To Encourage You

Psalm 19:12 “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.”

Have you ever heard the saying, “Ignorance is bliss”?  It means that if you don’t know about something, you won’t worry about it.  That’s why some people never read, watch, or listen to the news – they don’t want to be depressed by all the bad news that is out there.  They don’t want their tranquility to be upset. They’d just as soon not know about things that might trouble their hearts. 

But then that same attitude can extend to one’s view of themselves.  People tend to have a pretty high opinion of themselves, and to hear anything to the contrary will greatly upset them.  They would rather be content with themselves than to hear anything that might upset the apple cart and reveal that things aren’t as good as they might think.  There is even a belief among some Christians that they are not only pretty good people, but that they can be morally perfect in this life.  What a high opinion that is, and how much more resistant to criticism would such a “perfect” person be, i.e., one who is right in his or her own eyes. 

Interestingly, the Bible would have us to understand that our natures are so polluted by sin, that we aren’t even aware of much of it.  In the verse above, the psalmist asks a rhetorical question, i.e., “who can discern his errors.” Implied in this is that no one can.  Sometimes we are well aware of the things we do wrong and that violate the law of God, but often we aren’t aware.  However, just as with man-made laws, ignorance of the law is never an excuse, if we break God perfect law, even if we’re not aware of it, we are still guilty and we still bear the responsibility before Him for that sin. 

It is noteworthy that the verse above follows five verses that describe the absolute perfection and the holiness of the Word of God.  It is described with such terms as “perfect,” “sure,” “right,” “pure,” “clean,” “true,” “more to be desired than gold,” and “sweeter than honey.”  What a stark contrast with the description the heart of man with its “errors” and “hidden faults.”  It is because we are so blind to them that the Bible is so essential. 

Isn’t it interesting how quickly we can see the faults of others, but can be completely blind to our own?  Leviticus 4 speaks to this in such a powerful way, as it details the sacrifices that the Israelites were to make for “unintentional sins” against God’s perfect law.  Although they may have been ignorant of such sin, when they became aware of it, either from a reading of God’s law or when it was pointed out to them by someone else, they were then responsible to go to the priest, confess that sin openly, and offer a sacrifice to God for it.  There’s a lesson for us in this, i.e., that the heart that truly wants to glorify God will never have the attitude of “ignorance is bliss,” particularly about the sin of their own heart. Rather, they will pray with King David “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).  That’s what God does for us as we search His holy Word. That’s what the term “washing of water with the word” is referring to in Ephesians 5:26.

It was the attitude of self-righteousness that kept the religious leaders at the time Jesus walked this earth from the true righteousness that only Jesus could give them.  It is that same self-righteous ignorance of sin that keeps many people from coming to Christ for the cleansing they need today. The first step to salvation is the exposure of the sin of our hearts by the Word of God, for it is only then that the spiritually sick will realize their desperate need for the Great Physician.  And it is that same attitude that leads the believer to daily examine himself or herself against the pure Word of God, for “ignorance is never bliss” for those who truly want to honor Christ with their life, especially when that ignorance involves ignorance of their own sin.  But thanks be to God, that just as God made provision for forgiveness for unintentional and unknown sins in the form of the Sin Offering of Leviticus 4, so God has mercifully made provision for our forgiveness as well. 

May God help us to not live in ignorance about our sin, but to come to Him to have that sin exposed so it can be dealt with by the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.. And how wonderful to know, in the awesome words of 1 John 1:9, that “If we confess our sins (and most certainly we have them, whether at this moment we are aware of them or not), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”