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“THREE RESPONSES TO THE GOSPEL”ACTS 17:16-34READ AS TEXT: ACTS 17:32-34INTRO: Someone has said, “The world has many religions; it has but one gospel.” –George Owen (Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World. Copyright ? 1992 by Edythe Draper). Friends, the gospel is powerful (Romans 1:16a), the gospel is personal (Romans 1:16b), the gospel is perfect (Ecclesiastes 3:14), and the gospel is about a person (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). E. Stanley Jones said, “The gospel is not so much a demand as it is an offer, an offer of new life to man by the grace of God.” (Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World. Copyright ? 1992 by Edythe Draper). Our responsibility is to share the gospel with a lost and dying world. Psalm 107:2 tells us—“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” In our text we read about Paul’s message in Athens. Paul’s heart was stirred within him as he saw the whole city given over to idolatry. This city with so much culture was filled with corruption. Paul’s message from Mars’ hill is one of the finest defenses of the gospel you will find in all the Scripture. And yet, Paul’s message met with varied response. Paul’s Mars Hill speech is often regarded as a brilliant, textbook example of evangelistic witness. Even so, it received a mixed reaction: some sneered, some kept searching for more information, and a few believed (17:33-34). We should expect similar results. Don’t hesitate to tell others about Christ because you fear that some will not believe you. Don’t expect a unanimously positive response to your witnessing. Even if only a few believe, it’s worth the effort. (Life Application Bible Commentary: Acts. Copyright ? 1999 by The Livingstone Corporation. All rights reserved. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois. Life Application is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2002, Parsons Church Group, a division of , Inc.). Friends, I want to speak today on the subject, THREE RESPONSES TO THE GOSPEL. Let us note first of all…(1) THE DERIDERS ACTS 17:32a—“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead,some mocked…” ILLUS: H. Bonar relates: “Suppose you were attending to hear a will read, where you expected an inheritance; would you employ the time in criticizing the manner in which the lawyer read it? No; you would be giving all attention to hear if anything had been left to you. So you ought to hear the Gospel. “The Gospel comes to the sinner at once, with nothing short of complete forgiveness as the starting point of all his efforts to be holy. It does not say, ‘Go and sin no more, and I will not condemn thee’—it says at once, ‘Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more’ ” (John 8:11). (Practical Bible Illustrations from Yesterday and Today. ? 1996 by AMG INTERNATIONAL, INC. All Rights Reserved. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2005, QuickVerse. All rights reserved.). A. THEY MOCK GOD’S POWER. Friends, God’s power is unequalled. God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, and however He wants. Psalm 135:6 tells us—“Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” It is not due to a lack of God’s power that people remain lost. It is because they choose to resist God’s power that they remain lost. Isaiah 59:1-2—“Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” B. THEY MOCK GOD’S PLAN. Salvation from start to finish is all of the grace of God. Yet, many today attempt to mock the plan of God by cheapening grace. The question is this: Is grace sufficient or is it not? Do we have to add anything to God’s grace? Romans 4:1-5 tells us—“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Any time anyone says that you must add to or take away from the gospel— salvation by grace through faith—they are mocking God’s plan!C. THEY MOCK GOD’S PERSON. When Paul arrived in Athens the Scripture tells us that “…he saw the city wholly given to idolatry…[and]… found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” (Acts 17:16, 23). For many today Almighty God is THE UNKNOWN GOD. They fail to recognize His greatness! They fail to recognize His glory! They fail to receive His grace! V18 tells us—“Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? Other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.” Because Paul preached Jesus and the resurrection, to them utter novelties, they pronounced him “an expositor of strange demons.” (COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT VOL. 5 ACTS – ROMANS by Rev. W. B. Godbey, A.M. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR.) (2) THE DELAYERSACTS 17:32b—“… and others said, We will hear thee again of thismatter.”A. THEY RESIST THE WOOING OF THE SPIRIT. The word “woo” means “to seek the love and attention of, to entreat earnestly; beg, to invite; seek.”(Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary. N-Z. Volume 2, p. 789). Friends, that is what the Holy Spirit does with the lost sinner. He entreats earnestly, He begs, He invites, and He seeks. Jesus said in John 6:44—“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The question is, “how does He draw us?” The answer is: by the Holy Spirit. In John 3:5-8 Jesus said—“…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit,he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” ILLUS: The wind blows in a variety of directions-we hear its sound, perceive its operation in the motion of the trees, etc., and feel it on ourselves but we cannot discern the air itself; we only know that it exists by the effects which it produces: so is every one who is born of the Spirit: the effects are as discernible and as sensible as those of the wind; but itself we cannot see. But he who is born of God knows that he is thus born: the Spirit itself, the grand agent in this new birth, beareth witness with his spirit, that he is born of God, Romans 8:16; for, he that believeth hath the witness in himself, 1 John 4:13; 5:10; Galatians 4:6. And so does this Spirit work in and by him that others, though they see not the principle, can easily discern the change produced; for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, 1 John 5:4. (CLARKE’S COMMENTARY NT, VOLUME 5B JOHN – ACTS by Adam Clarke. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). B. THEY REFUSE THE WARNING OF THE SCRIPTURE. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2—“… behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Satan is wonderful on procrastination, never letting the sinner get ready to repent, always clamoring, “Wait till tomorrow”; while the devil’s tomorrow never has come, and never will. “God is nigh in the valley of decision.” The will can only act in the present tense. Faith is actually circumscribed to the present tense, having neither past nor future, and, as we get everything from God by faith, we must receive it in the present tense. It is actually now or never. (COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT VOL. 4 CORINTHIANS – GALATIANS by Rev. W. B. Godbey, A.M. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). ILLUS: A good, old monk had a dream, and he told it around the monastery fire to the brethren. And he said, "Brethren, I had a strange dream last night; I saw a council of devils held in hell, and they were met in order to take counsel how to defeat the work of God on earth, and one of Satan's servants said to him, "My master, I saw a cargo of missionaries going to foreign lands to preach the Gospel, and I raised a storm and sank the vessel." "Thou hast done nothing to stay the work of God." "Then another servant of Satan stood forth and said, "My master, I have caused books to be written against God, and against all that is good and holy and pure." "Well," said Satan, "that is better than what your brother did, but they won't believe you. I have been trying to persuade them that there is no God, or heaven, or hell for six thousand years past, and they believe in it almost as much as ever." "What hast thou done?" said Satan to another, one of particularly diabolical countenance—and he said, "Oh, my satanic master, let me tell you, let me tell you what I have done. There was a mission going on in a certain city, and I attended every service of the mission, and I said to the vast congregation, "Every word that that stranger says is eternally true; God loves you, Jesus died for you, the Holy Spirit pleads with you, you can get perfect peace in your soul," but at the close of each service as the congregation was going out, I used to whisper in their ears, "Put it off till to-morrow, don't come to any decision, put it off till to-morrow." "Ha! ha! thou hast my satanic blessing!" said Satan, "thou hast done more than all the rest to defeat the counsel and purpose of God for their salvation."—George C. Grubb (Paul S. Tan. Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations. Bible Explorer 4. Copyright 2006. WORDsearch Corp.).(3) THE DECIDERSACTS 17:34—“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: amongthe which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman namedDamaris, and others with them.”A. THEY REPENTED OF THEIR SIN. Instead of mocking or politely waiving the subject, having listened eagerly, they joined themselves to the apostle for further instruction; and so they “believed.” (Jamieson-Faussett-Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible. Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright ? 2003, QuickVerse, a division of , Inc.). How do we know they repented? Because the Bible teaches us that repentance is necessary for salvation. Jesus Himself said, “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3). ILLUS: I want to share with you some truths I found about repentance: Repentance means not only a heart broken for sin but from sin.Many people in mending their ways use very thin threads.Repentance is not only saying, "I'm sorry." It is also saying, "I'm through." Some so-called penitential crying is only hypocritical lying.To be good, you must first look and see that you are bad. Money will never buy repentance. He who delays his repentance pawns his soul to the devil. To grieve over sin is one thing; to repent is another.Late repentance is seldom true but true repentance is never late. (The Complete Book of Zingers. Bible Explorer 4. Copyright 2006. WORDsearch Corp.). Friend, the question this morning is, “have you truly repented?” But they not only repented but… B. THEY RECEIVED THE SAVIOUR. The Bible tells us here—“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (v34). We don’t know much about these people but we do know one thing: They believed. The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10—“ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” CLOSING: There were three main reactions. (i) Some mocked. They were amused by the passionate earnestness of this strange Jew. It is possible to make a jest of life; but those who do so will find that what began as comedy must end in tragedy. (ii) Some put off their decision. The most dangerous of all days is when a man discovers how easy it is to talk about tomorrow. (iii) Some believed. The wise man knows that only the fool will reject God's offer. (Daily Study Bible. e- Sword. Version 9.5.1. Copyright 2000-2009. Rick Meyers. All Rights Reserved Worldwide). Friend, the question today is, “what will your response be to the Gospel? Will you be a derider, a delayer, or a decider?(PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1, 2009). ................
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