian without the knowledge of the issues above,issues about the rapture and the ressurection of the dead,and eternal judgement.
The reason is that so that we can grow unto maturity and no longer be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine,by the trickery of men,in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,this is why we have the five fold to teach us,so that we will become solid in our knowledge of God.Ephesins 4:14.
There are all kinds of doctrines out there that teaches us something entirely different from the truth,if we lack knowledge how can we speak the truth in boldness.Ephesians 4:15
In the last days many will be deceived from the truth,even the elect the bible says will be deceived from the truth.The bible speaks of false teachers who will show up in the last days teaching deceptions and drawing many away from the truth,we see that even in our days many are deceived and drawn away from the faith.
The knowledge of the faith is very vital if you will stay and stand strong,the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge;assuming you know when in reality you don’t know.There are so much knowledge I grew to accept without checking it for example we are taught in school that there were three wise men that visited christ but in actual fact the bible never mentioned three wise men but the bible said “wise men from the east” Matthew 2:1.
So many issues that are controversial today even about the rapture and the judgement,and so on.Its important we study to show ourselves approved of God,everyday we meet people who lack the knowledge if we take time to study and gain knowledge we will be able to help those who are actually ignorant.
So add to virtue knowledge,develop an inquisitive mindset,learn to ask questions ,the more you study the more you know.
Assumed knowledge of a thing leads to foolishness and there is no excuse for that,grab every opportunity to learn and better your knowledge of God.
Many false teachers are out there but the greatest tool you have as a defense is your personal knowledge of God,that you have checked and discovered.
Faith needs knowledge so we don’t work in foolishness.

ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE
Paul spoke to the Roman church that they had Zeal without knowledge,Romans 10:1-3; and proverbs 19:2 says “its not good to have zeal without knowledge,nor to be hasty and miss the way.” Zeal is good but should be according to knowledge,so many people have taken certain steps and made terrible mistakes because of lack of knowledge.

Knowledge is very important in the walk of faith,don’t be hasty and miss the way,we make decisions based on zeal without knowledge,add knowledge,stop assuming you know when you don’t,give time to study and research,find out all you need to know about God and the faith.You are Gods workman but you must show yourself approved of God,to remove shame.
If we must experience the very full blessing of Faith we must add knowledge to our faith work,study and study and study.