Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge (Part 2)

Last week, we saw that there are many in our world today that have no knowledge of God or the salvation through the Christ, and this should be shameful for every Christian. This group, however, is not the only ignorant party in our world; there are many who have been told about Christ, but choose either to not believe or to believe in a different Jesus which is not really Jesus at all (Galatians 1:6). This ignorance is more sinister, for in many cases it presents itself as knowledge. Willful ignorance is the reason for denominations and many other problems in so-called Christianity today.

This is nothing new. Last week we discussed Hosea chapter four, where God is condemning especially the priests for not instructing the people in the way of God. His condemnation, however, does not stop with the priests, as we see in verses nine and ten:

And it will be, like people, like priest; so I will punish them for their ways, and repay them for their deeds. And they will eat, but not have enough; they will play the harlot, but not increase, because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.

One of the fruits of willful ignorance is denying clear and obvious truths to hold on to the lies. The Pharisees of the time of Christ were masters of this ability, as seen in John 9 and 11. In John 9, we are told of the man who was born blind healed by Christ (verses 1 through 9). He is brought forth to the Pharisees (verse 13), and they ask him about what happened. The Pharisees go to the greatest lengths to deny this story: first, they challenge his testimony by wanting to see his parents (verse 18), denying any power in Christ, and appealing to Moses (verse 28 and 29), and then summarily dismissing him for speaking truth (verse 34). We read in John 9:41 how it is those who believe they see that are in their sins, and how those who could not see learned to see in Christ.

We see many today that deny that they are in their sins. Such willful ignorance is called "blindness" by Christ (verse 39), and rightly so.

John 11 is even more blatant. In John 11:47-48, the Pharisees would rather condemn Jesus to preserve their power than to recognize the Christ. In John 11 we have one of the greatest miracles ever performed by Jesus, and a clear demonstration of the truth that was in Him. The Christ had come, the Jews were being delivered, and more signs and wonders are being shown than at any other point in time. Do the Pharisees thus believe? No! They are more concerned about their land and power than truth. No wonder Christ said that they could not escape the sentence of hell (Matthew 23:33)!

If the Pharisees would not see the wonders and signs of Christ and believe, how can we expect people today to be any better than they were? It is a true statement; those who do not wish to see the truth never will, and those who seek out truth shall find it. Many people, in the time of Christ as well as today, refuse to see truth. They dwell in their error, even sometimes rejoicing in it! For these people, all we can do is hope, pray, and continually instruct in sound teaching. Always remember the words of Isaiah in chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, quoted by Jesus in Matthew 13:14-15 and Paul in Acts 28:26-27:

Go to this people and say: "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I should heal them."

This is as true when Isaiah spoke this to the Jews in 600 BCE as when Christ and Paul did in the first century CE, and it holds just as true in 2006 CE.

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Questions to Ponder During the Lesson

AM: Acts 2:42: The Example of the Earliest Church

1. What was the earliest church doing together according to the text?
2. What were they learning when they were devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching?
3. How can we learn from their example and strive to build up the church here?

PM: Why Where You Assemble Matters

1. What does it mean to have a cafeteria-style religion?
2. What should be the primary motivating factor in determining with whom to assemble-- what I want or what God wants?
3. Does it matter where you assemble?
4. Why does it matter where you assemble?

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2006 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!