GOD…COMMANDETH ALL…TO REPENT

Dr. Graham Scroggie described this message of Paul’s at Athens as ‘one of his greatest sermons’. There are points worthy of note here. Note that Paul did not go out of his way to antagonise his audience. His approach was conciliatory and courteous. The translation ‘superstitious’, v. 22, is translated ‘very religious’, ESV, ‘somewhat religious’, RV margin, and ‘remarkably religious’, Weymouth. His every word was adapted to win and to rebuke, yet there was nothing calculated to offend or to drive away the person he desired to win. He found an open door to their minds in one of their altars. He picked something that was familiar to them and used it as a springboard for his message. This was an audience with no background of Old Testament theology or Jewish thought, so here there is no reference to the Old Testament scriptures. To those who were without the law, he spoke as one without the law. He tells them that God is the Maker, the Creator, the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, not made as their idols were. He does not need men’s gifts, all gifts come from Him. He gives to all life and breath. How wrong, then, to degrade Him by making with our own hands an idol to worship and therefore making a god of something which is less than ourselves. Past ages of ignorance God, in His mercy, overlooked. Now the case is changed. Now that God has made Himself known in the person of Christ, ignorance can no longer be pleaded. The day of excuses is past, for now the full blaze of the knowledge and the revelation of God has come; their duty was to repent. With knowledge comes responsibility, and with responsibility liability to judgement.

Paul had brought the Athenians face to face with God. They now have the grave responsibility of ignoring revelation. He brings his message to centre in Christ. He had preached Christ in the streets, v. 18. He is God’s appointed judge, John 5. 27. What proof had God given of the certainty of the judgement? He has raised ‘that man whom he hath ordained’ from the dead. By resurrection Jesus was declared to be the Son of God and therefore to possess the authority to judge, Rom. 1. 4.