Sermon Tone Analysis

Text - Acts 17.29-31

Main Subject

Ignorance of the truth will not excuse a person from judgment.

That’s why God gave us the gospel.

It is the the only source of true knowledge that brings back to God.

The gospel gives us all the knowledge we need for salvation.

Main Points

The gospel gives us the knowledge of the true God

Notice how Paul addressed the Athenians - Acts 17.22-25

Fundamental to the knowledge of God is that He is the Creator

even in pantheism, there is at least one deity who is creator

But -

The true God cannot be contained by His creation - He transcends all created things

The true God is not dependent on His creation

note the mythological gods - they are dependent on human’s worship

The gospel shows us that the Creator God - who transcends creation and does not the help from His creation - loves His creation so much that He reached down to His fallen creation and unveiled Himself - through the Lord Jesus Christ!

The True God is only fully known through Jesus Christ!

The gospel gives us the knowledge of God’s will

Paul continued his address - Acts 17.26-27

God’s will is that we should seek Him

because He knows and understands our existence

because we need Him

God is not hard to find -

because He desires to show us His secret plans

The gospel shows us that God chose a nation through He which He could reveal His will to humanity by the giving of the Law.

The gospel shows us what and who we are

Paul then the third point - Acts 17.28-29

The statement “we are His offspring” was aquotation from a Roman poet

it is not a “prescriptive truth”, only a descriptive truth

man is God’s offspring only in so far as he was created by God.

But, Paul argued, those who are truly God’s offspring should not, and will not, think that the Godhead can be expressed by or compared to any material thing.

The Gospel shows us that man’s knowledge of God naturally leads to his knowledge of himself.

Man’s ignorance of God led him to his ignorance of his origin and purpose.

The gospel shows us why we should listen to its message

Finally Paul shows us the necessity of taking heed to the gospel - Acts 17.30-31

Why should we listen to the gospel?

Because God in His sovereign grace chose to “pass over” our times of ignorance!

- Acts 17.30 “30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,”

Because God now commands men everywhere to repent!

God has overlooked our “past” ignorance

but now, God desires that THIS KNOWLEDGE that we now have through the gospel will lead us to repentance and faith in Him!

Because judgment day awaits the sinners -

not for their past ignorance

but for their present rejection of the gospel, the knowledge of which brings us to salvation!

NOTICE - If knowledge of the gospel is the key to salvation, rejection of the gospel is the worst sin a man can commit!

Conclusion

Every true believer is saved because he/she has received the knowledge of the truth - and embraced it in his/her life!

Everyone who is truly saved KNOWS -

that he/she is saved!

why he/she is saved!

how he/she was saved!

Everyone who is truly saved is NEVER IGNORANT OF THE SCRIPTURE!

he/she will not remain ignorant of the Scripture!

he/she will desire to know more about the contents of the Scripture!

SONG - Unto You