Vol. 8 No. 2 – Sept. 2010

Sins of Ignorance: Do They Matter?

Donald P. Ames

So often people develop the attitude that if one doesn’t know about his sins, he is OK; or if we sin in ignorance, we are OK. This subtle doctrine seeks to destroy the importance of sin, and causes us to become careless in teaching others the importance of sin.

First and foremost, if one could be saved in ignorance, then the worst thing we could do would be to teach them the truth! They might learn and reject it, and then they would be lost. This makes the gospel a means of condemnation and not the “good news” of salvation. The message of the gospel is what we can do to be saved from our sins, not to condemn us (Jn. 3:17). But there are conditions attached to the gospel that we are to obey (Heb. 5:9).

In Leviticus chapters 4 and 5, God shows His attitude toward sin, including sins done in ignorance. He points out if a person, or even a priest, sins in ignorance or unintentionally, he is still guilty of sin, regardless of his sincerity, and when he learns of his sin, he must offer up the proper sacrifice for that sin (Lev. 4:2,3). If the whole congregation sins unintentionally, they still have sinned, and must offer up a sacrifice for that when it becomes known to them (4:13,14). If a ruler sins unintentionally, and learns of the sin he committed, he too must offer up the appropriate sacrifice (4:22,23), as well as any of the common people (4:27,28). In (5:1,2), he points out if a vow is taken which causes one to sin, he is guilty of sin; or if one unknowingly touched the carcass of a dead animal. If he utters something unaware it is a sin, he is guilty of that sin, and upon learning of it, he must make the appropriate sacrifice (5:4-6). In 5:17, God sums it all up by saying, “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.” Thus, he must make the proper sacrifice of that sin when he learns of his sins. Certainly this is in full harmony with what we read about in the New Testament in such passages as Rom. 10:2; Acts 3:17; Eph. 4:18 and Heb. 9:7 (to mention just a few).

Since our sins can separate us from God (Isa. 59:1,2), then they are indeed important. Does God allow some time in there for us to learn (assuming we are desirous of learning)? Apparently so from the reading of Rev. 2:5, etc. But that is not a “resource” to be counted upon, as 1) we do not know how long we may have — or when death might claim us before we are ready. 2) The wages of sin is still death (Rom. 6:23), and we do not want to take that chance. If you speed through a town at 80 mph, unaware of a sign that may have gotten knocked down that said “45 mph,” the cop is not going to excuse your ignorance just because “you didn’t see the sign.”

So what must we do about the matter? We must study the Word of God, that we might learn what our sins are, and then obey His Word to get rid of them (Jn. 8:31,32). My friends, sin is still sin, and until we seek His forgiveness, we have sin in our souls when we have done that which is wrong. Learn the Word of God, find out if what you are doing is wrong (even if you were very sincere when doing it — Acts 23:1; 26:9), then take the steps God requires to get rid of those sins before it is eternally too late (Acts 22:26; Jas. 1:21; 1 Jno. 1:5-10).