God Doesn’t Wink Any More
“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. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where 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, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” Acts 17:29-31
The Apostle Paul was in Athens, Greece, speaking to many folks, some Jews, but many others were Gentiles and were very curious about the things that he was preaching. Their main interest in life was to sit around either to tell or to hear new things. Not being familiar with scripture since they were Gentiles, they wanted to hear about this new strange doctrine. We have to give them credit for at least being willing to listen to the gospel. Too many folks today don’t even want to hear about Jesus much less hear about their sinful lifestyles that keep them from knowing the truth that could set them free. But for these pseudo-intellectual Gentiles, who were idol worshippers, their interest was merely knowledge for knowledge’s sake and not information that could change their lives. It was “news” that they could share with others, but not for the right reason, but who knows that some of those to whom they repeated Paul’s sermon may have understood their need to repent and trust Christ. God can use anyone, even one who doesn’t believe in Him, to fulfill His purposes.
Paul emphasized that since man is an offspring of God, that is, God’s creation, and is an intelligent and valuable human, then it is not possible that man could originate from some lifeless idol of gold, silver, or stone which was created by man. Any of those in Paul’s audience could become a child of God if they heeded the gospel and opened their heart’s door to Christ. Otherwise they would remain creation’s offspring, but children of the devil. Just in case any of Paul’s listeners were beginning to understand and accept the fact that they were guilty of idolatry and had not honored the one true God, he wanted to answer a question that these men might have: why did God allow this? Why didn’t He destroy our forefathers for their idolatry? Paul’s answer was simple: because of ignorance on their part and the part of their ancestors, God “overlooked”, or “winked at” their idolatry in His mercy and forbearance. However, He did not hold them innocent. Their sins made them guilty before a holy and righteous God. They just didn’t know any better, but the Jews did know better. The law was given to them as a “schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:24) to show them how to live until such time as Christ came to die and rise again to give men and women right standing before God.
It was different for the Gentiles. They had no laws or teachers to guide them. The Jews were to be their teachers, but the Jews failed to obey God in His command to be an influence over the other nations. But, not having the law was no excuse for the Gentiles. Romans 1:19-20 makes it clear that God put in all people an instinct to know that He exists, the evidence of which is clearly seen in nature. Did the Athenians ever stop to consider why the waves of the ocean do not envelope the entire land mass? Did they ever wonder why half the day is light and half dark? Did they ever question the needed rainfall or marvel at the way the seasons change over a year’s time? Did they really believe that life came from stones or gold or from nothing at all? It takes more faith to believe that than to believe that there is a loving and magnificent Creator who gave life to all and provided all that man needs to survive.
As we all have learned over the years, “Ignorance is no excuse”. No longer can men and women claim that they just didn’t know. The gospel of Christ has made clear that man must either repent of his sins or be judged of them by the Lord. Once a person hears the gospel, that he or she is a sinner, estranged from his or her Creator, and that he or she must acknowledge that fact, turn from his or her sins, and place faith in Christ who has paid dearly for the sins of all people on the cross and was resurrected as God’s proof of eternal life, then he or she becomes responsible for responding to Christ. Folks can either reject or receive Him, but there is no middle ground. A person either passes from this life as a forgiven sinner or as one who dies in his or her sins and will be judged accordingly.