Lesson 20: Ignorance

A danger that the church faces in every generation is ignorance of God’s will. We do not have in mind the young person or new Christian who is just learning the word of God. Rather, the problem is with those who are older who by virtue of time and experience should have increased in the knowledge of God’s word. The Hebrew writer rebukes his audience for not knowing some of the basic principles of the doctrine of Christ though, by then, they should have been teachers, Hebrews 5:11-14. Note that he said they had become dull of hearing. These were not enemies of God, but were His children yet God’s word no longer energized them. Becoming dull of hearing, they became unequipped to teach—they did not know enough basic things teachers should know. God will not accept ignorance as an excuse for disobeying Him. He lamented that His people perished because of ignorance, Hosea 4:6. God has blessed us with so many opportunities to learn more of His word and to teach it to others. We have Bibles available in our language that are easy to understand. We have Bible classes, including special classes outside of the regular study time, taught by able teachers. God has blessed us with many knowledgeable teachers who can help us understand difficult passages in an individual study and numerous books by good authors that can give us some insight and help in our personal study. Only laziness or negligence will keep us from our duty and privilege to know God’s word. When we remain ignorant of God’s word, we risk two possible dangers: liberalism and ultra-conservatism. We can adopt liberal ideas of worship and personal living if we do not know what God requires. If we just guess at what we think God wants and how He will judge us (which only becomes a reflection of what we feel we should do and use ourselves as God’s standard of judgment) we will essentially be following our own will, not God’s will. We will invoke God’s name and give some attention to His word but for practical guidance, we will rely on our own wisdom, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Proverbs 14:12. The other danger is ultra- conservatism, that is, we will be against things that God has not forbidden based on what we have always heard or what some great teacher has said. Some think that ultra-conservatism is not a problem but Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees tells us that it is. By ultra-conservatism, we do not mean a desire to do only what God, but instead an attitude of enforcing self will as God’s will. We can misapply what passages we do know because we have not studied the context of the passage but used text seems to say what you want to believe though it might not exactly fit—or have lazily borrowed someone else’s proof text. It is easy to get a concordance and find passages that seem to say what we think God wants us to do and try to force them to apply; but we do so at our own peril. Peter warned about those who twist the scriptures, that these own destruction, 2 Peter 3:16. Certainly, the liberal reader will have to answer to God for having such a loose view of the scripture, yet the ultra-conservative must answer for binding where God has not bound. Israel’s rebellious and weak tendencies were rooted in their ignorance, Judges 2:10-11. Their parents had not effectively taught them God’s will nor did they seek the Lord on their own. The prophets rebuked the people for ignoring the precious word of God, Hosea 8:12. Jeremiah compared them to people who forsook a fountain that would continue to give living waters, for broken cisterns that would not hold rain water, Jeremiah 2:13. In forgetting God’s message, they were forgetting Him, Jeremiah 2:32. The word of God was a reproach to them, Jeremiah 6:10, and so they did not know the wise way to live, Jeremiah 4:22. We often quote Jeremiah 10:23 to show that man is insufficient to direct His own steps. When we remain willfully ignorant of God’s word, are we not directing our own steps? Consider these conclusions from Lesson 4:

Questions for Discussion & Study

1. If the Bible is the word of God then it would be timeless in its application and would need to be read and obeyed by all men. Men would eagerly study it because it reveals the message and mind of our Creator. To snub it or treat it like common books would be to treat God in a like manner. If it is the word of God, we should seek to know for ourselves all we can know of the message.

2. If the Bible is not the word of God, then it is untrustworthy, unreliable, without authority, and the hopes and promises contained in its pages are vain and worthless. It would have no more value than any other book, in fact, it would be worse because it claims to be the word of God and commands submission to its precepts. If we accept conclusion number one, then our lives must reflect it. We must love the truth for it is the ignore it? It contains all things for life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:3, so if we want to understand this life and eternal life, we must study it. It thoroughly equips us for every good work, 2 Timothy 3:16-17. If we want to do every good work we must know what to do; that knowledge comes through study. If we want God’s approval, we must know and apply His word, 2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 11:6/Romans 10:17. Let us not be ignorant of God’s will but wise in what is good, Romans 16:19.

   • 1. List some attitudes and habits that lead to ignorance in mature Christians and suggested remedies.
   • 2. Why do you think the text says that it is a

3. How could ultra-conservatism be considered a danger?

4. Explain how to properly use a .

5. How was Old Testament Israel affected by its willful ignorance of God’s will?

6. Do you think ignorance of God’s will might reflect a lack of trust in His word? Explain.