Transcription / Notes:

Last week, Jonathan gave three tips for better Bible study. Here are four more from me, in order to "add to your faith... knowledge."

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1) Read whole Bible books.

I find it very helpful to read books of the Bible as whole books, similarly to how we read novels. I find that there is great power in the flow of thought from the beginning to the end of books like Isaiah or Romans. I find that the totality of the narratives is compelling in books like Judges or Acts. So I recommend reading them beginning-to-end on a regular basis.

2) Read without line numbers.

The Bible’s chapter and verse markings were added long after the documents were written. When I learned that, I wanted to find out if it would make any difference to read without them. For me, the answer was, “YES!” Chapter and verse markings are like the line numbers in a legal document—they’re useful for quickly finding a phrase or a thought, but they don’t have a bearing on the meaning of that thought. I’ve bought a couple of “Reader’s Bibles” in different translations, and I find them to be immensely helpful, letting the thoughts continue or break where in more natural ways, rather than where a particular line number may dictate.

3) Look for repeated ideas.

I often mark up my study Bibles with different colors, which helps me isolate various motifs, items, sayings, and concepts that the Holy Spirit is repeating. For two examples: the repeated mentions of belief in the whole Gospel of John and of resurrection in the whole book of Acts. Isolating these makes me take a mental step back to ponder why they were so important to the author, which helps me realize why they should matter so much to my walk with God.

4) Watch for God to act.

Especially in stories, don’t just look for what the human characters are doing—look for what GOD is doing, even if it’s behind the scenes. Early in life, we’re right to look at the human characters as the good or bad guys/girls. But as we get older, we often realize that: 1) human morality often isn’t so clear-cut as that, and 2) the humans often aren’t the main characters in a story anyway—God is. So watch for what he’s doing, and you will learn a lot about him, which is one of the things we should want most in our Christian lives (cf. Mk. 12:28-31).

- Dan Lankford

Transcription / Notes:

Last week, Dan put forward this beautiful idea: What if we came to know the Bible so well that the teachings of the Bible naturally flowed out of us? That’s what I want! I want the teaching of the Holy Spirit to become second-natured, to become my natural inclination. Accomplishing that starts with establishing a consistent habit of Bible reading and not just daily reading but good daily reading. So, this week, we thought we’d offer a few tips on what good daily Bible reading looks like.

1) Be Patient

In the Bible, the Gospel is often compared to a seed. Like a seed, if the Gospel is planted in your heart and allowed to grow it will inevitably transform your heart, your life, your actions (Matthew 13:18-23; Galatians 5:22-23). At the same time, like a seed, this process takes time, and we need to be okay with that. If daily Bible reading isn’t having a life-altering effect after two weeks, remember that Jesus personally taught His apostles for three years and by the end of His ministry they still didn’t quite get it (John 14:9). Be patient.

2) Quality Over Quantity

Sometimes in our impatience we try to speed up the growth process. Like a procrastinating college student, we cram loads of Bible study into tiny sections of time to make up for years of neglected study, but that just doesn’t work. That’s not how hearts change. So, good Bible students learn to emphasize quality over quantity. It’s better to just let five words sink in than to let 1,000 words go in one ear and out the other (I Corinthians 14:19). Just read a chapter, or a chunk, or a verse and allow it to sink in.

3) Master Meditation

When you close the book make sure to take something with you. Maybe it’s a thought, a promise, or a question. Whatever it is, take it and keep it with you through the day. Remember it. Meditate on it. Dwell on it. Absorb from it every ounce of edification it provides. This is what David did, what he longed to do – he anxiously waited for the night watches because in those moments of solitude he meditated on God’s word (Psalm 119:148). We should do the same.

Next week, Dan will have a few more Bible study tips to share!

- Jonathan Banning

The things in my life that I know best are the ones that I recall and revisit every day—the “I could do that with my eyes closed” kind of stuff. I know my way around the house because I navigate it every single day. I know the way I drive to work without thinking about it. I know my family by daily interactions. I know my native language by perpetual usage. These and many others are a kind of knowledge so regular and deep that I take it for granted. They are a kind of knowledge that I’ve gained, not just by amassing facts, but by repetitive experience.

What if we added knowledge to our faith like that? What if our knowledge of Christianity was so deep that it became fully natural to us? What if our knowledge of the things of God was so ingrained by daily experience and exercise that we took it for granted as the natural and normal way of life?

How can we do that? By revisiting, recalling, and refreshing the Christian way in us every. single. day.

In Deuteronomy 17, God prescribed regulations for the ideal king who would lead his people, and they were exceedingly simple. They come down to his restraining his own power and prestige (vv. 14-17) and continually reading God’s word (vv. 18-20). I find those rules powerfully instructive: More than being savvy politicians with deep knowledge of political science, God wanted the kings to have knowledge of him. And how would they come to a point where that knowledge is their natural path? By engaging the written word every. single. day.

Daily Bible reading is a habit that Christians sometimes write off as “a good idea, but not really commanded.” And while that’s technically true, it’s not good spiritual wisdom. The reality is that the more often we engage the words and ways of God, the more natural they become for us. Over time, they become the only way that we know to do life. They become the things that we can do and say without thinking about them, because we have come to know them on a whole different level. “Add to your faith… knowledge [that comes from daily habits].”

- Dan Lankford

Gnosis. Knowledge. Peter says that if we want to grow in Christ we need to grow in our knowledge. Yet, if you listen too much to the echoes of our culture you might find yourself discouraged in that pursuit. Here’s why:

There are many highly respected and highly visible people in our culture who would claim that it’s not possible to know the will of God. Sure, the most basic truths are discernable, like the fact that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead; but beyond those simplest truths God’s will is just kind of muddy. Some claim that the Bible itself is not clear on most issues. Others claim that the Bible is clear, but that we’ll be forever undone by our own bias and prejudice. Still others make the case that God’s word is intentionally left open to interpretation—that God wants us to draw our own subjective conclusions.

To put it simply, we live in a culture that just doesn’t have faith in our ability to know, understand, and correctly apply the word of God. But culture is wrong.

The Holy has told us clearly that we can know the will of God. Remember that Jesus promised that those who continue in His word would know the truth and it would make us free (John 8:31-32). When writing to the Colossians, Paul prayed that church would filled with the knowledge of God’s will so that they could please Him in all respects (Colossians 1:9-12). That doesn’t sound like something you would say if it were impossible to know God’s will. 

More meaningful to me is what John states at the beginning of his Gospel: “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (John 1:18). The word translated “explained” is the Greek word, “exegeomai,” and it means to open up or unfold. That’s a beautiful idea, isn’t it? Through His life and teaching Jesus has unfolded—He has revealed—the character and the will of God. Be not discouraged in your pursuit of knowledge! You can know the will of God!

- Jonathan Banning

Spiritual growth is a never-ending process. It’s like a marathoner’s pursuit of the perfect race—the faster they go, the faster they want to go. There’s always something more to reach for. As Peter said, the attributes of a quality spiritual life are always increasing (2 Pt. 1:8). This can be a daunting reality, but it need not be, because as we work toward growth in one attribute of spiritual life, growth happens in others simultaneously.

Knowledge—gnosis in the Greek—is one of those springboard qualities: when it grows, other growth happens. If we’ll let it, knowledge increases our virtue, steadfastness, self-control, etc. This is what God wants for us and from us. The apostles spoke freely and often about saints growing in the knowledge of God (Rm. 15:14, 1 Cr. 12:8, Ep. 1:17-18, Co. 1:19, Philemon 1:6, 2 Pt. 1:2). They didn’t want them to just believe and remain ignorant—they wanted them to possess deep understanding of God’s word, his will, and his Way.

But someone might be thinking, “Isn’t knowledge bad for Christians? Doesn’t it make people prideful? Aren’t we supposed to be about love and not about knowledge?” I’ll give the benefit of the doubt that anyone who would ask this is well-meaning, but the simple answer is, “No.” There are only a very small handful of times when learning/knowledge is negatively portrayed in the New Testament, and they’re usually when someone had an attitude or faith problem; not that they were just “too smart” (such is the case where Paul said, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”). Knowledge of God and his word doesn’t inherently make us prideful—that’s a choice that each of us have to make. The pursuit of Bible knowledge, of worldview understanding, and of spiritual discernment ought to be a hallmark of Christians. In fact, that’s God’s stated purpose for church leaders: that they would build saints up “until we all attain to... the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ep. 4:13).

Spiritual growth is a never-ending process, so let’s keep learning, brothers and sisters. Let’s keep adding some more knowledge of the things of God to our faith.

- Dan Lankford

Is moral excellence an end in itself? Should it be a person’s highest goal to achieve moral purity?

Ancient philosophers talked themselves dizzy trying to define virtue. They often saw it as a rigid idea—a truth that should apply equally in every case—so they constantly tried to perfect their understanding of it. But the concept remained elusive. The plane just kept circling, never quite touching down on the runway. Why? I think there are two reasons: 1) Because they looked only to themselves and the societies around them for this knowledge, and 2) because they thought that virtue was life’s ultimate end.

That approach might sound perfectly natural, but Christians see two problems in it: 1) Virtue doesn’t come from within humanity, but from God. 2) Virtue isn’t an end in itself; it’s the fruit of a life lived for an even higher purpose.

Some of the Greek sophists lived within a century or two of the prophets. But the prophets saw the world through a very different lens. They understood, “that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). They realized that searching for virtue within humanity leads us astray, so they taught people to seek God “that HE may teach us HIS ways and that we may walk in HIS paths” (Isa. 2:3). They understood that virtue—whatever is just, noble, and excellent—isn’t defined by man, but by God.

And that helps us to understand why arete is not portrayed as the goal of faith in God: it’s the fruit of faith in God—something we “add to our faith.” In Deuteronomy, Moses repeatedly emphasized loving God first, and then he turned his attention to serious teachings about keeping God’s rules. The greatest command is not, “Obey God’s laws,” but rather, “You shall LOVE the Lord your God.” The fruit of THAT will be our obedience to his commands (Jn. 14:15). 

Moral excellence is not life’s ultimate purpose. It’s the fruit that grows out of a heart that actually, completely, lovingly, humbly trusts in God. Life’s purpose is to love him, and only from him can we find out what arete really is anyway.

- Dan Lankford, minister

In most areas of life, we’re looking for the sweet spot – that point of perfect balance. As employees, we don’t want to be overworked or underworked. As parents, we want to be in control without being too controlling. We want to be financially responsible without turning into Ebenezer Scrooge. We want to eat healthy, but also enjoy some indulgences. In so many ways, we’re seeking to find that sweet spot.

Sometimes the same is true when it comes to spiritual matters. In 2 Peter 1, Peter advises us to add “arete” or “moral excellence” to our faith, but doesn’t that pursuit require some balance? Can’t chasing excellence easily lead to burnout and exhaustion? Where is the sweet spot as we seek to add “arete” to our faith?

I think we should mention that the Bible endorses the idea of rest and respite. Jesus provides a great example of this. He made of habit of withdrawing into the wilderness alone to pray (Luke 5:16). Not even the Son of God thought it right to work Himself to death. Still, I wonder if the issue isn’t finding the sweet spot between excellence and exhaustion, rather it is properly understanding what sort of excellence is under discussion.

Often we measure excellence in terms of good deeds done, work accomplished, things achieved. That’s not exactly the kind of excellence Peter is talking about. “Arete” is moral excellence. “Arete” is virtue. So, Peter is not talking about the stuff you do, but the person you are. He’s not talking about how big our bank of good deeds ought to be, rather he is talking about the kind of character we ought to build. He’s not talking about how busy you are this week, but who you are this week.

Adding “arete” is not about finding the balance between achievement and exhaustion.  We’re not looking for a sweet spot, nor are we trying to work ourselves to death. Adding “arete” is about deciding that in every possible way I am going to strive to attain the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).

- Jonathan Banning – minister at Temple Terrace Church of Christ

When I was a teenager, I spoke like a teen, I thought like a teen, and I reasoned like a teen. That era of my life sorely lacked purpose. I just “went with the flow,” doing whatever seemed exciting, fun, or rewarding at the time. I didn’t think often or very seriously about how my choices would affect others or where they would ultimately lead me in life.

But when I became a man, I put away teenage-ish things. At least, I’m trying to.

One of the hallmarks of maturity is learning to live with purpose, on purpose. And if we’re going to add arete—moral excellence—to our way of life in the sight of God, then we must embrace a purpose more dependable than our own ever-changing whims and wishes.
The Bible gives us this wisdom in several ways.

When Barnabas first spent time with the saints in Antioch, he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord “with steadfast purpose” (Ac. 11:23). And in the rest of the New Testament, we can see that they did! Antioch was a sending church. They commissioned, encouraged, prayed for, and supported missionaries that went all across the north coasts of the Mediterranean to teach about Jesus. They did what Barnabas taught, and many heard the Good News as a result.

This wisdom is woven into several of the metaphors used to describe God’s people, the church: a field (1 Cr. 3:9), a temple (2 Cr. 5:1), a priesthood (1 Pt. 2:9), the branches of a tree (Rm. 11), and household pots and containers (2 Tim. 2:20-21). Those things all serve a purpose beyond themselves. Branches bear a tree’s fruit. Pots and pans are made for specific uses. A priesthood serves their god’s/God’s pleasures. Et cetera. All of them serve an end, just as our existence serves an end: to give God glory.

The time for living life by whims and wishes is past, brothers and sisters. We should never expect that sort of thing of ourselves, even in our teenage years. Those who live with excellence will seek to know, understand, and fully embrace the purpose of glorifying God to motivate us to excellent Christian living. That’s the kind of arete that succeeds in spades and that doesn’t grow weary as years go by.

- Dan Lankford, minister

Sometimes victory is the greatest enemy of excellence. That seems counterintuitive, but it’s nonetheless true. Often, our success does not lead to more success, instead it leads to complacency. I’m sure this phenomenon pops up in many different places in life, but I see it most often in athletics. 

I see it in the team who wins the championship one year but misses the playoffs in the next because they just don’t have the same drive and hunger to win it all. I see it in the phenom who finally makes it to the big leagues but stops working because they feel they have “arrived.” I see it in the player who is awarded that enormous contract and then never plays hard again. Sometimes victory is the greatest enemy of excellence. 

Might that also be true when it comes to spiritual things? I think that’s a temptation for all of us. We use our spiritual success as an excuse to slouch back into spiritual complacency. What’s that look like? Maybe a little like this…

“I conquered my temper, my worry, my lust, etc. Now I can just coast to the finish line.” 

“I built a beautiful marriage and raised good kids. My work here is done!”

“I helped convert my dear friend. I worked on them through my teaching and my example for years and they finally responded! I’ve done my duty in evangelism.” 

“For the past two decades I’ve been that person who made every visitor feel welcome, I’ve opened my home liberally, I’ve been a picture of hospitality. Time for someone else to take up the mantle.” 

These are not small things! These are tremendous spiritual victories! Yet, if we’re not careful, victory becomes complacency. Adding “arete” to our faith means that we continually press on toward excellence despite our accomplishments. It means that, like Paul, we forget the things that are behind and press on toward perfection. It means we refuse to allow what has been done to distract us from what still needs to be done (Philippians 3:12-14).

- Jonathan Banning, Minister — Temple Terrace Church of Christ

Peter implores us to add “arete” to our faith—as a runner strives with all his might to finish first, so too should we strive in our faith (I Corinthians 9:24). We run like we want to win! Still, we must admit that sometimes our lives are not characterized by moral excellence but moral mediocrity. We have our moments when we slack off or give half-hearted effort. We run not like those who want to win, but as if we’re content to simply finish the race somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Why does moral excellence become moral mediocrity?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13 when He explains the Parable of the Sower and the seed that feel on the thorny ground (Matthew 13:18-23). If you read carefully, you’ll notice that the fate of the thorny ground is different than the fate of wayside or rocky soils. The seed that falls on the thorny ground doesn’t die like the others—it just never bears any fruit. That is a picture of moral mediocrity. It’s a picture of the Christian who fills their pew every Sunday and has their picture in the directory but has no positive effect on the kingdom.

Jesus informs us that disciples settle into moral mediocrity for this reason: “the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22). Do you see what Jesus is saying? The word of God is calling you to strive for moral excellence. Through the word, the Spirit calls you to transform your life in extreme and radical ways so that you can bear fruit for God, but worry and wealth choke the word—they hold it back, restrain it, suffocate it, prevent it from having its intended effect on you. In a fertile heart, the gospel makes breathtaking changes, but the weeds of wealth and worry render the gospel impotent. Those consumed with worry or inflamed with the desire for abundance will always fall short of “arete.”

So, this week let’s ponder these questions… In what way is worry keeping me from fully obeying the Gospel? In what way is my desire for abundance holding me back from total devotion to Christ?

- Jonathan Banning