Bible: To what extent does ignorance equate to innocence?

[Dave...]

To what extent does ignorance equate to innocence?

With children, they are called innocent by God until they reaches a condition (often called age) of accountability. Jewish tradition calls this "Bar mitzvah", or "son of the Law". They believe that at age thirteen a person becomes accountable to God and must have the correct/saving faith. Before this, if a child dies, they are considered innocent, like Adam and Eve were in innocent in their ignorance before the fall.

Also, Jesus made this statement, which potentially opens up yet a different, or bigger and more complex context.

John 9: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

And then we have this. Not forgiven, but overlooked? Passed over?

Acts 3:17-19 Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

Acts 17:30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

On a more personal level, I think that the same applies here. Paul said this....

1 Timothy 1:13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

There's probably more verses that can apply, but I cannot think of any at the moment. There's a lot of mercy going around, and some of it is given because of ignorance on at least a few different levels. Some of it has historical context, me thinks. But Adam and Eve, and the children and anyone who cannot do anything about their ignorance, there is a ignorance that makes them not guilty.

Where is the line draw between the two?

Is this potentially a wrench in the machinery of predestination as the reformed view understands it? I know people will quote Jacob and Esau in Romans 9:11, but does that contradict any of the ideas from Scripture posted about innocence in ignorance?

What's the Biblical understanding of ignorance as it relates to innocence?

 

[KenH]

"It may not be improper to observe here, that It is asserted, that “elect infants dying in infancy, are justifed by faith in the habit, though not by faith in the act.” If this is true, it follows, that God doth not justify all his elect in one and the same way, but some by the habit, and others by the act of faith: For the proof of which, I am of opinion that no solid argument can be offered. Again, a principle or habit cannot see, or receive an object: Now if Christ’s righteousness is to or upon us, in a way of believing, and it cannot be ours till actually received by faith...how come elect infants, who die in infancy, to be actually interested in that righteousness, seeing they cannot act faith, and consequently are uncapable of receiving Christ’s righteousness? Therefore it must necessarily be concluded, that the gift of Christ’s righteousness becomes actually theirs, without any receiving act in them: And unless it can be proved that God justifes his elect in a different manner, that is to say, some by the habit, and others by the act of faith; the same must be granted concerning those of the elect, who live to riper years. Farther, from hence I cannot but conclude, that no act of faith is necessary to the being of Justification; for, if so, those of the elect who die in infancy, cannot be justified. But why an act of faith should be required to the actual Justification of some of the elect, and not to the Justification of others, I am not able to conceive."

- excerpt from John Brine's A Defense of the Doctrine of Eternal Justification, From Some Exceptions To It by Mr. Bragge, and Others

 

[KenH]

Acts 17:30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at,.... Not that he approved of, or encouraged such blindness and folly, as appeared among the Gentiles, when they worshipped idols of gold, silver, and stone, taking them for deities; but rather the sense is, he despised this, and them for it, and was displeased and angry with them; and as an evidence of such contempt and indignation, he overlooked them, and took no notice of them, and gave them no revelation to direct them, nor prophets to instruct them, and left them to their stupidity and ignorance:

but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent; that is, he hath given orders, that the doctrine of repentance, as well as remission of sins, should be preached to all nations, to Gentiles as well as Jews; and that it becomes them to repent of their idolatries, and turn from their idols, and worship the one, only, living and true God: and though for many hundreds of years God had neglected them, and sent no messengers, nor messages to them, to acquaint them with his will, and to show them their follies and mistakes; yet now he had sent his apostles unto them, to lay before them their sins, and call them to repentance; and to stir them up to this, the apostle informs them of the future judgment in the following verse. Repentance being represented as a command, does not suppose it to be in the power of men, or contradict evangelical repentance, being the free grace gift of God, but only shows the need men stand in of it, and how necessary and requisite it is; and when it is said to be a command to all, this does not destroy its being a special blessing of the covenant of grace to some; but points out the sad condition that all men are in as sinners, and that without repentance they must perish: and indeed, all men are obliged to natural repentance for sin, though to all men the grace of evangelical repentance is not given."

- excerpt from John Gill's Bible commentary on Acts 17:30