Acts 17:23 (KJV)
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

Ignorance: the negative state of mind which has not been informed of facts

Ignorant: destitute of knowledge, uninstructed or uninformed, untaught, unenlightened, undiscovered, unknown, unacquainted with, unaware

Ignorantly: without knowledge, instruction or information; unskillfully, inexpertly


Ignore: to be ignorant, take no heed of, to refuse to take notice of, to disregard

In light of the scripture verse and accompanying definitions above, how would you say ignorance affects our relationship with God? Do you realize that many who call themselves Christians perform religious duties daily, even have their own personal devotions, yet still come away not knowing who God really is?! In spite of their extreme religiosity, they remain without the true God in this world because of their ignorance. Contrary to popular belief, ignorance is not always bliss, for spiritual ignorance will send you straight to hell and alienate you from God FOREVER!

Romans 10:3 (KJV)
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 4:18 (KJV)
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

Ladies, scriptural knowledge is not the same as allegiance to Christ. Scriptural knowledge is not the same as surrender to Christ. Scriptural knowledge is not the same as obedience to God's Word. Scriptural knowledge is not the same as a personal relationship with God! Do you KNOW Jesus as your personal Savior today or just know ABOUT Him? If you don't know the Lord, you are an alien, for an alien is one who is a stranger to Christ! Therefore, your ignorance will lead you to deep trouble, for ignorance is an enemy to truth...

Psalm 73:22 (KJV)
So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.

If you are saved, have you alienated yourself from a growing relationship with the Lord because you have willfully ignored His Word? Oh, I know you READ the Bible, but do you HEED the Bible?? Ignorance of the Word does not excuse a man or woman from violating it... Nor does it excuse you from the penalty of violation! God's people must know God's Word - what it says, what it means, and how it applies to daily life. How much time do you spend in God's Word getting to know the God who saved you?? Are you well acquainted with His will for your life? Do you really think you'll be able to stand before the Lord one day and use the excuse that you were simply “unaware” of His expectations??

1 Peter 1:14-16 (KJV)
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Ladies, ignorance of spiritual truths and knowledge of God leads to pride, arguments, criticisms, fear, fallacy, error, compromise, and spiritual dullness, as well as other numerous ungodly conditions of the heart. Ignorance completely cuts us off from that which would set us free from the devices Satan employs to destroy us. Do you really think it wise to be uninformed of the tricks the devil has up his sleeve?? God doesn't! Your ignorance affords your adversary more control...

2 Cor. 2:11 (KJV)
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Without knowing God and His Word extremely well, you and I may mistake blemishes for beauties and ignorantly admire the wrong things in this life! Being unskilled in the things of God will only cause us to be led astray and bring serious damage to our soul...

To further illustrate the seriousness of ignorance, I'd like you to join me for this little story I discovered in my reading today in the book of 2 Kings 4:38-41...

2 Kings 4:38 (KJV)
And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

In this opening scene, the Bible says there was a dearth in the land. In other words, there was a famine; there was barrenness; a want; a need for food. So it is in America today! There is a desperate need for churches where the truth is clearly preached without compromise. In this text the sons of the prophets were sitting before Elisha, the man of God, hoping to receive wisdom from him. Elisha informed a servant to "set on the great pot", which we will liken to saying, "It's time to preach!" What better thing to do when there is a famine of truth, amen? The instructions were that the pottage was to be prepared for consumption, by way of boiling as the method of cooking. Likewise, we certainly could use some more "fire & brimstone" preaching in this country for our spiritual consumption, amen? It's time to turn up the heat under our pot! Just as the sons of the prophets should be fed a hot meal, so too, God's children need suitable nourishment!

2 Kings 4:39 (KJV)
And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

Only one servant went into the field to gather... Hmm, sounds familiar, doesn't it? Today the fields are ripe unto harvest but the laborers are very few! Here comes the scary part though... This particular servant unknowingly gathered wild gourds, unaware they were extremely harmful to man's health, and shredded them into the pot of pottage for everyone's consumption. He was uneducated as to what was edible, blind to the counterfeit. Ladies, here is ignorance at work! As most of you know, something that is shredded is cut into small pieces, is it not? How like our society is this story in that numerous individuals with a meager understanding of scripture blindly gather and stir small pieces of deception into the great pot of truth! Then trusting, hungry believers gobble up that which has been presented to them, destitute of knowledge of the contents and unconcerned at best. Lies are fatal when eaten even in slight portions... Hence, we learn how harmful ignorance really is to us as Christians!!

2 Kings 4:40-41 (KJV)
So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

Praise the Lord that Elisha, a man of God who KNEW the Word of God and the God of the Word, was there to remedy this horrifying situation! He knew exactly how to instruct these men and free them from the damage of their ignorance. Elisha called for meal - edible grain in its rough state - to salvage the situation. That's what America needs too, amen? Ladies, you and I need the plain and simple truth, no matter how rough it might seem going down, no matter how hard it might be to swallow! Truth will protect us from making deadly mistakes... Famine will force us to eat whatever can be found, but we should never be so ignorant that we compromise our spiritual health to eat of deception and deceit. The better you and I know God and His Word, the faster we will become at identifying that which is poisonous! There will no harm come to your pot. But not if we choose to remain ignorant... Do you really want to settle for living an alien life, apart from KNOWING God as He is? You can reverse your destination with the truth!!

God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004

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