Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. [James 4:17]

Ignorance: the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.  Doing something in ignorance is doing something without knowing what you are doing.  Commonly I hear people try to switch out ignorant, and innocent.  They’re not same, they have nothing to do with each other.  You can commit a sin in ignorance, but you are not innocent.  You are still guilty of the sin.

Stupid: lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull.  If you are stupid; you’re foolish.  Sin is never a smart thing.  Sin is stupid.  In Numbers 12:11, Aaron asks God not to hold the sin against them that they “foolishly” committed.  “And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.”

Now, you may be wondering what I’m getting at.  What I want to present to you is the difference between being ignorant, and stupid.  These two words are often used interchangeably; but they do not mean the same thing.  Sinning in ignorance is doing something you don’t know is wrong.  Sinning in stupidity is knowing what you’re doing is wrong, and doing it any ways.  A picture of this is found in the story of Adam and Eve.  Adam and Eve both sinned.  But Eve was deceived by the serpent; she became ignorant.  Adam knew full well what he was doing when he ate the fruit; he was stupid.  I Timothy 4:12 says, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Adam was not deceived. He sinned in stupidity.

Now the question is, who do we want to be like?  Adam, or Eve?  No, that’s a trick question.  Ignorance and Stupidity are both wide open gates to sin.  So how do we avoid both of these problems?  The answer is found in II Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

If we make the effort to sit down and spend some time with God, put aside our other task; if we truly make him our priority, and just study the word of God; we won’t be Ignorant or Stupid.