“I didn’t know this” – There are no lame excuses

Deutsch

In the end, there will be neither lame excuses nor lame excuses. Those who don’t care about the truth now are ultimately dealing with a bad hand. What matters most here are the priorities you set in life. “I didn’t know this” is measured by whether you could have known it if you had only wanted to.

One could have known.

Knowing, not knowing, not being able to know, or even being able to have known. These are all very different things. God doesn’t punish anyone for their transgressions or sins if they couldn’t have known. However, it’s a completely different story if the truth was already there, or if it had taken effort to discover the truth. Here, priorities in life play a significant role. Do I take the time to search for or research the truth, or do I pursue my favorite hobbies?

Those who truly believe are also fully aware of the essential importance of the truth. They are driven to discover the truth. They take the time and dig for it. And yes, those who believe also know that God will arrange things in such a way that the sincere seeker of truth will find it.

It is easy to get to the truth

Never before has it been so easy and convenient for people to receive and study the Scriptures. It doesn’t even cost money, let alone leave the house. Numerous online Bibles are available online, including downloadable PDFs and e-books (Example). The gospel will be proclaimed everywhere at the end of time, as stated in Matthew 24:14.

For those who COULDN’T hear the gospel, Romans 2:14-16 applies:
“For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.“

There will be no excuse

Ellen G. White has left some thoughts on this point in “Last Day Events” (Source). These are short, concise and crystal clear.

“Those who have an opportunity to hear the truth, and yet take no pains to hear or understand it, thinking that if they do not hear, they will not be accountable, will be judged guilty before God the same as if they had heard and rejected. There will be no excuse for those who choose to go in error when they might understand what is truth. In His sufferings and death Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance, but there is no provision made for willful blindness.”

We shall not be held accountable for the light that has not reached our perception, but for that which we have resisted and refused. A man could not apprehend the truth which had never been presented to him, and therefore could not be condemned for light he had never had. But if he had opportunity to hear the message, and to become acquainted with the truth, and yet refused to improve his opportunity, he will be among the number of whom Christ said, ‘Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life’.” (Bible Commentary V, 1145, 1893)

Pure personal responsibility

Each person is responsible for themselves and their own actions. God forces no one to accept the true faith. Coercion and compulsion are a recipe of the great adversary. Likewise, God does not take away anyone’s freedom of choice to abandon the right path of their own free will. This is especially addressed to those who hold the erroneous doctrine that “once saved, always saved” means (Info#).

The wheat will soon be separated from the chaff. This is already the case, but not yet on a massive scale. At the very latest, when people are forced to accept the “rules of the game” or face economic exclusion, there will be a rapid separation between the sincere believers and the pseudo-Christians. This is the rather well-known phrase, “mark of the beast.” (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)