In those days before the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians (722 B.C.), the prophet Hosea focused upon one of the causes of Israel’s impending destruction – ignorance was a fundamental problem (4:6). In a similar vein, Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, warned the southern kingdom of Judah of a coming time of punitive devastation: “My people are gone into captivity for lack of knowledge” (5:13). The prophetic curse was fulfilled in the Babylonian Captivity (606-536 B.C.).
Since the great truths of the Old Testament serve for our learning (Rom. 15:4), surely we can conclude that a sustained ignorance of Jehovah’s will can bring nothing but tragedy to the modern church.
Christianity is a religion of instruction. Where there is no solid biblical instruction, the Christian system can neither commence nor continue. One of the basic differences between the Mosaic regime (into which one was born physically) and the church of Jesus Christ, is the fact that knowledge is prerequisite to identifying with the faith of the gospel (Jer. 31:31-34). Jesus declared that favor with God must involve instruction, reception, comprehension, and commitment (Jn. 6:45).
Anyone with a smattering of Bible knowledge, and any experience at all within our brotherhood, is aware of the fact that the church of today is facing a time of great crisis. We have those among us who have a pathetically low regard for the concept of Bible inspiration/authority. Not a few have made serious compromises with the dogma of evolution in an effort to mesh with society. Many of our people are very fuzzy on what constitutes a Christian. They think the church of Christ is but another denomination. A number of prominent personalities contend that there are few guidelines for regulating worship, and so the church must jazz-up its services to appeal to an entertainment-oriented culture. Basic truth has been thrown to the wind.
Why are things in such a state of chaos? One of the reasons is ignorance. There probably has not been a time in this century when Bible knowledge among the Lord’s people has sunk to such a base level. Let us be more specific.
We are suffering a leadership crisis. Where are the godly elders who know the Bible from “cover to cover”? Where are the bishops who can, and will, stand and exhort in sound doctrine and convict the gainsayers (Tit. 1:9). There are still some great elders, but far too many who are serving in this capacity have been given the job because they were successful businessmen, had wealth, or possessed other traits that were wholly unrelated to tending the flock of God.By Wayne Jackson
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