Choosing Ignornace

     

If you have it, you usually don’t know you have it. That’s the ignorance of ignorance. But maybe you’ve come face to face with your own ignorance before. Among Christians the ignorance of Spiritual teachings found in the Scriptures has spread through the Church like a plague. How did the Church get to the place where there is such ignorance of God's Word?

Several years ago, I preached a message on the three-generation phenomena in the message I explained that it can be broken down into three steps.  The ignorance of today can be traced back to the choices of the previous generations.
We can find these three steps to apostasy in the scripture.
1.    Knowing the Law of God and why it is right and wrong.
2.    Knowing the Law of God but not understand why it was right or wrong.
3.    Knew certain thing was right or wrong but didn't care about knowing the Law of God.

During the time of Moses, while wandering in the wilderness, the Hebrews based their moral standards on the Law of God. There were certain things which were right and wrong, and the people knew why they were right and wrong. Even with the rise of Korah and his band, the foundation of hope lied with trusting and believing God. This generation passed the message of the Law--- obedience to their children. They taught their children the precepts with the more essential principles behind them but, they didn't take the time to explain the why's of the Law.

During the time of Joshua, the next generation grew up believing certain things were right and wrong because God says so--somewhere in the Law. They existed with a morality: an ethic initially based on the Law but had long since lost its spiritual meaning. This is what good people do.  This second-generation concluded that certain things were right and wrong, but they didn't know why. They were moral people, but their morality was not founded on clear teachings, even though they may have memorized portions of the Law. They were unable to explain why they believed; they just knew it was what good people do. The opinion of their neighbors was more important than what God thought of them.

In the third generation, they knew certain things were right and wrong, but they didn't care! They broke away from the rules of the previous generation. They abandoned their God. The lack of connection with the moral Law was part of their rebellion. This led to moral degeneration.  The very condition of the present young generation.

Yes, there is a problem in our society today and the problems of today can be traced to the choices of the previous generation. In the scripture, we have an account of a nation which forgot to teach its children the ways of God. We can look in retrospect at the Hebrews. We can trace their crisis back to the root cause of the problem. We can look at the factors which contributed to a generation that did not know God. We can see the parallels which exist between a culture that lived about 1100 B.C. and our present-day culture, and oddly enough the contributing factor to the moral and spiritual downfall of the early Hebrews is the same contributing factor to the current day decline in morals and religious values---Christian education is no longer critical. The church was too busy seeking respect from the world that it slowly shifted from the absolutes of God's Word to the standards of the world. Now the church's youth have absorbed the values of the more extensive youth culture of the world.

Why has all of this happened? Looking at the example given us in God's Word, an entire generation of children were not taught the teachings of the Lord God Jehovah. Parents, priest, and leaders failed to instruct their children in the ways of God. They were facing a moral decline. Their children did not know about the great deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the wanderings in the wilderness, and the victories over the kings of Canaan. They were ignorant of their spiritual heritage. Now they must survive in a culture that will soon absorb them into idolatrous pagans. How could this happen?

Before we can understand the present generation, we must look at the preceding generations.

First let me say, knowing where we are going is very important, but knowing where we are is just as important. As we read and study the life of the early Hebrews, we tend to be critical of their disregard for God. We must keep in mind that we can look in retrospect over several centuries of their culture. It is effortless to sit back and find fault with their actions. Yet we are in the same position that Israel found themselves after having entered the Land of Canaan.

I want you to understand something. You personally will be blamed for most of the social and cultural problems of the day. This is regardless of your race, religion, or social standing. You see, we live in a society that must blame someone for their actions. They must have a reason for the way they act. This is just another characteristic of our society. We start labeling children in school and continue through their adult life. They have in these labels the foundation for the way they act and conduct themselves in society.

It is evident that the differentiation of generations is a crucial issue; it is generally accepted that one can be considered a member of the young generation up to 29 years of age, middle generation includes people aged 30 to 59 years, and members of the elderly generation are over 60 years.

For a change to occur, there must be knowledge of the Law of God and why this Law is essential in our daily lives.  The study of the why's of the Law of God is called apologetics.

The word "apologetics" comes from the Greek word "apologia," pronounced "ap-ol-og-ee'-ah." It means "a verbal defense." It is used eight times in the New Testament: Acts 22:1; 25:16; 1 Corinthians 9:3; 2 Corinthians 10:5-6; Philippians 1:7; 2 Timothy 4:16, and 1 Peter 3:15. But it is the last verse that is most commonly associated with Christian apologetics.

"...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence," (1 Peter 3:15).

"Apologetics is the work of convincing people to change their views."

Christian apologetics is that branch of Christianity that deals with answering any and all critics who oppose or question the revelation of God in Christ and the Bible. It can include studying such subjects as biblical manuscript transmission, philosophy, biology, mathematics, evolution, and logic. But it can also consist of simply giving an answer to a question about Jesus or a Bible passage. The latter case is by far the most common, and you don't have to read a ton of books to do that.

Apologetics can be defensive and offensive.  Phil. 1:7 gives us instruction on the defensive side, "For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me." 2 Cor. 10:5 gives us instruction on the offensive side: "We are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." The apologist can and should defend his reasons for believing (1 Peter 3:15). But he can also go on the attack. He can seek out those who oppose Christianity (2 Corinthians 10:5). Of course, he should be prepared to do this beforehand, and all apologetics is to be done with gentleness.

Apologetics is the work of convincing people to change their views.  In this, it is like preaching because its goal is ultimately the defense and presentation of the validity and necessity of the gospel. It is an attempt to persuade the listener to change his beliefs and life to conform to biblical truth and to come to a saving relationship in Christ Jesus.

Apologetics can be evidential (often called "classical") or presuppositional.  Evidential apologetics deals with the evidence for Christianity: Jesus' resurrection, the biblical manuscripts, fulfilled prophecy, miracles, etc. Presuppositional apologetics deals with the presuppositions of those who oppose Christianity because presuppositions affect how a person views evidence and reason.

Some areas of debate within Christian apologetics deal with the use of evidence, reason, and philosophy. Should the Christian use only those criteria acceptable to unbelievers? Are we allowed to use the Bible as a defense of our position, or must we prove Christianity without it? Is reason alone enough to show God's existence or Christianity's truth? How much should reason, and evidence be used considering the Scriptures' teaching that it is God who opens the mind to understand? What part does prayer, using the Bible, and the sinful nature of the unbeliever play in witnessing? How do these factors interrelate to bring an unbeliever to faith? The questions are easy. The answers are not.

Jesus chose one highly educated religious person as an apostle. That was Paul. The rest were fishermen, a tax collector, a doctor, etc. They were ordinary people of the day who were available and willing to be used by the Lord. They were filled with the Spirit of God, and they were used as vessels of God. God uses all things for His glory. So, we do apologetics by faith.

The Lord has called every Christian to be ready to make a defense of his faith. That means you are urged to give reasonable answers to questions regarding Christianity. Now, this does not mean that you must have a Ph.D., or that you must go to seminary. However, it does mean that you should be willing to give an answer for your beliefs at least. If you find you cannot provide a solution, then you must find the answers.

Why study when you could pray and ask the Lord to teach you what He wants you to know?  Why do I even need to read the Scriptures?  If I am filled with the Spirit of the LORD and led by the Spirit, why do I need to spend time studying the Scriptures?  We are to show that we are approved by God to divide the WORD of Truth rightly.  Don't know where to start?  Ask God to give you a burden for something to learn. It doesn't matter what it is. Just ask. Whatever you become interested in is what you should learn about because it is probably something God wants you to know for later use.  It is like having tools in a tool shed. The more you have, the more you can accomplish.

Another way to find out what God wants you to study is through circumstances. Let's say that a friend debates the deity of Christ with you, and you find you don't know how to defend it biblically.  In that case, you know you need to study biblical verses that teach Jesus is God in the flesh. Or maybe a coworker asks you how you know the Bible is true? If you don't have an answer, pray, and start researching. 

Sometimes God will make a verse or subject in the Bible "come alive" to you, and it might strike you as odd or unusual.  You could get a commentary and read up on it. You could ask others about it.  In so doing, you are preparing yourself through learning to be ready to answer questions and point people to the truth. You'd be surprised how many details God can use to help you in your witness even through those apparently odd times when verses suddenly "come alive."

Have you ever in the back of your mind asked the question, why do many obviously intelligent people prefer to believe that there is no God?

As an American, we pride ourselves on the freedom of choice. We were created as free moral agents who have been given the right to make our own decisions. Each person decides what he wants to wear, what he wants to eat, and where he wants to go. But most important, each person decides what he or she wants to believe. A speech given by the Old Testament character Joshua allows us to see just how free each one of us is to choose if we're going to believe in God. Speaking to the Jewish nation thousands of years ago, Joshua said: "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). Joshua's point could not have been more explicit: the Jews—just like every other nation and all individual people—had the freedom of choice to believe, or not to believe, in God. Freedom, however, always comes with responsibility.

 With the freedom of choice comes the responsibility to think carefully, choose wisely, and act forcefully.  It is the responsibility of every human being to recognize, believe, and obey the truth. Throughout history, many people have decided not to believe in God. They have gone by many different names—atheists, freethinkers, agnostics, and infidels.

The word atheism means "without God." The atheist is the person who says that there is no God. The late Carl Sagan was one of the world's most famous atheists. He summed up atheism when he declared: "The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." An atheist is one who plainly states that God does not exist. However, it is much easier for someone to call himself an atheist than it is for him to defend such a position. To know that there is no God, a person would have to know every single fact in the Universe, because the one fact that he did not know might be the fact that God exists.

The atheist cannot prove that God does not exist, because he cannot possibly know every other fact, there is to know.  The actual truth of the matter is that most atheists do not deal with facts at all. They are so set against the idea of God that they dismiss or ignore the evidence that proves His existence. The late Isaac Asimov, another famous atheist, once said: "Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't think that I don't want to waste my time." Atheism does not answer the evidence for God's existence and cannot offer a reasonable alternative for belief in Him.

Then we have the agnostics.  The word agnostic means "without knowledge." The agnostic does not boldly proclaim that God does not exist. Instead, he suggests no one can know whether God exists because there simply is not enough evidence upon which to base a conclusion.

Agnosticism says: "I don't know, you don't know, nobody knows, and nobody can know if there is a God." Agnostics frequently point out that man cannot know everything, and that he has never been able to "detect" God with his limited mind and capabilities. So, the agnostic suggests, people should quit searching. What the agnostic fails to realize, however, is that this concept must work both directions. Man must be unable to reach up to God, and God must be unable to reach down to man. But God is not unable to reach men, for He is not limited by the same constraints in time and knowledge as humans. An infinite God could make Himself known to us any time He wanted—and there is nothing to prevent Him from doing so.

Furthermore, there is good evidence that He has done precisely that. The agnostic's claim of "I can't know" really is a mask that he puts on to hide the fact that he realizes there is ample evidence (that he can neither explain away nor disprove) to establish the existence of God. Perhaps the agnostic cannot find God for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman!      

                                                      

 Then we have the skeptic who doubts that there is a God. The standard dictionary definition is quite revealing when it describes a skeptic as one who holds to "the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain and who has doubts concerning basic religious principles." Notice that the skeptic does not claim knowledge of God is unattainable (as the agnostic does), but rather is "uncertain." The skeptic is not prepared to accept anything except that which can be verified by our five senses. To the skeptic, then, science becomes the only valid method of "proving" anything. Since God cannot be seen, tasted, heard, touched, or smelled, then skeptics say that either He does not exist or that He cannot be significant even if He does. However, the skeptic's position is faulty because even he "knows" some things exist that cannot be verified by the scientific method. Science never will be able to observe or explain such concepts as love, hate, sorrow, or joy. Science never will be able to tell why a man in a foxhole during a war throws himself on a hand grenade to save his fellow soldiers. The sad part is that the skeptic has paid a high price for his skepticism—the rejection and abandonment of some of the human race's most essential and cherished concepts. Why? To be able to say, I doubt that God exists.

Then we have the infidel.  This person not only refuses to believe in God himself, but who also is intolerant of, and actively opposes, those who do. The infidel speaks out against God and does all he can to condemn religion. The infidel despises God and the Bible—and anyone who believes in either.
So why do they refuse to believe in God? What are the reasons for disbelief in the God of the Bible?

Why is there such bias against God?  There is little doubt that many people find belief in God difficult because there is in their mind a bias that sways them against it. This built-in bias is what some have referred to as "the prejudice of unbelief." Many who do not believe in God remain an unbeliever because they like it that way.  In fact, any evidence of any source or to any degree fails to move him from their position because the heart is sharply bent against evidence and toward unbelief.  At times, people suffer from extreme prejudice, especially when it comes to belief in God. They operate within a framework of bias against the God of the Bible. The Christian God is utterly offensive to them because He represents a threat to man's own desires and ambitions. In other words, the will of man is on a collision course with the will of God. Such a path leads inevitably to a conflict of interests. Some people apparently would rather die in sin than live in obedience. Paul reminded the first-century Christians in Rome of those who, "knowing God, glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasoning's, and their senseless heart was darkened. And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind" (Romans 1:21,28). The problem about which the apostle wrote was not a failure to accept what was unknowable (the text in Romans clearly indicates that these were people who could, and did, know of the existence of God). Instead, it was a problem of refusing to accept what was knowable—i.e., God's reality. Those to whom Paul referred had such a built-in prejudice against God that they refused to have God in their knowledge. The situation as mentioned above, then, caused the apostle to write (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit) that "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22). In biblical usage, the term "fool" generally does not indicate an unintelligent person, and it certainly is not used here in such a fashion. Instead, the word carries both a moral and religious judgment, as it does in Romans 1. Therefore, the psalmist (again, by inspiration) wrote that "the fool has said in his heart, there is no God" (14:1). If "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10), then, conversely, foolishness finds its origin in the rejection of God. Isaiah referred to a man as a fool whose "mind plots iniquity to practice ungodliness" (Isaiah 32:6, RSV). Bias against God, therefore, has become one of the chief causes of unbelief, which no doubt explains why the writer of the book of Hebrews warned: "Beware brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:12).

One of the most potent forces on any human being is parents. Mothers and fathers not only are the first influences in a child's life but also are a continuing influence. It has been said that a child's mind is like Jell-O and that the parents' task is to put in all the "good stuff" before it "sets." The mission of putting the right things into the mind of a child is difficult and requires much patience. It is a 24-hour, full-time process that should take place continuously—when sitting with a child, riding in a car, eating a meal together, and even while watching television (see Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

Sometimes the education of a child is accomplished by instruction, which is why parents are encouraged to rear their children in "the training and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Other times it is accomplished by discipline, as the Proverbs writer noted when he commented: "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother" (29:15). On occasion, however, parents fail to teach their children to believe in God. Sometimes they even teach a child not to believe in God. If children see a parent who does not care about God or is skeptical of all evidence relating to God's existence, that child is likely to end up just as indifferent and cynical as his or her parents. The spiritual condition of entire nations has been affected adversely because of the failure of parents to instruct their children properly regarding belief in God and the reasons behind that belief.  It is time for the American Christian to know what they believe and why they believe it and teach their children the ways of the LORD.