By Joey Carroll
The word “ignorance” is not a derogatory term. It simply means a lack of knowledge or understanding. The word reminds me of the time I chose not to read the book “A Tale of Two Cities” prior to an exam. It was obvious from my grade that I was ignorant of the content of the book. I simply lacked the understanding of the details of the story because I had decided not to read it.
“Ignorance” is the word the Apostle Paul used twice in Acts 17 to describe some of the most intelligent men of the first century. They were ignorant of the God who created the heavens and the earth. They worshipped idols out of their ignorance because they had not heard the gospel. Some believed after hearing the gospel, but some rejected the message and became foolish. They had heard the truth, but rejected it and moved from ignorance to foolishness.
But what should we say about many today that profess to have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but the Jesus they follow looks nothing like the Jesus of the Bible? Are they ignorant or foolish?
If one commits to reading the Bible, they will find a God who is full of grace and compassion and wonderfully willing to forgive sinners. But, they will also read that He judges sin and refuses to allow sinners to go unpunished. That is the very reason God sent His Son in love. In the cross of Jesus, we see both the grace of God and the judgment of God against sinners. Jesus died in our place for our sin; all those who repent from their sin and trust in who Jesus is and what He did for us on that cross are saved. That is God’s good news for sinners. But it would be foolish to think that having been saved, we could turn right around and continue in our sin. Paul wrote, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2, NASB).
There are many versions of Jesus and many versions of the gospel that are preached and believed in our day. But it goes without saying, there can be only one that saves. If you are ignorant of that one truth, you can simply read what Jesus Himself called “Truth,” (John 17:17), which is the Bible. But if one has read it and claims to believe it, and yet continues in sin, they are not ignorant, they are foolish.
What you will find in the Bible, is a message that most have hated over the centuries. It is a gospel message that conforms its true followers into a life of godliness, a life that reflects the character of God Himself. In fact, any gospel message that does not move people toward godly behavior is a false gospel (1 Timothy 6:3). However, godliness is not very popular. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12, NASB). Over the centuries, those who live godly and those who preach a message of godliness have suffered greatly at the hands of this world. But Jesus said it would be this way, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you,” (John 15.18, NASB).
When I received the terrible news of Charlie Kirk’s death, I was deeply saddened but not surprised. What happened to Charlie has been happening over and over again for two thousand years. Charlie chose to confront god-less-ness in a world that hates god-li-ness. And the response to the gospel message he most often shared was one of violence and hatred.
But back to my question at the beginning. Are people ignorant of the fact that Jesus died for sin and that He calls us out of sinful living? Do they simply lack the knowledge that God created man in His image and Jesus died to restore that godly image (Colossians 3:9-10)? Or have they foolishly recreated God after their own image?
This article originally appeared in The Clarion Newspaper.
Corinth Baptist Church 