Sunday, July 24, 2011 am
“Comfort Doctrines” 5
Excusing Certain Types of Sins (1)
(Sins of Ignorance)
Today we continue our study of “comfort doctrines”, a doctrine which is
designed to give comfort and remove the consequences of one who refuses
to repent of some sinful activity.
Examples we have studied thus far include “There is no hell”,
“Once saved, Always Saved” and “Salvation by Works.”
Today we want to notice some
categories of sin that are dismissed by some.
In essence there are those who acknowledge that it is possible to
lose one’s salvation but not probable unless one is rebellious in their
sinful conduct. Some teach:
·
That God will overlook
those sins that we are not aware of (ignorance)
·
That God understands our
weaknesses and will not hold us accountable for such because of our
nature
·
That as long as we are
sincere our sins will be covered.
As with all the other “comfort doctrines” we have examined, such
attitudes are most dangerous as they enable one to live without having
to repent of certain types of sins.
Usually, one who advocates such things will lump whatever their
sinful conduct is into one of the above categories.
a.
What is sin?
i.
The word sin in the
Greek language is
a(marti/a
(harmartia) and
means “a missing of the mark.” (Vine’s)
Much in the same way an archer misses his target or the bullseye.
Of course, in the Bible it has reference to one who misses God’s mark in
His word. In other words, he
fails to obey God’s laws – either by omission or commission of that
which is forbidden.
ii.
Summarized sin can occur
in 3 forms
1.
We do what God forbids
(commission) – 1 John 3:4,
James 2:10
2.
We fail to obey what He
commands us to do (omission) – James 4:17
3.
We act in doubt – Romans
14:22-23
iii.
When we sin we are
separated from God and need to take care of it.
Romans 6:23, Isaiah 59:2.
To deny that we sin is foolish – Rom. 3:23, 1 John 1:8-10
b.
What is necessary for
sin to be forgiven?
i.
If you have never obeyed
the gospel - HBRCB
ii.
Repent, confess and pray
– Acts 8:22, 1 John 1:9.
c.
We must understand that
we CANNOT sin and be pleasing to God (we need to be FAITHFUL).
i.
1 John 3:4-9 elaborates
upon this nothing that as Christians we CANNOT continue in sin.
ii.
Romans 6:1, “Shall
we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!
How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
iii.
NOTE: Both of these
passages are addressed to Christians.
They call for FAITHFULNESS as Children of God.
In our study thus far we have established that one CAN fall from
grace (and be eternally lost) and we have noted that while works do not
save within themselves (we still need the grace of God, and we need to
understand the different types of works found in the New Testament),
obedience is absolutely necessary (Jas. 2:14-26, Rev. 2:10, etc.).
iv.
EVERY Christian needs to
know this and strive to live without sin to the best of his ability.
As we have noted in this study when one seeks to justify sin in
ANY form, he will probably not be diligent in seeking to overcome that
particular type of sin.
v.
BUT, there are those who
teach that God overlooks certain types of sins.
This is a source of false comfort to one who can use these as an
excuse (or crutch) to continue in some sinful conduct that is difficult
to defeat (at least for the time being).
This too is a “comfort doctrine” that we must avoid.
a.
It is sometimes
rationalized that if one has never heard the gospel it is unfair to
condemn them. Usually what
they have in mind is some remote tribe in Africa or Asia that has never
been exposed to civilization and the Bible.
Such illustrations are THEN used to rationalize that if there is
something we are ignorant of God will not condemn us for that.
Perhaps they will appeal to the “secret sins” of David in Psalm 19:12, “Who
can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.”
But is ignorance an acceptable excuse?
b.
What does the Bible say
about ignorance?
i.
An example: Ignorance
did not change what the law says.
Leviticus 4 is a chapter devoted to sins of ignorance.
In it we read, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'If a
person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord
in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them, 3 if the
anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer
to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish
as a sin offering. (Lev 4:2-4)
Lev. 4:13 – if the whole congregation sins unintentionally
Lev. 4:22 – when a ruler has sinned unintentionally
Lev. 4:27 – if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing
something against the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought
not to be done, and is guilty…”
IN each of these, when their sins came to attention they were to be
addressed and sin sacrifices offered.
They had to make things right.
Lev. 5:17, "If a person sins, and
commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the
commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty
and shall bear his iniquity.”
ii.
Ezek. 3:18-20 describes
the responsibility a teacher has to warn the lost.
Notice that if the lost is not warned, he still perishes, but God
will require it at your hand.
iii.
1 Tim. 1:13-15 – Paul
was the “chief of sinners” and he acted ignorantly in unbelief.
iv.
Acts 17:30-31, in times
past God overlooked ignorance, but not anymore.
v.
Matt. 7:21-23 – It is
not enough to say, “Lord, Lord.”
We must obey. NOTE how they thought they were acceptable to God,
but their knowledge was lacking.
vi.
Eph. 5:17 says, “And do
not be unwise, but understand what the Lord is.”
c.
What about that person
in some remote tribe who has never been exposed to the Bible or God’s
plan of salvation?
i.
NOTE: Any time you begin
hearing “what if” arguments, you better listen carefully.
While such at times is legitimate to show consequences of sinful
conduct, at other times it is used to DISMISS sinful conduct and provide
comfort where none is due.
ii.
Biblically, we cannot
justify that person because he has not obeyed the Gospel.
He will stand before God and answer for His life.
I will be content to let God judge him (as stated earlier in this
series – let us be careful to not whittle on God’s end of the stick).
But I CANNOT pronounce him fine in God’s eyes!
iii.
If we pronounce that
tribesman saved then is it not true that there are two ways of
Salvation? The blood of Christ which saves those who know and ignorance
for those who have no chance?
Consider this in light of Acts 4:12 (only the name of Jesus
saves) and 2 Thess. 1:8 which says that God will in flaming fire take
vengeance “on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the
gospel.”
iv.
Further, the argument is
flawed because the one making the argument (WITHOUT EXCEPTION) has had
the opportunity to hear the gospel.
In fact, most know (at least portions of) the gospel quite well.
They simply want to be comfortable even though they do not put
forth effort to ensure they are obeying the gospel.
v.
ALSO, if ignorance is an
excuse, why should we make efforts to reach the lost (cf. 2 Cor.
5:10-11). Isn’t that
tribesman better off being ignorant?
BTW, what are we doing to reach the lost?
vi.
Finally, even David in
Psalm 19:2 realized that his secret sins needed to be addressed.
That is why he mentioned them.
d.
When we honestly examine
ourselves, how do we view ignorance?
Do we really believe God will hold us accountable when we have
failed to seek His will? How
many today REALLY know God’s word and will?
How many of us are depending on our preacher and teachers (if we go to
church) to inform us of our needs? (Not dismissing their purpose, but
individual responsibility to learn and work out your own salvation).
i.
God doesn’t want us to
be ignorant as we have seen.
He has provided for us “all things that pertain to life and godliness
through the knowledge of Him who called u by glory and virtue…” (2 Pet.
1:3)
ii.
BUT it is up to us to
seek. Jesus Himself said,
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; know and it
will be opened unto you.” (Matt. 7:7).
This is in a context where Jesus tells us that God WANTS us to
know!
James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with
no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his
ways.”
iii.
I do not believe God
will deny anyone, who is truly searching, the opportunity to hear the
truth. BUT how much effort
are we putting into finding the truth?
Where are we looking?
iv.
There is true comfort in
KNOWING that we can KNOW what His will for us is.
But let us NEVER cease to search for it.
There are many such attitudes with which people try to excuse their
sinful conduct. I am fearful
that many today are willfully ignorant of their sinful conduct.
They don’t WANT to really know the truth.
Like Paul’s brethren in the flesh who “have
a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge,” there are many who,
“being ignorant of God’s
righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness have not
submitted to the righteousness of God.” (Rom. 12:1-3).
It is my hope that we have seen that such is unacceptable.
And even more so that such does not apply to you or I.
In our next lesson we will
address two more sinful attitudes where people find comfort – sins of
weakness and those who use sincerity as an excuse.