OceanSide church of Christ
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IGNORANCE
IS NOT BLISS
Victor
M. Eskew
The
phrase, “ignorance is bliss,” can be traced back to a poem written in August,
1742 by Thomas Gray. The poem is
entitled, “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College.” The last line reads as follows: “When ignorance is bliss, ‘till folly to
be wise.” Many individuals have
taken this phrase as a statement of truth.
Information, reality, facts, and truth are rejected by many. These individuals continue in a
condition of being uninformed, uneducated, lacking in knowledge and
information. They continue in their
ignorance with deep peace and extreme contentment. To them, ignorance is
bliss.
God does not support this concept. Deity declares that ignorance is
dangerous and destructive. The
children of Israel were rejected by God because of ignorance. “My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge: because thou hast
rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou should be no priest to
me: seeing thou hast forgotten the
law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6). Eventually, the ignorance of the Jewish
nation would lead them into Babylonian captivity. “Therefore my people are gone into
captivity, because they have no knowledge…” (Isa. 5:13).
In this article, we want to look at some areas
wherein ignorance can lead one to destruction. First, there are many people, some very
religious, who are ignorant of the Lord’s church. In Matthew 16:18, the Son of God
promised to build His church. “And
I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Not only did Jesus build His church, he
also purchased it with His own blood.
In Acts 20:28, the elders of Ephesus are exhorted “…to feed the church of
God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). This church is singular in nature. In other words, only one true church
exists. “There is one body” (Eph.
4:4), and that body is the church (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18). The saved are added by the Lord to the
church when they initially obey the gospel (Acts 2:47). When the Lord returns, He will be
seeking this body. “That he might
present it unto himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27). These concepts are foreign to many. They believe that one church is as good
as another. They even believe that
the church is not important. Their
ignorance of Bible teaching is going to cause them to miss the bridegroom when
He comes for His holy bride, the church (Rev. 21:2).
Creationism is another area wherein ignorance is
believed to be bliss. The
government, schools, and state universities will not allow the subject of
creationism to be taught. It if is
taught, some might believe it. If
it is believed, then one will believe that an all-powerful God exists. It will mean that He is the
Creator. It will mean that all
things, including man, are His creation.
It will mean that as the creature, man must bow before the Creator. To all of these things, a great host
would say: “God forbid.” They are happy not to know the
facts. They are content not having
the information proving that God exists.
Ignorance is bliss.
Their ignorance does not change the fact that
God exists. The evidence abounds
within the creation. “The heavens
declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night
unto night sheweth knowledge. There
is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard” (Ps. 19:1-3). So much evidence is available that all
who reject God will be without excuse on the last day. “For the invisible things of him from
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse
(Rom. 1:20). On the day of
judgment, these individuals will stand before the great God that they have
denied, and He will reject them.
“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God…who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (II Thess.
1:7-9). They will learn that “God
is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29); and that “it is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31).
A third area wherein ignorance appears to be
bliss involves the practice of church discipline. Church discipline is not the mere
reading of a letter from the elders to the church informing them that this
action is being carried out. It is
an action, a practice, involving the entire church (I Cor. 5:4-5, 11). Some seem to be very uneducated with
regard to the actions they are to take when fellowship has been withdrawn from
the disorderly. An alarming number
would rather not know about their responsibility. The actions demanded by the inspired
writers involve sacrifice, standing for one’s convictions, confronting the
erring, and being ridiculed, at times by one’s brothers and sisters in
Christ. To remain uninformed seems
to be a blessing. Again, ignorance
is bliss.
The reality is that the actions on the part of
the faithful are not that difficult to understand. The New Testament is very plain and very
blunt.
Let
him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican (Matt.
18:17).
Mark
them…and avoid them (Rom. 16:17).
Not
to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator… (I Cor.
5:11).
With
such an one no not to eat (I Cor. 5:11).
Have
no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them
(Eph. 5:11).
Withdraw
yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly (II Thess.
3:6).
Note
that man, and have no company with him (II Thess. 3:14).
Admonish
him as a brother (II Thess. 3:15).
From
such withdraw thyself (I Tim. 6:5).
From
such turn away (II Tim. 3:5).
Reject
(Titus 3:10).
Receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God speed (II John
10).
The
sinner is to be kept out of the midst of the faithful. He is to feel the removal of the ties of
fellowship. He is to understand
that his sinful actions have caused this disruption of fellowship. If the spiritual continues to fellowship
the erring, the discipline is of no avail.
God will hold that person accountable for his disobedience to His
will. “For his that biddeth him God
speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II John 11).
Ignorance is not bliss. It can bring the soul of man to eternal condemnation. Our prayer for all is the same prayer Paul issued unto the throne of heaven on behalf of the Colossian brethren. “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Col. 1:9-11).