"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).
One does not need a great deal of education to be saved. Even a child can understand the gospel, believe on Christ and receive eternal salvation. But it sometimes seems that the more learning a man acquires the more ignorant he becomes of eternal truths. Many come to believe that any religion--or even no religion--is better than the true religion.
Nevertheless, Jesus said: "I am . . . the truth" (John 14:6); Peter preached that "there is none other name . . . whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12); and Paul told the skeptical philosophers in Athens that God "hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised |Christ| from the dead" (Acts 17:31). The evidence that Christ defeated death is available to all who care, and is so strong that those who reject it are inexcusable. Even ignorance is no excuse!
Then there are also many other truths about which God warns us not to remain ignorant. For example, Paul says: "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant." They are given by the Holy Spirit "to every man severally as He will" (I Corinthians 12:1,11). And although many people believe that God has abandoned His chosen people forever, He would remind us: "I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, . . . that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25).
Perhaps most important is for us to know that Christ Himself is coming again. "But I would not have you be ignorant, brethren," that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them . . . and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). HMM
