How does ignorance contribute to the spread of false doctrine?

Ignorance of biblical teachings makes it easier for false doctrines to distort the truth of salvation. When believers lack deep knowledge of the Word, they are more susceptible to accepting teachings inconsistent with the Bible, often under the guise of being "covered by grace.

What does the Bible say about the path of a true believer?

The Bible teaches that the path of a true believer is often difficult, "fraught with problems," and not always popular. It may involve "persecution" and even strife within one's own home, as Jesus warned in Matthew 10:34-39, indicating that true Christianity is radical and transformative.

How does knowledge of the Bible lead to freedom?

As stated in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Knowledge of the Bible is presented as the cure for the "disease" of ignorance, enabling believers to live a life directed by truth and empowering them to stand out for God's kingdom rather than blending with worldly desires.

Ignorance Is The Disease Knowledge The Cure

5 minutes

The Peril of a Disabled Gospel

You don’t know what you don’t know.
The root word of “ignorance” is ignore.
What we chose to ignore we are unlikely to ever know.
If we are aware there is something we need to know, but ignore the search for it, we are describing willful ignorance.

We believe, among the greatest weapons in the arsenal of Satan, is the weapon of ignorance. In the realm of false doctrine, the aim is to distort the truth so the salvation we have been offered through Christ cannot be obtained. It is imperative that the believer not know they have been deceived. To do this, sufficient truth must be blended in with the deception, making it look real, sound real. We find the less people know what the Bible teaches, the easier it is to pawn off a disabled gospel, one that cannot produce eternal life.

Studies have shown the typical Christian does not spend much time in the Word, and the less we know, the easier it is to accept doctrines that are not consistent with Biblical teaching. Too many churches fail to teach the need for deep Biblical knowledge. Instead, they agressively teach we are fully and always covered by grace.

Satan's Deceptive Path to False Comfort

Think of ignorance as an open door to doctrinal error. If we don’t know otherwise, we might accept anything that looks Biblical, especially if it leaves us comfortable. Oh, what a trap has been set! We can hear the gentle music playing in the background, the birds chirping happily in the lush green branches and feel the warm breeze upon our faces, not knowing the path we are on leads to hell.

This is exactly what Satan can do as he promotes his version of the gospel. We attend church, sing songs, listen to the sermon, say ‘amen’ here and there, exchange pleasantries with fellow believers in the foyer as we depart and consider ourselves complete. If we don’t know otherwise, we may accept ‘anything’ that is taught.

The Radical Path of True Christianity

The Bible teaches a very different path for the believer in Christ. We are told the true path is fraught with problems. We are taught the ‘truth’ is not popular and stirs up people against us. We should expect persecution, what we call in our culture “push-back” from every side. Even in our own homes we will encounter strife over our belief in Jesus.

Did He not tell us in Matthew 10:34-39:

34)“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35)For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36) and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’

37)He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38)And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39)He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

This is what the truth does, the truth that the Bible teaches. It upsets the world’s version of tranquility we think we have found in Jesus, in the way we go about living our “Christian” life. True Christianity is radical! It transforms people who have been addicted to worldliness into zealots for the kingdom of God. They are so filled with the Holy Spirit that the truth they find in Christ cannot be quietly held inside them.

When we truly live for Christ, we lose friends and gain adversaries within our own homes. We stand out and become targets for all who oppose God. But something wonderful also happens. One here, two there, will come to know the truth because of our witness, the real knowledge of Christ, and accept it. It is powerful and it is God living in us.

Embracing Biblical Knowledge: The Path to Freedom

Without the knowledge of the truth, we are in great peril. A knowledge we don’t have cannot be directing our lives. We will ohterwise be comfortable blending in with the world and satisfying our moment to moment needs much the same way everyone else does. Only knowledge can be the cure for ignorance.

As believers in Christ, He tells us “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32. But how can we know the truth if we don’t know the Bible?