The Importance of Knowing the Word
Bob Yandian
Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Notice it doesn’t say that the Word makes you stop sinning, it says that it gives you strength not to. The decision to sin or not to sin still belongs to you. But the Word of God arms you with the power to resist temptation. And that’s just the beginning. The Word brings spiritual growth, builds eternal rewards, and gives you spiritual accuracy so that you don’t miss the mark in your walk with God.
The Power of the Word Against Temptation
Jesus made a clear distinction between salvation and discipleship. He said to those who had just believed in Him, “If you continue in My word, then are you My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31–32). Notice the freedom doesn’t come with just believing—it comes through continuing in His Word. Being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from temptation. But being a disciple, grounded in the Word, gives you strength to overcome it.
Think about David with Bathsheba. David knew the Word, but he had become lax. He wasn’t where he should have been—on the battlefield with his men. He stayed home, got bored, and gave his eyes and mind over to temptation. He had no strength to resist because he had let the Word of God grow cold in his heart. And let me tell you, you can’t blame Satan or the world. Temptation is everywhere. But God has given us power over it, and that power is in His Word.
The more Word you put in, the more strength you will have to say no. The Holy Spirit brings to your remembrance the Word that has been stored in your heart, and that gives you power to overcome the flesh and stand against the schemes of the devil. It doesn’t mean you will never fall, but it means you are quicker to say “no,” and when you do miss it, your are quicker to repent and get back up.
The Word Produces Spiritual Growth
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Peter 2:1)
Peter knew about temptation. He knew about falling, and he knew about getting back up. Toward the end of his life, he wrote to remind us of what brought strength and stability into his walk with God—it was the Word.
Knowledge comes through the Word. When you read, study, and meditate on God’s Word, grace and peace aren’t added, they are multiplied. The Word touches every area of your life. It affects your finances, your family, your attitude, your decisions, and even how you respond under pressure. The Christian life isn’t about perfection—it’s about growth. It’s about becoming more like Jesus today than you were yesterday. And that growth comes from the Word.
Peter goes on to list the spiritual ladder of maturity, “add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” This is the pathway of maturity, and every step is anchored in the Word.
You never arrive at a point in the Christian life where you know it all. Only God is all-knowing. Our walk is one of constant growth, constant renewal, and constant progress. The Christian who’s stagnant in the Word is the one who’s vulnerable to deception, doubt, and defeat.
“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [e]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” verse 8. In other words, the more you walk in the Word, the more fruit you produce. But if you neglect the Word, Peter says you become shortsighted—even to the point of spiritual blindness—and forget that you were once cleansed from your sins. That’s how far away from the truth you can drift if you don’t keep feeding on God’s Word.
The Word Builds Eternal Rewards
Peter shifts gears and talks about eternity. He says in verse 10, “Be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure.” That word “sure” means “secure.” If you do these things—study the Word, walk in it, grow in it—you will never stumble. I didn’t say you won’t be tempted. I didn’t say you will never face hardship. I said, according to the Word, you won’t stumble.
An abundant entrance will be granted to you into the everlasting kingdom. That is an eternal reward. Every moment spent studying the Word and obeying it is an investment in your eternal future. The judgment seat of Christ isn’t about punishment; it’s about reward. First Corinthians 3:11 tells us that we will be rewarded based on the foundation of Christ and how we built upon it—with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble.
Peter was approaching death when he wrote this. He said, “As long as I am in this tent (his body), I will remind you of these things.” His greatest concern was not himself; it was the truth he was leaving behind. He said, “We didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we told you about the power and coming of Jesus. We were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (verse 16).
The Word Brings Spiritual Accuracy
Peter said, “We have a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19). He’s talking about the Scriptures. You would think nothing could be more powerful than standing on a mountain with Jesus, watching Him radiate light, hearing God’s voice thunder from heaven. But Peter says there is something greater—something more reliable—and that is the written Word of God.
He goes on to say that “no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation.” In other words, the writers didn’t make it up. They were moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s why we believe both the Old and New Testaments are divinely inspired. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God”—that word means God-breathed. "And it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.”
You want to be spiritually accurate? You want to stay on course in a world full of spiritual confusion? Then plant yourself in the Word. Read it, meditate on it, memorize it, and most of all—do it. That’s how you walk in spiritual accuracy. That’s how you hit the mark. That’s how you stay balanced and fruitful in a world that’s gone off the rails.
Isaiah 33:6 says, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Stability comes from knowing and applying the Word of God. The more Word you have, the more unshakable you become.
The Word gives you strength to resist sin, power to grow spiritually, builds up eternal rewards, and keeps you on target with spiritual accuracy. Without it, you’re just surviving. With it, you thrive. The Word is your foundation, your food, your compass, your weapon, your mirror, and your inheritance.
You don’t have to wait until heaven to experience victory. You can live in it now by knowing and walking in the Word of God. And the more you walk in it, the more your life will reflect Jesus Christ in every area, from your thoughts to your words, to your actions.
