Ignorance of God’s word leads to apostasy

Ignorance – especially, ignorance of God and his word is by far the most destructive thing. In times past, the heathen nations of the world were left to languish in superstition, barbaric religious rites, and strange customs all because of their ignorance. God did not want His people Israel to be ignorant; hence He took it upon Himself to give them His word that they might know Him, the true God, His likes and dislikes. However, history records the opposite; despite the provision God made for the Israelites to know Him, there was widespread ignorance of God’s word all over the land of Israel and ignorance came along with all manner of sins and wickedness.

Ignorance on the part of the Israelites during the exodus

In due time, God brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by a mighty hand; just as He promised Abraham saying, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance (Ge 15:13-14).” God did according to His promise when the time was due; He saved Israel from slavery and started a long exodus with them to bring them away to the land which he promised to give to Abraham and to his descendants.

When the Israelites in exodus reached the wilderness of Sinai, they camped there. There, the children of Israel corrupted their ways; that is to say, they apostatized by making for themselves a golden calf, bowed down, and made sacrifices to it to provoke God’s anger. In doing so they defiled the commandment of the Lord that said,

“4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”.  Exodus 20:4-5

The exodus continued to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; there the Israelites disbelieved the Lord and rebelled on account of the report of the spies. And so the Lord was angry with them and as a punishment for their unbelief and rebellion, God pronounced that the part of that generation who were twenty years and above old would not enter the Promised Land; hence their wandering in the wilderness for forty years, during which the accused generation died.

In time, the Israelites reached the land of Moab. There, the Israelites were enticed by the Moabite women into committing apostasy by worshipping their deity Baal-Peor in exchange for sex; hence they committed mass fornication with the Moabite women. To this end, the anger and jealousy of God were kindled against Israel.

Now after having led the Israelites to put an end to the forty years of exodus, and having experienced firsthand their rebellion and stubbornness, God had a testimony to give about Israel. He testified, “Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:” (Psalms 95:10). This scripture was re-echoed in Hebrew 3:10 – Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart, and they have not known my ways. 

By this testimony “ … they have not known my ways”, God identified ignorance on the part of the Israelites to be one of the causes of their unfaithfulness and their sin of apostasy. Is it that God did not give his laws and status to Israel? Certainly, he did? How were they still ignorant? The Prophets Isaiah might have the answer; it is written – And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
(Isaiah 6:9)

Ignorance on the part of the Israelites during the era of the judges

Now from the beginning of the exodus, all those who were twenty years and above old, perished in accordance with the word of God that they shall not make it to the Promised Land because of their rebellion in the wilderness of Paran. The Israelites who survived the forty years of exodus and made it to the Promised Land are called the remnant. The remnant represents those who were below twenty years at the time of the exodus and those who were born in the course of the exodus; they received the blessedness of entering the Promised Land. However, this remnant who have seen the ten wonders of God in Egypt, and the wonders of God in the wilderness, and were partakers of eating manner and chewing quails, and saw River Jordan dried up, and the walls of Jericho fall down, and the sun stood still at Joshua’s word, and their enemies smitten down with hailstones and were witnesses to the sins of their fathers and the punishment thereof, generally, continued in the service of God while they lived and kept others in obedience to God, because the wonders of God they saw and felt at first hand, made such impressions on their hearts. However, with time, the remnant aged old and died on the Promised Land and were no more. Now the Bible says,

And also all that generation (remnant) were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10

Throughout the era of the judges, the generations of Israelites of that era identified with the description ‘a generation which knew not the LORD’.  Since they do not know the Lord, you can imagine what their hearts would be inclined to do. The Bible continues to testify against that ignorant generation of Israelites of all the evil things they proceeded to do against the Lord, saying,

“11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth”. Judges 2:11-13.

Generally, this generation of Israelites who ‘knew not the LORD’ lived a life marked with plentiful sins. They defiled the commandments of God and committing apostasy in the form of idol worship was one of their favorite sins. On account of them, the expression, ‘the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD’ was frequently used in the Book of Judges. Any time the expression was used, it meant that the Israelites had forsaken the Lord and had gone astray after the gods of the heathen nations round about them. They adopted to worship the gods of Syria, the gods of Zidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of Ammon, the gods of the Philistines and forsook God and did not serve Him.

First of all, to what extent was that generation ignorant of God? Better said, what does the Bible mean by the saying, “…. they knew not the Lord”? Is it that they have never heard of God? Certainly, the name of God and the salvation He brought to Israel can never be easily blotted out of the oral and written history of the children of Israel. Hence hearing, they had heard of God and knew him, at least, by name. However, there is more to God than merely knowing his name. Knowing God has everything to do with being well acquainted with his word and practicing the obedience thereof; for the word of God is a revelation that reveals the name of God, the nature of God, the statutes of God; etc. In short, God reveals Himself through His word. Thus, the phrase “…. they knew not the Lord” means they had not well acquainted themselves with the word of God, nor walked in obedience to the word. At the time of this ignorance, the word of God available was the Law – the Mosaic Law – also called the five books of Moses. God had, at that time, revealed Himself, His likes and dislikes, His statutes, etc. through the Law which was given through Moses.

If God had made available the Law, then how come they were still ignorant? For the most part, they were ignorant of the Lord because, right from infancy, they were not taught to know the Law and the obedience thereof.    

When this extract ‘and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel’ is viewed in the light of the commandments God gave to Israel in the Books of Moses, many questions pop up. Things should not have turn out the way they did because when God gave His commandment and His statutes to the children of Israel, He added yet another commandment to conclude, which is the commandment of education; saying,

6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6,7). Also, Deuteronomy 11:19-20

The fact that it is written, “.. and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” gives us proof that the remnant of the exodus who were the immediate parents of this ignorant generation did not take it diligently upon themselves to educate their children in the word of God as God commanded them, neither did they expound to them the mighty works God did for Israel’s salvation in Egypt and in the wilderness wherein they sojourn for forty years.  Many years later, God inspired King Solomon to write to emphasize what He said in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 and Deuteronomy 11:19-20. Solomon wrote:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverb 22:6  

If only the remnant had kept the command of God to teach their children the word of God – the Law of Moses, the story would have been otherwise: there would not have been mass ignorance, leading to mass apostasy.

Ignorance on the part of the Israelites during the era of the kings

Many years after the ignorance that caused sin and apostasy in the era of the judges, the Lord complained of ignorance again some hundreds of years later in the days of Hosea in the era when kings ruled over Israel.  Once again sin and all manner of lawlessness had consumed the land; and the Lord showed His displeasure, mentioning ignorance of His word to be the chief architect of the sins of the Israelites. The prophet Hosea wrote –

1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. ….. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea 4:1-6)

Ignorance in the Christian era

Never has ignorance been as destructive as it has been in the Christian era. From the beginning of Christianity and the church, there was no particular denomination. Along the line, the church in Rome, which was the capital city of the Roman Empire emerged and set itself up as the head of the church, later it developed into a denomination called the Roman Catholic Church. The church gained more power and influence through the Roman political system, and it became very powerful and well-resourced. With time, the Roman Catholic Church fell from grace and became a religiopolitical organization that sought after absolute power.

The leaders of the Catholic Church, in order to reduce their members to nothing more than dummies who can be easily manipulated, exploited, and misled, resorted to using the most effective weapon, ignorance of the word of God. Therefore the Catholic Church prohibited and criminalized the reading of the Bible, such that if you were found with any sheet of biblical text, you would be condemned to death by burning. And many Christians of that time perished in the flames.

Having successfully led the masses of its congregation into ignorance of the word of God, the leaders of the Catholic Church invented many false doctrines such as the worship of Mary, the worship of statues, praying to saints, purgatory, transubstantiation, etc. and they forced these doctrines into the throat of its vast congregation to accept.

For many years, nobody dared to challenge these false doctrines because the congregation was ignorant of the word of God, rendering them powerless to challenge any false doctrine and deception. Therefore the Catholic Church led the masses into apostasy. For the most part, these masses did not know that they were apostates. More so, the Catholic Church preyed on the ignorance of its vast congregation to make a fortune for the papacy by selling indulgences, etc.

God stepped in and raised men like Wycliffe, Martin Luther, etc. who used to be Catholics, and set them against the Roman Catholic Church. These men managed to translate the Bible, recopied and or print the Bible in many languages, and made it available to the people to read.

Consequence or effects of ignorance of the word of God

Today, Bibles are made available in many versions and in many languages, thanks be to God Most High who raised gallant men to fight the course of making the Bible available. However, though Bibles are available at cheaper prices, there are so many Christians who are ignorant – ignorant because they hardly make time to read this Bible which many faithful Christians have fought for in blood. Ignorance of the word of God is still as prevalent as it used to be in the past and these are the effects of ignorance:

Though you are an adult, ignorance will make you a child spiritually. Children do not have enough knowledge and, in many cases, cannot discern why this is true and why that is false; hence they would believe with very little doubt what they are told. One of the things that set apart the spiritually mature from the spiritual infant is the knowledge of the word of God. The Spirit of God led Paul to teach that if we have knowledge of the Scriptures, we will no longer be like children who are easily deceived by the false doctrines of false preachers, heretics, false prophets, etc. Paul wrote –  14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:14).

The world is a cradle of all sorts of false religions and false doctrines whose numbers are out of count. In such an atmosphere highly saturated with false teachings, what would be the prospect of a child of God who is ignorant of the Scriptures? In fact, we come into contact with false teachings more than the truth, and the ignorant Christian risks being led astray into apostasy and shall not be able to hold on to his salvation. Let me remind you that in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the Bible makes us understand that salvation is only meant for those who believe in the truth – the true doctrines. And so if a Christian turns away from the truth to embrace false doctrines, he commits apostasy. Ignorance of the word of God is a sure path to apostasy.

Ignorance of the word of God makes a Christian to become either gullible or unbelieving. The ignorant Christian, since he is deficient in the word of God, normally, becomes gullible to the point of embracing any philosophy, false doctrine, and deceptive ideology which contradicts Bible teachings, leading to his apostasy. In a situation where the ignorant Christian tries to avoid being gullible by hardening his heart to reject whatever is preached, once again, he shall do himself no good, because, in that attempt to reject false teachings, he shall reject the true teachings as well. Therefore, whether an ignorant Christian becomes gullible or unbelieving, apostasy is not far from him. However, if he studies the Bible, then shall he be able to discern the truth from the false and then walk in the truth to preserve his salvation.

It is clearly stated in Hosea 4:6 that God rejects those who are ignorant of His word – ‘because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children (Hosea 4:6).’ Any Christian who hardly finds time to study the word of God is in danger of being rejected by God. Actually, we find time to do things that are relevant in our lives such as eating, working, hanging out with friends, etc. If a professing Christian finds time for other things but does not find time to study the Bible, then you can tell that he does not count the word of God among the relevant things in his life. And if God’s word is not relevant to him then God Himself is of little or no value to him. No wonder such a Christian risks being rejected by God – because he first rejected to know God by not studying His word.

Ignorance of the word of God makes a Christian get along with certain sinful habits that ruin his relationship with God into apostasy. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:9-11).” For a Christian to effectively overcome habitual sins in his life, he is required to study the word of God by heart. Ignorance of the word of God will corrupt the church and make Christians habitually sinful as we see in Hosea 4:1-6.   

The Bible provides God’s answers and solutions to every problem. However, when a Christian fails to study the Bible, resulting in his ignorance of the word of God, such Christians confide in and chase after certain so-called men of God who are nothing more than wolves in sheep’s skin, who deceive, abuse, and exploit them to enrich themselves. Such ignorant Christians who are exploited by fake men of God often become demoralized, lose confidence in Christianity, and backslide from the faith.

By and large, the ignorant Christians make a mockery of men such as Wycliffe, Martin Luther, etc., and put men such as William Tyndale, John Rogers, Thomas Cranmer, etc. to open shame. Why? This is because these men put their lives on the line to ensure that the Bible becomes available for the coming generations to study and know the word of God to overcome the deception and exploitation perpetrated by the Catholic Church and others like heretics who were yet to come. And if after all their effort, Christians relegate studying the Bible to the background, we create an impression that they toiled and died in vain and that their suffering and death were not worth it.

Practices such as homosexuality, lesbianism, sex before marriage, masturbation, etc. are condemned by God’s word. However, some professing Christians do not see these practices to be wrong. This is largely due to their ignorance of the word of God, which is also as a result of not studying the Bible. The Bible says, “thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” The word of God is the light that makes a man discern right from wrong. Whoever is ignorant of the word of God hardly knows the Lord’s standard of righteousness and can hardly discern right from wrong.  

Conclusion

Today, the knowledge of God is all around us, available for both young and old. We have more Bibles printed in many versions and in many languages so as to aid our understanding. The Bible can be bought in print in the book shop or it can be downloaded free of charge or can be read online.

The Christians of this generation have no excuse to be ignorant of the word of God. Ignorance really endangers your eternal salvation. An ignorant Christian is nothing more than a powerless person made available for exploitation.

Food for thought  

  • Have you ever done something wrong out of ignorance before?
  • How do you think ignorance of the word of God can lead many to apostasy?
  • How would you avoid ignorance of the word of God in your life?
  • How would you prevent your children from being ignorant of the word of God?
  • What will be the result if your children are living in ignorance of God’s word?
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