Olsen Park Church of Christ


“Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”

Introduction. (Hosea 4:1-6)  This text describes times not much different from our own. We certainly live in times when people “break all restraint”—our world is filled with “swearing and lying”—“killing stealing and adultery”—ours is a world of “bloodshed upon bloodshed” (2). Note four points that contribute to this:

·         No “knowledge of God in the land” (1).

·         They are “destroyed for lack of knowledge” (6a).

·         In fact they had “rejected knowledge” (6b).

·         They had “forgotten the law of your God” (6c).

We should note that there is a direct relationship between the troubled and sinful behavior of the people and their knowledge of God. This danger is important for us to recognize lest we are “destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

I.  The Knowledge of God.

A. How can we gain knowledge of God?

1.      Not within ourselves (Jeremiah 10:23).

B. Only through His word.

1.  Paul spoke of the Gentiles, who did not receive God’s revelation, that they “do not know God” (1 Thess. 4:5).

2.  Our world suffers the same problem if it doesn’t look to the Bible.

3.  The word keeps us from sin and cleanses our way (Psalm 119:9-16). But, there is a danger that we can forget the word.

C. The word is all-sufficient (2 Tim. 3:14-17).

1.  Many in the world claim to teach this—a foundation of the Protestant Reformation was the motto Sola Scriptura “the Scriptures alone.”

2.  Now many who once claimed this say “the Bible plus psychology”—or “the Bible plus funny stories”—or “the Bible plus entertainment.”

3.  Now more and more we are told, “you don’t need to know Bible stories”—“you don’t need to remember names and places”—“you don’t need to know book, chapter, and verse.”

3.  The word is how we know God.  Without it we will “be destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

II. Sources to Grow in the Knowledge of God.

A.    Preaching.

1.      Importance of preaching the Bible. A famine of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11-12). This probably referred to an end of prophecy in Israel, but the same it true when people stop craving the preaching of the word of God.

2.      This is only twice (sometimes only once) a week. If this is our only source it is not enough—we will be “destroyed through lack of knowledge.”

B.     Bible classes.

1.      This is a way the elders feed the flock. (Acts 20:28-30)—“feed the church of God” (ASV). How can the elders feed the flock otherwise?

2.      Only valuable if we participate and show up. How often it may be that a brother or sister has some struggle, or problem, or weakness that is dealt with in a comment or study in a class—but the person is not there.

3.      If we don’t (or don’t participate) it is of no value.  What if something that could help me go to heaven—overcome sin—help bring a soul to Christ—or raise my children to be Christians, is dealt with…but I miss it?

C.     Parents.

1.      Parents must be the primary source of learning for children (Eph. 6:1-4). Not just fathers. Timothy’s faith came from his grandmother and mother (2 Tim. 1:5).

2.      Parents have the most time with children. Children imitate what they seen in their parents (consciously and unconsciously).

3.      Do we have the knowledge of God to pass to our children? If not, what am I going to do about it?

4.      If this is neglected, children are left to depend only upon classes and preaching. But, if children don’t learn from parents to value classes and preaching it will be hard for them to value it on their own. (Prov. 29:15). This is true of the wild child that refuses to obey his or her parents—but it is also true of children as they get older.  We must fight against the influences the world bombards our children with or they will be “destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

D.    Personal initiative.

1.      Ultimately, the only source of knowledge that will sustain us is personal initiative (Psalm 119:97-14).

2.      We must decide to grow in the knowledge of God. Devote time to private Bible study.

3.      It is the only thing that guards us against chaos, selfishness, immorality, and being “destroyed by lack of knowledge.”

4.      This means Bible study (devotional and analytical). (1 Tim. 4:11-13).

5.      This means reading good literature by sound writers (bulletins, magazines, websites, commentaries, books).

6.      Denominational sources can have some value, but only when it conforms to God’s word. It is dangerous for brethren to feed on sources from those in error when weak in knowledge or to the neglect of sources by brethren.

Conclusion. Let’s end this consideration with two issues:

·         Why is this important? Because of the danger of other influences (cf. Israel and nations around them). We are surrounded by friends, family, internet, music industry that plant seeds of thought, pleasure, and ideas that will turn us from truth (Matthew 24:10-13). Only knowledge of God will counteract this influence.

·         What is important to you? We find time—we learn about—we become familiar with what interests us and is important to us. (cf. boy dating that becomes a disinterested husband—it tells a girlfriend she is important, or a wife she is not). We want salvation, but how important is God to us? (Matthew 13:45-46).  The gospel should be this important to us. (Psalm 119:7-11).

Kyle Pope 2011

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