Is knowledge the key to success? Righteousness?

We live in an incredible age where we can retrieve almost any piece of information we need within a few seconds.  When we look back through history and study the advancement of the accessibility of knowledge, it almost takes your breath away to think how far and how fast we have come.  Only a few centuries ago, very few people could even read and only a select few had access to written material, including the Bible.  Just one generation ago, people had to spend a lot of money to buy books or to go to college and graduate school to gain the knowledge needed to advance in their desired profession.

Today, with the internet, we have access to free knowledge any time we desire.  Those desiring to study the Bible have a plethora of programs, websites and graduate level videos and pdfs for free.  Our biggest challenge is finding the sites we trust and making the time to study. We have no excuses anymore.  For someone to say I've been a Christian for a long time but don't know much about the Bible is a cop out.  Most Bible translation or Bible study on any verse is accessible and free.

I would suggest one great site that provides graduate level study mostly for free: Bible.org On the research tab, you'll find a link: Theology questions and answers.  This has 258 theology questions with a 10 - 20 minute classroom video for each question where theology professors walk you through the question, giving you answers that are biblically based.  This is a Theology course that focuses on the authority, nature and interpretation of the Scriptures.  It is like taking a graduate level course at Dallas Theological Seminary.  It is available to anyone, for free.  No excuses for being biblically illiterate.  

All that being said, although knowledge is very important, knowledge is not everything.  Knowledge without the application can be dangerous.  As believers, it is even more incumbent upon us, now that we have no excuses for being spiritually illiterate, to put our knowledge into action. Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil and it destroyed man.  But Peter gives us the most excellent way in 2 Peter 1:5-8.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

It starts with faith in Christ and as we pursue knowledge about God, we apply it to our life and it should manifest itself in love.  We have no excuses. Everything we need to live a Godly life is available to us in this age from information to the Holy Spirit.  How will we respond?