Along the coast of Nova Scotia is a shoal called, “I Know It.” A shoal is a sandbar that makes water dangerously shallow for boats. This shoal was even more dangerous because it held a large hidden rock under the surface. Here is how this shoal got its strange name.
Some men were sailing along in a fishing boat near this place. One of the men warned his friend who was piloting the boat about this shoal. “I know it,” the man answered, and on they went without correcting their direction. A little later he was warned again, “We are near that shoal!” “I know it,” he said again. Just then they crashed onto the rock.
You might be thinking, “How foolish that man was,” and you are right. Now, what about the warnings God has given you in His Word? The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” Death is at the end of a life of sin. It is eternal death in the lake of fire. Do you answer, “I know it,” and go on without correcting your direction by receiving the gift that the rest of that verse offers? “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23).
Those who receive God’s gift of eternal life are called Christians. The Bible also has warnings for Christians — to stay away from evil. “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” Proverbs 1:1010My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. (Proverbs 1:10). “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” Proverbs 4:14,1514Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:14‑15). “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” 2 Corinthians 6:1414Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14). These are some of the warnings that God gives us so that by correcting our directions we can be happy Christians. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:1717If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. (John 13:17).
Here is another man who was not willing to correct his direction. We had traveled a long distance to tell some people about the Lord Jesus and the way of salvation. This one man to whom we were speaking informed us, “You didn’t have to come all that way to tell me how to be saved. Since I was a boy I have known it.” He motioned with his hand to show us how small a boy he had been then, and then he repeated, " ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.’ Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31).” He did know how to be saved and could even quote a verse from memory about it. We asked him, “And have you believed on Him, Sir?” He turned and went out the door without answering.
How sad, but this very same thing is being repeated in many Sunday schools and homes where the Bible is read and taught. Many boys and girls learn verses and have Bibles of their own, yet they have never trusted in the Lord Jesus for themselves. There is danger ahead for you if you are one of these. You may “know it,” but have you believed it?
ML-07/10/1988