“I know my Lord’s will.”
In John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress," this simple phrase is Ignorance’s response when Christian asks him how he will enter the Celestial City without anything to show on his behalf. It brilliantly illustrates both incredible pride and incredible knowledge. It is in the combination of these two attributes that Ignorance finds his downfall.
The character of Ignorance comes onto the Way to the Celestial City from the country of Conceit rather than through the Wicket Gate. He tells Christian that he doesn’t think it necessary for one to enter in through the Gate in order to get to the Celestial City, and he explains that he will get in “as other good people do.” He is claiming himself as “good,” and lists actions that have qualified him as such. For example, Ignorance repays every man what he is owed. He spends time praying to the Lord. He has deprived and disciplined himself by fasting. He tithes and gives money to the poor. He has even gone to the length of leaving his own (aptly-named) country of Conceit to travel to the Celestial City.
To the observer, this may seem adequate proof of Ignorance’s supposed salvation. After all, is this not what we’re called to do? Having grown up in the church, I have always, always, been encouraged to “pray more,” “deny yourself more” or “give more." These are certainly not bad things; on the contrary, I think they are wonderful ways to further develop an intimate and obedient relationship with Jesus. However, they are worth little if they are done in order to just be “good.” Our actions alone will not win us Christ (or win us to Christ.)
In Isaiah 64, Isaiah is mourning the sinfulness of Israel, and he says,
“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” (64:6)
He is including himself in this unattractive idea, employing the metaphor of menstrual cloths to illustrate the unworthiness of all our virtuous actions. Our goodness pales next to the holiness of God, and even our best deeds are frequently polluted with impure, selfish motives, for,
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Still, when Christian reminds Ignorance that only a fool trusts his own heart, he responds, “That is spoken of an evil heart, but mine is a good one.” Poor Ignorance sees his “good heart” as sufficient to save him.
Additionally in Psalm 16:2, David writes,
“I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
Paul expands upon this greatly in Romans 7, mourning the hopelessness and sin that live in his earthly body. However, David and Paul humbly rely on the Lord for their righteousness. They recognize that their justification does not come from their strength or any good thing they have done, but rather from their Savior, the Author and Perfecter of their faith. On the other hand, proud Ignorance sees his actions as righteous. He completely believes he is good enough to win a home in the Celestial City. This unabashed, foolish belief in himself is gravely rooted in pride, for he does not depend on the King of the Celestial City to be his righteousness.
Ignorance is not just gravely proud. He also possesses an impressive amount of knowledge, which, in a sense, condemns him further, for when any person has knowledge (even of truth,) and it is rooted in preexisting pride, it simply exacerbates the problem. Ignorance spends time thinking on God and heaven, and even desires them. But as Christian says, even the “devils and damned souls” think of heaven and desire it, though they will never reach it.
Oh, friends, what a solemn thought.
Furthermore, Ignorance knows Christ has died for sinners, but he makes a crucial error by believing he has no need for Christ for righteousness, but only for justification. He believes Christ will make his pious actions acceptable to God. This is only part of the truth, and Christian cries out in response,
“Thou…hast such an opinion of thyself…that did never see a necessity of Christ’s personal righteousness to justify thee before God.”
Ignorance also believes he can access full knowledge of God through moral actions and understanding on his part, rather than through God’s ordained revelation. He tells Christian and Hopeful that their belief in revelation is the “fruit of distracted brains,” proving confidence in the virtuousness of his actions and supposedly superior brain.
In Proverbs 3:5 and 7, Solomon wrote,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding…Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”
Ignorance is (debatably) turning away from evil, but he absolutely is wise in his own eyes, and therefore proves himself a prideful possessor of knowledge, which is a treacherous spot to be in. Why? Because the purely mental comprehension of truth paired with prideful self-deception and, yes, ignorance, is a damning combination.
“It is self-love and its offspring self-deception, which shut the gates of heaven, and lead men, as if in a delicious dream, to hell.” (Christian Scriver)
Ignorance completely believes himself to be on the true path to God, righteousness, and heaven.
And where do we find Ignorance at the end of his story? We see him approaching the Celestial City and knocking at the Gate, but when asked to show his Certificate, he had none. The two Shining Ones who had escorted Hopeful and Christian into the City took Ignorance, tied his hands and feet, and threw him into hell.
John Bunyan writes,
“Then I saw that there was a way to Hell, even from the Gates of Heaven…”
May the example and downfall of Ignorance be a reminder to all of us that our hope does not lie in ourselves, nor in our head knowledge, actions or anything that we can produce. Rather, our righteousness is found only in Jesus Christ, for he alone justifies men to the Father, Who we are only able to access through His blood and the revelation of His Spirit. May we examine ourselves diligently and earnestly, searching for evidence of stagnancy and pride in our own hearts, and may we urge our fellow believers to do the same, asking the Holy Spirit to continually open our eyes to our self-deception.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:13, 18)
