Equipping Eve: Contagious Company

Equipping Women with Truth in Christ

Is the church today doing everything it can to provide women a firm foundation of truth in Christ Jesus? Well, it's true there's no shortage of candy-coated Bible studies, potluck fellowships available to ladies.

But beyond Sunday morning, are Christian women being properly equipped to stand against the same deceptions that even enticed Eve in the garden? In an attempt to address the need for trustworthy, biblical resources for women, No Compromise Radio is happy to introduce Equipping Eve, a ladies-only radio show that seeks to equip women with fruits of truth in an age that's ripe with deception.

My name is Mike Abendroth, and I'm pleased to introduce your host, Erin Benziger, a friend of No Compromise Radio and a woman who wants to see other women equipped with a love for and a knowledge of the truth of God's Word.

Opening Welcome, Personal Updates, and Christmas Chatter

Well, hello ladies, and welcome to Equipping Eve, the show that seeks to equip you with fruits of truth from God's Word. I am Erin Benziger. I am your host for this and every show. There you are. You can't get around it.

It's me. You can find out more about Equipping Eve at equippingeve .com or .org. It's the same website, different web addresses. I own them both, so trying to get a monopoly on that because, you know, so many people trying to steal the name Equipping Eve.

So there's that, Facebook, Twitter, things like that. I am not on Instagram, so don't look for me there. But if I were on Instagram, basically what you would see is pictures of my cat. So you can see those occasionally in the other social media venues of Facebook and Twitter.

Not all that often, I will say. I don't put out pictures of Producer Charlie all that frequently, but they are there occasionally. So yeah, my cat, Charlie, he is the producer of Equipping Eve. He works hard, and he's working hard right now.

As I record this, he is sleeping in his bed, ignoring me. You know, that's what cats do. But he usually is very involved, so there you go. So as I record this, it is almost the middle of November. Like, that literally just hit me as I said it.

That's crazy. Middle of November, 2018. Yeah, where did 2018 go? I'm not actually complaining, because I'll quite honestly be happy to see it go, but I feel like I say that every year, and then the next year is worse.

So, oh well. Such is life. God is still sovereign. God is still on his throne. And he has ordained all things that come to pass, even the craziness of life. And life is good, because our God is good. And he gives us good gifts that we do not deserve.

He gives us breath. We don't deserve that. We're born sinners. We don't deserve to take one breath, let alone the millions that we each undoubtedly have taken, and will continue to take. I have not actually done the math.

But I'm sure someone out there has. So, you know, tune in next time. I'm going to try to find out an average number of breaths that we take in a lifetime. I should make a note of that, or I'll completely forget.

And I know you're all just dying to know. In fact, you're Googling it right now, so when I come to you with that number, it won't be news. But anyway, I wasn't prepared for that. Anyway, our God is good.

And everything comes from him. And even our trials, there's goodness even in our trials. Because God uses those to shape us, conform him to the image of his Son, to sanctify us, to demonstrate to ourselves our faith.

We don't undergo trials so that we prove our faith to God. But to prove our faith to ourselves, that God has been good to grant that to us, and to be strengthening us in the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's just a reminder that we belong to him.

And sometimes you need that reminder. I don't mean to sound all touchy-feely Caleb here, but sometimes we do need that reminder. As Christians, we can get so caught up in being afraid that we get too touchy-feely, seeker-sensitive, that we focus then far too much on how awful we are.

And we forget that our God loves us, in spite of all that. I mean, he loved us and demonstrated that by sending his Son. And Jesus died for us, out of obedience to the Father, but also out of love for those who were his.

We can't lose sight of that. And we become pretty cold-hearted when we do. I've talked about this a lot, and so I don't want to necessarily do a repeat of that conversation. But I just am so concerned with things that I see in the evangelical Reformed world.

And I say that as someone who shares those convictions and those theological convictions. So, I just am very concerned about the cold-heartedness that exists among people who claim to be Christians. And I think we need to be mindful of that, because that is not at all what Christ looked like.

That is not at all what Jesus looked like. Oh, but he overturned the tables, the money changers, and okay. He also spoke kindness and forgiveness to the woman at the well. And how many other instances do we need to go through?

Read the Gospels. So, our God is love. He is also holiness, complete and perfect pure holiness, righteousness, justice, truth. Yes, but he is also love. And that is one of his attributes. And that is one that we, as Christians, are called to emulate.

And I just don't think we do it, at least not appropriately, a lot of the time. So, anyway, that's a conversation for another day. Like, the day that we already had this conversation. But I'm sure we'll be having it again.

Anyway, not exactly what I want to talk about today. But before we get into that, so, it's November, as I've said multiple times now. Which means that Hallmark Channel has begun their Countdown to Christmas, which now starts...

What? Didn't it start before November? I think it started, like, at the end of October this year. They do two months of Christmas movies. And here's the thing. I love Christmas. I never get to actually have that Hallmark Christmas that is in my head.

And I'm sure I never will, and that's fine. But I still love Christmas. It brings with it some bittersweet memories. My grandfather passed away just a few days before Christmas, many years ago now. But he loved Christmas.

And so, you know, that always makes it kind of a bittersweet time. But I do, I love this season. And I love me a good Hallmark Christmas movie, okay? So, if you follow me on Twitter or something, you know that.

Because I'll talk about the Hallmark Christmas movies, not extensively, but occasionally. So, here we are. And Hallmark is, you know, full on into their Christmas movies. And new movies every weekend.

They have two channels going. And, I mean, it's impossible to keep up with all of this. So, anyway. I saw a commercial for one that's called, I think it's actually playing this weekend. I don't know. It's called A God Wink Christmas.

And I didn't think anything about it when I first saw the title. I was like, well, whatever. And then I saw a commercial, and I thought I heard, so don't quote me on this, because I don't recall. Something about, you know, someone saying something about how God winks at us in certain ways.

And I thought, oh no, is that actually what they're using this title for? And I think it is. So, I went to the Hallmark website to read the little blurb about this movie. And it reads, As Christmas approaches, Paula, a St. Louis antique appraiser, reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Daniel.

Sensing her reticence, her Aunt Jane invites Paula to her Nantucket home. When Paula visits nearby Martha's Vineyard, she meets a charming inn owner, Jerry, and enjoys celebrating the holiday festivities with him.

Okay, it's wrong on the website. Enjoys celebrating the holiday festivities with him. Although Paula develops feelings for Jerry, she moves forward with her engagement. Maybe it's Gary. It's G-E-R-Y.

I don't know if that's Jerry or Gary. We'll find out when we watch the movie. She moves forward with her engagement, and Aunt Jane reminds her that sometimes we receive messages from above to help determine which direction life should take.

These are from author Squire Rushnell of the God Winks book series. It's a whole book series. Yay! So, I have a feeling that this is going to be about God winking at us. So, basically it's the same plot of every Hallmark movie.

With a little faith twist. Some bad theology. So, that'll be a good one. I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe I'll give you an update on that if I watch it this weekend. So, don't miss the God Wink Christmas.

So, you know, no one ever said Hallmark was known for their theology. But what I do appreciate about these movies, whether they're Christmas ones or not, you know, you can't work from sunup to sundown and then go to bed.

It's nice sometimes to just take a couple hours, relax, not really think about anything. And what's nice about the movies on the Hallmark channel is they're safe. You know, they're clean. There's nothing inappropriate in them.

Language is clean. All that stuff that just doesn't exist anymore. You know, for right now we don't have lesbian couples getting married. Or, you know, homosexual couples getting married. So, those are good things.

And, you know, I've seen others where there's an angel who comes back to life or whatever. No one ever said their theology was great. But that doesn't mean we can't just enjoy a couple hours of relaxation.

So, if that condemns me, so be it. I like me a Hallmark movie. Okay, so now that you're up to date on the Christmas festivities on TV, let's move to the matter at hand. So, I was talking, I mentioned a little bit earlier about the K-Love, you know, touchy-feely, secret sensitive stuff.

So, I don't listen to K-Love or Christian radio, like local Christian radio, because it's basically K-Love, except at Christmas time. So, here we go. This is just a problem. Because my local Christian station starts playing Christmas music early.

Again, I'm not necessarily down with all Christmas music all the time, starting on November 1. But I'm not in the car all that often, and there's nothing else to listen to. So, well, I have Bing Crosby CDs, but sometimes you need a break.

So, just to run to the store, it's kind of nice to have something to listen to. And the Christian station has Christmas music, and I love Christmas music, so I'm okay with it a little bit here and there.

So, I was listening, I was running around, running errands the other day, and I heard the DJ say something. I'm going to actually take this and run with it. Don't turn off your iPhone, pod, computer, whatever.

Stay with me. I'm not becoming a K-Love convert. What she said was something to the effect of, the company you keep is contagious. And she started talking about that, and it was really quick. And it got me thinking.

I thought, you know, let's not dismiss this just because of the fact that it was heard on a Christian radio station. So, at first glance, you hear someone say something like that. The company you keep is contagious.

It seems like an oversimplified explanation of 1 Corinthians 15 .33. But again, I don't want to just dismiss it because we figure, oh, that's so simplistic, you should use words like that to describe it.

So, 1 Corinthians 15 .33 says, Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. So, I heard her say this, you know, the company you keep is contagious. And she kept talking, and I thought, you know, that's actually a really interesting way to explain this in part.

It is simplified. But when we look at this first, Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. Is it just me? Or do we tend, in our little evangelical community, I was going to use another word, but we're just going to go with that one.

Do we tend to take this and add it to our legalistic list of things that we shouldn't do as a Christian? And then we just kind of leave it at that. How often have you actually looked at the context of this verse?

Instead, it's just, you know, it's like this proof text, you know, and you tell your children, don't hang out with that group of kids. Bad company corrupts good morals. It just becomes this added law of other things that we can't do as Christians.

And I fear so much that so much of our Christian life is actually based on rules. And that is the wrong way to do it. If you are a Christian, you have been redeemed by Jesus Christ, purchased with His blood.

Your mind, your heart, your will has been transformed, is being renewed day by day. You are a new creation in Christ. Right? That is so much more than just following a list of do's and don'ts. But we just kind of do that, and then we just leave it at that.

And we don't really think about it any further. So, to start this conversation, let's look at the context of 1 Corinthians 15 -33. And then I want us to step back and I want us to get real, quite honestly.

I could say I want us to be authentic, but I hate buzzwords. So I want us to get real and I want us to consider the implications of the principle of this verse. The implications that that principle has on our life.

So turn with me, ladies, to 1 Corinthians 15. I'll give you a second to get there as I remind you that I normally read from the New American Standard and I will be reading from that today. So 1 Corinthians 15 and I'm going to start at verse 20.

Paul writes,. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's that is coming, then comes the end when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. When he has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For he has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him.

When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him so that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.

Become sober-minded as you ought and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. Now we kind of parachuted in there, but from this immediate context, if we go back and look at the first 19 verses, which I probably should have started earlier, but if you go back and look at those and you can tell from the verses that we read that Paul was talking about the resurrection, right?

And so, let's see, back in verse 12, he says, If Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? See, that's the problem, right?

Some people are saying there's no resurrection of the dead. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, for your faith also is vain.

Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

And I wish I had started back there earlier. And then he goes on and says,. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. And on he goes, what we just read. So from this immediate context, what can we infer?

Well, we saw it up there in verse 12, didn't we, that Paul is emphasizing the resurrection because someone's running around Corinth saying there is no resurrection of the dead. So we can safely assume that the Corinthians were associating with these people, whether they were friends with these people or they were listening to teaching regularly that was teaching there was no resurrection of the dead.

And Paul's like, do you really want to believe that? Because what are we preaching then? Because if Christ is dead, then we're we've, joke's on us, you know. What are you doing? What are you doing listening to these people with such heretical lies?

Because think about it, ladies. If we take away the resurrection, what are we left with? Not much, right? I mean, think about it. If there is no resurrection, Paul says it, we have no hope. We are of all men most to be pitied if there is no resurrection.

So this wrong thinking will inevitably lead to wrong behavior, won't it? You know, wrong theology will inevitably lead to wrong behavior. In fact, there was an article written about a month ago, October 17th, 2018, by Amy Bird.

And this appears at Alliancenet .org. It says, if our ethics are steering the wheel, we shouldn't be surprised by the state of theology. And she says, so I didn't expect to transition into this, but I think it goes along with what we're talking about.

She says, I received a preview of Ligonier Ministries' State of Theology survey in my inbox last week, revealing what evangelical Americans think about God, Jesus Christ, sin, and eternity. And I was afraid to click on it.

I can already see the state of theology all around me. It's easy to blame the secular culture around us or the denominations that don't take the theology seriously, but bad theology is perpetuated in our own circles.

Ooh, stepping on some toes here, Amy, and I wholeheartedly agree. She goes on, unfortunately, a trend I have noticed in the evangelical church, particularly in our parachurch groups and popular-level so-called Christian books marketed to us, is that we care more about ethics than really knowing these primary doctrines.

So long as everyone's on the same page with sexuality, pro-life, and other social issues the church is up against, Christian authors and readers have been given a lot of leeway. She says, brothers and sisters, we have our priorities out of place.

We should care about social issues and sexuality because of what we know about God and salvation. I have written so much about how our own Christian books are conditioning us to have a low view of God and his word, a high view of man in a distorted gospel.

I've mentioned how, for example, no one seemed to be alarmed about a popular women's author's troubling views on God's word or man's ability to save himself until she came out saying that homosexuality can be considered holy.

The line was drawn at Christian ethics, not at the Christian message. Boy, I think she hits home here. She's really calling out a lot of people on this one, not just your typical, you know, the people everybody knows are false teachers, so kudos to her.

And she says, so I ask, why are we surprised by this? If we accept bad theology on the basics, our ethics are going to follow suit. And our updated survey is showing just that. And she goes on and gives some stats.

She says, as we are rightly concerned about ethics, I'm also concerned about writers, preachers, and teachers in our circles forming alliances with others who advocate for social issues we hold dear, even as their teachings and some primary doctrines have serious theological problems.

Bad company corrupts good morals, right? It can be beneficial to join forces over ethics, but we need to be upfront, not silent, about our theological convictions in the process. Sharing platforms and cross-promoting needs to be done honestly, because if our ethics are steering the wheel, we will lose our orthodoxy, and the ethics will all loosen anyway.

I care very much about social issues, but they come from my theological convictions. I'm concerned about how low or bad doctrine has been accepted and promoted for the sake of our social stances. And then she mentions that this was painfully demonstrated when we called for complementarian evangelicals to take a stand on an orthodox view of the Trinity.

I thought, as complementarian leaders have called out the abuses in feminism and the sexual revolution, they will surely call out the unorthodox teaching on the Trinity. I thought, they will surely correct those who use that teaching to apply it to social relationships, saying women are eternally subordinate to men.

Right? Because that is really bad. We're talking about who God is, and that would distort the gospel. That would take from women what Christ said would never be taken from her. But it was taken, and the top complementarian leaders were silent.

No retractions, no apologies. Instead, there was just a little shuffling of leaders. And she goes on, and so then it comes down to that issue there. But look at her point. She's saying, here we are, we're saying here's the state of theology, and she's making a fantastic point that we seem to draw the line, many Christians seem to draw the line at ethics.

And so you're allowing your ethics to drive your theology. Well, that's wrong, so now you are going to end up with wrong theology. The real problem is that your theology is wrong, because if it weren't, you wouldn't be allowing your ethics to drive you.

Right? So if your theology is wrong, then your ethics are going to be wrong, your behavior is going to be wrong. So bad theology leads to bad behavior. If you aren't thinking rightly about God and the gospel, you inevitably will, it's like a trickle-down domino effect.

You know, bad theology, bad behavior, wrong thinking, wrong behavior. It's all connected. And then she talks a little bit about you know, these leaders who are joining forces and not caring about the state of theology, and so it's important.

It's important, and it's not just all you gotta have your right you know, your solas all in a row, and then never live out your faith. That's not it either, but if we don't have our doctrinal ducks in a row, we can't live out our faith rightly.

It requires both. And so I think that's really important, and I think she makes a really good point there, and so taking that now in the context of this 1 Corinthians 15 that we've been looking at, okay, so we've seen this immediate context with the resurrection, and so that's what Paul was addressing at Corinth, but this principle this little proverb here in verse 33, it's right, isn't it?

Bad company corrupts good morals. We see this here in Amy's article. It's just a different way of saying it, you know, a different scenario, a different way of looking at it, so this principle that's there in verse 33 is very true.

It's a very true proverb that's there. If we frequently spend time with a person or persons, we begin to emulate them. It's just the way it is. I mean, we all do it. You hang around a friend who says something a certain way, you inevitably start doing it yourself, or vice versa.

You say something a certain way, and they start doing it. They start saying it that way. And this is also true of teachers and pastors we listen to. If you listen to a pastor over and over again, you know, or you're sitting under your own pastor, you will... the flock of Christians in a church looks like their pastor, which is kind of scary sometimes to think about, but that's just the way it is.

It's true. We start to think, talk, and act like those who influence us. As I said earlier, we often think of this in negative terms, people we should avoid. But I want us instead, with the few minutes that we have left, to look at ourselves.

What kind of an influence are we on others? And that's what struck me when this radio TJ said that the company you keep is contagious. That's such a picture, isn't it? Contagious, we think of being sick, and oh, are you contagious?

You're sneezing, you're coughing, you have mucus everywhere. You're contagious. Get away from me. We know very much what contagious means. It's almost in the word. It's almost one of those onomatopoeias.

Did I say that right? That's one of those words you never say. And then when you say it, you think, oh, I hope I said that right. Anyway, contagious almost feels like one of those words to me. It's just like, ugh, give me some hand sanitizer.

Contagious, ugh, okay. But the company you keep is contagious. Instead of pointing our finger to other people, don't hang out with that person, don't hang out with that person, we should be mindful that we are someone who's contagious in a good way, right?

What kind of an influence are we having on other people? Okay, maybe we're not spewing heresy. Good for you. Two thumbs up. But do you complain constantly? Guilty. I don't know about constantly, but I can complain a lot.

I'm really good at that. It's one of my gifts, and it's not spiritual. Are we a naturally grumpy person? Are you someone people even want to be around? And if you are around them, what happens when you're around other people?

Do you bring them down? Do they walk away because they're done talking to you because you're bringing them down? What kind of influence are you? It was a question I asked myself when I heard this on this not-so-theologically sound, most of the time, Christian radio station.

I thought, you know, she's simplified it very much, this principle. Obviously didn't look at the immediate context of the verse, but that's okay, because the principle is still true. And it's a good question for us to ask, and so I ask you to ask yourselves the way that I ask myself.

Are we influencing others by reflecting Christ as we're called to? I'm not saying that we should put on a show and just be Susie Sunshine all the time, even when stuff's going on that you'd just be lying if you're walking around with that stupid smile plastered on your face, but the reality is, like I said at the beginning of the show, ladies, God is good, and life is good in spite of all the junk that happens in this fallen world.

It's still good, because our God is good, and this life is not all there is if you're a Christian. If you're not a Christian, it's not all there is either, but it's also your best life if you're not a Christian, which is why you should repent and turn to Christ for salvation.

So what I'm saying is you don't have to be Susie Sunshine all the time, but you also don't want to be grumpy bear. What I'm saying is when our company is contagious, when our company, the company of us, is contagious, we want it to be a good thing.

You don't want to be that person who's hacking and coughing at the end of the pew in church, and you're sitting there thinking, okay, Sunday, I'm going to be sick by Tuesday, because this person wasn't considerate enough to stay home.

You don't want to be contagious in that way. You want to be good contagious. Laughter is contagious. Do you ever notice that if you're sitting watching a TV show or a movie with someone? I don't know.

I've seen this happen with me, because I can watch old reruns and maybe not laugh at something, even if I think it's funny, just because I've seen it a lot. So I love Lucy. I've seen every episode I don't know how many times.

I love, I love Lucy. And I think it's hilarious, but I may not laugh every time it comes on, but if I'm sitting with someone else who laughs at something, I will laugh. Laughter is contagious in a good way.

So we want to be contagious in that good way. When we complain, things like that, we're leading others to sin, because then they're going to be encouraged to do the same, especially if they're looking at us as a Christian sister.

Remember, like I said at the start of the show, we have been transformed. Our minds are being renewed day by day. Earlier in 1 Corinthians, if we're looking at the broader context of this verse, Paul himself said that the Corinthians should imitate him even as he imitates Christ.

He said that in chapter 11 verse 1. So right there, as part of this broad context that we can look at and we can study this verse in light of that. And something else that's part of this broader context of verse 33 and chapter 15 is chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians.

And what is chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians? What's described there? Anybody? Anybody for the win? Love, right? Love is described there in 1 Corinthians 13. And our Savior is the epitome of love. And we are called to look like him.

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly. It does not seek its own, does not provoke, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails, etc.

Now faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love. So this is the company we should seek to keep and the company we should strive to be. But it's not another thing to add to your to-do list.

To don't, to don't, don't hang out with those people. To do, be this person. No, no, no, that's not what it is. Because we're being renewed day by day, because we've been transformed, and because God, in His goodness, He made us a new creation.

And part of that is that we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us. And as He indwells us, He enables us, He empowers us throughout this constant process of sanctification as we grow to look more and more like Christ.

Because we can't look like Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit, that divine power. You can try to cross off your list and make sure you do everything right and don't do the things you're not supposed to do.

It's not going to work. You're not going to look like Christ, because that's not... You might be doing those things, but that's not how He did it. He didn't do it to check it off the list. He did it because that's who He was.

And Christian ladies, that's who we should be and can be by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's one of those really good things that God has given us, isn't it? Well, ladies, I thank you for indulging me.

And thank you for not turning off the show when you heard that I was going to run with something set on Christian radio. So, you know, good job. Thank you. I appreciate that. You know, just because something's simplified doesn't mean it's wrong.

And sometimes it's the best way to say it. And so I'm thankful for that. It made me think a little, and I hope it makes you think as well. Well, ladies, we're out of time for today. So until the next show, get in your Bibles, get on your knees, and get equipped.

Thanks for listening.

Reintroducing the Show’s Purpose for Women

Is the Church today doing everything it can to provide women a firm foundation of truth in Christ Jesus? Well, it's true. There's no shortage of candy-coated Bible studies, potluck fellowships available to ladies.

But beyond Sunday morning, are Christian women being properly equipped to stand against the same deceptions that even enticed Eve in the garden? In an attempt to address the need for trustworthy biblical resources for women, No Compromise Radio is happy to introduce Equipping Eve, a ladies-only radio show that seeks to equip women with fruits of truth in an age that's ripe with deception.

My name's Mike Ebendroth, and I'm pleased to introduce your host, Aaron Benzinger, a friend of No Compromise Radio, and a woman who wants to see other women equipped with a love for, and a knowledge of, the truth of God's Word.