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Theme: MERITS OF SPIRITUAL EDUCATION
Text: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” – John 17:3.
Comment: The ultimate of the numerous merits of Bible knowledge is highlighted in the text above, which is eternal life in God’s kingdom fully set up. St. Paul was most apt in referring to the truth as “the gospel of your salvation” while to the Roman converts, he terms the gospel of Christ “the power of God unto salvation”. – Ephesians 1:13; Romans 1:16.
Not only is acquiring God’s word a mark of true discipleship, (John 8:31) it is also a prerequisite for freedom. This freedom is in all ramifications, i.e. freedom from falsehood, sin, bondage to satan’s vile influence, and freedom from the perils of this evil world, especially death. – John 8:32, 36.
Having acquired the saving knowledge of the truth, James, an apostle of Christ, takes it a step further by recommending we “lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness”. It is by being practical in professing the faith of Jesus Christ that we prove ourselves as “doers of the word, and not hearers only”. – James 1:21, 22; 3:13.
During the overthrow of this world of Noah which Zephaniah pictures as a day of wrath, of trouble and of distress, it is those who identify with the truth, that would be hid from His anger. – Zephaniah 2:3. The psalmist declares: “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” – Psalm 91:14.