Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.
This passage of scripture clearly states that God takes into account the ignorance of those who do not know of His revealed will, as it pertains to the worship of idols, but the principle can also be applied across the board, when we do not have access to a knowledge of His will. This allowance that is made by God must be clearly understood, for it does not include willful ignorance, or a careless neglect to inform oneself, when abundant knowledge is readily available. We should also understand that ignorance, whether deliberate or sincere, in no way prevents natural results from taking place, and therefore the Bible cautions us to become acquainted with the revelations of God's will, whenever we have the opportunity to do so. Let's read:
Psalms 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. 18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
We should be very careful when managing our expectations when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, for there are many things that we take for granted, which God has never promised, and if we were to build our hopes and expectations on a mere assumption, we could be in for serious disappointment. For instance, God has never promised to deliver any person who spends their money wantonly, without thought or regard to what the scriptures teach about good stewardship. The law of sowing and reaping is one of the more serious laws in the natural and spiritual realm, and although God may have delivered us from financial troubles on numerous occasions, yet we cannot reasonably expect Him to continue to do so if we deliberately continue to scoff at His instructions.
And the fact that we may be genuinely ignorant of His will on certain issues does not prevent the natural course of chain reaction from taking place. A friend of mine once drove through a school zone at about forty miles per hour, when the speed limit in that area was actually fifteen m.p.h. A trooper pulled over the vehicle and questioned if the driver was not aware of the speed limit at that time, to which my friend replied that they were totally unaware of the limits imposed in the area. The trooper then said that he was very sorry for their ignorance, but proceeded to write a ticket for several hundred dollars, for ignorance does not cancel the fact that the vehicle was actually traveling at twenty-five miles above the speed limit.
In a much broader sense is the law of God as it pertains to ignorance. When God says that He winks in times of ignorance, this should never be misconstrued to mean that what was once wrong now becomes right on account of a lack of knowledge. Many Christians are ignorantly breaking God's law, because this is what they have been taught from their youth up, that the commandments were given for the Jews only, and does not apply in our modern era. The fact that erroneous doctrines may have been fed to us, in no way reverses the natural results of violating God's statutes, and that's why the Lord commands all to repent, because a flood of light and knowledge has now been made available to the masses of people, so that we are without excuse.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages to surrender our ideas that are contrary to God's revealed will, so that the good work that He has promised to do can begin without delay. Let's read:
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
May this passage come to life in our own experiences, for God is faithful to all the promises He has given us. "Good night" and God bless!