By Brother Michel Lankford
A brother in the Lord asked the question: “Is it good to brag about your knowledge of God.”
The short answer: It can be BOTH good and bad.
On the one hand, the answer would be, “YES!” In fact Scripture says that if you’re going to brag about anything, you should boast that you know God, and that you understand what He likes. At the same time, we should proceed with GREAT CAUTION.
As It is Written: Thus says the Lord , “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
(Jeremiah 9:23-24 NASB)
Every Blessing Comes with Responsibilities
The reason we should be cautious is because, OTHER Kingdom Laws also come into play here. Remember, that it is Kingdom Law; there is NO such thing as having any blessings; or having any rights, or having any privileges, or having any authority; without ALSO having responsibilities being attached to them. Any knowledge that you have; any privileges you have; any rights that you have; or any authority that you have in of God’s Kingdom, also comes with specific responsibilities attached. People who try to use blessings of rights and privileges in God’s Kingdom, but who refuse the corresponding responsibilities attached to those rights, are considered to be WICKED. It is considered a mark of evil to want the blessings and benefits of a position, without being accountable for the corresponding responsibilities of that position. (I.e. and unjust steward or caretaker for example).
To Whom Much is Given More Will be Required
As It Is Written: ““Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
(Luke 12:35–48 NKJV)
You Can Brag About Knowing God
(Just be Prepared to Live Up to whatever You Brag)
The Weight of Biblical Evidence, (which is the practice of evaluating every situation based on what the majority of Scripture teaches, and on what Scripture teaches to be the weightier more important or critical matters); the Weight of Biblical Evidence clearly teaches that we will be judged not only on the basis of what we know and the position of authority that we held, but Scripture also tells us that we will be held accountable based on what we CLAIMED to know and any position that we CLAIMED to have, (e.g. James 3:1; Luke 12:48; James 4:15-17). In other words, if a person claims to be a biblical teacher, he will be judged more strictly than other believers, because he claims the right and authority to lead and teach younger believers. A person claiming to be a teacher will be judged by the biblical standards required from a teacher, regardless of whether God called him to be a teacher or not. Since he claimed the authority of the teacher, he would be judged according to the biblical standards required for a teacher. A person claiming to be a prophet will be judged according to the biblical standards required for a prophet, regardless of whether God has called and equipped them to be a prophet or not. The fact that they claim to be one means that they will be judged by God as if they were one.
It’s basic Kingdom Law that every blessing, every privilege, every right, and every authority that we claim or that we try to exercise, also comes with its own level of responsibility, for which we will be held accountable and judged by God, for how well we used our position and authority. In God’s Kingdom, there is no privilege that does not come with responsibilities attached.
If you want proof of what I’m saying, all you have to do is look carefully at all of the Kingdom parables that Messiah taught. What happened to people who had a responsibility and did not fulfill what the king required, desired, or expected from them? You will notice that it did not end well for such a person. (See e.g. Matthew 25:14-33: Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 12:35-48; Matthew 25:1-13). The point is, if you are going to claim that you have knowledge, or position, or authority or any certain right, realize that you will be judged according to the position or privilege that you claim.
The Evidence that I Know God is OBEYING God
My question to you would be this. How well, and how consistently, do you practice KEEPING the Commandments of YHWH Almighty God? How well, and how consistently do you practice KEEPING the Commandments of Messiah? The reason that I’m asking these CRUCIAL questions is that from the biblical point of view, knowing something is not about what you know in your head. From the Biblical viewpoint, what you DO is the PROOF of what you ACTUALLY KNOW. This is not my own private notion. It’s an idea overtly stated in the New Testament:
As It Is Written:
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
(1 John 2:3–4 NASB95)
From the biblical standpoint the PROOF that you KNOW God is that you KEEP God’s Commandments. The proof that you know Messiah is that you keep Messiah’s Commandments. So, if you’re going to boast about your knowledge of God, then you will need to have an even greater responsibility for keeping God’s Commandments or Messiah’s Commandments that much better. So, the critical question is, based on the biblical standards that are stated in Scripture, would God agree that you know Him as well as you think you do? Or, would God call you a liar, based on the definition that He has set for what it truly means to know Him? Before you boast about your knowledge of God, you will need to make certain that you are living up to the biblical definition of what it means to know God, or God will call you a liar, and that is not a good place to be.
Evaluate Yourself Carefully
As It Is Written: “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
(Romans 12:3 NASB95)
So, brag as much as you like about your knowledge of God. Just understand that in God’s Kingdom, every blessing comes with responsibilities attached. If we claim to know more, then we are responsible for doing better with what we know. Brag as much as you like, so long as you are prepared to take the responsibility for living up to the knowledge that you claim to have.
Brother Michel Lankford
