KNOWING GOD CHANGES US

II Pet. 1:6-8 Knowing God better leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The more you grow in your knowledge of God, the better you become in your relationship with Him. Knowing God is first a heart knowledge and then a head knowledge. A head knowledge without heart knowledge produces nothing of eternal value in the soul. Knowledge that does not produce fruit in our lives is useless.

Knowing God always flows from Calvary. No one can have a relationship with God apart from Christ. We are condemned to hell because of our sins unless Jesus is invited into the soul and forgives us for our sins.

Knowing God changes us from the inside out. It changes our ability to maintain control of our heart motives and desires. God enables us to take charge of our soul’s progress. As we gain control over our sinful nature and begin to live godly lives, we learn how to patiently endure in our walk through life. We grow to understand that we are works in progress and must allow time for God to mold us into godliness. We don’t give up on God and we don’t give up on ourselves.

As we patiently endure, we become more and more godly for the more God chips away at our sinful nature, the more like Him we become. It takes a lot of work to become godlier than the sinful creatures we are. It takes determination and unwavering commitment to the process.

Godliness translates into godly love. We develop a genuine love for all. We first learn how to love all who are a part of the family of God and then we learn how to love those who are not saved. If we can’t love other believers, we will never love those for whom Jesus died outside of the faith. In fact, if we can’t love other believers, then we can’t truly say we love God.

As we change and become a holy people before God saturated by His love, we become useful and productive members of God’s family. We become vital parts of what God is doing to reach those who are lost for Him. We become the light and salt of the world for the glory of Christ.