A college president recently stated that “knowing is higher than doing” because we need to know how we are to act before we can act. [1] I understand his point.
However, understanding how we are to act and then not acting is, in terms of results, the same as not knowing. And we all know we do not always live up to our ideals. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15 ESV)
It seems to me we must have both knowing and doing. What is the purpose of knowing, of learning? Is it not to change our doing, to change how we live our lives?
That is why the definition of the Greek word for belief includes more than just knowledge but also includes faithfulness, obedience, and a personal relationship. [2]
By their fruits we will know them (Matthew 7:16). It is not just by someone’s knowledge that we know them.
_______________________________________________________________
[1] Larry P. Arnn. “Hillsdale’s Mission and the Politics of Freedom”. Imprimis, November 2023, p. 2.
[2[ Gerhard Kittle and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 6, pp. 175ff.
