Stumbling Blocks to Faith: Ignorance I. Introduction A. We live in a paradoxical modern world B. We live in the Age of Information, where our telecommunication technologies allow us to have information quickly and in great amounts 1. the quantity of knowledge to know has grown exponentially, and the means of transmitting that knowledge has only gotten faster 2. Andrew Jackson, in 1817, fought the British in New Orleans despite the fact that the War of 1812 had ended two weeks earlier; the news of the treaty ending the war did not reach him until after the battle! 3. That was only 200 years ago...and now we know what's going on in Iraq, thousands of miles away, within minutes C. At the same time, however, ignorance has multiplied greatly 1. late night shows will often exploit this, showing segments of Americans who cannot tell how many states there are in the United States, or who wrote the Declaration of Independence, or other such facts 2. Our youth do not seem to know as much or have as much of a desire to learn overall as before 3. Apparently the greater the quantity of knowledge available, the less and less people seem to want to know! D. This is certainly true in spiritual terms 1. Overall in society, Biblical knowledge is at historic lows, since more and more people are not exposed at all to Christianity save what they see on television and get from others 2. Biblical ignorance seems to be on the rise in the church too 3. It was said in earlier days that members of churches of Christ were "walking Bibles;" can that be said now? E. It can rightly be said that one of the greatest stumbling blocks to faith is ignorance: for when you do not know, how can you believe? Or teach? F. Let us explore ignorance this morning: what it is, what God has said about it, and what we can do about it II. Ignorance: What it is A. Webster's definition 1. "Want, absence or destitution of knowledge; the state of the mind which has not been instructed in arts, literature or science, or has not been informed of facts. Ignorance may be general, or it may be limited to particular subjects." 2. The word is by definition "neutral," being neither positive nor negative 3. The word does carry a negative connotation in its use, since humans innately desire to know and not be ignorant B. Greek word: agnoia 1. Thayer: lack of knowledge, ignorance, especially of divine things; of moral blindness 2. The word literally means "no knowledge" C. Ignorance, therefore, is rightly seen in the New Testament and in English to refer to the state of not knowing D. There are, however, two kinds of ignorance: unintentional and intentional E. Unintentional ignorance 1. a person who, through no fault of their own, does not know something 2. a person who has never heard the Gospel or about Jesus, for instance 3. Many times, when their ignorance is lifted, they will be receptive to the truth and obey it F. Intentional ignorance 1. a person who willfully chooses to either not know or believe differently than the truth 2. This well describes many members of denominations who believe what the denomination teaches and refuses to see the truths of the New Testament 3. Ephesians 4:18 4. May we never be considered intentionally ignorant of any of the Scriptures! G. Having examined what ignorance is and what kinds of ignorance exist, let us see what God has to say about ignorance III. Ignorance: What God has Said A. Ignorance: Our Previous State 1. Acts 3:17, Acts 17:30, 1 Timothy 1:13, 1 Peter 1:14 2. When we lived in sin and unbelief, we lived in a time of ignorance of God 3. Those who have become Christians, however, now ought to know of God and not be ignorant of Him and His purpose 4. We are to act, therefore, in a way that is becoming one who is no longer ignorant of God B. Ignorance: The State of Unbelievers 1. It follows that if we were once ignorant but then gained redemption by coming to the knowledge of Jesus, that those who have not come to that knowledge are still ignorant 2. That time has passed, and repentance is necessary for them! 3. Ephesians 4:18, 1 Peter 2:15 4. Ignorance-- especially intentional ignorance-- leads many to attempt to denigrate the faith, and we can silence such by doing what is good and holy and right 5. Their lack of knowledge endangers their soul-- 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 C. Ignorance: The State of False Teachers 1. Romans 10:3, 2 Timothy 2:23, 2 Peter 2:12, 2 Peter 3:16 2. The Jews, in their ignorance, attempt to establish their own righteousness apart from God 3. False teachers attempt to trap Christians in ignorant arguments, not knowing the truth of Scriptures 4. Their belief systems are ignorant, not being in harmony with the Scriptures, and thus they blaspheme 5. They distort the words of Paul-- and Peter, and Luke, and the rest of the Old and New Testaments-- to justify themselves 6. Their intentional ignorance endangers their souls--Matthew 7:21-23 D. When God's People are Ignorant 1. Hosea 4:1-16 2. The LORD had a case against His people Israel, for they were "destroyed for a lack of knowledge" 3. The LORD chastised the priests for not doing their job a. they forgot the law of their God b. they did not teach the people c. the people went astray d. the priests went astray e. God rejected them 4. The LORD also chastised the people for their error a. they consulted wood b. they sacrificed on high places c. they have spurned their God and have played the whore d. their ignorance of the truth led them to idolatry 5. The LORD repaid them according to their deeds E. Now that we have seen many of the things which God has said about ignorance, let us see what we have learned and what we are to do about it IV. Ignorance: What We Have Learned and What We Are to Do A. What have we learned? B. Unbelievers are in ignorance 1. They are lost in their darkness 2. If they don't know about Christianity, we can preach it to them! 3. There is a great opportunity available for all of us that is unique in American history, for never before have so many not been indoctrinated with denominational concepts 4. Most people have a warped view of Christianity that is a potpourri of Roman Catholic and Protestant teachings, or whatever else they get from the media 5. We need to get the Gospel to them! 6. If they do know about Christianity, and reject it or hate it, they will look for opportunities to make us stumble 7. We must act in all holiness and do good to all, and then there will be no occasion for the ignorant to blaspheme C. Believers are not to be in ignorance 1. God does not want His people to be ignorant 2. We were supposed to leave our days of ignorance when we partook in the foolishness of the Gentiles, and not today! 3. We are aware enough to know that we must believe in and obey Christ-- but what else? 4. Do we know enough for our own salvation? a. Matthew 4:1-11, 2 Corinthians 2:11, 1 Peter 5:8 b. Our adversary is as a roaring lion, and we are not to be ignorant of his schemes c. When he tempted our Lord, he used Scripture! d. Do you know enough to combat the temptations of Satan, even when they may have a Bible verse taken out of context to support them? e. If Satan came up to you with a temptation, and told you that because of Romans 8:35-39 nothing can separate you from your God and therefore even if you sin you will not die, what would you say? Or do? f. Would you know 2 Peter 2:20-22, where Peter shows that people can fall away? Or Hebrews 10:26-31? 5. Do we know enough to evangelize? a. Using the previous example, you may encounter people in ignorance of God's truth who will tell you the same thing regarding Romans 8. b. How will you defend yourself (1 Peter 3:15)? c. What if someone asks you about how one goes about being saved? What will you say? d. What if someone wants to know more about Jesus and what He did for mankind? What will you say? D. There are consequences for ignorance 1. The example of Israel in Hosea's day demonstrates that ignorance has consequences! 2. The ignorance of the people directly contributed to their idolatry! 3. If brethren are ignorant, Satan is then able to use persuasive arguments through false teachers to bring them under his yoke 4. Throughout history Biblical ignorance has directly led to apostasy, and in many ways ignorance has allowed the apostasy to remain 5. Is it the evangelist's job only to know the truth? No! You can only defend yourself against Satan by knowing yourself! 6. God calls upon each and every one of us to know Him and His will! 7. If you are ignorant of Him and His will, you are very much in danger of apostatizing, either directly in immoral conduct or indirectly by accepting false teachings 8. God forbid! E. We can conquer ignorance through diligent study! F. Our goal 1. 2 Timothy 2:15: a worker who has no reason to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth 2. Hebrews 5:14: consuming solid spiritual food as mature Christians, having our powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good and evil 3. Each and every one of us can attain to this level of spirituality! V. Conclusion A. We have now examined a great stumbling block to faith: ignorance B. We have seen that ignorance is the state of not knowing, either intentionally or unintentionally C. We have seen that unbelievers are in ignorance and if they remain in such a state they shall be condemned; believers, however, are to have ended their days of ignorance and are to know their Lord D. We must strive to remove any ignorance from us, lest we are deceived by Satan and those doing his work and be condemned E. Our goal is clear: to be good workers for the Lord, without reason for shame, rightly handling His Word, mature, having been able to train our powers of discernment to distinguish good and evil F. If you are present and have not obeyed the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ because of your ignorance of Him, you stand condemned (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9) 1. you have heard this day, however, that the Lord has died for all men that their sins may be forgiven if they only come to Him in obedient faith 2. Obey Him today, lose the fog of ignorance, and gain the knowledge that saves! G. If you are a Christian who has not put his or her days of ignorance behind them, you today have the opportunity again to put your days of ignorance behind you 1. You can affirm for yourself today to study God's Word and train your powers of discernment to know right from wrong 2. If we can encourage you in any way in these matters, let us know as we stand and sing