The Focus of Our Faith

"That I may know him, and the power of  his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering, being made conformable unto his death." (Philippians 3:10)

   Here we find the apostle expressing  what was without question the consuming passion of his heart: "That I may know Him." He is not asking for a greater intellectual comprehension  of the teachings of Christ, to be able to more fully plumb the depths of all the academic implications of his faith. No, that which he is seeking here is for a deepening relational knowledge of Christ. That which he is seeking here is an ever-increasing intimacy with Jesus. What he is seeking and striving for here was a deeper comprehension of who Jesus was, not merely what He taught.

   Now, notice carefully that I am not for one second saying that doctrine is not important. You cannot read the epistles of Paul and not see that he was a man who swam in deep waters doctrinally. Even today, we can do little more than try to understand what he was trying to teach. Peter tells us that we need to always be ready to give a reason for th hope that is within us; i.e., to be able to explain why we believe what we believe.

   But doctrine must be seen from its proper perspective. J. Dwight Pentecost writes this concerning the subject of Bible prophecy:

   "Several years ago I was invited to a downtown office building to teach a Bible class. I took the occasion to survey events of the end time as revealed in the Word of God to show how current events are  preparatory to the final drama leading up to Christ's enthronement as David's Son on David's throne.
    "At the conclusion of the message a woman said, 'In the light of your study, it seems to me that the coming of the Lord Jesus must be very, very near. I have some dirty closets at home that I must clean out, for I would not want the Lord to come and take me home to Himself and have somebody come in and find the closets the way they are now.' That is the practical effect of prophecy on daily life. For not only in our  homes but in our lives are many dirty, crowded nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned out." (Pentecost, J. Dwight, Will Man Survive, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Mich. 1971 p.9)

   Now, what Pentecost had to say about the purpose of the study of Bible prophecy is also true concerning the purpose of the study of Bible doctrine. It is not an end in itself, but rather is a means to an end. What is that end? It is nothing less that the pursuit of the knowledge of God, to enable me to know Him more fully, to live Him more deeply, and to follow Him without hesitation or reservation.

   And thus we find ourselves coming to see what revival is. Revival is the process of entering into relationship with God, a relationship that is going to have ramifications in every area, every "nook and cranny" of our lives. It is to daily "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). It is the abandonment of our ambitions in order to pursue God.