Conference: 1966, Gospel (17:16)
Gospel—G.H. Hayhoe
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. And some said, what will this babbler say? Others some. He seemeth to be a center forth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection, and they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine were of thou speakest is, or thou bringest certain strange things to our ears. We would know therefore, what these things mean, for all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time, and nothing else. But either to tell or to hear some new thing. Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill, and said, He, Men of Athens, I foresee that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription To the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him, declare I unto you 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, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life and breath, and all things, And hath made of one blood all nations of man, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, 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, 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. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone Raven, by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at. But now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. 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 him that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him and believe. Among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Amarus. And others with them. Well, in this remarkable visit that Paul had to Athens, we have him speaking to the people concerned about their spiritual welfare. I suppose if you or I had been visiting ancient Athens, we would have been specially curious to see all the sights that were to be seen in the city. But Paul's great burden as he went from place to place was not just to see the curious sights, but for the souls of man. Him, because he realized that every person whom he met, every man, woman and child, had a soul that was going to live on and on and on forever. And his great burden, whether it was among the Jews who had the Scriptures, or whether it was among the heathen who did not have the Scriptures, was that they might be prepared to meet God, that they might be ready for that solemn moment when life here comes to an end and when you must. And they must stand before God. And so as he had a little time to spend in the city of Athens. Instead of doing a lot of sightseeing, we find him going about talking to individuals, speaking to them about their soul. And it tells us here his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. And dear friends, it makes one think of the world in which we Live Today. It seems to me that the world is wholly given to idolatry. That is men and women. While they're not making idols, perhaps of the same character as they did in those ancient lands, they are occupied with the works of their own hands, their idol worshippers. And every exhibition, every world exhibition, is but a display of what man has accomplished. And man almost falls down and worships the accomplishments of his own hands.
Well, Paul's spirit was stirred in him. And one spirit is stirred in him as he goes about in these great cities and sees brand new buildings being put up everywhere, find new roads and freeways, the face of the map almost changing with all man's advancement. But as far as the things of God are concerned, man is getting farther and farther from the true knowledge of God. He is still erecting the same altar to. To the unknown God, he doesn't know the one in whom he lives and moves and has his being. And if you're not saved tonight, it's because you don't know him. And Satan has succeeded in keeping you in darkness and ignorance as to what it is to have to do with God. He has succeeded in keeping you in ignorance of the true knowledge of God and we find today. That man. Have a God of their own imagination. They will not have the God of the Bible. But dear friends, the God of the Bible is the true God, and he is the one with whom you're going to have to do. You can make gods of your own imagination, just as the heathen did, and you can worship gods of your own imagination. But when you leave this world, you will not have to meet the God of your imagination. You will have to meet the God of the Bible. You'll have to meet the one who has made himself known in this book, and it's with him that you have to do. It's with him that you have to give an account. And his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who came down into this world, whom this world nailed to a cross, you're going to look into the face of the Lord Jesus. Men put him on a cross and buried him, but he's a risen Savior. He's glorified at God's right hand. And it stirs one's heart to see all the advancement of man, and all his education is only leading him farther away from God, plunging him Into Darkness and ignorance as to the true knowledge of God. And so is Paul was in this city. His burden was for the souls of these men. And it says he disputed in the synagogues with the Jews. Yes, there were religious people there, there were Jews, there were ones who professed to have the scriptures, who had the Old Testament scriptures, and I should say and profess to believe them. But alas, they had been guilty of rejecting the Lord Jesus. And we find many people who take the Bible only pick out of it the parts that they like. They pick out the parts that please them. And so people will say, Oh well, all Christians believe the Bible. Yes, they believe the parts that they like. But dear friends, we preach the whole word of God. And this precious book that I hold in my hand. Is God's word, and it says the word of our God shall stand forever. It says heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. And when people undertake to judge God's word, they're making themselves superior to God himself. If you gave me a book and said, now will you look over this book and tell me what you think of it? You're expecting that I have a superior judgment to the writer of the book. And so I can pass judgment on the book because I know more than the writer. And when you take the Bible and undertake to pass judgment on this book, you're taking a superior place to it. And this is very solemn and serious, friend, because you're not superior to it, nor am I. It's God's word, it's a revelation from him. And you're going to have to answer to God for how you treat this book and how you treat its message. And so. Paul went into the synagogue and talked to these devout people. He disputed with them. Why did he dispute with them? Because they had rejected part of the Scripture. They had rejected those scriptures that spoke about the Lord Jesus coming in humiliation, and they had fulfilled the very scriptures that they denied in crucifying Him and condemning Him.
It's amazing how people can actually. Fulfill the scripture without knowing it. It tells us in the 13th chapter of Acts. That the rulers of Israel, though they knew it not, they fulfilled the scriptures in condemning Christ, and when they had done all that was written of Him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre. Isn't that all solemn? Doesn't it show how blind man is? That he would actually fulfill the scriptures and not know he was doing it? And then? When they had got rid of Christ, why they laid him in a separate. Oh, what a solemn thing were these Were these infidels and atheists? No, friends. They were religious people. Religious people. You can have religion without Christ. You may be religious here tonight, but have you got Christ? Have you received him as your savior? Religion won't save you. The world was full of religion before the Lord Jesus came. The world's full of religion today. There are grander and better churches being built throughout the land. And the rabbit. But this doesn't mean that people are turning to the true God. They're just erecting altars to the unknown God. There's still an ignorance of him, of his character, and they reject the revelation that God has given to him, to us through his precious word. Well, as Paul went about and talked with these people in the synagogue. And in the market daily with those that met with him. It says then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. Notice he first was in contact with the religious people who had the scriptures, who ought to have known, but they they had rejected the Lord Jesus, and now he comes in contact with the philosophers. Well, in all there are great many philosophers in the world today. And these philosophies? Philosophies of ancient grace are quite well accepted even today. These two philosophies, I suppose, would represent a good part of the thoughts of man in general. The upper Korean philosophy was somewhat to the idea that whatever makes you happy and whatever seems to. Give you pleasure must be right, and a Stoic philosophy is. Well, what's got to be has got to be. And in my, in my encounters with people, I find that they're pretty well divided into the three classes. The religious people, the people that say anything for pleasure and happiness, and then the people who say, well, you can't change things. Whatever way they're going to go, that's the way they go. And so you might as well be resigned to it. They're Stoics. Where the ancient philosophies of Greece and here they encountered Paul and perhaps there's someone here like that tonight. And you're satisfied with your own philosophy of life. You have formed it yourself. And you say, well, I've thought it out pretty well and I think this is the best solution to the problem of life. My dear friend, have you shut out God? Have you shut out the revelation? That God has given. Are you closing your ear to what God has made known to you because the Bible says can't stop by searching Find out God. Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection man's mind cannot find out God. God must reveal himself. God must reveal himself. And this is what God has done. He has revealed himself in His. His word and it's not my mind feeling after God and finally finding the true knowledge of God that way. No man has ever done, has never has ever been able to find him in that way because it says after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. You can't find no God by human wisdom, but God has made himself known. He's given his word. This precious book reveals God to you as a God of light and a God of love, a God who hates sin, a God who must punish sin, but a God who loves the Sinner, loves him with such a great love that he sent his only begotten Son to die on Calvary's cross to meet all his claims in life and.
Flow and to allow to flow out His heart of love to poor sinners like you and like me. And so have these Epicureans and these Stoics. They encountered Paul, and it says they said, what will this babbler say? And perhaps that's what you think of someone who is, as you might say, simple enough to believe the Bible, Dear friends, if that's what you want to call it. I am simple enough to believe the Bible because I'm willing to accept light from someone who knows more than any mortal man. God. Has spoken. God has spoken and if you will never accept anything from anyone who knows more than yourself, I'm sorry for you. All you say, but who knows more than the wise men of this world? God does. God does and God speaks to you through his word. It says all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it says the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And this book says thus saith the Lord, it's God's word to man. God addresses himself to man. And so here when Paul was taken by these people, they said, what will this babbler say? Others he seemed to be a sitter for. Forth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. So they took him, and brought him down to this great court place that they had. Great Court Heather was cut out in Rome, in Athens rather. Where it tells us. That the 21St verse all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Doesn't This might remind you of the day in which we live. They spent their time and nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. There was a time when things were accepted. From the past. But today we're living in a time when people want everything new, everything new. They don't want the old foundations. Well, you say we're living in a changing time. Yes, man is changing, but the Lord says I am the Lord. I change not. I am the Lord. I change not. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Why does man change? Well, he finds improvements, or at least he thinks they're improvements at least, and so he adopts them. But God doesn't need to change. God has given us these things in his Word. In almost 2000 years ago, this precious book was finished. It was written over a period of about 1500 years and the last part of it written in the 1900 to 2000 years ago. And God hasn't had to change it. He hasn't had to alter it. Why? Because it's the truth and the truth doesn't need to be changed. And so this precious book stands and will stand forever. Forever, O Lord. Thy word is settled in heaven. But these men in Mars Hill, they spent their time and nothing else but to tell or to hear some new things. And I say, isn't it like the world today why they can't get out new school books fast enough? Man's knowledge is increasing so rapidly as the Scripture said it would. In the last days it says many shall run to and fro, and now. Shall be increased and men are getting more knowledge as to this world. And they're running to and fro. There's more travel than there ever was. And people are finding out what's going on in other parts of the world. And so here we find that these people were like the people of our day. They wanted something new. They wanted something startling. And so here was an opportunity for this man. Paul had come to their city, and they brought him up to Mars Hill.
The Quarterbury Ophthalmus and A. Said May we? May we know what this new doctrine will of thou speakest is? Colin Paul stood up in the midst of Mars Hill. Did he undertake to meet these men on the basis of reasoning with them? No, dear friends. He met them on the fact that he was telling them something that all their wisdom could never discover. Well, this is important. He met them showing that he had something to tell which all their wisdom could not discover. For he tells them God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth. Wasn't that a very simple statement? Why millions of dollars have been spent in trying to find out how this universe came into being. Millions of dollars. Vast amounts of time have been spent by the cleverest people in this world trying to find out how this world came about. Does Paul start and discuss these various ideas? No, he simply tells them God that made the world and all things therein. Yes, God that made the world. And all things are in. And then it says seeing he giveth to all life. And well than all things, my dear friends, I don't make any apologies for the truth of God tonight. I don't start talking to you and reasoning about your idea about how this world began online, because neither my idea or yours are of any account when God speaks. And God has told us, He has said that God that made the world and all things therein, and it says that He giveth to all life and birth and all things. This is very solemn. This is something I say, and that is a revelation from God. God has told us how this world came into being. And he told them something else too. He said that we are God's offspring. Now this is not true of any of the lower creation. The lower creations are never spoken of as being the offspring of God. God created them and he gave them life. But he says the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. And he tells us how Adam received his. Life in a different way from the whole or creation. It says that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. A living soul yes, this is how man received his life and that's why man is responsible to God. The Lord creation has no God conscious part to their being the. Animal creation, the bird creation, the fish creation hasn't any God conscious part to their being. What you do, you do. You may try to drive it out of your mind. You may be fool enough to say there's no God, you're even you're a teacher at school maybe telling you that all kinds of things about the Bible not being true and so on. But dear friends, underneath it all, in the mind of your teacher and in your. Is something that God has prepared and that is a God conscious part. And you know that you must answer to God. I say you may try to drive it away, you may try to drown the voice of conscience, you may try to run away from God like Adam and Eve hid from God in the trees of the garden. You notice the animals didn't try to hide from God. Was Adam and Eve that did. Adam and Eve did. Why? Because they had a conscience through the fall and they found out that they were guilty before God through their conscience as well as when God spoke to them. And so here we find that Paul speaks to these people.
And tells them that God made the world. That he gave to all life and brought in all things and that we are the offspring of God. And I want to impress this on you because we're living in days when these things are being denied. You might say, well, you're not talking to the young ones here, You're not talking to the children. Yes, I know, I'm fully aware that even the children in the school are. Being brought to question God's word, they're being brought to question the fact, so that they are anything more than an exalted. 8 But dear friend, I want to tell you that Adam was the first man, and that you received your life in a different way, and God addresses you as one of his. Responsible creatures. And he has a message for you tonight because. Because you must answer to Him, Every one of us must give account of himself to God. Well, when Satan couldn't take away from man that part of his being that made him know that there was a God, you know what he did? He tried to bring into his mind false notions and false ideas of God. That's what he's done, and that's exactly how he introduced sin in the Garden of Eden. He came to Eve and he said to her in effect, why God is not as good as you think He is, Eve. He is holding back the best thing in this garden from you. He has given you all these things to enjoy, but there's one thing He's held back that tree from you. The very best thing in the garden He's kept from you. And now if you'll listen to me and take of that tree. You'll have what you want, you'll have the knowledge of good and evil, and you'll be as God. Yes, Satan himself came and brought into their mind a perverted idea of God. A perverted idea of God. That's what he's been doing ever since. He's been seeking to bring into man's mind a perverted idea of God. And the heathen, they, they made idols of wood and stone and brass and iron and other metals, and they fell down and worshiped them. But, you know, they realized that that idol in itself wasn't anything, but there was a power behind that. That idol. And what was that power? It was the power of Satan. It was the power of Satan, for it tells us in 1St Corinthians 10 the things which the Gentiles sacrifice. They sacrificed to devils and not to God. And when they talk about the Great Spirit and those things, this is Satan who has given many false idea of God, and he has himself become the object of the worship of the heathen. Oh, what a solemn thing. Man gets from God and you know, one of Satan's greatest victories in our day is to make people think that there isn't any devil. That's one of Satan's greatest victories. Always say, I didn't know there was a personal devil. I thought it was just the bad in you. No, friends, it's not the bad in you because the devil tempted the Lord Jesus. And if you tell me that the if you tell me that the devil is the bad in you, then you are saying that the Lord Jesus had bad in him. So then we have no savior. If you say that because the Lord Jesus was tempted of the devil and it wasn't a bad in him, because he was holy, harmless, undefiled, he was the blessed, eternal Son of God. No, dear friends, there is a devil, a real devil. And he is the smartest, the cleverest of all. Gods and creative intelligences, he's smarter than you and I. Never try to argue with the with the devil in your own language. Always meet Satan by the scripture. You know the Lord Jesus was more clever than Satan. But when Satan came to tempt him, the Lord Jesus didn't argue with Satan. He said it is written. You say, well, I've got a good mind and I'm not afraid to take on any other person and argue with them and show them what I believe. Well, dear friend, I am. I am. The Lord Jesus didn't undertake to meet Satan.
In argument, he said every time, Satan. With the temptation, he said, it is written, it is written. And I would beseech of you, don't try to meet these temptations by arguments of your own. And if you try to meet them by arguments of your own, sooner or later you're going to meet somebody that's a little smarter than you and he's going to get you all mixed up. I want to warn you, young people, I want to warn you children, don't try to answer the infidelity of the day with your own arguments. Answer it with the scripture. Answer it with the scripture. It's your only weapon against the power of the enemy, because the enemy of your soul is behind this and he is trying to rob you. How the blessedness of knowing the God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have. Everlasting. And so when Paul spoke to them of these things, then he told them about this altar to the unknown God. And he said, whom you ignorantly worship him, declare I unto you. And dear friends, I want to declare him to you tonight. I want to declare him to you. I want this, first of all, show you that it's not by your own reason, it's not by forming your own idea, it's not by having some philosophy of life, what you have to do with God who gave you your life and brought them all things that you have, and that one who's unknown to you, He's made himself known and it says God is light. It says that the habitation of His throne is righteousness and judgment. And I want to tell you solemnly, dear friends, that God hates sin, that God must punish sin. And that if you reject the Lord Jesus that you are going to meet a holy God about your sins and you are going to be sent to a lost eternity. The lady said to a Christian man that I know well, she said I disagree with you when you say that there's a hell. And this Christian man said, he said it's not me that you disagree with, it's God. Dear friend, it's not me that you disagree with. It wasn't me that wrote here that the wicked shall be turned into hell and these shall go away into everlasting punishment. It's God that wrote that down for you just because he loves you that he warns you. But oh, there's more to it than that. God is light, but God is love. God is love. And he loved you, He loved me. As we sing often, God loved the world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Salvation full of the highest cost He offers free to all. What did it cost God to offer salvation to you and to me? Oh, He sent his own Son down from heaven and on Calvary's cross, the Lord Jesus. Became the sin bearer and it says in the. 53rd chapter of Isaiah on the 6th verse. The fifth verse. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. That precious Savior who came down, it says. Who his own self bear our sins, and his own body on the tree. And I want to tell you tonight about the God whom you don't know, the God who hates sin but loves the Sinner, the God who must punish sin, but punish sin upon the head of his own beloved Son, that he might offer salvation full and free to you and to me. And as one has often said, judgment is either ahead of you or behind you if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior. You can look back to Calvary's cross and say all my sins were there and the debt was paid by my substitute and he said it is finished. Oh, isn't it grand to have a sure foundation, friends, reason won't give it to you. All the searchings of man won't give it. What simple faith in this precious word of God.
Will give peace to your soul. Would you like to have peace tonight? Would you like to really know that you have the true knowledge of God and that you were ready to stand before Him? And not only ready, but as another said, He shall see his face with joy. All for those of us who know the Lord, it's our greatest joy to know that we're going to look into the face of the Savior who died on Calvary's cross. We have no doubts about it. We rest upon the word of God. Oh, you say, I don't have faith like that. I don't have faith like that. Dear friends, it's not a question of how how much faith you have, but whether your faith is in the right person. Of course, if you're trusting in yourself, if you're trusting in your own mind, if you're trusting in your own feelings, why, I'm sure you don't have peace tonight, because that'll never give you peace. But when you rest upon the Word of God Himself, why then everything is sure. Because God's Word can't change. What made an Israelite sure that when the destroyer passed through the land of Egypt that his house would be untouched? What made him sure? God said When I see the blood, I will pass over you. And I say again, it's not how much faith you have. Well, I want to ask you, who is your faith in? Always say I've done the best I can. Well then I know your face in yourself. You've done the best you can, so you have a lot of faith in yourself. Or you say I don't feel safe. Well then you must have faith in your feelings. But if you have the word of God, you can say, well, I know I'm saved because God's word says. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life, and shall not come to condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Isn't that wonderful? I've often said, I know there's no judgment for me, because the judge himself told me. Isn't it wonderful to have something like that to? Dear friends, what's the trouble today is that people have nothing. Sure, young people have no standard of morality. They have no standards for anything. Everything is being swept away. But when you have the Word of God, you have a standard. You have something to rest upon. You have the impregnable rock of God's precious Word and boys and girls. You boys and girls who are going to school, take your stand tonight. On God's Word and you'll know you're saved. Take your stand on God's word. Just take some lovely verse like John 316 For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Or that verse I just quoted in John 5 and 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Yes, take your stand upon it tonight, and go and tell your father, your mother, why? No, I'm saved, Daddy. I know I'm saved, mother, because I just believe what God. God says, and if you live to be 90 years old, you'll never have anything better to rest on than God's word. You'll never have anything better. If you become the most brilliant mind in the whole of the United States, you'll never have anything better to rest on than God's precious Word. All take your stand upon it tonight, Paul said, whom you ignorantly worship. Him declare I unto you, and I want to tell you tonight again I say. About the God whom you don't know, if you're not saved, you don't know him. Because there's a lovely verse in the Psalms that says they that know thy name shall put their trust in vain. They that know thy name shall put their trust in thee. He couldn't help but trust him if you knew him. If you only knew him tonight, why you couldn't help but trust him?
Well, and he goes on and he says here and they. 30th verse and the times of this ignorance God winked at that means these heathen were not half as responsible as those of us who have heard the word of God. They did have a testimony from God through creation, but they're not as responsible as you and I who have the word of God. And so it says that God. Now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. I call attention to this verse because sometimes people will say, well, you know, I'm not interested in religion. Some people are naturally inclined that way. And if you're interested in religion, that's all right, but I'm not interested. I'm more interested in other things. Dear friends, is that the way you act when you get a tax paper? You say, well, I'm not interested in tax papers. I just saw those kind of things in the basket and you get your call to the Army. Well, you know, I'm not interested in army calls. I just throw those things in the basket. There's going to be a reckoning day coming if you treat those things in that way. And you can say tonight, I'm not interested in the gospel, I'm not interested in religion, I'm not interested in the Bible and you can put it in the waste paper basket. That the reckoning day is coming. The reckoning day is coming. And God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed the day in the which you will judge the world in righteousness. Judge the world in righteousness. Yes, the day has been set. The judge has been appointed and do you think all man's advancement and all man's space travel and all his research is going to hinder that day from coming? I am not prepared to say how far God may allow man to go. Perhaps you'll let him reach the moon. I don't know. Perhaps you'll let him make some amazing discoveries in connection with medicine and other things. I'm not prepared to say God hasn't told us how far he's going to let man go, except to tell us that knowledge would be increased in the last days. But one thing I do know is that the day has been appointed. The judge has been chosen, and that before that day comes, he commands you to repent. And what is it to repent? Well, it's just to take your place before God is guilty. Have you ever done that? Have you ever taken your place before God as guilty? Or God demands that you do, because if you don't take it now, in the day of His grace, He'll convict you and you'll be found guilty in the day of judgment. But if tonight you'll get down and say, Lord, I'm guilty, I'm guilty. Why? He'll pardon your sin, He'll blot out those sins in the precious blood of Christ, and He'll give you everlasting life. He'll give you a home in heaven. All this will be yours if you'll only receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior. And you know why God commands you to repent. Because he doesn't want to be your judge. He wants to be your savior. I spoke a little while ago about when you get the tax paper, throwing it in the basket. But supposing attached to that tax paper was a little stubborn. It said if you sign this and return it within 10 days, there will be no taxes to pay. You'd be very foolish if you didn't do it, wouldn't you? And if the day of reckoning came, it would not only be the fact that you were indifferent to the to the claim in connection with that debt, but it would also be that you were indifferent to the kindness that was willing to set you free from that debt altogether. And that's what God does, because I want to tell you this, that the moment you take your place as guilty before God. God turns to be your justifier. You know, it tells us about a man that went up into the temple to pray and he wouldn't even lift up his eyes to heaven, but he smote on his breast and he said, God be merciful to me, a Sinner.
And they know what the Lord Jesus said, said that man went down to his house justified. He condemned himself. The man beside him told God what a good man he was, but he wasn't like other people. He was much better than most people. But that man went down to his house condemned. He justified himself, but God condemned him. But the man who condemned himself? He was justified. And tonight, if you will take your place as guilty, do you know what God will do? He'll justify you. Isn't that lovely? Isn't that grand? Let me give you the verse. We are known unto you men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all belief, are justified from all things. From the which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. Oh, why not take your places guilty before God tonight? You're going to take your place as guilty before him someday. And if you do it at the great White Throne, it'll be too late then. But if you do it tonight, the Savior God will meet you, His blood will cleanse you, and you'll go to your house. Justified. Justified. Well, it tells us in the end of the chapter here. The three different attitudes of these people. Notice the 32nd verse. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. Others said, we will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain man clave unto him, and believed among the which was Dionysius the Arophagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Notice these three attitudes, some mocked. Some said another time, Paul. But there were a few of them that believed. And now it may be that at the close of this meeting, there's some going to mock. You can hardly wait till the meeting's over so you can have a good life and just forget all about it as you think. Perhaps that's true. You can throw your tax paper in the in the place bearer basket. You can throw your army call the wastebara basket. But don't forget there's erecting day coming and you can laugh tonight and say it's all nonsense, but it's not going to change the fact that you're going to have to answer to God, friend. It's not going to change the fact, boys and girls, it's not going to change the fact. And I don't know how soon. The reckoning day is coming. The Lord is coming. And he might come tonight, and when he does, it says the master of the house will rise up and shut to the door. So some of these men said, well, we'll listen to you some other time, Paul, we'll hear you again of this matter. But as far as we know, Paul never returned to Athens, and perhaps they never heard the gospel again. And you may not have another opportunity, but, oh, it closes this chapter with a glad and happy note. There were some that clave unto him and believed. Are you going to be in that class tonight? Are you going to be in the class that will look up and say, Lord Jesus, I'm only a poor, guilty Sinner. I deserve thy righteous judgment. I deserve to be sent down to hell. But tonight I take thee as my Savior for you. Say, is it so simple as that? All the debt was paid by the Lord Jesus. It wasn't easy for him, but for you it's simple. All you need to do is to accept what Christ has done. Oh, don't be. Not as fine with anything less. Than receiving that blessed Savior, look up and speak to Him from your heart and tell Him that you thank Him for sending His blessed Son to pay the debt of sin, that you might be saved. Receive Him.