TOG Session 6

Response to the Gospel

Acts 17

REVIEW

What Is Justification?

Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he thinks of our sins as forgiven and thinks of Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us and therefore declares us to be “just” or morally righteous in His sight.

Four False Views of Justification

Religion: Good works = Justification Roman Catholicism: Faith + Good Works = Justification Decisionalism: Profession of Faith = Justification Legalism: Justification by faith, but right standing with God by works.

ACTS 17:16-31

Now that we have studied what God has done for us, let’s look at a biblical example of proclaiming these truths to unbelievers.

Read

Acts 17:16–31 ESV

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

How is mankind described?

-Offspring of God (dependent) (:29a) -Religious but idolatrous and ignorant (:29b-30a)

How is God described?

-Creator/Lord (:24-26) -His desire for mankind’s redemption (:27-28)

What is the call of the gospel?

-Repent in light of coming judgment (:30-31) -The Appointed One was raised from the dead (:31)

Outline the main ideas of the message Paul gives in Acts 17:24-31.

What does this passage say about Christ and Justification?

Think about the worldview of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. How does Paul’s message of the gospel confront their thinking?

Paul specifically countered the specific philosophies of the Stoics (God is not material and does not need anything) and Epicureans (God is the Creator. Repent of sin/sensuality).

Epicurus

Epicurus (342-270 B.C.) held that pleasure was the chief goal of life, with the pleasure being a life of tranquility free from pain, disturbing passions, superstitious fears and anxiety about death. Epicurus did not deny the existence of God (or “gods”) but was “deistic,” meaning he believed the gods took no interest in the lives of humans.

Stoicism

Stoicism was founded by Cypriote Zeno (340-265 B.C.) of Athens. His philosophy centered on living life harmoniously with nature and he emphasized man’s rational abilities and individual self-sufficiency. He was basically pantheistic and thought

of God as “the World-soul.” 1

(1Richard N. Longnecker, The Expositor’s Commentary (9). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 473-474. )

What did you find particularly helpful about Paul’s example in Acts 17?

What Is the Biblical Response to the Gospel?

Repent and believe

Mark 1:14-15

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”

Peter’s call for a response to the gospel for a Jewish audience. (Acts 2:36-38)

Paul’s call for a response to the gospel for a Gentile audience. (Acts 17:30)

Repentance and belief can be studied separately, but they describe what occurs simultaneously when a person responds positively to the gospel.

DON’T MISS THIS: In repentance we change our minds about sin as we forsake it. In belief we trust solely in the finished work of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life.

The Role of Baptism:

Read

Romans 6:3–4 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

and

Colossians 2:12–14 ESV

having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

What does baptism picture?

-Baptism is an outward display of God’s work in salvation. Baptism is NOT the work of salvation, but a living illustration of what God has already done. -Illustration: wearing a wedding band doesn’t make you married. Taking a wedding band off doesn’t make you unmarried. However, rings are an important symbol of a deeper, metaphysical reality.

Therefore, who is to be baptized?

In the NT, those who repented and believed the Gospel were subsequently baptized.

Consider this personally: If you have repented and believed the gospel, have you publicly demonstrated this belief through baptism?

Baptism is the biblical demonstration that a person has repented and believed the gospel of jesus Christ (Acts 2:41, 8:12, 16:14-15, 18:8). Being baptized is so closely associated with conversion that the symbol is referred to synonymously with reality (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 1:13-14; et al).

FOR NEXT TIME

READING

Read through Romans 6-8 a minimum of three times. Use a different translation each time if possible. Answer the questions on page 50.

YOUR GOD STORY

Complete the assignment titled “Your God Story”. Be prepared to share your God story during class next week using your notes.

MEMORIZATION

2 Corinthians 5:21. Remember to review Ephesians 2:8-10 and Romans 3:23-24.

SURVEY

No survey this week.