MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011
Times Of Ignorance
Acts 17:30 ESV
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
The choice is ever before us. Ignorance is no excuse. In ignorance, Adam and Eve disobeyed God even as they reached for their own knowledge.
In doing so, they forfeited intimate knowledge of God. Don't make that same mistake.
He has made a way back.
I was asked how this verse compares with Romans Chapter One.
As I've said before, sin reflects ignorance, even if one knows it is a sin and does it anyway, it is still the ignorance of disobedience. How else can one can one explain rebellion against God and seeking darkness?
In Romans Chapter One, Paul writes of God's invisible attributes which are displayed in creation. Paul says that this alone was enough evidence of God and Who He is and that people cannot claim ignorance as an excuse for not acknowledging Him. There is a universal longing for God and His truth which burns in every person. This manifests itself in our need to worship something, even if it is not God.
A sense of justice is something we are born with. Even someone who denies that God exists and says there is no truth, will speak of injustice and tell you that what they say is true. A kind description of this incoherence is ignorance. In the ESV translation of Romans 1:25, "because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie..." is the description given by Paul. It is written elsewhere who is the father of lies.
John called out in the wilderness as he prepared the way of the Lord, "Repent". This resonates in our hearts because our hearts were made for the Lord. The heart that fails to respond to God's call is given over that choice.
Jesus was the word of God expressed in human form. He said His words were the words of the Father. He commanded that we repent. God calls out through creation and came Himself to tell us to make sure it is clear.
I Am God.
1 comment:
My critical nature tells me that Acts is a "smooth over" of the tensions between Paul and the pillars of the church in Jerusalem: James and Peter. My critical nature also sees a contradiction between what Paul says in Romans 1 vs. what he tells these Greeks. The reality is that Paul was speaking to Roman Christians in his letter and to Greek Gentiles here engaged in paganism. It's all about the approach one takes in order to try to add people to God's kingdom.
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