I'm entitling the message from
Acts chapter 17 from the words found in verse 30 Acts 17 verse
30 and the times of this ignorance God Winked at he overlooked passed
by the Gentile nations who had no word from God but now God
commands all men everywhere to repent because he's appointed
a day, a day coming of judgment by the standard of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So the title being God commands
all men everywhere, God commands all men everywhere to repent. Does that include you? Does that
include me? God commands all men everywhere
to bow to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is a
change of mind. God must do that for us. The
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a mere invitation for
you to believe and repent. BOTH ARE THE SOVEREIGN COMMANDS
OF THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. LISTEN TO THIS SCRIPTURE,
I JOHN 3. THIS IS HIS COMMANDMENT THAT
YOU BELIEVE ON THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Again, John
writes, this is the work of God that you believe on him whom
he hath sent. We know that both faith and repentance
come by the sovereign hand of God. Both faith and repentance
are sovereign gifts of God. Both faith and repentance come
at the same time. If you hold your place there
and find Acts chapter five, Acts chapter 5, where we read about
the Lord Jesus Christ being raised up. In Acts chapter 5, verse
31, Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be Prince and
Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and the forgiveness
of sins. HE'S EXHALTED THAT HE MIGHT GIVE
REPENTANCE UNTO HIS PEOPLE. AND THEN, REMEMBER OVER HERE,
I BELIEVE IT IS IN ACTS CHAPTER 10, TURN THERE, ACTS CHAPTER
10, VERSE 42, WHEN PETER WENT DOWN TO THE HOUSE OF A GENTILE
NAMED CORNELIUS, AND PREACHED THE GOSPEL TO THAT HOUSE, AND
THEY HEARD THE WORD AND BELIEVED And then Peter says this, verse
42, he commanded us to preach unto the people and to testify
that it was he which was ordained of God to be the judge of the
living and the dead. To him give all the prophets
witness that through his name, whosoever believeth on him shall
receive the remission, the remission of sin. One other scripture turned
to Acts chapter 11, verse 18. When they heard these things,
they held their peace and glorified God. Then have God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance. So both faith and repentance
are given of God and they're the sovereign grace and gift
of God. Now look at this scripture, Acts
20, Acts chapter 20. The Apostle Paul, verse 20, he
said, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but
have showed you and have taught you publicly from house to house, testifying to the Jews and also
to the Gentiles, the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. God commands all men everywhere
to repent. God gives these precious gifts
to whom he will, but that does not change the fact that all
men everywhere should own their need of repentance toward God
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what every sinner is in
need of. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved because it is the King's command. Over there in Romans 10, it says,
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The gospel command is to turn
to God from your idols to serve the living and the true God. This was Paul's message. Turn
back to Acts chapter 13, verse 38. Acts 13, 38. Be it known
unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, Be it
known unto you that through this man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sin, we would have no repentance toward God
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without this man, the Lord Jesus
Christ, putting away our sin by the sacrifice of himself,
through this man is preached unto you pardon from all sin,
remission from all sin. And by him, verse 39, notice,
Notice this carefully, by him all that believe. How do we believe? By him. As many as were ordained
to eternal life believed, we'll read that in just a minute. By
him all that believe are justified from all things which you could
not be justified by the law of Moses. Now look right across
the page, Acts 13, 48. And when the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord and as many
as were ordained to eternal life believed the gospel. Repent. Repentance is a sovereign grant
and gift of God, and faith is the sovereign command and gift
of God, and he gives it to whom he will. But that doesn't lighten
up the fact that all men are accountable unto God to bow to
God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we see in this chapter,
Paul was forced to leave another city of Berea, because of preaching
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a riot there,
many believed, and some rebelled against God. And while Paul waited
at Athens for Silas and Timothy to meet with him, his heart was
stirred, as it says in verse 16, when he saw the whole city
Verse 16, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
stirred in him when he saw the whole city given to idolatry. Now, Paul, what are you going
to do? When you walk into a city, when you see 30,000 idols to
everything under the sun that they were worshiping as gods,
therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with
devout persons in the marketplace daily with them that would meet
with him. In the synagogue and in the marketplace,
the Apostle Paul went preaching, preaching, preaching the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 18. Then certain
philosophers, the Epicureans and the Stoics, encountered him,
and they said, this man's nothing but a babbler. He's a base fellow. He's ignorant. They're saying
that he's an ignorant man. He seemeth to be set forth of
strange God, because he preached unto them the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the resurrection from the dead. Now, you know
exactly what he preached to them. You remember back in the same
chapter, look at Acts chapter 17, verse 2 and 3. Paul, as his manner was,
went in to them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of
the scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must need suffer,
risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach
unto you is the Christ. That was a strange doctrine to
them. They have never heard such a
message, resurrection from the dead. The apostle Paul preached
the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and preached the glorious
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this certainly was
a strange doctrine, a strange God, and something new that they
have never heard before. He's a setter forth of strange
gods. It says down here in verse 19,
may we know what this new doctrine is. See the last part of verse
19, whereof thou speakest. Now, it was certainly strange
and different to those men in that day. Sadly, this is also
true in our day. The true doctrine of the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ is strange to the generation in which we
live. PEOPLE IN OUR DAY HAVE BEEN TOLD
FOR SO MANY YEARS THAT CHRIST DIED MAKING AN EFFORT TO SAVE
ALL MEN EVERYWHERE OR TO PUT ALL MEN IN A SAVABLE STATE. IF
YOU GO TO THE AVERAGE CHURCH TODAY AND BOLDLY PREACH THE DEFINITE
ATONEMENT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, HIS PARTICULAR REDEMPTION THAT
IS CHRIST DYING ONLY FOR HIS ELECT, AND IT WAS SUCCESSFUL,
AND THOSE FOR WHOM HE DIED SHALL NEVER PERISH. You know what most
people would say in most churches over there in town? That's a
strange God. That's strange doctrine. They've
been told so long and lied to for so long that God loves everybody
and Christ died for everybody and trying to save everybody.
Those are three lies. God doesn't love everybody. The
Lord Jesus Christ did not, didn't die to save everybody. And certainly
those for whom God has purposed to save, He will save them. So
we tell the truth. The love of God is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ died only
and exclusively for His elect. He said, I laid down my life
for the sheep. Those for whom Christ paid their
debt, they cannot perish. This is what true faith and true
repentance acknowledge, love, and believe. God is God, and
the love of God is in Christ Jesus. If you would read through
the sermons in the book of Acts, when Peter preaches at Pentecost,
that great sermon, and God gave repentance and faith to 3,000
people. And again, when Stephen preached
the gospel there in Acts chapter seven, and again, when Paul is
given that message in Acts chapter 13, you know how many times in
all those sermons that they said, God loves everybody? Not one time. They do not even
use the word L-O-V-E. And yet, that's what everybody
says in religion today, don't they? God loves everybody? Just
not so, my friend. Jacob have I loved. What's the
other part of that? Esau have I hated. That's just
so. Now, you see, when these folks
heard that message, of the successful atonement and the glorious resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ." They said, that's a strange God. We've
never heard anything like that before. And that will be the
same attitude of this superstitious religious generation in our day. They don't know anything about
the true and living God. So what's going to happen? God
opens the door. for Paul to preach the gospel
in this high court in Mars Hill, verse 19. They took him and brought
him to this court. They said, we want to know about
this new doctrine whereof you speak. Where you speak of thou
bringest certain strange things to our ears. We would know therefore
what these things mean for all the Athenians, all those in Athens,
and the strangers that were there. They spent their time in nothing
but either to tell something new or to hear something new. It was a great place where minds
of people came together and they discussed different ideas. So what's Paul gonna do? Here
he has this open door. He's got this audience in what
would be equivalent to our Supreme Court. If one of God's servants
would be summoned to the Supreme Court today, a servant of God with a message
of God, with an opportunity to preach the gospel, we would do
so without any compromise, without any compromise. So Paul stood
up, verse 22, in the midst of all these philosophers, the Epicureans
and the Stoics, the liberals and the conservative philosophers
of their day, and they said, and Paul said to them, I perceive
that in all things you are just too religious. You're too superstitious. For I passed by and beheld your
devotion. I found an altar with this inscription,
to the unknown God. They were so superstitious and
scared in case they missed a God. They said, well, we'll just make
one to an unknown God. And we'll worship this unknown
God. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, Paul said, Him I declare
unto you. Now here we have this great,
great sermon the Apostle Paul preached to them. And what he
preaches to them is not anything new. It's not a new doctrine. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is not a new doctrine. It's as old as God. It's the
ancient gospel of the grace of God. The first thing Paul does
here is to condemn their idolatry. He condemns their idolatry. He
said, you're superstitious, but you're lost. You're religious,
but you're totally ignorant of a true and living God. We read
in Romans 10, Paul said that same thing of those Jewish people.
He said, you're ignorant of God's righteousness, and therefore
you're going about to establish your own. Now listen to me. Ignorant
worship of an ongoing God is nothing but idolatry. Nothing
but idolatry. You see, true worship is based
upon the Word of God that tells us who the true and living God
is and what He is doing. Now, hold your place there, put
your bookmark there, and find a book of Psalms, and look over
here at Psalm 115. This is the same thing that happened
in David's day. Psalm 115. Verse 1, not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy, for
thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where is now their God? David declares, our God is in
the heavens. and he hath done whatsoever he
hath pleased." That's the true and living God. Now look what
David says here. Their idols are silver and gold.
The work of men's hands, that's what they had there in Athens.
They have mouths, they don't speak. They have eyes, they don't
see. They have ears, they don't hear.
Noses, but they cannot smell. They have hands, they cannot
handle. They have feet, they cannot walk.
They don't speak. Look at verse eight. They that
make them, now underscore this, they that make them are likened
to them, so is everyone that trusteth them. Now, you trust
a piece of stone, a carved out piece of wood, or a carved out
piece of marble, and you try to approach a true and living
God in a dead idol, what do you have? You don't have worship.
You have nothing but vain, empty superstition. You see, true faith
is based upon the true word of God. True faith is not ignorant. As I read a moment ago where
Paul said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
he is able. The word of God tells us who
he is, almighty, the true and living God, not some dead, dumb
idol. True faith believes God based
upon the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing, hearing
by the Word of God. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded that he is able. Now in the time remaining, I
wanna try to get through the rest of this and I'll try to
be brief. The first thing he does here
He declares unto them who God is. God, the true and living
God, He made the world and all things therein, saying that He
is Lord of heaven and earth, and He does not dwell in temples
made with hands. So Paul declares unto them that
God is the creator. God made all things by the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's the supreme Lord in heaven
and earth, He created all things, He owns all things, He rules
all things, and He disposes of all things according to His own
will. You remember Nebuchadnezzar declared
after he had met the true and living God, he said, all the
inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he does
according to his will in the army of heaven and among the
inhabitants of this earth, and none can stay his hand, none
can say unto him, Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? He creates all
things by the word of his power. You see, in essence, what you
believe is determined by who you believe. If you believe a
true and living God, you believe everything that is recorded in
the Word of God about Him, that He has the sovereign dominion
over all things, over all the affairs of men, both good and
evil. God is God. Look at verse 24,
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he
is Lord. He's Lord of heaven. Now his
will is going to be done in heaven, right? What about on the earth? He's Lord in heaven and earth
and all things therein. Everything of him, you remember
Romans 11, 36, of him and through him and to him, all things to
whom be glory, both now and forever. So the Apostle Paul declares
that God is God. He's the sovereign God over all
things. The second thing he says, that
he's not confined to a temple made with hands. That is, he's
not only omnipotent and all-knowing, he is everywhere present God. You cannot confine him or contain
him to a certain place. Can you? I tell you how superstitious
people are. They go to what they call, they
take great plans, and they go to what they call, and they plan
this trip out, they go to the Holy Land. over there in Jerusalem,
and they think God is over there. They think they're gonna find
God in the Jordan River, or if they think they go to Bethlehem,
they're gonna see the place where the babe laid in the manger,
or if they think they go to the tomb, they're gonna, they're
gonna, God's gonna be there. He's everywhere present. He's
everywhere present. God is not confined to a certain
place or time. God inhabits eternity. One theologian, first century
theologian, Augustine said, God is God, he habits eternity, whose
center is everywhere, whose circumference is nowhere. God is God everywhere. He's not confined to our temple. PEOPLE CAN BUILD TEMPLES AND
BUILD TEMPLES AND THEY SAY GOD DWELLS THERE. GOD DWELLS EVERYWHERE. GOD DWELLS EVERYWHERE. STEPHEN
DECLARED THIS TOO IN HIS SERMON. TURN BACK OVER HERE IN ACTS CHAPTER
7. ACTS CHAPTER 7. LOOK AT VERSE 48. SOLOMN BUILT HIM A TEMPLE, BUILT
HIM A HOUSE. HOW BE IT THE MOST HIGH DWELLETH
NOT IN TEMPLES MADE WITH HANDS, SAYETH THE PROPHET. HEAVEN IS
MY THRONE. Earth is my footstool. What house
will you build me, saith the Lord? Or what is the place of
my rest? Hath not my hand made all these
things? You can't confine or contain
God. You can't put him in a box or
hem him up in a corner. He's the everywhere present God.
He rules and reigns over all things and he's everywhere. That's
what he's saying. Now look at verse 25. Our God is in the heavens. He
is done whatsoever He is pleased. God is spirit, neither is He
worshipped with men's hands, as though He needs anything from
us, saying that we're the ones that are dependent upon Him.
He gives life and breath and all things. You cannot exist
for one second without the sovereign will of God. You can't take your
next breath without the will and purpose of God. God is not
dependent upon us. We can spell. They have these
bulletin boards in front of these churches and they say, we can't
spell church without you. My friend, we can because God
is God over all things. He's not in our hand, we're in
his hand. He's not dependent upon us. We
are totally dependent upon him to accomplish and perform all
things for us. God is spirit, and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. You remember
John chapter four? And there is no spiritual worship
without the truth of God, without the word of God, without the
word of truth. Look at verse 26. Paul further says this, God who
created all things made of one blood, all nations of men that
dwell on the face of the earth and God had determined the time
before appointed and the bounds of their habitation. God created
one man and all men issued from that one man. That's what he's
saying here. Of all men in all nations come
from one man, Adam. And we know what happened in
that one man. When Adam sinned against God, we sinned against
God and plunged all of us into total guilt and depravity. This verse also teaches us that
God determines the time of our birth, our first and second.
God determines the day of our death. All things are determined
by him. He hath appointed a day. God
hath appointed a day, a time, a place. It's appointed unto
men once to die, and after that, what, judgment? Job says this. Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee. Thou hast appointed
his bounds. He cannot pass. NOW I'M GLAD
WE HAVE DOCTORS AND MEDICINE. BUT ALL YOUR DOCTORS AND ALL
YOUR MEDICINE ARE NOT GOING TO EXTEND YOUR LIFE ONE SECOND UPON
THE APPOINTED TIME THAT GOD SAID YOUR DAYS ARE DONE. MAN'S DAYS
ARE DETERMINED OF GOD. OUR GOOD DOCTOR BACK THERE SAID
YES, THAT'S SO. MAN'S DAYS ARE DETERMINED OF
GOD. NOW THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE IRRESPONSIBLE. I'm going to follow my doctor's
orders, and I'm going to do what he tells me to do. And maybe
I'll have some better health while I'm here, but that's not
going to extend my day one second past the appointed time God has
fixed the day of my birth and the day of my death, my first
birth and my second, born again, born from above. You see, the
psalmist said our times are in God's hands. God has determined
our time. God has appointed these bounds,
and we're not gonna go past them. I mean, you can exercise and
eat healthy and do all that thing, and I'm all in on that. You can
paint this flesh, pump this flesh, promote this flesh, it's still
flesh. It's still gonna die at God's
appointed time. Man is a dying creature. Our
only hope is in Christ. Look at verse 27. That they should seek the Lord.
God had determined the times, determined, appointed their bounds,
that they should seek the Lord. What should we do? Seek the Lord. Why should we seek the Lord?
Well, there's mercy found only in the Lord, that they should
seek the Lord. Perhaps, that word, that they
might feel after him and find him. You know what? You don't need to go to the Holy
Land. He's right here. He's not far from every one of
us. Remember what I said, God's everywhere
present. Wherever you're at, Wherever
you go, call upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved.
Seek him, feel after him, and find him. I love that language. Sinner should seek mercy where
it's found. Sinner should seek forgiveness
and salvation where it's found. Seek him, feel after him, and
find him. I tell you what, if you seek
him, you'll find him. If you seek the Lord, you'll
find him. You know why? Because if you seek the Lord,
the shepherd's seeking you out. That's exactly right. Our Lord
said this, you shall seek me and find me when you search for
me with all your heart. You seek the Lord where he's
found, you call upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be
saved. We read in Isaiah 55, seek you the Lord while he may
be found and call upon him while he is near. Call upon the Lord. Don't call upon me. You call
upon the name of the Lord and thou shalt be saved. Isn't that the same thing the
Lord told the Philippian jailer? Turn back one page, Acts 16. Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Verse 30, Acts 16, verse 30. BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST,
AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED. BELIEVE ON HIM. FAITH IS THE
GIFT OF GOD. I LOOK AT VERSE 28. FOR IN HIM
WE LIVE AND MOVE, AND WE HAVE OUR BEING, AS CERTAIN ALSO OF
YOUR OWN. Your own poets have said, for
we are the creation of God. We are created in the image of
God, created He, us in Him. We are also the offspring of
God. In Him we live, in Him we move,
in Him we have our being. Again, he's saying we're totally
dependent upon His mercy. Verse 29, for as much as we're
the offspring of God, We ought not to think that the Godhead,
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Godhead, the Trinity, God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, He's the living
God. We ought not to think that He's
like unto gold, silver, and stone, graven by the artistry of men. How sad. that men seek idols. It's just a monument to our total,
total depravity. Verse 29 and verse 30, for as
much as we're the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
Godhead is like gold, silver, stone. Look at verse 30 now. And the time to this ignorance
God winked at but now commands all men everywhere to repent. I want you to find this scripture
with me because I want you to see this. Turn to Isaiah 45. Isaiah 45. What good would it
do to pray unto a stone or a graven image? Look what it says here
in Isaiah 45 verse 20. Tell ye, bring them near, yea,
let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
time? Who hath not told it from that time? Had not I the Lord?
There is no God else beside me, a just God and Savior. There
is none beside me. Look unto me and be saved. All
the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. There's no other Savior. There's
no other Redeemer. There's no other way of salvation
but by the grace of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. This time of ignorance among
the Gentiles, God overlooked. God passed the Amalekites. Hittites, the Jebusites, all
the other ites, God passed them by with no word, no tabernacle,
no prophet. But now that the Lord Jesus Christ
has come, God commands every man to bow to the claims of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now hold your place there and
find Luke 24. I'm just about through. Luke 24. Luke 24. Our
risen Lord said this. Luke 24, Luke verse 44. And he
said unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you
while I was yet with you. All things must be fulfilled
which are written in the law of Moses, in the prophets, and
in the Psalms concerning me, God told us to go preach the
gospel to every creature. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. preach the gospel, he that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved. Now, why did he tell us to go
into all the world and preach the gospel? Because God has an
elect out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue who must hear
the gospel, who must be called out of darkness into his marvelous
light with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God commands all men everywhere
to repent, bow to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look
at verse 31 in closing, because God's appointed a day in which
he will judge the world by that man whom he has ordained, whereof
he has given assurance unto all men that he raised him from the
dead. What is the standard of judgment? Christ. Are you found in him? He is salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is salvation. He will judge the world by that
man. What is your relationship with
that man? Do you have a union with that
man, the Lord Jesus Christ? Turn to Matthew 25, and we'll
close with this. Matthew 25, in that last day,
the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to
the Son, right? Matthew 25, 31. When the Son
of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with
him, he shall sit upon the throne of his glory, the throne of judgment. And before him shall all nations
be gathered, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divides his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, that's the elect of God, but the goats on his
left hand, he separates them out, Then shall the king say
unto them on his right hand, come, oh come, ye blessed to
my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ stood as
a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. What about those
on the other hand? On the right hand, he shall set
the sheep. On the left hand, look down at
verse 41. Matthew 25 41 then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand depart from me ye cursed into
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels verse
46 these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous
the righteous unto or into eternal life. Now,
how are they righteous? They're righteous in Christ,
in the Lord Jesus Christ. In that great day of judgment,
to be found without the Lord Jesus Christ as your mediator,
savior, redeemer, and surety, it will mean for you everlasting
punishment. But to win Christ and be found
in Him now and in that day, What a blessing. What a blessing.
Believers will stand in Christ and be judged based upon the
faithfulness of his Savior, the faithfulness of his Savior, the
faithfulness of his Redeemer. The unbeliever will stand in
that day with no mediator, no Savior, no Redeemer, and the
Lord will judge him upon his doing, and he'll say, depart
from me. I never knew you, you workers
of iniquity. I never knew you. Well, in closing,
verse 32, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead,
some mocked, others said, well, we'll hear you later on this
matter. So Paul departed. How be it,
verse 34, certain men claim unto him and believe the gospel. God granted some faith and repentance. Dionysus, and a woman named Damaris
and others. Others. I'm one of those others. I'm one of those whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.