October 1998

Sins of Ignorance - #5

TURN

By Patrick T. Donahue

Some of those who teach the automatic forgiveness of sins committed in ignorance, claim that their position requires the Christian to repent before he will be forgiven of his sins. But if you ask them for clarification, they explain that the Christian, who is sinning in ignorance, can repent by being sorry about sin in general, and be forgiven of his ignorant sins, without actually making up his mind to quit doing the sins he is involved in, even while continuing to commit these sins. Is this the kind of repentance that the Bible demands?

In Ezekiel 18:21-32 we find a form of the word "turn" seven times. As an example, verse 21 reads, "But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die." Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament (a companion volume to Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament) defines the word "turn" as used in these verses to mean, "to cease from, to leave off." Now answer this question: can a person fulfill these passages' demands to "turn from" (cease from, leave off) his sin while continuing to commit the sin? Of course not; "continue" and "cease" are contadictory terms. To "turn from", "to cease from", and "to leave off" all mean the exact opposite of "to continue in." These passages prove that a man must "cease from sin" (II Peter 2:14), that is, he must quit doing the sin!

Notice also that the man in Ezekiel 18:21 must "turn from all his sins." Would "all sins" here include sins of ignorance? Of course it would; "all" means "all." What happens to the man who does not "turn from all his sins"? Ezekiel 18:26 says that if a man dies in his sins, "for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." Revelation 14:13 states the reverse of this when it reads, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."

I think it is easy to see from Ezekiel 18:21-32, that not only does the Bible demand a person to hate sin in general, but it also requires a man to change his life accordingly. A Christian who sins in ignorance will not be saved while continuing to commit the sin, but will only be forgiven when he actually turns from, ceases from, or leaves off the sin. Could the first son of Matthew 21:28-31 have repented and stayed at home? Obviously not, the Bible says "he repented, and went."

[Editor's Note: Thanks to Pat Donahue for the article! He can be reached at: Pat.Donahue@MSFC.NASA.GOV Old Railroad Bed Road, Harvest, AL 35749, (256) 721-0726]

Email the Editor at markjward@yahoo.com