Paul's Sermon at Athens

Q: What does the Bible say about idolatry?

The Bible warns against idolatry as a rejection of the true God, emphasizing that God is the creator and ruler of all. In Acts 17, Paul addresses the Athenians who were deeply engrossed in idolatry, pointing out their incorrect worship of unknown gods. Idolatry is seen as a form of superstition, representing a mistaken understanding of God's true nature. Scripture demonstrates that God created the world and everything in it, as seen in his omnipotent authority. The worship of false gods distracts from the power and glory of the one true God who is sovereign over all creation. The consequences of idolatry include spiritual blindness and separation from the true God.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is affirmed throughout Scripture, indicating that He directs all events according to His will. The concept of God's sovereignty is a central tenet of Reformed theology, illustrated in passages such as Isaiah 46 and Acts 17. God is portrayed as one who not only created the world but rules over it, orchestrating events according to His own purpose. The Scriptures emphasize that nothing happens without God's decree, highlighting that He is in complete control. The assurance of salvation rests on God's sovereign choice and power rather than human effort, affirming that He does not invite but commands all men to repentance.

Q: Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

The doctrine of grace is foundational for understanding salvation as a gift from God, not a result of human effort. Grace is central to the Christian faith, revealing God's character as merciful and loving. In Acts 17, Paul stresses that salvation is not based on works but on God's sovereign choice to save. Understanding grace helps Christians grasp their dependence on God for salvation and the assurance of eternal life. This doctrine highlights that all accomplishments, including faith and repentance, are enabled by God's grace, not by human merit. Therefore, the doctrine of grace allows believers to walk in confidence, knowing that their salvation is secure in Christ alone.

Q: What is the significance of seeking the Lord?

Seeking the Lord is essential for knowing Him and experiencing His grace and mercy. In Acts 17, Paul calls on the Athenians to seek the Lord, emphasizing the importance of knowing the true God rather than pursuing false images or rituals. Seeking God reflects a heart that acknowledges human need and the reality of divine mercy. It is an invitation to enter into a relationship with the Creator, who is not far from any of us but seeks to reveal Himself to those who earnestly seek Him. This pursuit should be characterized by sincerity and a desire for authentic relationship, leading to transformation and salvation.

Q: Why should Christians understand total depravity?

Total depravity underscores the fundamental need for God's grace in salvation. The concept of total depravity explains that as a result of the fall, every aspect of humanity is affected by sin, leaving individuals incapable of saving themselves. Paul's sermon in Acts 17 presents the need for recognizing one's helplessness before a sovereign God. Understanding total depravity leads to a greater appreciation of God's mercy; acknowledging that apart from divine intervention, no one can come to God. Therefore, it establishes the foundational truth that salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace, not of human effort.

Now, I have prayed for her, and Brother
Bob prayed for me, liberty to preach this message tonight,
but I've also prayed for restraint and for a calm spirit. I feel
so strongly about what I'm going to preach. I want to do it calmly
and compassionately. The wrath of man does not work
the righteousness of our Lord. That's hard for us to learn.
We want to do it ourselves, and it can't be done. But if you'll
turn to Acts chapter 17, Acts 17. Now this is the fourth message
in a series of messages on the sermons of the apostles recorded
in the book of Acts. Now Paul, let me give you a little
background, Paul had been preaching the gospel in Thessalonica. And the religious Jews, not the
common people, not the people of the streets, not the centers out on the thoroughfares and the
wayside, but the religious Jews stirred up the people against
Paul and against his message in Thessalonica, and he had to
flee. And he fled from there to a place called Berea. But
these Thalaspality They followed him to Berea, and they stirred
the people up against him there, these religious leaders, these
scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees. So he left there, and the brethren
sent him to Athens. And that's where he is here,
he's in Athens. And he's there waiting for his
friends Silas and Timothy. And we'll pick it up there in
verse 16. Now while Paul waited for them,
for Silas and Timothy at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him. I'm not alone in this thing.
The Apostle Paul's spirit was stirred in him when he saw the
city wholly given to idolatry, to religious idolatry. Is not
your spirit stirred within you? You who know something about
the character of God, the attributes of God, the glorious person,
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't your spirit stirred within
you when you see all the false prophets and false preachers
and false cults and sects and denominations and so-called gospels
that are being preached? Don't you just agonize? This is the way Paul felt. This
was a religious city. Athens was a religious city. Somebody said in the days of
Nero there were 30,000 statues and shrines and altars in that
area. 30,000 public statues. And Paul
was grieved with idolatry. All the religious paraphernalia. And verse 17, therefore he went
to the synagogue, therefore disputed he in the synagogue with these
Jews. What was he disputing over? Who
God is. How God saved sinners. What Moses
and the other prophets were writing about. Christ Jesus. His gospel. That's what he was disputing
about. And with the devout persons there, the so-called religious
leaders. They were following a gospel
of works and a gospel of law instead of the gospel of grace.
And even, verse 17, in the marketplace, he went out there daily with
them that met with him. Anybody that listened to him,
he wanted to tell them the good news, the gospel of Christ, the
free grace of God in Christ Jesus, the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Now, Athens was full of philosophers. Not only full of altars and shrines
and idols, but it was full of philosophers and religious leaders,
like our day. Verse 18, Then certain philosophers
of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him, and they
said, What will this babbler say? This man wasn't a babbler,
he was to them. This was one of the twelve apostles. as one born out of due time.
Paul, I want you to see how far off they are from God. These
men have a zeal for God. These are Jews. These are religious
people. These are religious leaders. This man is one of God's apostles,
a man who had seen the Lord, a man who got his gospel straight
from Christ. A man God had used miraculously
to preach the gospel all over the place there, and they called
him a babbler. You say, who are these Epicureans? Well, you won't remember this,
because I didn't remember, I had to look it up again. They were
followers of a man called Epicurus, who lived 300 years before Christ. And these people believed in
God. But they did not believe God
created the world. And they did not believe God
ruled the world. They did not believe he created
the world, nor did they believe he ruled the world. And that's
what most of the people here in America, even religious people,
they don't believe God created the world, they don't believe
God rules the world. And they taught that happiness lies in
pleasure. Isn't that true today? Happiness
lies in pleasure. They felt especially the pleasure
of the mind. The pleasure of the mind. Intellectualism. That's where happiness is. Pleasure
and intellectualism. Now the Stoics, there's another
group mentioned there. These philosophers, these Epicureans
and Stoics called him a babbler. A babbler. The Stoics were followers
of a fellow called Zeno, and here's what they believed. They
believed God made the world. But they believed the world was
ruled by fate. And with them, happiness, they
believed happiness lies in moral virtue. And virtue is its own
reward. In other words, a moral man is
a happy man and a joyful man in pain or pleasure. But these
fellows, these Epicureans and Stoics and philosophers said,
what will this babbler say? And others said, well, he seems
to be the setter forth of a strange God. That's what they declare
today about anybody who preaches the sovereign grace of God. When
we preach that God is almighty, God is sovereign in creation
and providence and salvation, He will be merciful to whom he
will, gracious to whom he will, that God elected a people, that
the purpose of God and the plan of God and the kingdom of God
is not left to chance, that all that the Father giveth him will
come to him, that Christ came into this world to redeem a people,
God gave him, and his death is effectual. and will put away
their sins, and the Holy Spirit is not trying to save anybody.
He's calling out a people for God's glory. And they will persevere
and they will continue and they will be preserved. And people
say, that's a strange God. That's not my God. That's not
my God. And that's what they said about
Paul. They called him a babbler. And they said he seems to set
forth strange gods because he preached to them Jesus and the
resurrection. Jesus and the resurrection, and
they took him and brought him to a place called Areopagus. Now, that's nothing in the world,
but a place, a courtyard, a courtyard and a place, really it's called
Mars Hill. And this is a place where all
the so-called wise men and philosophers and religious people met to debate,
to share, to exchange ideas, you know. and discuss religion
and discuss new things. See, verse 21, look down at verse
21. All the Athenians and strangers
which were there spent their time in nothing else but to tell
or to hear some new thing, some new thing. And so they took Paul
to this place. And verse 19, they took him and
brought him here to Mars Hill to the courtyard, Areopagus,
saying, Now may we know What this new doctrine, whereof thou
speakest, is, new doctrine. Did you know that what we call
the doctrines of grace, what is nicknamed Calvinism, this doctrine of God's, of man's
total depravity, total fall, original sin, God's attributes
and sovereignty, God's elective grace, Christ's particular work. Three hundred years ago, that
wasn't a strange doctrine. What they're preaching today
was the strange doctrine. What they're preaching today
is the new doctrine. In fact, way back yonder, in
the days of Luther and Calvin and those men, The Catholics, of course, had
a system of works, but what were called the centuries and independence,
nearly all preached this doctrine. Nearly all of them. You see,
there were several main, back then 200 years ago, 300 years
ago, they didn't have all these denominations. They had the massive
Catholic, and you know what that is. But what they called the
independence. The dissenters and the people
that believed the gospel of God's grace, they were the Baptists
and the Lutherans and the Presbyterian and the Dutch, and that made
up all of them. And all of them had a confession
of faith. The Heidelberg Confession of
Faith the Dutch had, and the Westminster Confession of Faith
The Presbyterians had, and the London Confession of Faith, 1600
and something, the Baptists had, and the Lutherans, I'm not sure
about theirs, but all of them agreed on this gospel, this doctrine
of grace, this gospel of God's grace. You could adopt any of
the three. The place where they disagreed
was on baptism, the mode of baptism. and the former church government.
You see, back yonder, two or three hundred years ago, back
in the days of John Gill and George Whitefield and on back
yonder and Huss and Luther and those men, all the independents
and the dissenters and the people who were not Catholic, they were
Catholic and Protestant. And the Protestants raved the
grace of God. That's what they taught. That's
what they died for. That's what these men were persecuted
for. That's what these Reformers That's
why they came out of Catholicism, they came out to preach the gospel
of grace. But today, you have this massive Catholic Church,
Catholicism, you have Protestantism, and you have the believers in
grace. That's exactly right. There are a few. You have these
people like Here's a church, how many churches in this area,
in this county? Hundreds of them. As far as I
know, there's not another church in this county, not another one,
that would adopt what we call the doctrines of grace, the London
Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg or Westminster. I don't know
of one. Do you know of one in Arlington? You've been there
for 50 years, you don't know of any of them. But there are
a lot of churches. This is a strange doctrine to
them. See, this thing is so parallel to the similarity between this
day right here, when Paul stood in Athens with all of its steeples
and altars and shrines and religious doings, and here he came saying
that man was a sinner, a fallen creature. In Adam, all died. That God is a God of power and
might and glory. that he sent his beloved son
to be the redeemer of sinners. He didn't send him here on an
effort to accomplish something by fate or chance, but by purpose.
That he died for those people, and the Holy Spirit calls him
out by his name. Paul was preaching that, and
they said, what's this, some strange God you're preaching?
Is this some strange new doctrine you've come up with? And that's
the way it is today. A friend of mine, at a certain
place where he got a haircut. And Pastor, Grace Preacher, years
ago, he went in to get his hair cut one day, and the barber said
to him, said, you're a preacher. And he said, I've heard you on
the radio. He said, I don't have an appointment
for the next half hour after you. Would you sit down and just
tell me what this is, you believe? This person was religious, went
to church every Sunday, and said, I'd just like to know what you're
saying. So my friend, the Apostle, when he got through cutting his
hair, he sat down, and Barbara came over and sat down beside
him, and he said, I'll just be quiet now, you just tell me what
you believe, what you're preaching. So my friend started, and he
talked for about 15 or 20 minutes on the glory of God and the need
of sinners. of Christ and the glory of Christ
and the redemptive work of Christ and the Spirit of God and the
kingdom of God. And when he got through, the
barber looked at him and said, That's the weirdest thing I ever
heard in my life. That's the weirdest thing I ever
heard in my life. He never heard anything like
it. Well, that's our day. Verse 19, May we know what this
new doctrine, wherever you speak of this, But you, listen, verse
20, you bring certain strange things to our ears. We would
know, therefore, what these things mean. So verse 22, here's Paul's
message. Then Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill, this court of the Areopagites, and he said, Ye
men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious.
That word is religious. And my friends, without Christ,
that's what religion is, superstition. Without a purpose, without a
foundation, without a true declaration from a sovereign God who can
do what he says he can do, who is able to do what he promised,
your religion is superstition and nothing else but. It's a
hope, a hope, a hope. It's a shot in the dark. It's
a flip of the coin. It's a horseshoe hung on your
door. It's salt thrown over your shoulder.
That's what it is. It's superstition. That's all.
The religion around here today with all it's hope to do and
singing and give God a chance and let Jesus into your heart
and I accepted Jesus and all this sort of thing. It's nothing
but superstition. There's no rock, there's no foundation,
there's no purpose, there's no promise, there's no surety, there's
no assurance, there's no confidence whatsoever. The only confidence
you can have is in a power greater than all power who says, this
is what I'm going to do, and I'm going to do it for you, because
I chose to. That's the only hope you've got.
That's exactly right. You can walk up and down this
aisle all you want to and shake all the preacher's hands and
make your profession, get baptized, take the wafer and the wine and
all this other stuff, and there's nothing in the world but crossing
your fingers and hoping when the dust clears you'll be on
the right side, but you'll find out you're not. That's exactly
right. It's superstition. That's what
it says it is. It's superstition. Verse 23,
I pass by and I beheld your devotions. I beheld the gods that you worshiped,
I beheld all of these shrines and altars. They had
invented all kinds of gods. And I found, he said, an altar
with this inscription, to the unknown God. The unknown God. Why in the world do you suppose
they ever erected a monument like that? Well, they had invented
all sorts of gods, little g, and named them, but evidently
they felt that there may be a god they didn't know about somewhere,
a god unknown to them. So they erected this altar which
says, to the unknown god. This is what they were saying,
in case. We've got all these gods, and
that's the idea in America. Doesn't matter what you believe,
doesn't matter how you worship, just so you're sincere. We've
got all these different denominations and gods and forms and ways of
worship and so forth. But in case we've left out a
god in our devotions, a god whom we do not know, then we'll erect
a statue to him to keep from offending him. And Paul said,
whom," they put that sign up to the unknown God. He said,
"...whom therefore you ignorantly acknowledge." Him, therefore,
whom you ignorantly acknowledge. They weren't worshiping God,
they didn't know it. You can't worship if you don't
know it. But whom you ignorantly acknowledge, him I declare unto
you. Him I declare unto you. Paul
said, this is the very God I'm preaching. This is the very God
of heaven and earth. This is the true God. This is
the God natural men do not know. And I don't care whether they're
natural religious men or profane men, they do not know the living
God. Ninety percent of the preachers
in this country do not know the living God. And the reason I
say that is because they're not preaching the living God. I turned on my television this
morning. Typical. And here a fellow was
winding up his message and he was begging people to give God
a chance. Give God a chance. Here's the
word he used, and Doris will back this up, she's in the other
room listening. Won't you give God an opportunity to show you
what he can do. That's what he said. Give God
a chance. Give God an opportunity. So I
switched the channel, picked up another one. He's winding
up his message. He's using the same words. Try Jesus. He said you tried everything
else and it hadn't worked. Why don't you try it? You can't
try Jesus like trying on a pair of shoes. You can't try Jesus
like trying Tylenol or Advil or Herculean or just pick out
the one that will keep you under the biggest stupor. Try Jesus," he said, and he used
the same word. I said, Honey, listen, I'll talk
a lot. Give him a chance! Poor little fellow, he's over
there knocking, won't you let him in? He can't get in by himself,
he's so pitiful. That's the God, that's an unknown,
that's a false God. And I'm preaching a God men do
not know. And look at verse 24. You see, this God I'm preaching
made the world. He made the world and all things
therein, seeing he's Lord of heaven and he's Lord. What is a Lord? A ruler. He rules
over all. Our God is Lord. Our God rules. The God I'm preaching is not
trying to do anything. Let me surprise you. God's not
trying to save you. God is not trying to save anybody. If God Almighty set out to save
you, he'll save you. He said, my arm's not short that
I can't save, my ear's not heavy I can't hear, is anything too
hard for God? What kind of God is that? Since he made all things, he
owns all things. Since he made all things, he
makes all things work. And since he made all things,
he'll dispose of all things according to his will. Can I not do on
my own what I will? Turn with me to Isaiah 40. A
while ago Chuck Moore read this scripture over there in the prayer
room before we came into the service. Isaiah 40, and I thought
this is what, just exactly what God led him to read is what I'm
trying to preach. Isaiah chapter 40. Listen to
this. Verse 10, Isaiah 40. Listen to
this. Isaiah 40, but here's the Lord
God. Isaiah 40, verse 10. Behold, the Lord God will come
with a strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his
reward is with him, and his work is before him. He'll feed his
flock like a shepherd. He'll gather the lambs with his
arms. He'll carry them in his bosom. and he'll gently lead
those that are with young, who hath measured the waters in the
holler of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended
the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in
scales, and the hills in a balance, who hath directed the Spirit
of God, or being his counselor, hath taught him." with whom took
he counsel, who instructed him, and taught him in the path of
judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of
understanding. Behold, the nations are as a
drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small
dust of the balance. Behold, he taketh up their house
as a very little thing. And Lebanon, the whole forest
cedars of Lebanon, is not sufficient to burn, nor all the beasts of
the world thereof sufficient for a burnt offering to this
great God. All nations before him are as nothing, and they
are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. To whom will you liken God? Or
what likeness will you compare unto him?" Verse 21, listen,
have they not known? Have they not heard? Has it not
been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from
the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth on the
circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof as grasshoppers."
You think God needs you grasshoppers? No, God needs you. God said,
if I need anything, I wouldn't ask you. He said, the cattle
on a thousand hills of mine, the silver and gold in the hillsides
is mine. It's he that sitteth on the circle
of the earth, the inhabitants thereof, as grasshoppers, that
stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, spreadeth them out
as a tent to dwell in, that bringeth the princes to nothing, the leaders
of this world, to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth
as vanity. Verse 25, To whom would you liken
me? or shall I be equal, saith the
Lord God. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their
host by number. He calls them all by names, by
the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power, and
not one faileth." Oh, I tell you, turn to Isaiah 46 and listen
to this. Isaiah 45, Verse 5, listen, I
am the Lord. I am the Lord, there's none else,
there's no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast
not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and
from the west, there's none beside me, I'm the Lord, there's none
else. I form the light, I create darkness, I make peace, I create
evil, I the Lord do all these things. Look at Isaiah 46, verse
9. Remember the former things of
old, I'm God, and there's none else. I'm God, there's none like
me. I declare the end from the beginning. I declare the end from the beginning.
He called Moses, and he used Pharaoh to accomplish his purpose.
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and he destroyed
the rest of them. God is made of one blood, all
nations that dwell on the face of the earth. We all came from
Adam. God created one man. That man was called Adam. And
by one man sin entered this world, and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men, upon all races, upon all nations, upon all people.
We fell in Adam, we sinned in Adam, we died in Adam. He said
he's made of one blood, all nations of men, to dwell on all the face
of the earth, and he's determined the times before appointed. He's
determined them all. It says here that God has determined
the times of all men and all nations and all eras and all
events, and the bounds of their habitation,
even you and me. Job said, Man that is born of
woman is a few days and full of trouble, he cometh forth like
the flower when it is cut down, he fleeth as a shatter, and he
is not. God hath appointed his bounds. God hath determined the
number of his months and the number of his days, and when
that's over, that's when life stops. You're born when God decreed
it, and you'll die when God decrees it. And you can go on all the
diets you want to, and take out all the insurance policies you
want to, and you'll die when God wills it. I'm glad of that. I rejoice in that. God rules
over all things. All things. Even a sparrow can't
fall to the ground, that's your father. Your hairs of your head
are numbered, not one of them falls without the Father's knowledge.
That's right. God has appointed the bounds
of their habitation. Now then, verse 27, men should
seek the Lord. Men ought not create gods. They
ought not follow false gods. They ought not follow false preachers. They ought not follow these fellows
that come along and tickle their ears. They ought to seek the
Lord. They ought to seek to know the living God. They ought to
seek to know the God of creation, the God of power, the God of
greatness, the God of glory, the God of scriptures. I don't want to just have a God.
Everybody's got a God. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, this
is eternal life, that they might know thee, the true and living
God. That's the God I want. Men should seek the Lord. Men
shouldn't seek a Lord or a God, they ought to seek the Lord.
I'm going to visit all the different churches and see which one I
like. That's a fool, that's folly. What we need to find out is if
somebody is preaching the glory of God, men should seek the Lord. David said, as the thirsty deer
panteth for the water brooks, my soul panteth for thee, the
only true and living God." All men should seek the Lord.
We should never be satisfied with religion. Hand-me-down religions,
what most folks have, whatever their mother and father was,
that's what they are. They don't know why. Mother and father didn't
know why. We shouldn't follow custom and tradition, we ought
to seek to know God. Paul said, O that I may know
him, him, him. Well, listen, they ought to seek
the Lord, if haply they may feel after him and find him, though
he be not far from every one of us. The evangelists and preachers
today are using all the high pressure and psychology they
can to get you to do something for Jesus. Let me tell you something. We need that great God of mercy
and grace to do something for us. They're trying to get you
to accept Jesus. Listen, he's not up for your
acceptance or rejection. When he was here on the earth,
we all sped on him. shook our fist in his face and
said, We won't have this man to reign over us. And he died
on the cross of bed, and God exalted him at his right hand,
and he's seated at God's right hand, expecting till all these
enemies become his footstool. And he may have mercy on some.
He doesn't have to. Old Barnard used to say, Seek
the Lord. He may not save you. He doesn't have to. He may not,
but you better seek him. He may not. You think there's
a possibility of that? Here I am, a fallen, wretched,
miserable sinner, a son of Adam, corrupt and despised and depraved,
broken God's law, transgressed God's statutes and truths, walked
my own way, lived my own life, despised the God of glory, and
he's standing over there just begging me to let him in my heart.
I'm the one that ought to be begging him to come down here
and do something for me. That's the way it was in the
scripture. Christ didn't go around begging people to let him save
them. They came to him and said, Lord,
if you will, you can heal me. If you will, you can show mercy.
Lord, if you will, if you will, please help me! I'll tell you, instead of running
around talking about whether we're going to accept Jesus or
not, we'd better look to him and pray that God will accept
us in Christ. But he'll look down with favor
on you and me. Now, that's right. That's right. Somebody says, people hear you
preach like that and talk like that, they say, that's not what
they're saying. I know that's not what they're saying. But
what they're saying is not right, because it's an impotent God.
And you know how to tell whether a man's preaching the gospel
or not? How big is his God? I'll answer. Just how big is
his God? And how lost is his name? How
lost is his name? And how glorious is his Savior?
Won't that do it, Tom? I'll tell you what he's preaching.
How big is his God? Infinite. Can thou by searching
find God? What's higher than heaven, what can you know? Deeper
than hell, what can you know? Broader than the sea, what can
you know? Oh, the glorious riches of his grace, who can fathom
it? That's the God I'm preaching.
do what he will, when he will, with whom he will, where the
way he will. And man is so far from God, it's
impossible for him to come to God without God coming down and
getting him. That's right. And this thing of salvation is
not one thing you contribute to it before God saves you or
after God saves you, it's all Christ. It's all in him. God has He's not far. He's not far away.
This living God, he's making the moon shine, so he ain't too
far away. And he's giving you the power to breathe right now,
so he's not too far away, is he? Look, in him you live and
move and have your being. He's the one that's enabling
you to breathe. He's the one that's enabling you to move.
He's the one that gave you being, so he's not too far. He's not too far. Hearing ears
of the Lord, seeing eyes of the Lord. How wonderfully I'm made,
wasn't that what you read a while ago? He giveth to all life and breath.
That's what it said back there in verse 25. So this great God,
this sovereign God, this almighty God, he's not too far! You don't have to pick up somebody's
track to find out who he is. He's the powerful God. He's able
to do what he pleases. You call, he can hear. He can
hear your weak voice, submit all the thunder and lightning
and roaring of the whole universe, which he controls in every minute
detail. He can hear a baby cry. He can
hear a sinner whisper. In the midst of his dying on
a cross, he can turn to a thief and say, Today shall God be with
me in paradise. That's my God. That's the God of this Bible.
Verse 28, in him we live, move, and have our being, and certain
of your poets said, We are his offspring. Therefore, forasmuch
then as we are the offspring of God, who made us? God did.
God said, Let us make man. He made man his own image. So
if God is made in our image, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is like gold, silver, and stone, graven by man's art
and devices. Why would we go over there and
build a great big building? put a big steeple on it and all
these funny looking windows, you know, and all these religious
looking things and candles burning, that's not God. When Jesus Christ
came into the world, he didn't come into the world with gold
and silver hanging all over him, he came in flesh. He came as
a man. That tells us something about
God. When God would reveal himself
to us, he didn't paint the sky with all these sky rockets and
gold and silver and come riding on a horse, he came as a carpenter,
a man, a human. God in human flesh. So when we
worship God, why do we? I saw a preacher on television
with a great big robe on him, all those red stripes and all,
you know, and that big robe hanging down, and I wonder, what's that
got to do with worshiping God? What's that got to do with God?
What's that got to do with the gospel? Well, I don't think God is gold
or silver or stone or statues. What's all these statues got
to do with God? Now, verse 30, the time of this
ignorance, God's overlooked, God's winked at. That doesn't
mean winked at as if he were chuckling at it. It means he's
overlooked. hundreds of years of idolatry
and all these years of will worship and all these years of paganism
and idolatry and compromising his truth and his glory and his
attributes, God's overlooked. But now, listen, since Christ
Jesus came into this world and died on that cross, God commandeth
every man all men everywhere to change their minds, repent. That's what I said this morning,
change your mind. That's what repentance is, it's
a change of mind, it's a change of masters, it's a change of
manners. Change my mind about myself,
from the sole of my feet to the top of my head. There's no goodness
in me, there's no power in me, there's nothing in me that can
contribute one bit to God. God doesn't need me. Changed
my mind about God, who he is, the greatness of his glory and
power and majesty, holiness. Changed my mind about Christ
didn't come down here to make an offer, he came as a gift.
Salvation is not an offer. God doesn't invite men to repent,
he commands them. God does what? He commandeth
all men to repent. He doesn't invite you. The word
invite and invitation is not in this Bible anywhere but 2
or 3 times, and every time somebody invites somebody to dinner. A
king doesn't invite a beggar or a traitor to come into his
presence, he commands him to come into his presence. Isn't
that right? God commands men to repent, because,
verse 31, he's appointed a David. He, the living, this God, this
sovereign, living, almighty God, has appointed a day. And you
know the fear of the Lord. Do we know anything about the
fear of the Lord? Not today, because the God they preach,
who would fear that? Impotence. Peanut. He can't do
anything unless we let him. That's what they tell me. He
wants to. He's got a wonderful plan for you, Frank, if you just
let him work it. I tell you, he's got plans for you, all right.
He's got plans, and he's going to work them, too. I just, in
my heart of hearts, I fall on my face before him, and I say,
Lord, plan mercy for me. Don't let me be like Pharaoh.
Don't let me be like Judas. Don't let me be like Judas. I
don't want to be like Judas. I don't want to be like Simon
Magus. I don't want to be like Esau. Jacob have I loved, Esau
have I hated." That's right, he's got plans for you. He's got plans for everybody
here. He's appointed a day called the
day of our Lord, the end of all things, as we know it, the beginning
of his kingdom in which he's going to judge this world. God's
going to judge this world. Who's going to judge it? He's
going to judge this world in righteousness by that man, Jesus
Christ, whom he hath ordained. The Father judges no man, he's
committed all judgment to the Son. The Lamb will be the Lion,
the Lamb will be the Judge. And he's going to judge them
in righteousness. And I'll tell you, I don't want to stand in
my righteousness, I want to stand in his. I don't want to stand
in my little old puny profession of faith. I sure don't want to
be judged by my faith, either. It's so weak. I want God to judge
me on the basis of Christ's faith and faithfulness, on the basis
of Christ's life and work and righteousness, on the basis of
Christ's love for me, not my love for him, on the basis of
his expiation and his effectual substitutionary blood that was
shed on that cross for my sin, and on the certainty of his burial
and resurrection, and on the basis of his intercession for
me, not my intercession and crying after him. I want him to judge
me wholly and completely on the merit of Jesus Christ, the free
gift of God toward this sinner. Now, listen, if I'm found in
him, if I'm found in him, I mean not in the Church, not at the
altar, not with the right crowd, but if I'm found in him, I'll
be found in glory, because he's going to judge every man by that
man whom he hath ordained, and whereof he hath given confidence
and assurance to all men, and that he raised him from the dead. God Almighty raised our Lord
Jesus Christ from the dead and told this whole world, everything's
in him. Everything's in him. One day
he's going to deliver up that kingdom to the Father. The last
enemy he'll destroy is death, and he's going to deliver up
the kingdom to the Father, who put all things unto him, and
the Father's accepted who did put all things unto him. And
in that day he'll turn it over to God and say, I finished what
you gave me to do. Somebody said there will be plenty
of room in heaven, but there won't be any vacancies. His people
will all be there. Now, that's not depressing. That's
encouraging. Because the thing about it is
this. Lord, if thou shouldest mark
iniquity, who would stand? But there's forgiveness within.
But now that forgiveness, we're not going to find that forgiveness
running around talking about what we're doing for God. We're
going to find that forgiveness in what he did for us. It's free,
it's full, it's complete. God delights to show mercy to
sinners, to needy sinners. He delights to show mercy. Nobody
ever called on him in truth and called on him in need and called
on him in desperation that it wasn't healed. He said, I didn't
come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners. A lost man, a helpless man, a
needy man, you call on Christ, he delights to show mercy. But
he's not going to share his glory with you or me or anybody else. That's right. If you call it a babbler, that's
all right, strange God, but that's the living God.

Paul's Sermon at Athens

What does the Bible say about idolatry?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

What is the significance of seeking the Lord?

Why should Christians understand total depravity?

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Paul's Sermon at Athens

What does the Bible say about idolatry?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is the doctrine of grace important for Christians?

What is the significance of seeking the Lord?

Why should Christians understand total depravity?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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