Ignorance–Willful or Unintentional?

Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (1 Timothy 1:13 NKJV)

“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. (Acts 3:17 NKJV)

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27 NKJV)

All Have Sinned

We all sin, Romans 3:23 makes that clear.  Most of us violate our own consciences at times (we really don’t need to be told we are sinners, our own consciences bear witness to that truth if we are honest) but we also do things that at the time we didn’t know were sins in the eyes of God.  God seems to take a different approach to willful sin vs. sins of ignorance.  In the old testament we read, “And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. (Leviticus 5:18 NKJV).”  Some sins of ignorance are sins that we did not know we were committing.  This is probably due to ignorance of the law (or of the Word of God).

Paul’s sin of Ignorance

It is clear that Paul considered his rejection of Christ before he was saved to be a sin of ignorance.  It seems to me he knew what he was doing and I wouldn’t have classified it that way.  He must have heard the Lord teach in the temple on feast days since he was a rising star in the Pharisaic tradition.  But when the Holy Spirit convicted him of his error through the martyrdom of Steven in Acts 7, he began to question his attitude toward the Lord and the Lord’s people.  He must have wondered why Steven would be willing to die for what he believed when he (Paul) wanted others to die for what he believed.  Then came the transforming experience on the Damascus Road.  I think he honestly thought he was serving Jehovah until he saw Steven saying, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60 NKJV).”  Presumptuous or willing sin in my mind would have been his rejection of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in making him realize he was persecuting the One who was really the Christ.  Up until then he was acting in ignorance.  He apparently knew the Scriptures dealing with the coming Messiah who is to reign for a thousand years but he didn’t know that Isaiah 53, Psalm 22 and other passages dealt with the fact that before the reigning time was the suffering time.

The Jewish People

But what about the Jewish people who crucified the Lord in ignorance according to Paul?  How can Paul say that they crucified the Lord in ignorance when even Pilate knew that they were delivering the Lord to be crucified because of envy. And yet Paul includes the rulers when he said they did it in ignorance.  I personally struggle with what Paul said about the ignorance of the rulers and the Jews that wanted the Lord crucified.  It may be that in spite of what the dictionaries say, this ignorance should be translated as foolishness since the rulers and the people only believed the parts of the Scriptures that they wanted to believe.  They wanted a King that would liberate them, but they got one of whom it was said, “And when we see Him, there is no (kingly) beauty that we should desire Him. (Isaiah 53:2 NKJV).  After all he came from the despised city Nazareth.  He didn’t bear arms, although Barabbas did.  God called Barabbas an insurrectionist and a murderer.  The crowd thought he was a liberator.

What About Us?

We can commit ignorant sins because we simply don’t realize what we are doing.  But we can also be ignorant because we don’t know the Scriptures.  Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29 NKJV).”

There is an old saying, “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up.”  Many of us are like that when it comes to secret sins and ignorant sins.  But the sins God condemns are the willful sins of Hebrews 9 quoted above.  This sin is a sin committed after receiving the knowledge of the truth.  While I suppose the verse could be applied to us as Chistians when we read the Bible;  and thus knowing the will of God, we explain his will away.  However, I am quite sure that Paul is not dealing with that kind of sin here.  He is dealing with the person who knowing the Scriptures is not willing to bow to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and trust Christ for salvation.  I think that is what the unforgivable sin is in the Gospels.  When we read, “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the (witness of the) Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:32 NKJV).  The thief on the cross, reviled the Lord before submitting to the witness of the Holy Spirit.  He was saved.  He was forgiven.  The thief that remained obstinate in his rebellion committed the “willful” sin.

The Line in the Sand

I am glad that the Lord is more forgiving with regard to ignorant sins than I would be.  It appears that sins of ignorance are those committed by people whose minds have been blinded by the God of this world.  But even God has a line drawn in the sand.  Reject the truth of Scripture pertaining to Christ as witnessed by the Holy Spirit and there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27 NKJV).

Bruce Collins

Meditation for the week of February 9, 2025

If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study