Bible Truth #340 - Acts 17:24-34

Acts 17:24-34

24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25  Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
31  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

32  And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

33  So Paul departed from among them.

34  Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

I wrote about this passage in Bible Truth #339 but I discussed verse 28. I want to continue on to verse 30.

God commands all men everywhere to repent but only those whom He has quickened will repent in a way pleasing to Him since they that are in the flesh can not please God (Romans 8:8).  This is because He has not granted repentance to those not chosen (2 Timothy 2:25).  Anything a lost man does, including believing, repenting, and “accepting” Jesus, is “of the flesh” and Jesus said the flesh counts for nothing (John 6:63).

Verse 30 is also what some claim as proof that men were not held accountable for their actions before the Law. My former pastor (who is Arminian in his soteriology) has used Luke 12:47-48 as an explanation for the consequences of those who have never heard the Gospel. I agree with him. The servant who knows his master's will and does not do it will be beaten with many stripes, the servant that does NOT know his master's will and does not do it will be beaten with few stripes (but beaten nonetheless). Just as there are levels of reward in Heaven, so too are there levels of punishment in Hell. Those who lived before Christ who never heard the Gospel, as well as those who aren't chosen who live and die today in closed societies or remote jungles who have never heard the Gospel are still going to Hell but will receive less punishment for their sin than those who have heard the Gospel and rejected Christ.

Some claim that there is enough evidence in nature to get a man saved. They are sadly mistaken. They say that Romans 1:20 is the solution for the problem of those who never hear the Gospel, not only then but also today for the thousands who die every day without ever hearing the Gospel. Sorry, as I explained in Bible Truth #78, #81, and #373, what Paul writes in Romans 1:20 is only enough evidence in nature for man to acknowledge God the Creator, NOT God the Savior.

Some will say, “But that’s not fair of God to do that.” Oh really? ...who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” (Romans 9:20) You turn things upside down (Isaiah 29:16) and you quarrel with your Maker (Isaiah 45:9). God is not required to give anyone anything, whether a “chance” to hear the Gospel or an “opportunity” to be saved. We ALL, each and every single one of us, we ALL deserve hell from the moment of our conception because we are conceived in sin (Psalm 51:5). I just praise God that in His mercy and grace He chose to save some.

Those who have never heard the Gospel will be judged on how they live their lives according to how they see God in nature, but judged nonetheless. The Gospel is NOT in nature and it is only Jesus Christ of the Gospel that saves. As Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

Man doesn’t need God’s Word to know what’s morally right. Long before the Bible was written, in fact, even before the author of the first 5 books of the Old Testament was born, men knew the difference between right and wrong. The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah, whom the Pharaoh told to kill the baby boys born to Israelite women, did not comply with the Pharaoh’s command because they feared God (Exodus 1:16-17).

You can go even farther back than that. Read the story of Cain and Able where Cain killed his brother. When God asked him where his brother was Cain lied to God trying to hide his deed (Genesis 4:8-9). Why did Cain try to hide the fact that he killed Able if he didn’t know it was wrong? Long before the Old Testament was written men knew right from wrong.

And finally, in verse 31 God again tells us that there is coming a day which He has already determined in which He will judge the world. When God created time, He created the beginning, the end, and everything in between. From God’s perspective in eternity, what was ever going to occur in time has already happened. God has already declared what will take place tomorrow, next week, next month and next year (Isaiah 46:10) - and yes, that includes quickening the spirits of those He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).