KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND LOVE FOR GOD

Justin Peters

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Justin Peters. I hope that you and your family are doing well today

00:05

I want to thank you for joining me for this video And even as I'm starting I'm looking at myself on the monitor, and I just realized that my shirt

00:15

Makes me look like an inmate. I look I Look like I'm doing time or something, but no it's uh, it's weird shirt looks different on screen, but at any rate

00:26

I digress This is the fourth installment I suppose of the new devotional series that I am doing and this is kind of a spur -of -the -moment thing

00:35

I wasn't planning on doing one today. I was gonna do one tomorrow on a different topic But I received a couple of emails today from folks both of which

00:46

Take me to task basically the gist of both of them saying that They accused me of only having head knowledge of God.

00:54

They say you only care about doctrine You only care about theology. You don't care. You don't have any love for God And this is something

01:02

I've heard so so many times from charismatics. In fact, it's it's one of the undercurrents that Doctrine and theology are not important.

01:12

They will say oh, I don't need doctrine. I don't need Theology, I just I just love

01:18

Jesus But that is a false thing to say Because it is sound doctrine

01:26

It is right theology that deepens our knowledge of God and when our knowledge of God is

01:34

Deepened then that enables our love for God to be deepened and I Am married to a wonderful lady named

01:43

Kathy. We've been married for almost 10 years. August will be 10 years and As I got to know

01:49

Kathy I wanted to know more about her I studied her and I wanted to know What she likes, you know, what does she like to eat?

01:57

What is how does she like her coffee? And in fact Speaking of coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker at all.

02:04

I'm a tea totaler I'm a tea totaler on alcohol and I'm a tea totaler on coffee.

02:10

I don't drink it at all I don't know anything about it But I know well, I know some about it now because I know that Kathy likes it

02:18

She doesn't like just any coffee But I had to learn this basically this whole language when it comes to To coffee and when

02:24

Kathy and I are out on the road now if we're on a trip and maybe I'm preaching somewhere She goes with me

02:30

First thing in the morning when we get up and get ready We take her to go get her coffee and I know how she likes it.

02:38

She likes White chocolate americano with five shots Sometimes six but five shots light cream the only

02:47

I I don't even know what any of that means I don't know what it tastes like but that's how that's what she likes and the only question

02:55

I have to ask her is if she wants it hot or Iced depending on the weather it usually determines that so anyway

03:03

I'm I studied her, you know And the more you if you truly love someone you want to get to know that person, right?

03:10

And in in the only way to know a person to get to know them is to spend time with them

03:15

You study them like I studied Kathy. I still am studying Kathy I want to know what she likes what she doesn't like and same her for me.

03:26

And so All of these people who profess to love

03:31

God love Christ, but they don't have Any concern for doctrine or theology?

03:38

In fact, they they diminish these things. They they portray doctrine and theology as somehow

03:45

Antithetical to love and they'll say well doctrine theology. That's just one thing That's just you know for the for the preachers or the seminary professors, but what's really important is your love for God?

03:56

But that is a false dichotomy. That's that's a false Assumption that the

04:01

Bible does not make it all does not teach in fact quite the opposite Jesus says quoting

04:06

Deuteronomy in Matthew chapter 22 and Luke chapter 10 Jesus quotes

04:11

Deuteronomy chapter 6 he says we are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts soul and Mind God gave us a mind for a reason.

04:20

He wants us to use it We are to study to show ourselves approved unto

04:26

God 2nd Timothy 2 15 and Paul makes a very interesting statement in Philippians chapter 1 verse 9

04:34

Paul says in this I pray that your love would abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment

04:45

You see the Bible never separates knowledge of God and love for God the

04:51

Bible always combines these things and so all of these people who will

04:59

Profess from the rooftops how much they love Jesus But yet they couldn't tell you the difference between Romans and Revelation.

05:06

They they don't have an interest in Theology they don't have an interest in doctrine which simply means teaching they don't well if you don't have an interest in theology and doctrine, then that means you really don't have an interest in God because That is what enables us to know

05:24

God and in the more we Know God the more we will love God and this is a beautiful cycle now granted

05:30

There are a lot of people out there who have a head full of knowledge of God who don't who do not love

05:37

God But if we do love so let me say it this way you can have you can have knowledge without love

05:44

But if you truly love God Then you will want to get to know him and the only way to get to know him is by knowing him in his

05:52

Word and we are to use our minds. The mind is not the enemy of Spirituality the the engaged mind is not the enemy of your love for Christ It is the friend of it.

06:07

So we're to indeed love the Lord our God with all our heart soul and Mind we are to study to show ourselves approved unto

06:15

God. So don't fall into this False teaching out there that somehow knowledge of God and love for God are

06:24

Separate in their antagonistic towards one another. No, they are companions So in this

06:31

I pray that your love for God would abound all the more in knowledge and real

06:38

Discernment. So thank you very much dear ones I hope that this has been encouraging for you until there until our next time together