Part 7: Ignorance

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance," 1 Peter 1.14

The word for ignorance in Greek is agnoian. No matter how it's used it refers to a lack of knowledge, training, or information, but depending on the context it can be either willful or unavoidable.

Ignorant is defined, "lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned; lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact; uninformed,unaware; due to or showing lack of knowledge or training." Ignorance results from a Christless life.

The Gentile world was haunted by the unknowability of God. The people believed that there was a God, but that He was unknowable and had no interest in humans. Philosophers felt that He couldn't be found, and even if you did happen to discover Him, you wouldn't be able to explain Him. Without Christ there is no help or hope to know God.

But Christ has come. Paul talks about this in Acts 17.23 "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you." The days of feeling our way our of ignorance are over. We no longer have an excuse not to know God because Christ has come and has revealed God to the world.

Knowledge is available now. We live in day where we have a new website every few seconds, back then it took months to get a copy of something Paul would have written. But as soon as I finish this post, it will be available to people on the other side of the world. Never has the Gospel been more accessible than it is today. It has never been easier to share Jesus with people than it is today. And yet there are people who don't know about Jesus.

Many people feel that they don't know enough about the Bible to share. Something I have found is part of it is that Christians are some of the most ignorant people in the world. We always pull the faith card, thinking I don't have to have an answer because I just believe it. That isn't good enough, and it isn't an excuse.

2 Timothy 3.16-4.2, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction."

1 Peter 3.15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"

Faith isn't an excuse to be ignorant. We have been given the Word of God, more today than at any other time in history. We have the opportunity to read the most brilliant minds that have ever tried to interpret the Bible and understand God, and yet so many of us remain ignorant to the knowledge we have at our finger tips. There are atheists who study constantly for something that is a lie. They have no respect for the answer, "I just have faith." We as Christ followers must refuse to be ignorant. We have Christ, and therefore have no excuse for ignorance.

(This has gotten so far off of where I originally intended it to go)

Satan uses ignorance for his purpose. If the people of God are ignorant then our message isn't respected because we don't know why we believe, we just do. We can't be ignorant because there is no excuse for it. Knowledge is ours for the taking. Anything we want to know we can find in five seconds. Ignorance is a foothold of Satan because it is a refusal to learn, it is a refusal to be informed, and I think it's far more common than we realize.

Don't let Satan have this foothold in your life. Refuse to be ignorant. Jesus came to show us what God is like. He came to end the mystery of the character and nature of God. He came to show us how God would live life and how God intends for us to live. Jesus wasn't ignorant, and if we claim His name, then we have no excuse to be either.

Peace be with you