Dangerous Knowledge

as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for your word

that you care enough about us to instruct us.

And Father, we ask that you would do that this morning,

that you would teach us in these verses

about our need for you

and also the way that you meet us in our need

and that you have sent your son to redeem and to save us.

We ask these things grateful

that we don't have to evaluate

whether we've done enough for you to do them for us,

but instead we ask them boldly

in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

There are two kinds of people in this world.

People say that about all kinds of things,

but I'm gonna say about one thing in particular.

There are people who want to know secrets

and there are people who don't want to know secrets.

Now, I used to be in the latter camp.

I used to be someone who wanted to know secrets.

If there was something that only a few people knew,

I was eager to be in on it.

It was shortly after, perhaps, I moved to Colorado Springs

that I began to become someone

who would rather not know secrets

because secrets can have a double edge to them.

And not only are there two kinds of people,

people who want to know secrets

and people who don't want to know secrets,

there are two kinds of secrets.

There are secrets that you can keep secret

and secrets you can't keep secret.

Give you an example.

Sometimes when I was a teacher,

and of course, this is true as a pastor as well,

you may have people come up to you and say,

I wanna tell you something,

but you have to promise not to tell anyone.

What's the response?

Well, I had this happen one time.

When I was a teacher, I had to say to this student,

unfortunately, I can't promise you that.

There are some things that you can share with me

that I will keep secret.

There are other things that you share with me

I actually can't keep secret.

There are some things that if you tell me,

I am obligated to act on them.

I'm obligated to do something.

It would be irresponsible.

It would be complicit for me

to keep certain things to myself.

The same thing, of course, is true

when we hear about scandals that come up.

One of the questions is this, who knew?

You do not have to be involved in a crime

to be guilty for that crime.

There are people who, by their silence, are complicit.

There are people who commit crimes,

and then there are people who just cover them up.

Now, you might be wondering,

what in the world does this have to do

with 2 Peter 2?

The point is this.

Knowledge sometimes requires,

it includes a responsibility to act.

Knowledge often includes a responsibility to act.

Knowledge sometimes demands action.

Knowledge increases responsibility and accountability.

Knowledge increases responsibility and accountability.

That's exactly the principle, the concept we see here

in verses 20 and 21.

We are told,

it would have been better for them

never to have known the way of righteousness

than after knowing it,

to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

In other words, Peter is saying something

actually scandalous here.

It would have been better for them not to know about God.

This knowledge of God has proved

to be incredibly dangerous.

And so, this morning,

we're going to turn to several ways

in which knowledge is dangerous.

I'm going to give you actually three of them.

And we've already come to the first one,

which is that we're accountable

and responsible for the knowledge we have.

So, if you are here this morning,

which you are,

unless you're listening to a recording,

you're in a dangerous place.

If you were here last week,

you were in a dangerous place.

You now have a greater responsibility.

When it comes to the lies

that this world tells us,

offering freedom but presenting slavery,

you are no longer able to say,

no one ever told me.

You're no longer able to say,

if only I knew.

And so, this highlights for us, right,

that knowledge,

as we've talked about before,

is meant to go somewhere.

Loving theology is a dangerous hobby.

It is never merely an intellectual exercise.

You are responsible for everything that you learn.

And so, if you're loving theology,

if you're growing in knowledge,

but you're not growing in grace,

it's sort of like this.

You're the person who goes to the gym.

You know all the machines that are there.

You know all the names of the workers.

You've sat on all the machines.

You've never lifted a single weight.

It has not gone anywhere.

Some of you might be this person.

If you've been to a gym,

you've probably seen this person.

They are going to the gym to work out.

You're like someone who's invited to a workout

with a bunch of other people,

but all you do is sit on the sidelines and watch.

You can describe the workouts in detail.

You know the names of all the equipment,

but somehow it has not led to any growth for you.

Your knowledge has done nothing.

Jesus himself warns us about this problem

in Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

He tells us about a master

who goes to a wedding feast

and he leaves his servants.

And he comes back,

and there are servants who have not done

what the master has told them.

However, there's two kinds of servants

who haven't done it.

Servants who knew what they were supposed to do

and didn't do it.

Servants who didn't know

what they were supposed to do

and still didn't do it.

So both of them didn't do what the master told.

One, however, has greater responsibility

than the other.

And we're told this in Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

And that servant who knew his master's will,

but did not get ready or act according to his will,

will receive a severe beating.

But the one who did not know

and did what deserved a beating

will receive a light beating.

Everyone to whom much was given,

of him much will be required.

And from him to whom they entrusted much,

they will demand the more.

In other words,

to those who much knowledge is given,

much is required.

Those with little knowledge received a light beating.

Those with great knowledge received a heavy beating.

We are responsible for what we know.

Knowledge is dangerous.

And so the point for us is this.

There's a call,

just as there was,

I mentioned this in 2 Peter chapter 1,

2 Peter 1:8

verses 8 and 11,

there's a call to self-examination.

What has our knowledge done?

Where has it taken us?

Is the knowledge that we're gaining

at work in our lives?

Because scarily enough,

dangerously enough,

we are accountable and responsible

for our knowledge.

The Bible teaches this principle

of greater degrees of judgment.

For example,

we see in James chapter 3,

James 3:1

verse 1,

that teachers will be judged more harshly.

The same thing is true here.

Those with great knowledge

will be judged harshly as well.

And so the question

for self-examination is this.

What is the knowledge

that God has given you?

What is the knowledge

that God has given you?

Have you acted on it?

God gave us knowledge last week, right?

We now have great knowledge

about the lies of our enemy

and the ways he tempts us,

offering freedom but delivering slavery.

If you were here with us last week,

you can no longer,

as I mentioned earlier,

claim ignorance.

You're responsible for that knowledge.

You know that the body makes a promise

whether you do or not.

You are now held to a higher standard

than you were before last week.

Knowledge creates responsibility.

You can't say,

well, it's really not that big of a deal.

This is just going to be easier

and more fun

for me to ignore those rules.

Maybe it's a different kind of knowledge.

Maybe you know the knowledge

that the book of Proverbs tells us

that not every person

who is poor is a sluggard.

The book of Proverbs

has a category for poor people.

Those who are poor

through no fault of their own

are called the poor.

Those who are poor

through their own fault

are called sluggards.

We have that knowledge, right?

What are we going to do with it?

Are we going to continue

to turn a blind eye

to everyone that's poor

despite knowing that's truth?

What are we going to do

with our knowledge?

Maybe it's knowledge

that parents have.

We know what our kids are up to,

but we pretend not to notice

because that's a lot easier

than dealing with it.

Maybe it's the knowledge

that I have emphasized

over and over

that God calls us

into community

and we can't survive

without it.

And yet you are responsible

if you embrace

Proverbs chapter 18 verse 1

Proverbs 18:1

which tells us

whoever isolates himself

seeks his own desire.

He breaks out

against all sound judgment.

Another way of looking at it

is this.

When we get to the end

of a Bible study,

when we have grown

in our theology,

our question is this.

What is this knowledge

going to create in us

in terms of growth and grace?

What are we going to do

with this knowledge?

Knowledge is dangerous.

And it's dangerous

because we're accountable,

we're responsible

for everything that we know.

Everyone to whom

much was given of him,

much will be required.

And from him to whom

they entrusted much,

they will demand the more.

Now I told you

I was going to give you

three ways that knowledge

is incredibly dangerous.

That's only the first one.

It's dangerous

because it increases

our accountability

and our responsibility.

Knowledge also is dangerous

in another way

and I want you to think about it

in this illustration.

Let's say,

hypothetically,

you're a single person

and you go on a date

with someone,

you go on one date.

And after that one date,

they say,

you know what,

I actually don't really

want to continue this.

Now I want you to imagine

that you go on dates

with someone for three months.

And after three months,

they say,

you know what,

I actually don't really

want to continue this.

Which rejection is greater?

The one date rejection

or the three month rejection?

Well, we know in most circumstances

the three month rejection

is greater.

Why?

I can give you a lot of reasons

the three month rejection

is greater.

One of them is this.

The person has greater

knowledge of you

and so their rejection

is more real.

After one date,

you could say to yourself,

well,

they didn't really give me

a chance.

They didn't know the real me.

They didn't give me

a chance to warm up,

you know.

If they'd only gone

on a second date,

they would have known.

They would have known

what a mistake it was.

You can't say that

after three months.

Right?

Knowledge increases rejection.

You can think about it

in another way.

Which is worse?

An engagement breaking up

or a divorce?

A marriage breaking up?

Well, a divorce, right?

This person has known you intimately.

They know things about you

that no one else knows.

And they rejected you.

Knowledge increases rejection.

And so knowledge is not just dangerous

because of our responsibility.

Knowledge means that

when we walk away

from Jesus Christ,

if we walk away

from Jesus Christ,

the rejection of Him

is even greater

than it would have been

had we not walked

in His ways.

There is an increase

in judgment,

an increase

in rejection

when we walk away

after we have known

the goodness

of the Lord

and His community.

And so that's why

we're told in verse 22

this is like a dog

returning to its vomit.

If you walk

in the Christian community

for a time,

if you see the goodness

of it

and the richness of it,

and then you go back

to the world,

then you go back

to your sin,

it is returning

to something disgusting

that you had left behind.

You are a dog

returning to its vomit

knowing that there

was something better.

And so your judgment

is greater

because of knowledge,

right?

Knowledge increases.

In some ways,

this is a subset

of the first one.

Knowledge increases

our accountability

and our responsibility.

The greater,

the more we know

about Jesus,

the greater our rejection

of Him

when we walk away,

if we walk away.

And so that's again

why Peter is telling us here

it would be better

that these people

had known nothing

and that they would know

that they would be

a part of the community

and then desert it,

then abandon it.

Finally,

knowledge is not something

that just recreates

responsibility.

It's not just something

that increases rejection.

Knowledge is also something

that can inoculate us.

It can make us numb

to what's true.

I want you to think

about this in this way.

The best illustration

I've heard is this.

Imagine you have a ruler

or some piece of metal

and you're rubbing it

against your arm.

You're rubbing it

against your arm

over and over

and over again.

Now there's two things

that could happen, right?

One thing that could happen

is you could rub

your arm raw.

It could become

more sensitive,

more tender,

more responsive to pain.

The other thing

that could happen,

depending on how

you could do it,

instead of becoming

raw and tender

and more responsive

to pain,

you could grow

a callous on your arm.

And so suddenly

you don't feel

the rubbing anymore.

You've grown

this resistance to it.

You've grown

this immunity to it.

Knowledge can be

like that

when it comes

to our spiritual lives.

People think,

I'm just going to keep

hearing this over

and over again.

I don't have to make

a decision.

I don't have to decide.

I can kind of hold

on the side

of the Christian community

and just always

have my toes

in the water.

And when I want,

when I decide

it's the right time,

then maybe I'll jump

in the pool.

The problem is

is that as you're

hearing the message

over and over,

it is not making

you more tender.

As you reject it

time and time again,

it is making you

more callous.

And so it's a lie

to believe somehow

that we can always

just tiptoe around

the edge

of a Christian community.

We can always

just sort of think

about it and consider it,

but never make a decision,

never commit.

That's one of the lies

that the enemy tells us

that somehow

that's the choice

of freedom.

This is why

in customer service,

if you have a complaint,

they work so hard

to keep you

as their customer

if they're smart

because they know

once you've walked away,

you're probably

not coming back.

You've been inoculated,

right?

Sometimes it's worse

that you've had

experience with them.

Some of you

are dancing around

the edges of our community.

Some of you are dancing

around the edges

of Christianity.

And we're glad you're here.

also,

you need to commit

because what's going

to happen

is you're going

to develop a callous.

You're going

to become less responsive,

not more responsive.

You are accountable

for the knowledge

you have received

here in this room

and this church.

God will hold

you responsible.

And so,

embrace that knowledge.

don't tiptoe

around the edge.

It is time

to embrace

Jesus Christ

and it's time

to embrace

his community.

The idea

that you can always

float around the edges

is a lie.

It's similar

to the lies

that we looked at

last week

that present freedom.

Looks like freedom

comes from having

no commitments,

right?

But it's actually

no commitments

that gives us

slavery.

So,

our knowledge,

it makes us

responsible.

Our knowledge

increases our

rejection

if we walk

away from Jesus

and our knowledge

also can inoculate

us.

And so,

there's only one

solution and it's

this,

to take our

knowledge and

do with it

what it was

meant to do,

to embrace

Jesus Christ

and his ways,

to put it

into action,

to do what

God has given

us to do,

to stick with

him no matter

what.

Peter is

warning these

people about

returning to

the vomit of

the world.

And so,

the solution,

of course,

is to stay

and to stick

and to commit.

Now,

you may be

feeling at this

point that I've

laid a heavy

burden on you

to do everything

you have knowledge

for.

And for some

of you,

perhaps that's

what you should

feel.

If someone

who's tiptoeing

around the

edges,

you think you

have freedom

by not making

any commitments.

For others of

us,

though,

that's the

wrong image,

it's the wrong

response.

Because if you

think about

knowledge in

that way,

you are thinking

about it as an

independent study.

You've been given

a reading list,

no one's going to

help you,

you don't have a

class to attend,

you're supposed to

go off and read it

by yourself.

You're supposed to

get the work done

on your own

schedule,

and then when it's

ready,

you turn it back

in.

Now,

for most of

us,

that's not

going to work,

right?

There's a few

of you,

a few of us,

who are disciplined

enough to pull

that off.

Most of us

are not.

Thankfully,

when God

tells us about

his knowledge,

he is not

telling us about

independent study

knowledge.

He is inviting

us to something

very different.

Not independent

study knowledge,

not knowledge

where we pull

ourselves up by

our bootstraps.

No,

he is inviting

us onto a

team with

a coach

and a

reward.

You know,

I talked

earlier about

working out.

You know,

it's one thing

to try to

discipline yourself

with your

New Year's

resolutions to

get X amount

of exercise,

right?

You have to

fight against

your will.

It's another

thing to know

that you have

a group and

a team that

you're working

with.

It's another

thing to know

that you have

support.

You're not

alone.

The same is

true for us

and our

knowledge.

Now,

I could have

just recorded

this sermon

today,

right?

And we

could just

email it

out to

everyone on

MP3,

which is

already outdated,

I guess.

Why are we

not doing

that?

Because we're

not pull

ourselves up

by our

bootstraps

kind of

knowledge,

people.

We're to

hear together

as a

community.

There's a

reason for

that.

God knows

we are not

able to do

these things

by ourselves.

He's given

us many

things.

He's given

us his

presence and

his spirit,

which he

promises when

his people

gather.

He's given

us each

other to

work alongside,

to cheer

each other

on, to

coach and

encourage and

help.

And so we're

joining here,

not an

independent study

in the

Christian life,

but a group

and a team

filled by

God and

his spirit

and his

resources that

we would be

able to

grow and

walk in

his ways,

taking

responsibility

for the

knowledge that

he's given

us in

this community.

And so

rather than

being a

daunting and

intimidating

task,

this is a

team,

where there's

no tryouts

and there's

no cuts.

All you have

to do is

show up.

And all you

have to do

is to keep

showing up

week after

week after

week,

knowing that

if you

follow with

your teammates

after your

coach, God

and his

work and

his spirit

will be

with you,

changing

you and

growing you.

Now, some

of you know

I dabble

in being a

runner.

By dabble,

I mean that

my mileage

is pretty

low per

week.

If you

know much

about the

running

community,

you know

it can be

pretty brutal.

It's so

bad, it's

almost as

bad as

the cycling

community.

Yes, I

said that.

One of the

things you

need to be

afraid of if

you join a

running group

is that

you'll get

dropped.

Getting

dropped just

means you're

not fast

enough, you

can't keep

up.

Everyone else

is running

a 715,

you're running

a 930,

so you're just

alone by

yourself at

the very

end.

However,

there's

something very

rare in the

running world

called a

no-drop

group.

Now, if you

can find a

no-drop

group, it

means that

no one will

leave you

behind.

Someone will

stay at the

back with

you.

You know

that no

matter your

pace, you

will have

someone.

Jesus invites

us as we

grow in

knowledge to

a no-drop

group.

the requirement

is not that

we meet a

certain standard,

that we hit

a certain

speed.

What is

required is

that we

follow Jesus'

command, that

we obey

him when he

says, follow

me.

And no

matter our

speed or

our strength,

all we have

to focus on

is that.

I had a

professor in

seminary who

said this,

that Jesus'

disciples got

many things

wrong.

They made

many mistakes,

they failed

in many ways.

There's one

thing they

got right.

They always

kept following

Jesus.

And so the

same is true

for us as we

see the danger

of knowledge,

as we see the

accountability of

knowledge, as we

see the

inoculation of

knowledge.

All we need

to do to

protect ourselves

from that is

to do what the

disciples did,

and that is to

follow Jesus.

But we have

to follow

him.

you show up

right for the

team, maybe

show up to

the gym.

You can't

lift as much

as everyone

else can

lift.

You don't

have perfect

form all the

time.

You can't

do everything

that everyone

else is able

to do.

And you

still show

up.

Remember,

back in

2 Peter 1,

2 Peter 1:8–11

verses 8-11,

we talked

about fruit

and this

idea of

obedience,

our work

and God's

work.

work.

And I

told you

the story

of the

gardener.

And I

read to

you from

John chapter

John 15 · chapter mention

15,

where Jesus

says this,

I am the

vine, you

are the

branches.

Whoever

abides in

me and I

in him,

he it is

that bears

much fruit.

For apart

from me,

you can do

nothing.

The tree

doesn't water

and feed

itself,

but it

responds to

the water

and nutrients

it's given.

one of

those

nutrients

is

knowledge.

Is the

tree

working?

Yes.

Because of

the nutrients

and care

and feeding

and pruning

of the

Father.

And so

knowledge

is dangerous.

It's dangerous

because we're

accountable and

we're responsible

for it.

It's dangerous

because if we

have it

and we

reject Christ,

it increases

the severity

of our

rejection

and our

judgment.

And it's

dangerous

because if we

don't embrace

it, if we

play around

the edges,

it inoculates

us.

It makes us

immune to

the truth.

And so

as Christians,

we know

knowledge is

the nutrients

that God

gives us

that we

might grow

and so

we embrace

it and

we love

it because

we know

that we're

held accountable

for it.

we know

that Jesus

is the

one who

is with

us,

using it

to grow

us and

to change

us.

And so

we're going

to pray

to him

now,

asking him

to do

that very

thing.

I invite

you to

pray with

me.

Dear

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you that

you've

given us

knowledge

in your

word and

we thank

you that

you've

warned us

of the

dangers

of knowledge.

We ask

that you

would use

those warnings

as your

instrument in

our lives

to stir

us up.

For those

of us

who are

complacent,

believing our

knowledge is

enough,

we ask that

you'd stir

us up to

grow in

holiness.

Father,

for those

of us

tempted to

reject you,

remind us

of what we

know from

our time

in this

community,

of your

goodness and

your love.

And for

those of

us who

are at

risk of

becoming

immune and

inoculated

against the

truth,

stir us

up that we

would embrace

it,

knowing that

freedom comes

from commitment

to you,

from embracing

you rather

than avoiding

you.

We thank

you that

you're the

one at

work,

that we

don't stir

these things

up or pull

ourselves up

by our

bootstraps,

but instead

we do one

thing,

and we

follow after

you.

We ask

that you'd

help us

to do that

now by

your spirit,

and we ask

these things

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.