One Command Fits All
Text: Acts 17:30 Intro:
If you’ve read the Bible very much, you know it’s a book full of commands and directives.
Think about all the different categories of commands there are:
Men
Women
Judges
Eyewitnesses
Pastors
Parents
Children
Businessmen
Citizens
Thieves
And sinners.
I mean,
There is a vast array of:
Different commands to a variety of
Different people, fulfilling a diversity of
Different roles.
In fact,
These authoritative imperatives cover every major role in life!
There’s not a single area, function or position that doesn’t somehow come under the jurisdiction of the now-reigning Christ!
Yet,
Not every one of these directives applies to me however.
Nor in fact, do they all apply to you either.
For instance,
If you are a woman, God obviously doesn’t expect you to comply with the mandates directed to fathers.
And statements made to young men certainly don’t apply to widows,
Nor are the instructions give to police officers transferable to high school teachers.
In such a case, the role determines the rule.
For,
Each role has its own set of God-given responsibilities; therefore, the question is always: ‘Is God addressing me here in this passage?’
That said, I want us to consider a command which applies to us all.
Let’s call it the ‘Everybody Command.’
I. The Everybody Command
I am certain that I can say without fear of contradiction that there is one command which applies to all people across the board regardless of:
Age
Gender
Or Social status.
In this case,
role has no bearing on its application whatsoever!
Are you curious as to what this ‘One Command Fist All’ is?
Well, you can see it for yourself in the passage from Acts 17
“While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:16,22-31
So,
Did you pick up on the ‘Everybody Command?’
It’s so clear: “He has commanded all people everywhere to repent.”
Who is left out in this?
Nobody!
There are:
No exceptions.
No exemption—it’s ‘all people’ ‘everywhere.’
Ill.
In fact, if we should ever put a colony on the moon or establish a space city somewhere in the galaxy, this command holds true even there! For the official notice reads:
“God commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30
Why?
1. Because it’s still God’s Universe that they are living in.
2. And secondly, they have broken His Law and need to change.
But you say,
What if they are atheist and don’t believe in God?
What if they are Buddhist, Hindus or Muslims?
Well that doesn’t matter because remember the backdrop of this verse is the ancient city of Athens who had their own gods and goddesses!
For the Athenians were a ‘hyper religious’ crowd!
It’s been said that there was upwards of 30,000 idols in a town of 10,000 residences. No wonder the Roman satirist, Petronius once sneered:
“It is easier to find a god than a man in Athens.”
This was the ‘god-capital’ of the world!
As a matter of fact, they even built a shrine to a deity whose name remained a mystery. The inscription read: ‘To An Unknown God.’
Let me give you a little historical background to this altar.
Ill.
In short, they story begins sometime in the 6th century before Christ, when the city was being devastated by a mysterious plague. Of course the simple explanation was that one of the many gods had been offended.
The city fathers therefore sought to ascertain which one it was that was so upset and appease it. However, this was no easy task since there were thousands of them around.
When all efforts failed to discern which deity had been provoked, an outside ‘consultant’ was brought in from the Island of Crete, whose name was Epimenides.
Epimenides concluded that it was none of the resident gods of Athens but some, as yet, unidentified god. He proposed that a flock of choice sheep, of various colors, which were kept from eating until they were obviously hungry be brought out on Mars Hill and turned loose.
Now it would be normal for these hungry sheep to want to graze, however, he instructed the Greeks to watch them very carefully and see if any of them would lie down without grazing.
And according to the ancient historian, Di-og-genes, to the amazement of those watching, several of the sheep did just that—they lay down and refused to eat!
Altars were then erected at each spot and dedicated to an ‘Unknown God,’
since they had no idea who He was. Yet, we are told that almost immediately the plague began to subside.
Now,
Along comes Apostle Paul and seizes the opportunity to tell these pagans Who their gracious benefactor was back then.
However,
Merely learning His identity was not enough—He wants more!
He wants them to:
Renounce their sinful way,
Turn to Him exclusively,
And put trust in His resurrected Son to secure them a pardon!
The message was crystal clear.
Let me repeat it again for you, and this time put yourself into the verse:
“In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now commands all people everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30 Did you get it?
Ignorance will no longer be an excuse for non-compliance!
Why?
Because the Creator has come and revealed Himself:
The unknown has become known!
The wrong must become right!
The sinner to become a saint!
Moreover,
A trial-date has been set for the whole world!
Wherein the judge will be none other than the crucified Carpenter who received anything but a fair trial!
In other words, God is giving us all fair warning of what’s to come so that no one needs to be criminally prosecuted!
So,
How about you?
Where are you on the continuum of prosecution or acquittal—believe me, you appear somewhere on that line?
Does Jesus remain an ‘Unknown God’ to you?
If the LORD told the worshipers of Zeus, Minerva, Aphrodite and Apollo that He would no longer overlook their ignorance, do you think He will overlook yours?
Or have you taken to heart the solemn announcement and have entrusted your case to the law offices of Jesus Christ?
That brings me to my second point, which is:
Christ’s Resurrection Is God’s Star Witness In The Upcoming Court Appearances.
II. Christ’s Resurrection—God’s Star
Meaning,
In Heaven’s lineup of incriminating evidence, the ‘empty tomb’ will be sufficient to get a conviction against any stubborn sinner who refuses to comply with God’s righteous requirements and put them behind Hell’s bars forever!
The world calls it: ‘The Easter Story.’
Let’s read it again:
“God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
The very fact
That a stone-cold cadaver, overcome by ‘rigor mortis’ and a 36-hour flat brain wave has a beating heart once again, is miraculous evidence in spades!
God says:
That enough proof to convince a hard-headed, skeptical attorney!
It would hold up in any court and Scripture says it certainly will hold up in Heaven’s court!
But,
Someone will say, “How do I know Jesus really rose from the dead?”
Well, let’s put another way, “How do you know He didn’t?”
God said He did!
Jesus said He did!
Peter said He did!
John said He did!
Matthew said He did!
Mary said He did!
Paul said He did!
The 500 who saw Him on one occasion, said He did!
And thousands of people over the generations have claimed He did because they say He has changed their lives forever!
Now,
If you dispute them just remember they were there and you weren’t and many of the eyewitness laid down their lives rather than change their story?
Would you be willing to lay down your life to prove them false?
On the other hand,
If you accept it as true, then shouldn’t you be happy to immediately obey God’s command to repent, if you haven’t already?
Here’s the Judge’s advice:
“Unless you repent, you will all perish.” Luke 13:3 So I’d say this is not a matter for the ‘back burner!’
Instead, move it to the ‘top of the list!’
Make it ‘priority one!’
Put it on a ‘fast track’ to get it done!
What do you say?
