When you know, you go.

Steve Brown:
When you know, you go. And I’ll explain, on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
This is Key Life with our host, author, and seminary professor Steve Brown. He’s nobody’s guru. He’s just one beggar telling other beggars where he found bread. If you’re hungry for God, the real God behind all the lies, you’ve come to the right place.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you have your Bible, open if you will, to the 17th, no the 19th chapter of Acts. And we’re looking at the importance of Biblical theology, the eternal verities of the faith, that which has been revealed to us as the faith. Once, Jude said, once delivered to the saints and how important that is. And we saw yesterday, and I’ve got more to say about it today, that when bad doctrine is taught, and it was on the part of Apollos, it caused a knowledge problem. And the knowledge problem is a big problem, Acts 19:2, Paul said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, no, we’ve never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Ignorance is not bliss. And I quoted, and you never listen to me. Hosea 4:6, Acts 17:30, Romans 10:14, I Corinthians 13:12, Luke 1:76 through 77, II Peter 1:5.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge.

And then in 3:17 through 18.

You therefore beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with error of lawless men and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

I often will say on this broadcast, when a text justifies it, that I’m going to tell you what Jesus has done for you and I present the gospel, that he died on a cross in your place. And you can be free from guilt and live forever when you understand that he died in your place. I sometimes will even have a prayer on this broadcast. And then I will say, and I’ve, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times, you will never again be able to say nobody ever told me because I just told you, and you’re responsible for the knowledge I just gave you, but it’s more than just salvation. It has to do with whether or not we go and become what God has called us to become and where he has called us to go. It means that you, you know one of the really hard things about what I do? I’m the most religious friend that you’ve got. All I do is religious stuff. I do this religious broadcast. I do a religious talk show every week. I write religious books. I teach religious students how to be more religious. I hang out with religious people. I go to a church that is religious. I’m involved in programs that are religious. I’m the most religious person you know. That’s good. No, that’s bad because it has a tendency to get boring. It has a tendency to be something that has lost its power. It has a tendency to be same old, same old. So pray for me, you know, it’s hard sometimes to be as religious as I am, but you know why I’m still here, even when I’m bored, even when I want to be somewhere else, even when I think, why would God ask me to be so religious? You know what keeps me hanging on? Well, Jesus does and his forgiveness and his love is powerful. But let me tell you something else, doctrine, theology, a knowledge of the truth. Two plus two equals four and it doesn’t matter whether you believe it, whether you like it, whether you affirm it, two plus two is still four. And it’s exactly the same way with Christian doctrine, as you read the Bible, bask in the stories because he gave us stories. Find those passages that bless your heart with his love and forgiveness, and his grace and his mercy, but look for the propositions. Revealed propositional truth statements in Scripture are so very important because when you’re having a bad day, when everything doesn’t seem to work out the way you want it to work out when your family problems are big and your financial problems are overwhelming, when sometimes you want to say to Jesus, why me? You won’t run and you won’t run because once you have seen truth, you simply cannot unsee truth. I’m a Bible teacher. I know what the truth is and sometimes I don’t even like what the truth is, but it doesn’t matter. Truth is truth and it’s a rock, it’s an anchor, it’s solidity in a fast changing world, it’s the one thing that never moves. And that’s the truth and that’s the reason that it’s so important that doctrine be taught and that you study it and that you apply it to yourself. I have forever, not liked flying on airplanes, and I spend my life on airplanes and I hate ’em. I’ve never put my weight on an airplane. But years ago, a friend of mine who was the chief pilot at a major airline in Miami. He said, Steve, I’m going to get you over your problem with flying. I said, how are you gonna do that? He said, I’m going to put you through flight training. I said, no you’re not. And he said, yes I am. And you come with me. And for two nights I went through a lot of training for flying. I even flew and crashed a simulator and when it was over, he said, there now don’t you feel better? And I said to him, I never knew so much could go wrong with an airplane, but a funny thing happened on the way to my next flight. When I climbed on the plane, I rested easier, I was in a better mood, I wasn’t so afraid, I didn’t wince at every sound, and you know why? Knowledge is why, and it’s exactly the same thing with life. The truth is that the truth is important. The truth is that the truth will keep you going when nothing else will. The truth is that the truth was given to us so that when it got dark, we could see the light and we wouldn’t run. Listen, I’ve been doing this for a very long time, and you need to know that I’m still here. I’m not still here because I’m spiritual. I’m not still here because I am so smart. I’m still here because the truth is the truth. And once you see the truth, you can’t unsee the truth. That’s how I became a Christian, by the way. I was a pastor in a church and I had been trained at graduate school in theology that was weird, just this side of whacko. I mean, the professors didn’t believe much, and I didn’t either, so it worked. And then God did something in my life, changed it, and I decided that I was going and I was helped by some brothers, that I was going to check out the veracity of the Christian faith. I’ve got to decide, is this stuff true or false? And when I found out it was true, it changed everything. I remember from the pulpit teaching the truths I was just learning as actual, orthodox, true Christianity. And I would notice that as I did that people would cry, they would get emotionally involved, they would be very close to life changing situations. And I didn’t understand it because this is just the truth and I’m telling you the truth. What are you so emotional about the truth for? Well, I’m older now and I’m wiser and I’ve experienced a lot of that emotion too. But I want you to know what I learned then has stood me in good stead for all of my life. The Bible, revealed propositional truth is true truth. It is the truth that allows me to sleep at night. It’s the truth that causes me to sit in front of this microphone and tell you what the truth is. It’s the truth that makes me kinder and more gentle and more loving than I would’ve been. It is in fact the crutch that I lean on as I follow Jesus down the roads where he has taken me. And that’s why doctrine is so important. It isn’t the only thing, but if you don’t, but if you don’t get it, you’ll run. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
When you know you go. Thank you Steve. That was Steve Brown and we are continuing to dig deep into Acts 19. More to discover on our tour tomorrow, hope you’ll join us for that. So, have you ever arrived home to find a note from UPS or your mailman that says, sorry we missed. That is frustrating. They were here, but I wasn’t. And whatever gift that was, I should have it right now, but I don’t. That’s how Christmas sometimes feels to me, like it came and went and somehow I missed it. If you’ve ever felt that, first of all, it’s not too late. And second, I want you to call us to get a classic sermon from Steve on CD. It’s called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation. And it’s all about the radical grace we learn about in the radical Christmas chapter of John 1. You can get that full sermon on CD for free by calling us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. If you’d like to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. And Canada. Just ask for your free copy of the CD called Grace: The Heart of the Incarnation. And finally, would you partner in the work of Key Life through your giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or listen, make it easy, just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.