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^30 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30–31)

We must remember that the Apostle Paul was addressing a predominantly Greek, or Gentile, audience when he spoke the Gospel on the Areopagus. The Greeks were ignorant of the Jewish Old Testament, because God up to that time almost exclusively revealed His plan of redemption to Israel. Except for His general revelation in creation, the pagan nations were largely left in ignorance. The Lord’s commissioning of Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles was changing this reality (Acts 9:15).

Paul preached that God commanded all people everywhere to repent. God’s command remains a present active reality. It is a command to, and for, all kinds of people, wherever they are. He commands them to repent. To repent (μετανοέω; metanoeo) means to turn away from sin. As such, the evidence of true, biblical repentance is a change of one’s attitude and behavior concerning sin and righteousness. True repentance is a continual rejection of sin and a continuing embracing of righteousness because of one’s conversion to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Repentance means a literal change of mind, not about individual plans or intentions, but rather a change in one’s attitude about God. Such repentance accompanies saving faith in Christ (Acts 20:21). Repentance and faith are both centered in Jesus Christ. They are two sides to the same coin of conversion.

The Tyndale Bible Commentary explains that, “It is inconsistent and unintelligible to suppose that anyone could believe in Christ yet not repent. Repentance is such an important aspect of conversion that it is often stressed rather than saving faith, as when Christ said that there is joy in heaven among the angels over one sinner who repents (Lk 15:7). The apostles described the conversion of the Gentiles to Christ as God granting them “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). Evangelical repentance and faith in Christ are in fact inseparable.”

The reason for the need of repentance, and faith, in Jesus Christ is because God the Father is going to judge the world. The righteous standard of that judgment will be whether one has faith in Jesus Christ. The righteous standard of Christ is assured by Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes that, “The final day of judgment (Revelation 20:12-15) would be an alien idea to Epicureans who believe that the gods could not be bothered by earthly events, and to Stoics, who view history as running in endless cycles. Yet the Athenians’ rejection of the Man who God appointed will result in Jesus finally and justly rejecting them on that Day of Judgment. Paul stresses that God’s call to repentance and faith is not merely an invitation but a command.”

Have you responded to God’s call to repent of your sin and to place your God-given faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ? If you have not, I urge you to do so today.

Soli deo Gloria!

“Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.” (Acts 17:29)

When he referred to the Greeks in particular, and all mankind in general, as God’s offspring (quoting from the Greek Poet Aratus), the Apostle Paul was not teaching the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. Rather, he taught that all mankind are a result of God’s creation. Every human being, whether converted or unconverted, is dependent upon the sovereign and biblical God in whom mankind lives, moves and has its existence.

This understanding of God being the creator should prompt humans to no long view God from a human point of view, but rather from a divine and biblical perspective. In other words, God should not be fashioned into an image of gold, silver or stone. The Athenians had done so, as others before, at an unprecedented level. It was time to stop.

God should no longer be formed by the artistic and imagination of man’s thoughts of what God is like in appearance. Exodus 20:1–6 (ESV)

Exodus 20:1-6 says, “And God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  

John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

In his classic work Knowing God, Dr. J.I. Packer writes, “The realization that images and pictures of God affect our thoughts of God points to a further realm in which the prohibition of the second commandment applies. Just as it forbids us to manufacture molten images of God, so it forbids us to dream up mental images of him. Imagining God in our heads can be just as real a breach of the second commandment as imagining him by the work of our hands.”

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “If man is the offspring of God, as the Greek poet suggested, it is foolish to think that God could be nothing more than a man-made idol. Such reasoning points out the absurdity of idolatry (cf. Isa. 44:9–20).”

Take the time today to worship the Lord in your thoughts, emotions and will and also do so according to His inerrant Word. Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

In the December 2005 issue of Ligonier Ministries Tabletalk Magazine, which addressed the subject of The First Advent, Pastor Burk Parsons, of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., wrote an article entitled Awaiting His Return. Parsons addressed the relationship between Jesus Christ’s future second advent with His historical first advent. The following is an excerpt from that article.

There is a widespread fascination with the end of the world. Throughout history, we have witnessed the bold assertions of soothsayers, naysayers, and doomsdayers. Every day, self-proclaimed prophets of the end times make whimsical predictions about the future. Claiming to have biblical authority, they tout their cleverly devised schemes about the end of the world as we know it, and by reading between the lines of the Old Testament prophetical books, they carefully contort the words of sacred Scripture to fit their fictional fantasies about the second advent of Christ.

We are, indeed, called to live with eager expectation of the second advent of Christ, but we should only do so in light of the first advent of Christ. In remembrance of Christ’s first advent, it is not enough simply to wish Jesus a happy birthday. In fact, to do so borders on blasphemy. Instead, we are called to remember and to celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Logos.

At the first advent of Jesus Christ, the fullness of time had come and God sent forth His Son into this fallen world. As the prophets foretold, He was born of a virgin who was richly blessed of God. He was born under the law of God, not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. As was necessary to redeem those under the Law, He fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law and took upon Himself the sins of His people, His sheep for whom He laid down His life.

As His people, we confess that Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead. We believe He will return to this world not as a babe in a manger but as the King of all the earth, in power and glory to manifest His reign over the new heavens and the new earth.

We confess His return because of what He taught us at His first advent and on account of the hope that is within us. For this reason, during the wonderful Advent season that comes each year, we should eagerly await the second advent of Christ as we celebrate the first advent of Christ. Nevertheless, let us always be mindful that although Christmas day comes only once a year, we are called to remember and celebrate the eternal work of Christ — past, present, and future — each day of our lives Coram Deo, before the face of God.

May we do as Pastor Parsons suggests. Have a blessed Lord’s Day on this Third Sunday of Advent, 2020.

Soli deo Gloria!

²⁶ “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. ²⁸ for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘for we are indeed his offspring.’” (Acts 17:26-28).  

In the Apostle Paul’s message at the Areopagus, he first told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. Secondly, God not only created the universe but also sustains it. Thirdly, God not only created and sustains the universe, He also governs it.

The purpose for God having created the world, sustaining it and governing it is so that His creation should, and would, seek Him. God’s intention is that creation would, as it were, feel their way toward Him and find Him. Unfortunately, that is not what the ancient Greeks did, nor is it what fallen man ever does. Fallen man needs God’s divine initiative, which regenerates the sinner by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the preaching of the Gospel (John 3:1-8).

For God is not only the source of physical life, He is also the only source for spiritual and eternal life. The Apostle Paul’s predominantly Greek audience knew little of the Old Testament Scriptures. However, they knew well their own Grecian poets.

Therefore, Paul decides to quote two Greek poets. First, he quoted Epimenides (7^th – 6^th century B.C.) who wrote, “In him we live and move and have our being.” Then, Paul quoted from Aratus (315-240 B.C.) who wrote, “For we are indeed his offspring.”

What these two Greek poets wrote concerning the Greek god Zeus, Paul applied to Yahweh, the one, true God of the Bible. It is Yahweh who is truly near mankind.

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “Paul says that God brought all people into being and they only exist by His providence. In the ancient world, the three great mysteries of philosophy and science were the questions of life, motion and being.”

Do you thank God for His nearness to you?  Do so today. For it is solely in Him that we live, move and exist.

Soli deo Gloria!  

²⁶ “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27).  

In the Apostle Paul’s message at the Areopagus, he first told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. Secondly, God not only created the universe but also sustains it. Thirdly, God not only created and sustains the universe, He also governs it.

The purpose for God having created the world, sustaining it and governing it is so that His creation should, and would, seek Him. God’s intention is that creation would, as it were, feel their way toward Him and find Him. Unfortunately, that is not what the ancient Greeks did, nor is it what fallen man ever does.

Psalm 14:1-3 says, “¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. ² The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. ³ They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

Romans 3:9-12 says, “⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ no one understands; no one seeks for God. ¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Like people who grope in the darkness because they cannot see, so also are fallen sinners. They recognize that there is within them a desire to worship someone, or something, greater than themselves. However, much like the Greeks, they invent their own gods to satisfy that desire. The tragic truth is that the one, true God is never far from any sinner.

Ephesians 2:1-3 says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

This remains the sinner’s fallen condition. What is required for the sinner’s conversion is a divine initiative. This divine initiative is what God provides.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”  

Take notice of the first two words in Ephesians 2:4: “But God.” God alone does what is required in order for sinners to come to Him in faith. He gives them new life by regenerating their souls in order to believe the Gospel. The fallen sinner is born again by God in order to believe the Gospel, instead of believing the Gospel on their own in order to be born again (John 3:1-3).

Fallen sinners do not seek God; God seeks them. Fallen sinners are spiritually dead; God gives them spiritual life. Fallen sinners seek good works to appease their false gods; God gives sinners grace and mercy.

Take time today to reflect on the biblical truth that God made you spiritually alive in Christ. It is not to your credit that you are a Christian. Rather, it is to God’s glory that you are converted. Praise Him today for His divine initiative.

Soli deo Gloria!

^“ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” (Acts 17:26)

In the Apostle Paul’s message at the Areopagus, he first told the Athenians that God was the true creator of the universe. That God was the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.

Secondly, God not only created the universe but also sustains it. The One, True God who made all things, gives His creation everything it needs. He does not need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. He provides life and breath and everything else.                                                                                                    

Thirdly, God not only created and sustains the universe, He also governs it. It was easy for the Athenians to be unaware of this truth in light of their rich democratic, philosophical and artistic culture. It is easy for today’s culture to forget this as well. America is dominated by political leaders who pursue power at all costs and who ignore God who has called them to serve, not swagger, in government (Romans 13).

God has created man, and from that one man has established every nation of mankind. Notice, God has made every nation. There are no governments independent of, or from, God’s sovereign authority. This was true historically and remains so even to this day.

God not only has created all nations, (past, present and future), but has also determined their lifespan and their borders. It would have been interesting for the Greeks to hear this because I’m sure they thought their great conqueror, Alexander the Great, was responsible for Greece’s victories in the third century B.C. and not God!

We must never forget that God has created all nations: their existence, their duration and their demise. This truth remains so and includes the United States of America. May America remember its origin, repent of its sin and return to the God of the Bible.

Soli deo Gloria!

^24 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24–25)

First, Paul told the Athenians that God is the true creator of the universe. He is the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.

God is the self-sufficient creator. He does not need anything outside of Himself. While God’s creation needs Him to exist, God does not need anything from His creation to exist. He has no need for anything from us.

Secondly, God not only created the universe but also sustains it. The One, True God who made all things, gives all the things His creation needs. He does not need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. He provides life and breath and everything else.                                                                                                    

Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”

Colossians 1:17 says, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Hebrews 1:1-4 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

2 Peter 3:4-7 says, “⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the Day of Judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Paul’s message to the Athenians not only is a lesson on Theology Proper, the study of God the Father, but also an excellent study on Christology, the study of  God the Son.  

Take the time today to thank God for the very breath you breathe and the life you live.  

Soli deo Gloria!

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.” (Acts 17:24)

Paul began his message to the Athenians by noting their religiosity. He even remarked about one of their altars which had the inscription, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.”

One commentator explains that, “This is an apparent attempt by the Athenians to cover all their bases and avoid offending any god at all, even one they might not know. Paul uses this as a point of contact, declaring he knows this God and can tell them how to worship Him rightly.

Paul identified the “UNKNOWN GOD” with the One, True God of the Bible. Paul told the Athenians about this God who they had already acknowledged existed and regarded worthy of honor. Paul will give the Athenians valuable and biblical knowledge of God.

First, Paul told the Athenians that God is the true creator of the universe. He is the one who made the world and everything in it. Therefore, God is greater than His creation. He is Lord and sovereign ruler of the earth. He cannot be contained, nor does He live, in man-made temples.

God is the self-sufficient creator. He does not need anything outside of Himself. While God’s creation needs Him to exist, God does not need anything from His creation to exist. He has no need for anything from us.

It is important for us to remember Paul’s audience consisted of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The Epicureans believed the Greek gods were remote and uninvolved in human affairs. The Stoics, on the other hand, believed in a divine principle that reason and logic dominated the cosmos.   

In response, Paul preached that God was a personal being who was transcendent over the universe, in contrast to the Stoics. Paul also preached that God also was deeply intimate and involved with His creation and creatures, in contrast to the Epicureans.  

God is neither an impersonal philosophy or force nor an uninvolved clock watcher who has no role in human life and living. As we shall soon see, it is in the Lord of heaven and earth that we live, move and have our being.

Take the time today to praise and worship this One, True God.

Soli deo Gloria!

^22” So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:22–23)

Luke often recorded the Apostle Paul preaching and teaching in the synagogues within the various cities to which he and his companions traveled. However, in today’s text Paul is not preaching and teaching in a synagogue but rather he is standing in the midst of the Areopagus, otherwise known as Mars Hill.

His presentation of the Gospel is masterful. He does not openly condemn the Athenians for the blatant idolatry. Rather, he used their very idolatry as an object lesson tool.

Paul began his message by saying, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.” Paul expressed that he understood the widespread religiosity of the Athenians. He also did not say that they were just religious, but rather that they were devoutly religious. Realize that this statement can be understood in either a positive or negative way. Certainly, Paul had in mind the latter and not the former.

Paul then wisely points to one of the Athenians very own idols. He said, “²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’” What did the inscription “to the unknown god” mean?

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “Possibly a reference to the Altar of the Twelve Gods of Athens, erected to ensure that no god is left out of their worship Paul uses this point of contact to begin his discourse about the God who made the world, who is not carved out of stone or confined to any temple, and who controls the times and the seasons where people live.”

Paul then said, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” The word “unknown” means to be unaware or ignorant of something, or in this case, someone: namely God. It is this One, True God who Paul would now proclaim to the Athenians in attendance.

What point of contact can you use to those who you know who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? What objects do you observe your friends, or family members, worshipping and honoring? Use this as a starting point to explain the Gospel and the reality of the One, True God of the Bible.

Soli deo Gloria!

Why did Jesus Christ come to earth? Why was He born to a virgin named Mary?

In 2017, Dr. R. C. Sproul went home to be with the LORD. He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., and first president of Reformation Bible College. He was author of more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, which for me personally is an annual read.

In the December 2005 issue of Ligonier Ministries’ Tabletalk Magazine, which addressed the subject of The First Advent, Dr. Sproul wrote an article entitled Born of the Virgin Mary. The following is a concluding excerpt from that article.

It is important to note that for Christ to be our perfect Mediator, the incarnation was not a union between God and an angel, or between God and a brutish creature such as an elephant or a chimpanzee. The reconciliation that was needed was between God and human beings.

In His role as Mediator and the God-man, Jesus assumed the office of the second Adam, or what the Bible calls the last Adam. He entered into a corporate solidarity with our humanity, being a representative like unto Adam in his representation. Paul, for example, in his letter to the Romans gives the contrast between the original Adam and Jesus as the second Adam. In Romans 5, verse 15, he says, “For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

Here we observe the contrast between the calamity that came upon the human race because of the disobedience of the original Adam and the glory that comes to believers because of Christ’s obedience. Paul goes on to say in verse 19: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

Adam functioned in the role of a mediator, and he failed miserably in his task. That failure was rectified by the perfect success of Christ, the God-man. We read later in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians these words: “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (1 Cor. 15:45).

We see then the purpose of the first advent of Christ. The Logos took upon Himself a human nature, the Word became flesh to effect our redemption by fulfilling the role of the perfect Mediator between God and man. The new Adam is our champion, our representative, who satisfies the demands of God’s law for us and wins for us the blessing that God promised to His creatures if we would obey His law. Like Adam, we failed to obey the Law, but the new Adam, our Mediator, has fulfilled the Law perfectly for us and won for us the crown of redemption. That is the foundation for the joy of Christmas.

Have a blessed Second Sunday of Advent as we worship the eternal God/Man: Jesus Christ. Fully God and fully man.

Soli deo Gloria!