IN both testaments, it is apparent that God sees what's in our hearts and on our minds. And, it is this invisible part of our existence that matters most to Him. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1st Samuel 16:7 & 2nd Corinthians 10:7). In our many discussions about the law and liberty, we have essentially been comparing two things: 1). the hollowness of material rituals with 2). the eternal value of immaterial faith. Not that those material things don't have any significance at all, but they have to fall in line in their proper place. Titus 1:14-16 tells us that all things are pure to those who are pure. That is a result of a combination of God's grace and our faith. What Paul wanted Timothy to promote relentlessly was faith in God's grace.
Now, Timothy is warned here that there would inevitably be apostates in the midst of the congregation, that is: unbelievers who would still be in some way associated with the true church; men and women who deviate from the true doctrines of Christ (vs. 1). Paul called these opponents of grace "lying hypocrites" (vs. 2). And ironically, although their conscience is horribly desensitized, they can come up with quite a mighty list of rules that they expect everyone around them to follow impeccably (vs. 2-3). In this case we can say with certainty that ignorance is definitely not bliss, in fact it is binding. It is oppressive.
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