Thursday: Knowing and Doing
Daily Lesson for Thursday 28th of May 2026
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks a lot about relationships—with Him and with one another. He says something very poignant toward the end of His message:
“ ‘Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven’ ” (Matthew 7:21, NKJV).
Jesus explains that some will call out to Him and clearly know about _Him without really _knowing Him. Of course, seeking knowledge is important, and the Bible tells us that God’s people could be destroyed because of a lack of knowledge of God and because they have rejected their knowledge of Him (Hosea 4:1,6,10). We should never downplay the importance of timeless biblical truth. But if such knowledge doesn’t change us and deepen our commitment and our walk with God, it’s of no use.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
“ ‘And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’ ” (John 17:3, NKJV). Jesus stated that the prerequisite of entering heaven is to do the will of God and ultimately to know God—for we can’t do His will without knowing Him. This is the defining factor and a very reasonable expectation. If your children say they love you and usually do what you ask, their actions reveal the depth of their love and respect for you. In the same way, when we love God, we’ll want to do His will, because we know there is nothing better for us to do! Our response to Him, and, ultimately, our obedience to Him as an overflow of our love, show the true nature of our relationship with Him.
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount by leaving His listeners with a poignant final challenge. What was it? Read Matthew 7:24-29.
When we really hear Jesus’ messages, we can’t help being challenged and changed. But, first of all, our ears must be opened and our hearts receptive so that the blueprint for living in a close relationship with God can be etched upon our very souls with every breath we take. Our lives can be built upon the Rock and God’s perfect plan for us.
This blueprint of a close relationship is no secret. It’s revealed in the pages of God’s inspired Word, and He offers it to every person. It’s each one’s personal choice to accept it by faith, to claim the perfect righteousness of Christ, and then to live out that righteousness.
One of the great stories of industrial intrigue is the story of how VW thought they had bought the Rolls-Royce brand and ended up manufacturing Bentley cars. BMW tricked VW into buying the manufacturing plant and walked away with the right to manufacture Rolls-Royce cars. It makes for an interesting read, but that is not what I want to talk to you about. Brand names are powerful marketing tools. We see it often in the automobile industry, not just at the luxury end of the market. I used to have a car with the label, “Ford Laser” on the outside, but on the inside it said it was a “Mazda 323”. And, nowadays, I see a whole lot of Chinese-manufactured cars with the “MG” marque, with little resemblance to the little “MG” sports cars that were popular in my youth.
There are some places today where it is convenient to wave the Christian flag to advertise your Christianity. It even extends to Bunnings, the local hardware conglomerate. I buy bales of mulch for my garden from them, and emblazoned on each bale is a fish sign, an early symbol for Christianity. Commodity marketing aside, there are many examples in education and politics – schools and political parties with “Christian” in their name. I am not saying they should not do this, but if the only purpose for its inclusion is marketing, we need to be careful we are not scammed.
Jesus challenged the use of labels in the parable of the sheep and the goats. Using the label “Christian” and ignoring the second great commandment. “Love your neighbour as yourself”, is called hypocrisy. It is very easy for those of us who actively engage in Sabbath School Net discussions to hide behind our biblical literacy and gospel knowledge, defending our identity and at the same time failing to recognise we don’t have a saving relationship with Jesus. (That is a special note I write to myself.)
AMEN
The Bible say that Satan will be lost not because he is an atheist. He knows about God; he knows God’s mighty power, and he perfectly understands the will of God. The same paradox applies to us human beings; mere belief or knowledge about God is far from having a relationship and doing the will of God. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”(James 2:19). The demons even recognised Jesus Christ; “I know who you are, the Holy One of God!” (Mark 1:24).
It should be emphasised that sin is not ignorance of the will of God, but it is a rebellion. Adam and Eve sinned not because they did not know God’s will, but because of disobedience. This is the same trend for us today. We know what is right, but choose to do wrong. “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19). Great knowledge about God does not produce obedience and righteousness. Knowledge alone, without transformation, is emptiness and dangerous. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we know the truth, but sadly, our hearts are far from God (James 1:22). Knowing the truth without living it is a dangerous deception.
“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” (John 13:17).
Ever since the lesson author challenged us to write out a passage several weeks ago, I’ve been writing out the texts in each lesson – in cursive and in fountain pen. That slows me down enough to reflect more than I usually do.
So when I wrote out Matthew 7:24-29 today, it hit me hard that very likely most of us professing to be looking for Christ’s coming may be building our house on sand, with the result predicted in the parable. Jesus emphasized that the man building on the rock was not just hearing the words of Jesus but putting them into practice (Matt. 7:23 NIV).
Most of us posting comments on this blog are quite knowledgeable about Adventist Christian doctrines. But do we put them into practice? Do we truly put Christ first in every aspect of our lives?
The answer is a life-or-death matter.
P.S. I’m really enjoying writing out the Bible texts – often in several versions. It has become a real blessing.
(And I’ve learned that actual writing is good for the brain.)
Knowing God does not come through a program, a study, or any method for that matter. True knowledge of God comes through a personal relationship with Him—an intimate love relationship in which He reveals Himself, His purposes, and His ways. God invites us to join Him in the work He is already doing around us. As we respond in obedience, God accomplishes through us what only He can do. Through these experiences, we come to know Him more deeply, and our faith becomes alive and transformational. As Scripture says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). Likewise, Jesus declared, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Christianity is a lifelong journey of growth and transformation. It is a continual process of allowing God to shape our character, renew our minds, and reveal areas of our lives that need change and improvement. Spiritual maturity comes as we surrender daily to God and take intentional steps of obedience and faith. As we grow closer to Him, He refines us and molds us into the image of Christ. The Bible reminds us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). In the same way, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
Dan this is true and deep. Being anchored to Godly thoughts and abiding in him consciously on every breath/second allows for intimate constant connection that give legal ground to cooperate with Holy Spirit guide more clearly on “this is the way walk through it” whispers and thought bombs that direct our steps to knowing and doing God’s will.
Yes, I was able to pull a neighbor out of the ditch after another neighbor provided the cable out of his shop. No, I don’t have any sheep to pull out of the black berries. Though we do have plenty of those to clean off the home property in the Pacific Northwest. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:31. “But the next commandment is just as important which says, ‘You should care about your neighbor as you care about yourself. No other commandments are as important as these two.”” The Clear Word.
Doing things for others keeps faith alive. 🙏 And strength to shun sin is strengthened. Also talk becomes more than just talk the talk.
Jesus says to love people like He and His Father loves us. John 15:9,13:34 and John 17:23. They are always willing and able to care, protect and forgive us. How many of us are willing to do the same towards each other? Why do we hate one another because of the color of our skin, our status, or finance, etc? Don’t we all have the same Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit? Let us start right now and ask God to help us to do his will, so we can love one another like he loves us. If we seek God first, He will give us his character to be more and more like Jesus every day. We can do nothing without God’s help. Earth has no problems that heaven cannot heal. For a Christian, heaven is our goal, and to win others to Jesus Christ also.
Apologies for the length – I started to incorporate concepts discussed yesterday with conclusions from today and got a little too enthusiastic.
The law of the 10 commandments is an external, codified, concrete representation of a principle that lies at the foundation of the character and government of God. While crude and somewhat simplified, one could think of the law as downstream of the principle. The closest word we could use to describe the principle would be love (but in its fullest form that the Greek words try to include in their many variations).
(See: https://marcalanschelske.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-08-28-The-Law-Pyramid.pdf)
Codified law is required because of ignorance or immaturity. It is a deconstruction of the principle of love into concrete terms we can more clearly understand and relate to.
An example from the material world would be the law of gravity. It existed before Newton came up with the written version. We all live with the law of gravity to the point that we don’t really think too much about it. It’s not so much the law of gravity that “demands” that what goes up must come down, that’s just what happens!
Spiritually speaking a violation of the principle of Love (SIN) will result in breaking the law (sins). Regardless, the result of SIN is separation and the associated consequences across all dimensions. It’s not that “law demands” this, it’s just what happens.
The Gospel is the way God deals with the SIN problem and includes a truckload of actions and concepts. In its simplest form – as soon as you accept Jesus as your saviour, you are saved! It’s like being pregnant – there is no such thing as being partially pregnant! You can’t be more SAVED, but you can be more SAFE. This is where ongoing commitment by God and us in a conventional relationship leads to KNOWING God better which means understanding (to the extent that we can), His character and governing processes. To know God is to love God – our job is not to focus on our own salvation as much as focusing on the One who IS our salvation. In the end, my salvation is not my responsibility – it is His. My responsibility is to keep my focus on Him – easier said than done (see SC 71).
As such, you cannot separate the law from the gospel. Both are two perspectives of the same principle of love. One dimension is love described; the other dimension is love in action.
Spiritual reality is not a list of things to do – though because of our immaturity it usually starts there. It is a Person to KNOW. It is the love of Christ that “controls/compels/guides” us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Writing the law/principle in our hearts is the goal – that takes time, attention, and commitment. Life with the maturing internalised principle of Love will result in people who don’t think so much about a list of things to do – it’s just who they are. So, to live a better Christian life – fall in love with Jesus (see SC 71).
Thanks! This is so powerful and true. Let us continuw to love Jesus Christ because He reconiled us to his heavenly Father. and they give us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our lives daily. God bless you, and yours.
Loving God takes a daily choice, as with any other relationship! A good, deep relationship depends on the effort of both parties, and this effort is part of a daily choice. Engaging in a relationship with God starts with the amazing advantage that He loved us first, that He made the most “unimaginable” effort for us: He gave us His own Son’s life. Now, we have the choice to learn about Him and try the most incredible experience of all our lives!
Godly actions are powerful evidence of our claim to love for God. In the same vein, our actions in the way of God solidifies our relationship with Him.
What is the Will of the Father? Is it not: ”’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matt.2:36-40
Our Scriptures attribute this statement to Jesus Christ. In my walk of faith, it became the beacon to guide my life. Not being sure how to understand the word ‘shall’, I looked it up. Among other definitions, its meaning is: “to express a command or exhortation.’> [Webster Dictionary]
Have we fully accepted this command to guide our relationship with our God by loving Him with all our heart and mind? I loved/knew and accepted God the Father at the beginning of my spiritual journey, but I did not know Jesus personally; I knew of Him. I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior when I learned of Who He is; learning to understand His LOVE for and FAITH in His Father as His motivator to accept His Father’s Will with gladness of heart.
Jesus’ Faith and Love became my Guiding Light, motivating me to strengthen my faith and to learn to love my heavenly Father, to trust Him with all my heart and strength. I learned to reflect my love for Him in the ways I conducted myself as a daughter, wife, mother, sister, friend, and neighbor toward my fellow man.
Yes, Jesus became my unassailable rock on which I built my house by faith. I am forever grateful as I continue to build – still learning to strengthen my capacity to love Jesus, my heavenly Father, and my fellow man by staying faithful. Now I know and believe that I am being saved by Grace through faith. This is not because of anything I do. Through God’s Grace I can live by faith – knowing and doing! Eph.2:8-9