缺乏圣经知识的人，会成为 “基督教狂热分子”，既伤害教会，也伤害周遭世界。对教会来说，他们给基督徒定下了耶稣基督从未制定过的规矩，他们像法利赛人一样给神的子民带来负担。对未信的人来说，基督宗教狂热分子使他还没来得及信服福音，就在所谓的基督宗教规条上跌倒了。未信者唯一应该顺服的是我们所宣扬的福音，所以我们必须了解我们的圣经，这样就不会有人说我们 “我的子民因缺乏知识而被毁灭”（何西阿书4:6）。
保罗·华许 – 因缺乏知识而被摧毁
帖撒罗尼迦的例子，
他们的无知，造成了本来可以避免的忧伤，
也因此在外邦人面前做了不好的见证，
然而圣经里的其它记载，
无知可以造成更大的伤害，
让我指出几处经文，
何西阿书4章6节…安东尼曾经在主日引用过，
“我的民因无知识而灭亡。”
没有错，“我的民”，
“我的”民！
你看，只因为你是他的子民，
未必代表你在安全之处，
从一方面而言没有错，
但是我要你知道，
你的无知会导致许多危险，
为什么我们不断教导我们的孩子？
即使我们不教，他们仍是我们的孩子，
我们教，为什么呢？
他们才不至于伤害自己，
不至于蹧蹋生命，
经文说：“我的民因无知识而灭亡。”
还有以赛亚书5章13节说：
“我的百姓因无知就被掳去；”
你会说：被掳去…因无知…
你知道什么是被掳去吗？
奴役，
最残忍的方式，
谋杀，
强暴，
掠夺，
是一种你我无法了解的苦难，
像是用钩子穿过你的嘴、
你的鼻，被赤裸裸地拖到异邦，
你不觉得“无知”危险吗？
那是极其危险的；
尼尼微人，
不能分辨左手右手，
几乎遭到全然灭绝，
几十年后还是被灭了，
你看见了吗？这非常非常重要，
罗马书10章3节：
“因为不知道…”字意就是无知，
“因为不知道神的义，
想要立自己的义，
就不服
神的义了。”
什么意思呢？
经文说，他们无知，想要自救，
而不信有位格的神所做的救赎工作，
结果就永远失落了；
无知！
再听听这个，
哥林多后书2章11节，
“免得撒但趁着机会胜过我们，
因我们并非「不晓得」他的诡计。”
「不晓得」与「无知」同一个字，
“免得撒但趁着机会胜过我们，
因我们并非不晓得他的诡计。”
有什么方法…
可以让你不被
基督信仰的大敌胜过？
就是不要无知！
许多人入了歧途，
甚至误信魔鬼的教义，为什么？
因为他们缺乏…
对神话语的真知识。
如果有人来到这里，
虽然非常敬虔，也未必是属神的，
如果有人来到这里行大神迹，
并不表示他们是属神的，
如果有人来到这里，
活力充沛、满有热情，
甚至让你觉得自己不够爱神，
那不一定代表他们属神，
唯一能让你真正分辨的方法，
是知道神说了什么，
认识神的话；
无知也会导致不合乎圣经的生活方式，
进而带来坏见证，
还有…
你我必须与世界有別，
这是你知道的，
我们应该不同，必须有所分別…
在信与不信的世界之间，有所分別，
这是我们知道的；
然而，我们若缺乏圣经的知识，
我们不能、
我们做不到、甚至不知道区別何在，
就会陷入极端，
什么样的极端呢？
经常有人说：
我们需要与世界有別，
但是他们用自己的想法
来定义如何有所分別，
导致两种结果，
都完全极端、又危险，
是什么呢？
一个极端是效法世界，
他们不知道神已经说了，
他们不知道那些是神极不喜悅的事，
他们不知道神的诫命，
他们不知道神的本质；
所以他们听从世界，
自创他们的基督信仰，
根据他们自己属肉体的想法，和別人的说法，
你明白吗？这是一种极端，
是很坏的见证；
另外一种极端是什么呢？
基督信仰狂热主义，
基督信仰的狂热主义，
因为他们所谓的
要与世俗有別的欲望强烈，
基督徒开始过一种…
做一些不寻常、奇怪的事，
常常是一些严厉的事，
同样是坏见证…
在非信徒的眼中，
基本上是这样…
狂热份子，
为教会带来伤害，
也对不信的世界没有好处，
怎么说呢？
在教会里，他们给其他的信徒增加重担，
是耶稣未曾要求的，
你明白吗？
定耶稣不曾定的规矩，
就像在耶稣的年代里，
那些法利赛人把重担加在神子民身上，
用耶稣未曾吩咐过的规矩，加增他们的重担；
而狂热份子对于未信的人也是危险的，
为什么？
因为狂热份子在未信的人面前放了障碍物，
让不信的人在基督信仰的事上摔倒，
在他们还未「摔」在福音上之前，
未信的人唯一该先碰上的，
是我们所宣讲的福音，
你明白吗？
但是我们经常把福音
与一大堆规则、
一大堆细微末节，
各种各样的东西混在一起，
混淆了他们，说：这太疯狂了！
反而看不到
他们该看到的东西——
那就是耶稣基督的福音。
所以，在这个教会里，
我们也许在许多方面不同…
有时候，用不同的表达方式，
但让我告诉你一件…
不能妥协的事!
我们所必须传讲的，
就是耶稣十字架上的受死，并从死里复活，
并且，我们的盼望、
世界的盼望，
只在于此，
而不是其他一些古怪的、或细微末节的事，
唯独耶稣基督！
现在，
我也要一提的是，
我们经常…
把无知当做一种缺憾，
我们把无知的人
当作受害者，
真是这样吗？
我们不把它当作罪，
他们不知道…他们没有办法，
他们只是无知的受害者，
圣经可从来没有这样看，
要知道，我们所有的人成为基督徒，
都是从婴儿、不成熟阶段起步，
都可能做一些极度无稽的事，
然而，根据圣经，没有任何人该持续如此，
我们对神的无知，
该逐渐被正确认识神所取代，
否则，圣经指出，责任在我们肩上，
为什么呢？
因为神已经给了我们认识他的能力，
去认识他的旨意；
我这一生认识许多非比寻常的人，
我曾说过，
他们靠区区手指所认识神的真理，
就超过我整个人所能认识的，是真的，
他们能掌握许多观念，
是我根本无法了解的，
我并不是说所有的信徒，
在知识与光照上都该达到同样的水平，
我所说的是，所有的信徒，
都有能力去
对神与他的旨意有足够的认识，
进而活出最美好、
最荣耀、最圣洁的生命。
Paul Washer – Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge
In the case of the Thessalonians
their lack of knowledge led to unnecessary grieving
and because of that, a poor testimony among the pagans.
But in other places in Scripture
a lack of knowledge can lead to something far more detrimental.
Let me give you a few verses.
Hosea 4:6 (I believe Anthony quoted this on Sunday),
“My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.”
Yes, “My people,”
“MY, people.”
You see, just because you’re His people
doesn’t necessarily mean that your just living in a secure place.
In one sense it does.
But I want you to know something,
your lack of knowledge can get you into a whole bunch of danger.
Why do we constantly teach our children?
If we don’t teach our children they’re still our children,
but we teach our children why?
So they don’t kill themselves.
So they don’t mess up their lives.
My people are destroyed he says, for a lack of knowledge.
Then in Isaiah 5:13 he says,
“My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge.”
Now you say, “Oh well, exile for their lack of know…”
Do you know what exile was?
Slavery,
the cruelest forms.
Murder,
rape,
pillage,
a suffering like nothing you and I could ever even understand.
It was having a hook poked through your lip
or your nose, and being led off to a foreign land naked.
You don’t think a lack of knowledge is dangerous?
It’s extremely dangerous.
Ninevah
didn’t know their left hand from their right hand.
It almost led to their absolute destruction
and a few decades later it did.
You see that? This is very very important.
Romans 10:3, “For not knowing (literally, ‘ignorant’),
For not knowing about God’s righteousness
and seeking to establish their own
they did not subject themselves
to the righteousness of God.”
What does it mean?
It says, in their ignorance they sought to save themselves
and did not believe upon God’s saving person and work,
and they were eternally lost.
Ignorance.
And then listen to this,
2 Corinthians 2:11,
“So that no advantage would be taken of us
for we are not ignorant (same word) of his schemes.”
“So that no advantage would be taken of us (by Satan)
for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
What is one of the ways
that you can avoid being taken advantage of
by the great enemy of the Christian faith?
By not being ignorant.
So many people are led astray,
even by doctrines of demons–why?
Because their lack of true knowledge
in the word of God.
Listen, if someone comes here
with great piety, that doesn’t mean they’re from God.
If someone comes here with great [miracles],
it doesn’t mean they’re from God.
If someone comes here with just an
exuberant, zealous personality
that makes you think that you don’t even love God,
it doesn’t mean they’re from God.
The only way for you to be able to truly figure that out
is to know what God’s word says.
To know God’s word.
Now, ignorance also leads to an unbiblical lifestyle
which leads to a poor testimony.
Now,
you and I must be distinct from the world,
you know that.
We must be different, there needs to be separation
between the believer and the unbelieving world,
we know that.
But if we lack the knowledge of the Scriptures
we will not be able
to maintain or even know what that distinction is
without falling into great extremes
–and what are those extremes?
Often times people will say
“We need to be different from the world,”
but then they run off with their own opinion
of what it means to be different from the world,
and it usually leads to two things
that are total extremes and both dangers
–and what are they?
One extreme is conformity to the world.
They don’t know what God has said,
they don’t know those things that displease God,
they don’t know His commandments,
they don’t know His nature;
and so the world has their ear,
and they form their Christianity
based upon the carnal mind – their own, and the voices of others.
You see that? That’s one extreme.
And it’s a poor testimony.
The other extreme is what?
Christian fanaticism.
Christian fanaticism.
When, because of their so-called desire
to be separate from the world,
Christians begin to live
doing unusual, strange things,
often times very severe things.
That also leads to a poor testimony
among unbelievers.
And basically it’s this;
the person who is the fanatic,
they do harm to the church
and they do harm to the unbelieving world
–in what way?
To the church they lay burdens on other believers
that Jesus Christ never laid upon them.
You see that?
Making rules Jesus never made,
and burdening –like the Pharisees burdened God’s people in the time of Jesus–
burdening them with rules that Jesus never gave them.
But also the fanatic is dangerous for the unbeliever
–why?
Because the fanatic puts obstacles in front of the unbeliever
so that the unbeliever stumbles at Christianity
before he ever gets a chance to stumble at the Gospel.
The only thing the unbeliever should stumble at
is the Gospel we proclaim.
Do you see that?
But often times if we lay the Gospel
and then a whole bunch of rules,
and a whole bunch of nuances,
and all kinds of different things;
they stumble and say, “That’s crazy,”
and they never stumble at the thing
they should stumble at;
and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That’s why in this church
we may be different in many different ways
and have different expressions at times;
but let me tell you something,
it can not be tolerated!
The thing that we must proclaim
is Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead,
and that our hope
and the hope of the world
is found in that.
Not in some little quirk or nuance that we might have.
Jesus Christ.
Now,
I want to say this also.
Often times
we see ignorance as a disability,
and we see the ignorant person
as a victim.
Is that true?
We don’t look at it so much as a sin.
They don’t know something, it’s a ‘disability,’
they’re a ‘victim’ to their lack of knowledge;
but the Bible never sees it that way.
Now look, all of us are born into Christianity
as infants, as immature,
capable of doing some extraordinarily ridiculous things.
But in the Scriptures none of us are supposed to stay that way.
Our ignorance of the things of God
is gradually to be replaced by the true knowledge of God,
and if it is not, the Bible lays the blame on our shoulders
–why?
Because we have been given the faculty to know Him
and to know His will.
I’ve known in my life some extraordinary minds;
I’ve said about some men that they’ve got
more knowledge of God in their finger
than i have in my whole body, and that’s true;
and they can seem to grasp concepts
that I can’t even begin to understand.
I’m not saying that all believers
walk on the same level with regard to knowledge and insight,
but what I am saying is that all believers
have the faculty
to know enough about God and His will
to live in the most beautiful fashion,
the most glorious, and holy way.
Paul Washer’s Bio
保罗-大卫-华许（Paul David Washer，1961年出生），美国新教基督教传道人，加尔文主义神学，隶属于南方浸信会。
保罗华许在德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校学习成为一名石油和天然气律师时皈依了基督教。他搬到秘鲁，在那里当了10年传教士。 1988年，在秘鲁期间，Washer 成立了 HeartCry 传教协会，以支持土著传教士向本民族文化的人作见证。Washer 后来回到美国，自2010年起居住在弗吉尼亚州的拉德福德，继续担任 HeartCry 的传教主任。
