Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Introduction

Wow, one of the great hymns in our books. So good to see all of you today.

Wow. There is a lot going on in the Mike Hens wheelhouse. That was some good stuff, brother. Spent some time thinking about that. Well, it’s. And good song leading by Scott today. I’ve been encouraged already. And I’m not going to finish by 11.30. But what’s 15 minutes in the whole scheme of things? Really? I know you’re hungry, but you will not die. Probably. And Mike talked about being in third world countries, and I’m glad you said that, because the first line in my sermon is, admittedly, this is a first world problem that I’m going to use as an illustration to begin my lesson this morning. I have been troubled in recent days by Cole’s cash.

If I can get my clicker to work, there it is. Hold on. $10 cold cash. Did you realize sometimes $10 is only really $7. Or $8. Or $8.50. That’s true. Because when you go to Coles and you buy a $50 item, and if you’re fuzzy on the map, I’ve got to do this quickly. I’ll come back to you later. If you go to Cole’s with your Kohl’s cash and you have a 30% off coupon, if all you had was a 30% off coupon, you would get out of that store with that storm without item for $35. But if you have $10 in Kohl’s cash to go with that will reduce your amount to $40, and then they’ll give you the 30% at that price, and your total is $28.

And so your Kohl’s cash that says $10 is really only worth $7. If you have a 20% discount instead of a 30%, your $10 is only going to be $8. If you don’t have any discount at all, your $10 is worth $10. But additional discounts are often offered. Now, if you have $20 in coal cash, even more troubling is that $20 only equals $14. Again, the $50 item at 30% off. The $50 item, $20 in Kohl’s cash leaves you at $30, and you have $30% off of that. And your total is $21. Your $20 in Kohl’s cash is only worth $14. Ignorance is bliss. Is it not? Now you know why I’ve been troubled. Now I don’t mean to pick on Kohl’s. In fact, if a Kohl’s representative was here today, he would say, Don’t listen to that man.

In fact, what you need to concentrate on is that Kohl’s is offering you two discounts instead of one, and a lot of places don’t do that. By the way, I don’t go to Kohl’s generally unless I have the 30%. And if you don’t get the 30% of your only going, if you don’t go with any discounts at all, you’re making a big mistake. But I can help you with that. But I tend to only go when there’s a 30%, so my Kohl’s cash isn’t worth as much as they say it is. And they’re going to tell you, but we offer multiple discounts, focus in on that 30%, and that you’re getting two discounts. It’s still a good deal at $21. That’s what the Coles representative would say.

But let me tell you that the genuine genius behind Cole’s cash. Here’s the real genius. You have to go back to the store next week to use the Cole’s cash. And they get you back in the store, which you never go back to the same store usually the next week. You go back to the same store and spend more money. It’s genius, I’m telling you. Ignorance is bliss. Knowledge of some things brings frustration and anxiety.

Ignorance is bliss. And now my own wife contributes with what she calls the dirty dozen. I’m sure she got this off Pinterest, by the way. The dirty dozen of fruits and vegetables, the ones that are most likely to contain slight hints of pesticides. Strawberries. I love strawberries. Tomatoes, cherries, imported grapes among the 12. You need to research it. The dirty dozen. And that’s why in our house we only do organic. And that costs money. More money. Oh, to be living on the corner of healthy and happy with Walgreens. Walgreens, healthy and happy. Who came up with that slogan? But ignorance. Ignorance is bliss. Well, I use all of those illustrations to tell you that in regard to spiritual things, ignorance is not bliss. And yet some people very much think that it is.

What about when ignorance is not bliss? The King James Version uses the word ignorance in 2 Peter chapter 3. And so I want to look with you at 2 Peter chapter 3, verses 1 through 14 and what this text says about things we should know. This is Peter’s last will and testament. And he comes to the conclusion after talking about spiritual growth in chapter 1, and really what has summarized his whole message of preaching, and we might get back to that at the very end of our lesson this morning. And in chapter 2, he’s warned about threats to their faith and the threats of false teachers. And then when we come to chapter 3, he is summarizing the whole thing. And he’s saying, I want you to remember some things.

I want to draw to your mind some thoughts that you already know. And he’s telling them, you need to stay focused on these things. You need to think about this a lot. And he says in verse 2, you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. He says, because there’s going to be people come who, after their own lusts, are going to deny things that are true. They’re going to say, where is the promise of his coming? You know, Jesus talked about the fact that he was going to return, but here, year after year passes, and decade after decade, where is he? And Peter goes on to say, Oh, he’s returning. With the same certainty that he came with a flood that destroyed the world in a time of ungodliness.

He has reserved the present heavens and earth for fire. And that’s going to happen. And he says in verse 8, don’t be ignorant. Do not let this one fact escape your notice. With the Lord, one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day. He is not bound by time or so focused on time like we are. A day with the Lord’s was a thousand years, a thousand years is one day, but if God has promised it will surely come. He is not slow about his promises, verse 9, as some count slowness, but is patient or long-suffering toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to recover to come to repentance. He said, But the day of the Lord will come.

As a thief in the night, he will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with the roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. There’s an assurance. That’s something we know. It hasn’t happened yet because we’re still here, but it’s going to happen. And since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, looking for a new heaven and new earth in verse 13. And therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent. To be found by him in peace, spotless, and blameless. This globe that we live on is most definitely not permanent, no matter what any scoffer says.

It’s funny that in the last decade we’ve been so concerned about global warming. Look, we need to be more concerned about this global warming. That God predicts, in which he is going to destroy the world by fire. And these great spiritual realities often escape people’s notice. And he says, but don’t let that happen. Don’t let these things escape your notice. Ignorance is not bliss. And yet the greater realities often do. A lot of people live their lives with hardly a thought or a reflection upon God. Their creator. Have you seen the clip of the interviews on the street about whether people believe in God? I don’t know if it’s been edited. I don’t know how many people they interviewed, but there’s only about eight interviews recorded on that little cliff.

It was floating around Facebook. I found it on the internet. Interviews asking people, do you believe in God? And one person says, I believe in a higher being or a supernatural being.

Because I take views on board from a number of different religions. Wow. Another says, My life functions quite well without the belief of that. I wonder for how long. I believe there is something there, another says. I don’t know exactly what. There are things that cannot be explained by normal human behavior without a God. But whether it is God, Buddha, or whoever, or whatever you believe in is up to you. That’s politically correct, I guess. But misinformed. Another says, I believe in God. I just haven’t found any churches I agree with. Well, I can see the problem there. As many churches do not practice God’s truth or teach it as this book teaches us. Another says, I need to see something to believe it. I’m not sure if I believe in God.

I do not believe in the church. I got to see it to believe it. Do you believe in Abraham Lincoln? Do you believe in George Washington? Do you believe other things you haven’t seen? Don’t you see the absurdity of that? I have to see it to believe it. And look around at the design of our universe. Doesn’t that tell us something? So that we are without excuse, Paul says in Romans chapter 1. Another says, I’m a science person, an agnostic. I don’t really know. And in the end, I don’t really care. I have a good life. Again, for how long? There is evidence for and evidence against, someone says. Both theories have equally good points. That just leads me to confusion. Yes, you are confused. Finally, one bright spot.

I believe in God because the earth is a miraculous place, and I don’t think evolution can explain it all. Our souls are meant to move on after our bodies have withered. That’s a little bit closer. But do you realize how many people walk the streets that don’t really know the truth about where they came from, about where this came from, and about where everything is going. God is responsible. If I didn’t believe that with all of my being, I certainly wouldn’t be standing in this spot today. And when I go back to the book of Isaiah, in a time when God’s people were struggling with idolatry and believing in the gods of the nations around them, and idolatry had been a problem down through the centuries.

He tells them over and over again, you need to be done with this idolatry business. He says, I am God, and there is no other. And he says that over and over again. Over half a dozen times in Isaiah 45, Isaiah 46. I am God, and there is no other. There is no one else besides me. I am the first and the last. There is no other God, sovereign, creator, redeemer. We need to stay focused on him. And Emmanuel, as Mike painted a wonderful picture of him this morning. Emmanuel, meaning God with us, Jesus who became human flesh, God in human flesh, King of kings, Lord and Lord of Lords, Savior, Redeemer. And the times of this ignorance, God winked at. The times of old.

Acts 17 and verse 30. But now he commands all men everywhere to repent. He says in Acts 17 and verse 30, and he does that on the basis of in Athens, they were worshiping all of these different gods, and there was this one inscription to an unknown God. They didn’t want to leave anybody out. It was a city full of idols. And Paul says, I want to tell you about this God that you ignorantly worship, the one who sustains your life and gives you life and breath. You are his offspring. And he comes to the conclusion of that sermon and he says, ignorance is no excuse. Now God commands repentance. We talked about that last Lord’s Day evening.

And it says he is fixed a day. That’s like Peter 3 describes. He is fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness on the basis of what is right, that is this record, by that man whom he has appointed. Who is that man? Having furnished proof by raising him from the dead.

Jesus, the one who died on that cross for you that Mike described, he is going to be your judge. And then that member of the Godhead who came to explain Jesus. His role was the work of transformation. He is the one by whom we are born unto an excellent situation and circumstance, raised up in heavenly places with Christ as a result. In him, as Jared has been teaching us from the book of Ephesians on Wednesday night. It is the Holy Spirit who guides us into that blessed circumstance, and he has revealed the unparalleled wisdom of God, the wisdom for our lives. The Holy Spirit has brought us this marvelous message. And I’ll tell you, I don’t know what the study of Zachariah is doing for you.

1. Be Advised of the Vain and Empty Course

Maybe it’s going over your head. I don’t know. But when I’ve been studying this, I’m going, wow, this is wow. What the Holy Spirit has revealed. As he describes the blessings that God wants to give his people. But there are several things that you need to be aware of. Number one, you need to be advised of the vain and empty course without the Holy Spirit’s guidance. As Paul was describing to the Ephesians, those Gentiles who were formerly far off. He says, your condition is you were lost. You were without hope and without God in the world. That’s one of the most tragic statements of the New Testament. Apart from Christ, you are without hope and without God in the world. When I looked at those interviews on the street, that’s what I was seeing.

People without hope and without God in the world. And my life is pretty good now. But for how long? We need the Spirit’s wisdom. Turn from vain things. Paul was in Lystra. They were trying to worship him as gods, and he’s going, What are you doing? Turn from these vain things and serve a living and true God. You’re off course. You don’t understand. As David would say, Lord, make me to know how transient I am. I’ve always loved Psalm 39. Lord, make me to know how transient I am. How short-lived I am. My days are as hand breaths. Make me to know that, David said. Well, listen. I don’t know when David said that. In the prime of his life, perhaps, but he’s not been around for 3,000 years.

How transient is that. And he talked about the people around him that are confused and ignorant of the facts we’re talking about. And he says, they make an uproar for nothing. They amass riches. But who will gather? Hey, some of the riches they amassed, you may now have. That’s why you can afford that coal’s cash. You’re going to pass it on. It’s not yours permanently. It’s very temporary. Make me to know how temporary I am. Be advised of the vain and empty course without his guidance. Then this interesting verse I ran across this week in Proverbs 12 and verse 11. About being industrious as a person. He says, He who tills his land, Proverbs 12 and verse 11, will have plenty of bread. He’s a hard worker who tills his land, he’ll have the product of his crop and he’ll have something to eat.

2. Surpassing Benefits of a Holy Spirit Guided Course

But he who pursues vain things lacks sense. I like that. Here’s the other guy that I’m not going to work for about who wants to work, who wants to sweat, so I’m just going to play. I’m going to spend my whole life playing, and he pursues this, and he pursues whatever strikes his fancy. He pursues vain things. The guy who pursues vain things lacks sense. If we reject God, the things that we pursue lack sense. Second, be cognizant of the surpassing benefits of a Holy Spirit guided course in life. And that’s what Paul is saying later in Ephesians in chapter 5, when he says, we’re trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And we need to walk in light, and that involves goodness and righteousness and truth.

3. Ignorance Exposed on the Day of Judgment

And we need to walk wisely, not as fools, making the most of our time because the days are evil. Walk circumspectly, the King James Version says. Walk in wisdom. And preceding that, actually, in verse 14 goes right well with these facts that escape people’s notice, and people are in la land spiritually and aren’t focused on the spiritual realities. He says, awake sleeper. Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. And that’s what Peter is saying in 2 Peter chapter 3. You need to wake up to these spiritual realities. Third, the realization of this ignorance that will be exposed on the day of judgment. A day that is inescapable. There’s a lot of things I’m not sure about, but I’m sure about this.

And I’m sure of the eternal destinies that await men. Heaven.

Immortality. Incomparable bliss. Unceasing thrill. The beauty and magnificence of God’s presence for those who long for it. All encompassing goodness. In his presence is fullness of joy, and in his right hand are pleasures forever. Psalm 16 and verse 11. But don’t forget that other reality.

What is hell exactly? It is the eternal exclusion from all that is good. That’s why it’s hell. God is not there. The eternal exclusion from all that is good. God is going to render to every man according to his deeds, Romans chapter 2 and verse 6. And it is by, and in verse 4, the sinner is admonished. Do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? The patience that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? You better know that. That’s a reality because he says, but because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

But then he says, in contrast to that in verse 7, to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath, and indignation. Don’t let these facts escape your notice. But I’ll tell you who doesn’t want you to notice them? The devil.

And not to think about these spiritual realities that you cannot escape. Do not let these facts escape your notice. Ignorance is not bliss. A lack of knowledge destroys. Through Hosea the prophet, God told his people, an off-quoted verse. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. There is no knowledge of God in the land. Hosea chapter 4 and verse 1. And then there’s the lofty sentiment of Hosea 6 and verse 3, where the people are saying, Let us press on to know the Lord, and he will come to us like the rain or the dew that waters the earth. And we sometimes I looked at that in the past, and I’m saying, oh, that’s great. Yeah, let’s know the Lord, because there is no knowledge of God in the land.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But in chapter 6, they’re saying, Yeah, let’s know the Lord. The problem is they don’t mean it sincerely. Which I didn’t notice for a long time. In Hosea chapter 6 and verse 4, he goes, What am I going to do with you? O Ephraim, what am I going to do with you, O Judah? Your loyalty is like a morning cloud. And like the dew which goes away early. He will come to us like the rain, like the dew that nurtures and waters the earth. Let me tell you’re like water, all right. You’re like the dew that goes away early. You’re not loyal to me. I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets. I’ve slain them by the words of my mouth, and the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth, he says in verse 5, for I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Let me tell you what we learn here. That true knowledge of God is more than possessing certain facts. It’s more than just under point number one saying, Well, I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, I believe in the Holy Spirit, I believe in the unparalleled wisdom of Scripture as the Holy Spirit has revealed it. I believe in the eternal destinies of heaven and hell, and I certainly want to avoid the last. I know those things. Ticket stamp for heaven, right? No. The people in Hosea’s day knew all those things. The very people that he’s telling, there’s no knowledge of God in the land. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. They know those things. And those wonderful things that Mike said about Jesus. I mean, we can know all those things.

But knowledge of God means more than that. It means to have attitudes and a life that is molded in accord with God’s will. Paul clarifies that point in 1 Corinthians chapter 8. When he says, if anyone loves God, he is known by him. Knowledge has to lead us to a loving response to God to be of any real value. Because he says in verse 1, knowledge makes arrogant, and knowledge puffs up. But love edifies. We can know a lot of things. We can quote a lot of scriptures. We can be aware of all spiritual realities. But if that doesn’t move us to mold our behavior after the righteousness and truth of God, as we read about in Zechariah chapter 8 this morning.

4. Knowledge Equates to Eternal Life

And that leads me to the final point. And that is that knowledge equates to eternal life. As Jesus prayed in that dark hour, the night of his betrayal in John 17 and verse 3, he says, and this is eternal life. That they might know you. The only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

I wanted to find a way to incorporate 1 Corinthians 13 into this morning. Where he talks about when the perfect comes, that which is in part shall be done away. Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. What that passage is talking about is the complete and full revelation of God’s mind to us. And when that happened, and it did so in the first century, when the perfect and complete came, the part, the prophesying and the tongue speaking, all that was going to be done away. It was going to vanish. And in the context of 1 Corinthians 13, it’s love, right? So when the complete is come, we will then see face to face, we will know fully, we will know fully what God intends for us, how we’re to live.

And so he says, but now abide faith, hope, and love, and these three abide in one. That’s how that chapter ends. So what’s the right response to having a possession of all the facts? Faith, hope, and love. And if you don’t get there, that’s a lack of knowledge. That’s not seeing him face to face. That’s not getting it. We’re reading, but we’re not getting it. But if we do get it, oh, there’ll be some difficulties along Lash Road. It is with difficulty that the righteous are saved. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 18. We experience momentary light affliction, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 16, but that is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison. And then he says in John 17 and verse 3, back to that text.

Jesus says, this is eternal life. And so I’m underscoring that first phrase. I want that. I want heaven. I want that incomparable bliss we described under point number one. This is eternal life that they might know you, Jesus said. The only true God. The only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Is that passage only talking about the future? I don’t think so. I used to think that for a long time. I believe this passage points to two things. Not just duration, but quality. Eternal life points not just to duration, but quality. And I believe what Jesus is saying is, this is not once saved always saved, you can’t forfeit your salvation, because the Bible clearly says that you can. But what Jesus is saying is, as long as you know him, knowing him is eternal life.

That’s what he’s saying. Knowing Jesus, whom the Father sent, that’s eternal life. Remember what we described, knowledge of God truly is? It’s more than just possessing the facts. It’s knowing those facts and then therefore molding your life after God’s will. And if you know me, you have eternal life. And guess what? We can have the confidence that our prayers are being asked, that we’re being answered. That we have the request that we’ve made of him. Because we’re trying to do the things that are pleasing in his sight, 1 John chapter 3. And holding fast the commandments. In 1 Corinthians 15, that passage that says, to believers, you are saved if you hold fast. You stand in the gospel and you hold fast the word that is preached to you.

That’s more than just possessing facts. That’s embracing all that the gospel instructs you to do. We are the chosen of God. And we need to act accordingly. In 2 Peter chapter 1, as I told you, we’d come back to this. In the beginning of Peter’s last will and testament in 2 Peter chapter 1. I want to start here in verse 10, where he says, Therefore, brethren, these are people in Christ. He says, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. For in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom. Oh, we’re not there yet. Not this eternal kingdom as being described in 2 Peter chapter 1. But if we pursue this course, if we make certain of his calling and choosing us, this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

I don’t think I understood verse 10 for a long time. We want to talk too much about our own effort in 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 10. I don’t think that’s the idea at all. I think what he’s saying is, are you the chosen of God?

Then act accordingly. And as you do that, you know what that’ll indicate? That you’re the chosen of God. You will make certain. I’m one of the chosen. You want to know why? Because I am looking at God face to face and I’m pursuing this. And that’s why he had said in verses 5 and following now with all diligence, apply to your faith. Because of your trust and hope in God, apply to your faith in all diligence, and he comes back to diligence in verse 10. Hey, verse 4, I should have let that out. By the way, you’re partakers of the divine nature. What does that mean? The precious and magnificent promises of God that have led us to be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

We’re not dominated by lust anymore because we know about these spiritual realities. We’ve escaped that corruption. But let me tell you who the chosen are. They take their faith and they say, that demands that I pursue moral excellence. Merchant. I’m going to pursue virtue in my life. And I’m going to increase in that. He’ll go on to say in verse 8. And you know what? I’m going to pursue knowledge. I want to understand God’s plan for my life even better. I’m going to grow in my understanding of that. I’m going to increase in that. And I’m going to increase in self control because, man, my body wants to get out of control and do things and has impulses that I need to restrict that are not in my best interest.

And so I’m going to excel in self-control and I’m going to stick with this. I’m not going to give up because so many people give up. I’m going to persevere. And I’m going to increase in that. And I’m going to be godly. I’m going to be less focused on the world and more focused on God, and that’s what godliness means. I’m going to increase in my godliness. And I’m going to be kind to people. Just as God was kind to me. I’m going to increase, I’m going to be more kind. I’m going to increase in brotherly kindness and I’m going to be dominated by love. I’m going to be more loving. I’m going to be more consistently loving in my life and all of my relationships and in my expressions toward God.

And if these qualities are yours and are increasing, that is eternal life. That is knowing God and knowing his son. And God says, what that demonstrates is. Is this the course you’re living? Are you in the know? If that’s the course you’re living. Yeah, there’s some difficulties along the way, some missteps. But where our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts. I know sometimes we can’t forgive ourselves. We have bumbled along at times in our lives. But if we will acknowledge our missteps and failures, God will forgive. And we’ve got to stay this course. We’ve got to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and keep going. And that demonstrates what? You’re chosen. That’s what it says. You’re the chosen of God. And we’ve got to give diligence to that.

Conclusion

And you know what happens on the last day? God says, I couldn’t wait for you to get here. He’ll open the doors of heaven to the likes of us. I don’t care what kind of mess has been in your past.

This passage gives you hope. If you’ll just start applying diligence in the right directions. These things we need to know. Peter wanted us to know them as he departed from this earth. Won’t you embrace them? Knowing God is eternal life, duration and quality. And so we bid you to come. To embrace the message of salvation, to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can know the bliss that God intends for you. Won’t you come as we stand and sing together?