One of the most sobering verses in the Bible comes from Hosea 4:6, where God says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” The Israelites had repeatedly rejected God and failed to keep His commands, and the coming consequence was destruction. Originally, the verse was directed toward the Northern Kingdom of Israel thousands of years ago, but today, the same principles apply to us.
Biblical knowledge is still critically important. We are required to keep Christ’s commands (John 14:15) and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15), and both of these are only possible with biblical knowledge.
Biblical ignorance, or the lack of knowledge, still leads to sin. Jesus warned about being “mistaken, not understanding the scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Paul sinned because he lacked understanding, saying, “even though I was formerly a blasphemer…I acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:3). While Jesus hung on the cross, He asked God to forgive the people saying, “they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Even when it is the result of biblical ignorance, sin still leads to destruction. Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” and Jesus preached about the wide and broad path that leads those who practice sin to destruction.
Even though God first spoke it through Hosea, biblical knowledge is still critically important. Even though Hosea preached it to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, biblical ignorance still leads to destruction.
Matt Langfield