OPEN: It was a retirement dinner and the speaker stood up and began to make remarks about the man they were honoring that night. He opened with these words:
"Tonight we honor a man who doesn’t know the meaning of the word dissemble,
who doesn’t know the meaning of the word fear,
who doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit.
And so, we’ve all chipped in together… and we bought him this dictionary.
(Expect groans and then apologetically say: “he didn’t KNOW the meaning of the words…”)
APPLY: As I was preparing for the sermon this week, one phrase caught my eye in the text. Look again with me at Isaiah 53:11
“After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his KNOWLEDGE my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”
(pause) By His Knowledge…he will justify many
I got to thinking about “knowledge” this week and it occurred to me that in the US, knowledge is highly valued.
I mean, as a United States citizen, if you look hard enough, you can find magazines and books on practically every topic imaginable. And to hold all that knowledge, our nation has public libraries and college libraries and even the Library of Congress.
If you can’t get the information you want quickly enough that way, there’s always the internet where you can find reams of information
In addition… to help people know how to utilize all this knowledge, our nation has built public schools and Universities and colleges in every state of the Union. Yes… Knowledge is highly prized in our nation.
I. Apparently, God also considers knowledge as highly valuable.
In proverbs we find:
“The lips of the wise spread knowledge…” Proverbs 15:7
“The discerning heart seeks knowledge…” Proverbs 15:14
“Wise men store up knowledge...” Proverbs 10:14
And in Proverbs 8:10 we’re advised to “Choose… knowledge rather than choice gold.”
Knowledge is highly prized in Scripture…
BUT… (pause…) not all knowledge is good. Paul tells Timothy:
“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge” 1 Timothy 6:20
And Titus is told some of the kinds of knowledge to be avoided: “… avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” Titus 3:9
Not all knowledge is “good” knowledge. In fact, the very first time the word “knowledge” shows up in Scripture… Well, let’s do a quiz here. Does anybody know where the first mention of “knowledge” is made in Scripture? It’s in Genesis (give them time to come up with the answer).
That’s right. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first mention of knowledge in the Bible refers to a knowledge that God didn’t want His people to have.
God told Adam and Eve "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17
Not all knowledge is good knowledge. And when Even ate of that tree, (and gave of its fruit to Adam) - and he ate…the result of the THAT KIND of knowledge led to:
· Sin which in turn led to
· guilt
· shame
· separation from God
· it led to conflict
· poverty
· homelessness
· It led to fault finding
· fear
· death
That kind of knowledge (not just of what was good - but also of what was evil) led to pain and despair and hopelessness in a world that had been pure and undefiled and blessed by God
II. You might say: well then…
"Why on earth did God ever put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to begin with???
Because God has gave Adam and Eve a choice. God has always given people a choice in life
· A choice as to whether or not to obey Him
· A choice as to whether or not they would live for Him
· A choice to follow that which is right or that which is wrong
· A choice as to whether or not to accept His kind of knowledge in their lives
Choice is one of the greatest gifts that God has ever given mankind
ILLUS: Victor Frankl lived for years in a concentration camp and he made this observation:
We who have lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - TO CHOOSE one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances - TO CHOOSE one’s own way.
The ability to choose, is what makes us what we are. And so, God has ALWAYS given people the right to choose. He gives us the right to choose because He loves us. And He wants us to obey Him because we want to obey Him… because we love Him.
So God has given us the power of choice. Just as he gave Adam and Eve the power to choose
And it was that choice…
It was that knowledge – that they gained from that tree - that brought condemnation
It was that knowledge - gained from that tree - that separated them/us from God
It was that knowledge - gained from that tree - that brought sin and death into our world
As Romans 5:12 tells us “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned…”
III. But, just as God loved us so much that He gave us the ability to choose…
He ALSO loved us too much to allow us be destroyed because of the choice that Adam and Eve made so long ago.
They (Adam & Eve) choose a knowledge that brought sin and death
And so, God CHOSE to send His Son - Jesus Christ. And God declared that “…by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11
Now… look at this:
It was knowledge gained from the tree (in the garden of Eden) that brought us condemnation
But, it was knowledge gained from the One on the tree (at Calvary) that brought us salvation
(REPEAT FOR EMPHASIS)
That’s what Paul wrote in Romans 5:18
“…just as the result of one trespass (Adam’s choice) was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness (Christ’s death on the cross) was justification that brings life for all men.
Adam made a choice that bro’t us into a world of sin and condemnation.
AND in response God made a choice:
“I’m going to send MY SON, my righteous servant… and by His knowledge I will justify my people.
By knowing Him, my people will be made right again
By knowing Him, my people will be justified…
Galatians 2:16 tells us: “a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ…”
Or, as Paul wrote the Corinthians: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified (by knowing)… the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” I Corinthians 6:9-11
Titus 3:3-7 says almost the same thing when it declares: At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by (knowing) his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
You have the privilege of being saved…
the chance to be justified…
BUT ONLY if you make a choice… a choice to know Jesus Christ
IV. How do you do that? How do you get to know Jesus?
ILLUS: Well, it’s a lot like dating. Any of you here ever date.
(A smattering raised their hands and so I commented: “I see we’ve had a number of arranged marriages here.”)
Couples go through a dating ritual. It’s not like the rituals of animals that you’d see on the Animal Channel where animals preen and strut to show themselves off.
Our dating ritual has to do with getting to KNOW one another. We sit down and talk with our date to try to find out what they like to do, what movies they like, what makes them sad or happy, etc.
In essence, dating is all about getting to KNOW the other person and finding out what they KNOW (or think) about you. The hopeful result of the dating ritual is to find someone with whom you can ultimately become married to and become intimate with.
So also with getting to know Jesus.
1st you have to get to know who Jesus is. You have to know and accept that Jesus was who He said He was… the Son of God. Others in this world may know Jesus as a good teacher or a nice man who died on the cross, but you can’t really KNOW Jesus until you believe that He is the Son of God.
2nd you have to KNOW what Jesus thinks of you. That you are what He says you are… a sinner in need of His forgiveness. “… All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” says Romans 3:23. You can’t know Jesus until you believe you that you REALLY need what He is offering.
3rd you must decide that you want to walk with Him. It’s hard to have a lasting relationship with someone if you want to go one way and they want to go another. That will tear you apart. In order to be justified by the knowledge of Jesus, you need to decide to stop going your own way and determine to go His. That’s what is known as repentance… that is to turn away from your old way of life and turn toward God’s.
Paul said we “…should repent and turn to God and prove (our) repentance by (our) deeds.” Acts 26:20
4th – you must decide that Jesus is to be the Lord and Master of your life. You must decide that you don’t just want to know Him casually, you want Him to be involved in every area of your life. You want Him to have total control of what you are and what you expect to be.
And Lastly you must seek to be intimate with Him. God has designed a very special way for you and I to do that. You must decide that want to know Him in His death, burial and resurrection
Paul wrote in Romans 6
“… don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.” Romans 6:3-5
You have to choose to accept the gift He’s given to you.
You have to choose to be justified by knowing Him.
You have to choose by believing in Him
Accepting your sinfulness and His forgiveness
Determine to turn away from your past and live for Him
And allow yourself to be buried in the waters of Christian Baptism
CLOSE:
ILLUS: A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with a man who was dying of cancer. We talked and we prayed and I spoke to him of Jesus…
But he refused.
He didn’t want to know Jesus
He didn’t want God to forgive him
So, he died… and he never knew Jesus
By contrast, years ago, another man named Kevin had been coming to church on a regular basis
He would hear the messages from the pulpit and he would struggle with what to do
When the invitation was given, he would grasp the pew in front of him…
… until his knuckles turned white
For weeks, he went on like this…
… until one Sunday, he did come forward
He chose to know Jesus
He chose to accept that he needed to change
And he was buried with Christ and rose up a new creature.
They both made choices… one to know Jesus, one to reject that knowledge.
What will be your choice this morning.
