Ignorance Is Not an Excuse

I found it interesting while reading through the Old Testament law that the commands that God gave His people He expected them to keep. Ignorance of the law was not an excuse. As soon as the person who had broken the law found out about it, he wasn’t given a freebie and told, “Since you didn’t know the law, it’s okay this time, but next time do better.” Instead, once the person found out that he had broken the law, he was required to make atonement for his transgression. I found that principle interesting. Though he acted in ignorance, he was still a transgressor who had to make atonement. Ignorance of God’s law was not an excuse from keeping it.

I pondered this principle for quite some time, thinking of the state of the church. There are so many people who profess to be Christians and yet, they don’t know God’s Word. They don’t study it. They are ignorant of what it says. One night while studying the Bible with my husband, I stumbled across something else that Christ said that seemed to further demonstrate this theme. In Luke 12, Christ tells His disciples a parable about a master returning to home to his servants from a wedding banquet, telling them to watch and be ready for their master’s return.

“The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:42-18

So 3 types of servants are briefly mentioned here:

1. The servant who knows and does his master’s will.
2. The servant who abuses his master’s absence and mistreats his fellow servants and becomes a drunkard.
3. The servant who does not know his master’s will and in ignorance does “things deserving punishment.”

Notice the fates of these servants:

1. The servant who knew and did his master’s will was rewarded.
2. The servant who knew and did not do his master’s will was severely punished.
3. The servant who did not know his master’s will and did not do it was also punished, albeit, lightly.

So that brings us back to main point of this post: ignorance is not an excuse. Those ignorant of God’s Word will be punished still.

God expects us, His servants, to know His will and requirements by studying His Word. Saying to God “but I didn’t know” when we have access to the Scriptures is completely inexcusable.

Let us study His Word so that we may do His will and be ready for the Master’s return!

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One Mediator

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:5, 6

There are several implications of this verse:

1. We make our prayers to our Mediator: Christ. We don’t pray to anyone else (including dead saints like Mary) because Christ and Christ alone is our Mediator.
2. Mortal men are not our go-between to God either. We don’t have to go to some priest or preacher to offer up prayers for us.

We’ve already have Christ as our Mediator, the One Who willingly laid down His life for our sins. Not only do other mediators not exist, but if one could choose, no better choice could be made.

So, Catholics, don’t bother running ads in the newspaper praising St. Jude (or anyone else) because if prayers are answered, St. Jude didn’t do it, Christ did.

Evangelicals, stop sending money to preachers (especially TV preachers) in hopes that your “love gifts” or donations to their ministries are going to help your prayers to be answered.

Catholics and evangelicals: Neither will buying that prayer cloth, prayer rug, “holy water”, “holy cake”, nor anything else that anyone is “offering” to you help get your prayers answered.

Christ is our Mediator and it is He Who answers our prayers.

“Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”

Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” Acts 8:14-24

Are you like Simon? Have you been acting like Simon, thinking that the gifts of God can be purchased? Examine your heart and repent if this describes you. Examine what you’re seeking for and why you seek it. Are you seeking for things that you truly need? Seek God humbly for your requests and needs. He’s a kind and merciful God Who provides for your needs, has mercy on your sins when you’re repentant, and He loves you very much. Don’t be afraid to ask God for the things that are on your heart for yourself.

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A side note on Striving for the Kingdom

A couple of side notes that I wanted to incorporate into my post on Striving for the Kingdom but could not find a place to put without distracting and rabbit trailing from the main point were:

1. Notice that Jesus did not ask for the man to give all of his wealth to His ministry. So the point was not about the man “giving the money and receiving the blessing of God in return” but of submission to the will of God. Think about it: this man let his possessions get in the way of following and possibly becoming another disciple of Christ. He chose his wealth over the chance to follow the Messiah, the Holy One, the most anticipated Person in all of history! How often I wish that I could have had the opportunity to meet Jesus, much less have the opportunity to follow Him, and he chose his money! Talk about a bad choice!
2. Just as Christ didn’t ask the man to give all his wealth to His ministry but to the poor, neither should other true teachers of the gospel.

My article on Striving for the Kingdom was meant to address the continued emphasis I keep seeing coming up in the church on the pursuit of wealth or “blessings”. Another problem that usually accompanies this overemphasis and often outright distortion when it comes to God’s promises: the guilt and/or false promises these “teachers” put on their listeners. Example: “If you’ll just give me $100, then God will bless you with $1,000.” or “God is calling givers right now. I sense that God is calling 50 people to give $10,000 and in return God has a blessing in store for you that you’ll not be able to contain. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”

It infuriates me to hear men say “God says” when they know very well in their heart that God has not spoken such words.

Even more disgusting than those who promise wealth are those who promise healing or other divine aid in exchange for money. Charlatans!  Wolves!  It’s time for the church, especially the charismatic believers, to call these false teachers out and denounce them instead of embracing them as they currently are and allowing them to push their poisons onto the flock.

Of such men the Scripture says:

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Peter 2:1-3) (and that’s just the beginning of what 2 Peter 2 has to say of false teachers; I encourage the interested to read the rest of the chapter)

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Striving for the Kingdom

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:16-24

From the above passage, here are a couple of points about the man that are worthy of review:

1. The man who approached Jesus by his own words was a devout man who kept the commands of God.
2. Wealth in that day and time (and still by many today) was viewed as the blessing of God and approval from Him on a person’s life.
3. Despite being wealthy and devout, the man still felt like he was lacking something in the sight of God, which is why he approached Jesus, to find out what that something was.

Jesus tells him to sell everything and give it to the poor and to follow Him. Wow. Now that takes some courage. For me this is a reminder not to get too attached to anything in this world but to always have the spirit that says, “it’s yours anyway, God, and I’ll do whatever You want me to do with it.” This isn’t always easy to do, but this is the attitude that God wishes us to have: the attitude of total submission.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36, 37

Some people get distracted in the pursuit of “prosperity” and the pursuit of earthly things. It saddens me when I hear those who bear the name “Christian” to forget Christ’s words this way and advocate that God’s will is found in prosperity. It is true that it often does delight God to bless us. But the path of blessing and prosperity is not always the path that He has for us.

“Looking at his disciples, he said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” Luke 6:20-26

People who preach prosperity tend to forget and leave out the places in the Bible that say that as followers of Christ we may very well see tough times. As a matter of fact, I would say that true followers of Christ will face difficulty and hardships, some more than others, and it is in these times, when we should cling to our faith, when we should cling to Christ.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

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True Christianity

There are 3 people groups which we see in the Bible that God really seems to watch over: the alien, the orphan, and the widow.

“The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.” Psalm 146:9

“A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.” Psalm 68:5

As Christians, God would also call us to do what we can to help those who are widows and fatherless.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

Religion that is pure and faultless to God, or to put it in the common vernacular, what God considers to be a true expression of our religion is to help after orphans and widows while they’re going through tough times and to keep oneself free from worldly pollutions.

Know any widows or orphans that need Christ’s love shown to them? Can you think of practical ways that you are able to help them?

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Moving on to Maturity

There’s a lot of maturing involved in growing up.  A child tends to look at the world through the eyes of “what can I get now?”  It takes a lot of maturing to realize just how selfish that attitude is.  It is as we get older that we come to savor relationships for more than what we can get out of them; it takes maturing to come to appreciate the relationship for the value of the person we share the relationship with. 

I believe the same is true of the Christian walk.  Our relationship with God needs to come to that place where it is more than what we can get or receive from God; it needs to come to the place where we enjoy the relationship for the sake of the One we have been privileged to have the relationship with.  The preachers who impress me the most are those who are able to really bring home and inspire their listeners to want to have a closer relationship with God.  I feel so inept at conveying my point sometimes.  For reasons I will never really understand, God wants a relationship with us.  That’s all this Christian walk is about.  God created us with the purpose of having a relationship with Him.  When we sinned and severed ourselves from God, He sent His Son to die for our sin so that we could be restored unto Him.  Walking with God, coming to know Him for Who He is, learning to love Him: this is the very essence of what the Christian life is meant to be about. 

If your focus is on trying to see how much sin you are allowed and still keep your salvation, I would say to you: your heart isn’t right and it is time to repent. 

If your focus is on what you can from God in terms of “spiritual gifts” or “spiritual experiences”, I would say: you’ve really lost sight of the goal and the target.  It is okay to desire spiritual gifts.  It is okay to want those times of deep spiritual fulfillment.  This is never to become our focus, though.  Our focus should be on God, seeking to know Him, growing in love for Him, and finding from His Word how we can please Him. 

May this be our heart’s cry:

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1

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