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A story was told to me that supposedly, was true of a man who had driven around in his car for over a week only to discover a rattlesnake had gotten into his car and was hiding under the seat. Luckily the snake was discovered and all ended well. All the time he was unaware he and his family were in grave danger of being bitten. Obviously the man was upset, but only after the snake was discovered!
This was a physical danger, but spiritual ignorance can be just as deadly. In
Acts 17:23 Paul told the Athenians even though they were religious people, they
were worshipping God in ignorance. He told the Ephesians (eph.4:18) their ignorance
had alienated them from God. In the seventh chapter of Matthew, Jesus warned
false prophets would come claiming to be from him. He said in the 21st verse,
'not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my father.' He goes on to
say, in the judgment there will be those who thought they were worshipping God
in an acceptable manner, but weren't. Their ignorance of God and his laws had
cost them their lives. The tragedy of all of this is, they could have learned,
but preferred to remain the way they were, loving their traditions better than
God's word. One is not born knowing what to do in order to be saved nor can
one's feelings or emotions be relied upon. Christianity is a taught religion.
And ignorant people simply cannot worship God while remaining so, but must be
properly taught. The good news is God has made his word so plain anyone who
wishes to learn may do so.
By J.D.Williams
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