I Would Not Have You to Be Ignorant

Q: What does the Bible say about spiritual ignorance?

Spiritual ignorance can stem from natural depravity, Satan's influence, and indifference to God's truth. The Bible addresses spiritual ignorance prominently, especially in the context of understanding God's grace and truth. The Apostle Paul, in his letters, expresses his past ignorance before coming to know Christ (1 Timothy 1:12-13). He highlights that spiritual ignorance can arise due to our natural depravity, as all humans are born dead in sin and unable to comprehend spiritual truths without divine intervention (John 3:3). Additionally, Satan plays a significant role in keeping people in ignorance, as he blinds their minds to the light of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). Indifference, religious tradition, and pride further contribute to this spiritual blindness, making the pursuit of God's truth vital.

Q: How do we know God's grace is real?

God's grace is revealed through the life and work of Jesus Christ, who overcame our ignorance and sin. The reality of God's grace is clearly demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul reflects on his own ignorance before his conversion, he emphasizes that it was through God's mercy that he received understanding and faith (1 Timothy 1:12-13). The Scriptures constantly affirm that grace is available to all who believe in Christ, who is the embodiment of God's grace (Titus 2:11). Additionally, God's providence in our lives, including trials and tribulations, serves to manifest His grace, teaching us reliance on Him and deepening our faith. Thus, God's grace is not just a theological concept but is experienced in the believer's life through the work of Christ and the continual sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

Q: Why is understanding God's righteousness important for Christians?

Understanding God's righteousness helps Christians to recognize their dependence on Christ for salvation. The concept of God's righteousness is central to Christian faith, as it distinguishes between self-righteousness and the righteousness found in Christ. Paul affirms this in Romans, explaining that many strive for acceptance through their own works, yet genuine righteousness comes through faith in Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment of the law (Romans 10:1-4). Recognizing our inability to achieve righteousness on our own leads us to understand the necessity of Christ's work - His perfect obedience and sacrificial death provide the basis for our acceptance before God. This understanding cultivates humility in believers and encourages them to rely solely on Christ, thereby deepening their faith and appreciation for God's incredible grace.

I have an unusual subject today. I'm going to speak to you on
this subject. I would not have you to be ignorant. I would not have you to be ignorant. Now, I want you to listen to
the entire message. My text will be taken from 1
Timothy 1, verse 12 and 13. These are the words of the Apostle
Paul. in 1st Timothy 1 verse 12 and 13. Now listen carefully.
Paul said, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me
for that he counted me faithful, putting me in the ministry, putting
me in the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor
and injurious but he said I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly. I obtained mercy because I did
it ignorantly in unbelief. Now most people consider it a
great insult to be called ignorant. Recently I was preaching down
in Mexico and the missionary who has been laboring there for
many years, said, now, don't tell the people that you think
they're ignorant because one of the greatest insults that
you can put upon a Mexican is to lead him to believe that you
think he's ignorant. They are highly offended when
you call them ignorant. Well, I don't blame them. It's
not very nice to tell a fellow that he's ignorant. And if you
do tell someone he's ignorant, he's not going to take kindly
to it. But here in our text, here is
the chief apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul,
writer of 14 epistles in the New Testament, one of the most
gifted men, wise man, gifted man living at that day, and we
hear him saying that I was ignorant. I was ignorant. He said, what
I did, I did in ignorance and unbelief. Now listen to it again. He said, I was before, I was
before a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious, and I was ignorant. I was before, before what? I
was before. Now, not now, he said. He was a wise and gifted apostle,
called to be an apostle, God's messenger to the Gentiles, but
he said, I was before ignorant. Before what? Well, before he
met Christ. Before he met the Lord Jesus
Christ, he said, I was ignorant. Before I learned the gospel of
God's grace, I was ignorant. Before God revealed his Son,
in me. That's what he said in Galatians
1 15, God was pleased to reveal his son in me. And before that
time I was ignorant. Now we know this. We know a good
deal about the Apostle Paul before he was converted. There's several
references to his life before he came to know Christ, before
God revealed his grace to him. And we know this about Paul.
He was called Saul of Tarsus. And he came from a very reputable
family, and he was highly educated, highly educated. In fact, one
ruler said, you've just studied too much. Much learning has made
you crazy. He was highly educated in matters
of the world. He was taught by Gamaliel. Now,
I know in those days there were two major universities, so to
speak, two major scholars who taught. One of them was Gamaliel,
the chief scholar, and that's the one who taught Solitarsis.
He was wise in things of the world, but he was ignorant. He
said, I was ignorant of spiritual truth. You see, my friends, a
person can be very intelligent in material matters, in carnal
matters, and yet be ignorant of spiritual truth. A man can
know much about science or medicine or most any subject and yet be
ignorant of the grace of God and ignorant of spiritual truth.
That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 2, 7 and 8. It says, Paul says,
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery which none of the leaders,
the princes, the rulers of this world knew. They didn't know
the wisdom of God. For had they known it, They would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. Isn't that true? That's
what Paul says. He said, I preached the wisdom
of God in a mystery which even the leaders of the world did
not know. For had they known it, they would
not have consented to the death of the Son of God. They didn't
know who he was. He was in the world and the world knew him
not. So Saul of Tarsus was highly educated. and a man wise in material,
carnal, fleshly matters, but ignorant." He said, I was ignorant.
I was before ignorant. And then, now watch this carefully. Saul of Tarsus was also very
religious. You say, well, he was smart and
things of the world, but he didn't go to church. Oh, I beg your
pardon. I beg your pardon. He was very religious. He was
very moral. He was a student of the Old Testament
scriptures. This man was a Pharisee. He was
about as high as you could go in religion. He was an officer. He was a ruler, a teacher of
the Jews. He said, I was blameless. I was
a Hebrew of Hebrews, a tribe of Benjamin. And concerning the
law, I was blameless. This was a moral man, a religious man, a
teacher of scriptures. But he said, I was ignorant.
I was ignorant of God's way of life. See, this man was wrapped
up in the form and tradition of religion and had missed the
grace and mercy of God. And that's true today of many
people in pulpit, in the pulpit and in the pew. Because a person
may be very religious, very religious, strict religious in form, in
law, in outward morality. and yet be totally ignorant of
God's saving grace in Jesus Christ. Oh yes. You see, spiritual ignorance,
blindness to the truth of God, to the truth of God's grace in
Christ, ignorance as far as the wisdom of God is concerned can
be attributed to several things. There are several reasons for
this ignorance. Paul said, I was a blasphemer. And I was injurious and I was
a persecutor before. He said, but I did it ignorantly.
I was ignorant and lived in unbelief. You see, it's attributed to several
things. Now, the first thing is this.
Our natural depravity and deadness in sin keeps us in ignorance. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. And that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. So a person can be born in the
flesh and no great matters pertaining to the flesh and to material
things and still not know God because in Adam we died. We're
born in sin. In sin my mother conceived me.
I was brought forth from the womb speaking lies, dead in trespasses
in sin. We're born in darkness. We're
born dead to God. We're born in spiritual blindness.
That's the reason Christ said to Nicodemus, you must be born
again. Except a man's born again, he
can't see the kingdom of God. He can't understand it. He can't
enter into its mysteries unless he's born again. You see, that
which is born of the flesh is in tune with the flesh, not the
spiritual matter. So that's the reason that men
are ignorant is because They're dead in sin, in darkness and
depravity. Secondly, secondly, Satan's influence
keeps men in ignorance. Paul said, if our gospel be hid,
it's hid to them that are lost. Now watch it. In whom the God
of this world hath blinded their minds, lest the light of the
glory of God in the face of Christ should shine into them. Satan
blinds men. You see, men, the natural man
receiveth not the things of God. And then the influence and power
of Satan keeps men from seeing the light of the glory of God
in the face of Christ. Another thing is indifference,
just indifference. Indifference keeps men in ignorance.
The flesh is just not interested in spiritual matters. How many
people do you know who are interested in the things of God? interested
in spiritual matters, interested in what the Word of God has to
say. They're not interested. God said there's none that understand
it. There's none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out
of the way. They all become unprofitable.
You will not come to me that you might have life. One day
he stood overlooking Jerusalem and he said, How oft would I
have gathered thee? But you would not, not interested.
Why are men blind? Why are they in ignorance? natural
depravity, the influence of Satan, and then indifference. They're
just not interested. Today, the church uses every
gimmick known to man to get people to come to church, but they're
not interested. And then, fourthly, another thing that keeps people
in this ignorance is religious tradition. That's right. Paul
was wrapped up in religious tradition, for commandments of God, the
traditions of men and the commandments of men. One time our Lord healed
a man. This man had been lying on a
bed, afflicted, paralyzed for 30 some odd years, I think 38
years. He never walked. Can you imagine
the condition of this man having never walked for 38 years? How frail he was? His legs must
have been lying there on the bed. Our Lord came by and everybody
knew him. He was always laying in the same
place begging, asking alms. And our Lord came by and said,
take up your bed and walk. Healed him just like that. And
he took up his bed and put it on his shoulders and started
walking down the road. And he met these religious Pharisees. Now do you know what they said?
They didn't praise God that this man had been healed. overjoyed
and amazed that this man Jesus had made him whole, they looked
at him and said, don't you know it's the Sabbath day? You're
not supposed to carry your bed on the Sabbath day. Why are you
carrying your bed on the Sabbath day? You see, so wrapped up in
tradition, they couldn't see the glory of God. So wrapped
up in the form and ceremony, they couldn't see the power of
God. And that's what happens today in all these denominations,
Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian,
Nazarene, Church of God, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, non-denominational.
We got all these forms and ceremonies and rituals and denominations
and creeds and catechisms and programs and what we believe
that we're not even open to the Word of God. We won't listen
to a man unless he's our brand from our state or our community
or our denomination. or our creed or our something
else. Ignorance. Ignorance, wrapped up in tradition.
Tell you another thing that keeps men in ignorance is pride. Just
plain old pride. Our Lord came from the Father.
He came from heaven. And He was teaching. And the
Pharisees, these little religious teachers, they looked at Him
and said, does that teach us? Do you dare to teach us? You
can't teach us anything. We know everything. Too proud
to be taught. Too proud to learn. I've had
18, 19-year-old young people challenge me in the Word of God. I've been preaching, studying,
teaching the Word of God for 40 years. But the very youngest,
beardless youths will not hesitate to challenge Experience or knowledge
or whatever because everybody you see in religion thinks he
knows everything and they're too proud to be taught And you
know what our Lord said? He said I thank your father in
prayer. I thank your father you've hid
these things from the wise and the prudent and You've been pleased
to reveal it to babes so prior to keep a man in ignorance Natural
depravity, the natural man receiveth not the things of God, neither
can he know them, they're spiritually discerned. Satan's influence,
religious tradition, indifference, pride, all of these things. Oh,
I pray that you and I may be able to escape these hindrances
and truly be taught of God. Would you like to be taught of
God? Our Lord once said, no man can come to me except my Father
which sent me draw him. It is written in the prophets,
and they, that is, those whom my Father draws to me, those
who come to me, and they shall be all taught of God." Taught
of God. I tell you, if a man's taught
of God, God in His power has got to get around the darkness
and make light to shine. He's got to break down the pride
and break down the indifference and get around the religious
tradition. Taught of God. Every man that
hath heard and learned of the Father will come to me. God teaches
a man through his word. Not through shouting and yelling
and screaming and clapping and running up down the aisles and
quartets singing silly songs about heaven. God teaches men
through his word. by his preacher, by his Holy
Spirit. If we're going to learn anything,
we're going to have to get into the Word. And the Apostle Paul,
knowing his own ignorance, he said, I was before a blasphemer. Religious, educated, moral, law-abiding,
traditionalist, but I was a blasphemer. And I was injurious, and I was
a persecutor, and I did what I did ignorantly. And in his
writings, we have some things that are particularly characteristic
of Paul. One of them is this, God forbid.
He's one of the only writers in Scripture that uses that phrase.
Here's another one. He uses this phrase frequently,
I would not have you to be ignorant. I want to show you some of those
places where he talks about being ignorant. Now remember, he said,
I was ignorant. The apostle says, I was ignorant.
before, before I met Christ, before I learned the gospel.
1 Corinthians 10, 1 through 4, Paul says this, listen to him.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant about
God's dealings with Moses and God's dealings with Israel passing
through the sea under the cloud. They ate of the manna, they drank
of that spiritual rock which followed them. And that rock
was Christ. Our brethren, I would not have
you to be ignorant about these Old Testament types and patterns
and pictures. That manna, that rock, was Christ. Did you know that? Did you know
that all of God's dealings with Israel in the Old Testament were
to reveal and set forth Christ? Did you know that? That rock
was Christ. That Passover lamb is Christ. That manna, the bread from heaven,
our Lord said, God, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven.
My Father gave you that bread from heaven, and I am the true
bread. And he that eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood hath everlasting life. That tabernacle was Christ
who tabernacled among us. That priest, that atonement,
that mercy seat, that's Christ. And if we don't see from able
sacrifice, even farther back than that, the seed of woman,
Genesis 3.15, that rock, that brazen serpent, that tabernacle,
that... If we don't see our Redeemer
in these things in the Old Testament, then we're ignorant of the true
wisdom of God. And Paul said, I would not that
you should be ignorant, brethren, concerning Moses, Israel, the
patterns, the pictures, the types. You see, to Him, to Christ, gave
all the prophets witness. They talked about Christ. Now,
look at Romans 10, 1 through 4. Now, this is important. Listen
to it. Paul said, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is that they might be saved. I bear them record. They have a zeal for God, but
not according to knowledge. Because they're going about to
establish their own righteousness, being ignorant. Being what? Ignorant of the righteousness
of God. And they're going about to establish
their own righteousness, trying to find acceptance with God by
what they do, or what they do not do. And the righteousness
of God is Christ. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Brethren, let's
don't be ignorant of true holiness and true righteousness. Now,
three things here. Number one, God demands perfection. If any man's gonna be saved by
the law, ask him this question, don't you hear the law? What
does the law require? Perfection. Absolute perfection,
not admiration, not even agreement, but perfect obedience. That's
what God demands, requires, and will have from anyone who chooses
to be accepted on the basis of what He does. And you don't have
that, and I don't either, and no other human being does. Secondly,
actually, nothing we do in the flesh can please God. That's
what the Word of God says, in the flesh, well, it's no good
thing. In the flesh, no man can please God. Actually, our righteousnesses
are filthy rags in God's sight. Even the best we do is not acceptable. But Christ Jesus became a man,
born of a woman, made under the law, and He obeyed the law as
a man, as our representative. He kept every jot and tittle
of God's law. And that's what Paul says here
in verse 4. Christ is the end of the law. for righteousness
to everyone that believe it. Don't be ignorant of that. Don't
go about to establish a righteousness of your own. It won't do. God
won't have it. When you stand at the judgment,
you've got to stand on one of two foundations, either your
own works or Christ's works, and yours won't do. But He's
the end of the law. What does that word mean, end
of the law? Well, it means just this. It's
the end of the law is a curse. All who are in Christ are no
longer under the curse. Christ redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. We're not under the law
as a covenant. Christ is the end of the law.
He's the goal of the law. When we talk about it being the
end, something's end, what is the end of this thing? It's the
goal, and He's the goal of the law. The law was given to bring
us to Christ. The law wasn't given to save.
God never gave the law to Israel to save them, but to shut them
up to mercy. and to Christ. And then Christ
is the end of the law, that is, He's the fulfillment of it. He fulfilled the Sabbath day.
He fulfilled all these things. He fulfilled all the types and
shadows and pictures and requirements. You see, by the disobedience
of one, we became sinners. By the obedience of Christ, we
were made righteous. You see that? All right, watch
this, II Corinthians 2, I would not have you to be ignorant.
Paul said, lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we're
not ignorant of his devices. We're not ignorant of Satan's
devices. Are you? You know, today people
visualize and picture Satan as a grotesque red figure with horns
and a pitchfork and a tail. That's not Satan. according to
II Corinthians, comes as a minister of righteousness, even putting
himself off as an apostle of Christ. Satan's a very religious
fellow. Principalities and powers, spiritual
wickedness in high places. I don't claim to know a lot about
Satan or demons or devils or the rulers of darkness, and most
preachers that talk about them all the time, they don't know
either. They don't know anything about Satan. They're always talking
about telling Satan to get off, and they don't know Satan. But
I do know this, Satan's chief enemy, now he's powerful, he's
not all-powerful, he's not almighty, he's not omnipresent. But Satan's
chief enemy is not you or me, it's the Lord Jesus Christ. The
great aim of Satan is to corrupt your mind from the simplicity
of Christ. That's his chief aim. And he
doesn't care how he does it. Paul said, I'm not ignorant of
his devices. Satan will use any device, any
means, any way to keep you from believing, resting, trusting,
hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's his business. You're not
his enemy. I'm not his enemy. Christ is.
You remember when Christ was going to the cross and Peter
said, not so, Lord, not so. And our Lord turned and said,
get thee behind me, Satan. Well, Satan was just using Peter
to get to Christ. He'll use people, he'll use materialism,
he'll use success or failure, he'll use religion or morality,
he'll use popularity or comfort or discomfort. Paul said, I'm
not ignorant of his devices, anything to keep you from faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't be ignorant of his devices.
Don't be conned by Satan and have him appear or try to, someone
try to say to you that Satan is this grotesque, wild looking,
that's modern movies, that's not Satan. Satan is religious
and his chief enemy is Jesus Christ and his preeminence and
his glory and he'll use any means or device to keep you from the
simplicity of Jesus Christ. Now here's another thing, Peter
writes this about being misled or ignorant about God's divine
providence. In 1 Peter 4, 12, Beloved, don't
be ignorant of this. Think it not strange concerning
the fiery trials which are to try you, as though some strange
thing happened to you. In other words, let's don't be
ignorant concerning trials and difficulties and troubles that
come our way through God's providence. They're for our good. I hear
preachers say, ìWell, if youíre really saved, youíll be happy
all the time and rich all the time and well all the time and
happy all the time until someday you just go to sleep, wake up
in glory.î Thatís just not so. Life for the believer is full
of trials. Our Lord said, ìIn this world, youíll have tribulation,
but Iíve overcome the world.î These trials and troubles are
for our good. They try our faith. They prove
our faith. They strengthen our faith. And
Joseph had the right attitude toward trials. You remember his
own brethren sold him into slavery. He was put in jail. He had a
hard time. Finally wound up on the throne,
and here they were before him. And he referred back to their
ill treatment, and he said, now, you meant it for evil. God meant
it for good. So whatever comes your way, whatever
the source of the cause, they may mean it for evil, but it'll
be for your good. For all things work together
for good. to them who love God, who are
called according to His purpose. Write for this tape. Send two
dollars. Now mail it to you. I would not
have you to be ignorant. Here's the address on the screen.
Until next week, join us again. I bid you a pleasant good day.

I Would Not Have You to Be Ignorant

What does the Bible say about spiritual ignorance?

How do we know God's grace is real?

Why is understanding God's righteousness important for Christians?

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About Henry Mahan

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I Would Not Have You to Be Ignorant

What does the Bible say about spiritual ignorance?

How do we know God's grace is real?

Why is understanding God's righteousness important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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