SINS OF IGNORANCE by Mrs. M. E. Steward

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 20, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 16.

SINS OF IGNORANCE.

By Mrs. M. E. Steward

BY MRS. M. E. STEWARD.

How NATURAL it is to excuse a fault with, "I thought it was right." Why did I make such a mistake? and is there no remedy? Does the Lord, as some believe, give us right motives, perfect love, and new hearts, and withhold wisdom and a knowledge of right and wrong? What, then, does he mean when he says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"? If lack of knowledge causes destruction, ignorance must be sin. In olden times a sin of ignorance was not passed by as of no consequence; when known, a sin offering must be brought, and an atonement be made for it. Leviticus 4. Here is a lesson for our consideration.

But must we keep on sinning and repenting for lack of knowledge?—No, no; there is something better for the child of God. Says Paul in 1 Cor. 1: 30: "Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." When claiming God’s promise to create in us a new heart, let us believe that it means not only righteousness but wisdom to do righteousness.

Says Isa. 48: 17: "Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." The Lord desires to teach and to lead us from the beginning of a course of action to its end, and that we shall know it is right from the start. Paul, or the Holy Spirit rather, desired that Christians "might be filled with the knowledge of his [God’s] will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col. 1: 9), and the Testimony says that God never desired this more than now.

The result of this knowledge is that we "might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Where in such a case is there room for sins of ignorance? When a vessel is full, it can hold no more; but should the vessel enlarge, it gives a chance for increase of its contents. As one does the will of God, his heart expands, and his knowledge of God increases; he is always filled with the knowledge of his will, and there is no room for sins of ignorance.

The divine plan is that the entire renewal of the man from first to last is to be "in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." Col. 3: 10. So essential is it that Isaiah says, referring particularly to the last days, "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation." To the extent that Christ is our wisdom and righteousness do we avoid sins of ignorance. Oh, how blessed to never have occasion to cry in bitterness, "If I had only been nearer to the Lord, I would have known it was wrong, or unwise, and not have made such a mistake"! God grant us all not a mere "form of knowledge and of the truth," but "the power thereof."