Introducing God: A God of Justice Acts 17-24-34 We are nearing the end of our series titled Introducing God (Ex. 34). It is my prayer that this series has been spiritually enriching. It is my prayer that maybe you have encountered who God is for the very first time, or were reminded of a God you always knew. Or maybe this has helped clarify who God is and you have received some sort of an epiphany, or eye opener? I know personally the Lord has spoken volumes into my life as I have prepared these messages over the past few weeks. This week and next we are going to focus on the last part of Ex 34. but who will by no means clear the guilty This week we will examine that our God is a God of Justice, and next week to close off the series what it means to have a healthy fear of the Lord. Acts 17:24-34 Athens 2011-a modern city but a city which in ancient times exerted much larger political and cultural influences than today. This hill, hovering 377 feet above the modern day city stands as symbol most everyone can link with the city of Athens. The Areopagus- It was here, on one of Paul s missionary journeys, that Paul delivered this famous sermon that we read just now. The Areopagus had once been a court with political and judicial power but since the rise of Rome had become a court where religious, cultural and educational matters were discussed. The Athenians were notorious for their curiousity! They heard that Paul was teaching about a man named Jesus- something they had never heard before! They had to hear what this new teaching was all about, (v.19). Because Paul came preaching Jesus and the Resurrection (v.18) So Paul was brought to the Areopagus, this centre of thought, where people chased after and chewed on theories much like a child does a candy bar- they were intellectual junkies. Paul had previously had many great opportunities to share the good news of Jesus, but never one like this- here in the Areopagus of all places! In a place where the latest ideas would be shared with leading thinkers from throughout the Mediterranean! But Paul, being bold as he ever was, does not back down from such a challenge, but stands right up in the middle of this hill to address all those who so eagerly waited for what he would share. Now there is a lot to unpack in this compact encounter and Paul s message, all of which is worthwhile but will not be examined this morning. Two things are worth mentioning in passing. 1) Paul is contextual in his message. This is a great example for Christians that when we share the Gospel with others the message can be much more effective if it is contextual. Paul, outraged by their idolatry, seeks a connecting point here. He sees an altar dedicated to the unknown God. The Greeks, as
with the Romans, were polytheistic, they worshipped many gods. Every God had a temple. Yet in case they had forgotten a god, and lest this god should become angry with them, they dedicated this altar. Paul goes on to say I see you are very religious. This God who is unknown to you, is really the one true God. The creator of Heaven and earth, who has even given men the breath they breath. And that He cannot be contained by idols made from your hands. Drawing another cultural illustration he quotes a well known Greek poet of the time: in whom we live and move and have our being. Paul is being culturally relevant and he engaged this crowd. 2) Content of His message (more directly related to our message this morning) And here is Paul building his message to them, bringing in cultural examples to provoke the Athenians to give up worshipping their idols for the one true God. More and more he is clarifying who God is And then the peak of his message goes like this He commands all people, everywhere to repent, because He [God the Father] has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom He has appointed.(and that His resurrection is proof of this!?) Not at all a way of spreading the faith many advocate today! Way to spoil the ending. Why not throw in some lightning bolts too. The Athenians would have liked the dramatic effect. Why did Paul not choose to zero in on some of the attributes of God that we have been examining in the last few weeks. What about His great love, and faithfulness. Why did Paul not choose to preach grace, which he himself knew so well? Last week we examined forgiveness, and that we would not need forgiveness if there was not indeed something to forgive. Our last characteristic of God- that of a Great Judge, or a God of Justice, ups the anty from last week Ex. 34 Who will by no means clear the guilty Now we are not just talking about the icky, uncomfortable and taboo word called sin, now we are talking Judgement, the Last Judgement. How is this reconciled with a God of grace? Paul knew God s grace perhaps better than anyone else. Before he became a Christian He was a Jewish Pharisee, a teacher of the law. He called himself, the Pharisee of Pharisees. He had education and was zealous for serving the Jewish community. And He was employed in powerful postions. When it came to discouraging and stamping out members of the early Church He was equally zealous. The blood of early martyrs such as Stephen were on his hands. He was do all of this thinking he was doing God a favour only to find out He was actually fighting Him. Wow. Paul. Fire and Brimstone all the way!
What made Paul s conversion so profound, was not so much the way it happened, although that was significant, it was the fact that his sins were so grave, against Jesus s followers himself, that when we realized what He had been doing, against what Jesus was calling Him to, He realized by his own initiatives he could do nothing to save himself, he could not save himself. But upon professing belief and being baptized he was forgiven his sins and the Lord went on to use him in incredible ways which continued to shape and deepen his understanding of Grace, and his own humility. As deeply as Paul knew God s grace, he just as profoundly was aware of His Justice. That the sins we commit against God, and our follow man, have not just present consequences (ex. negative effects from sinful behaviour), but ultimately eternal consequences. If you read Paul, you will see that Jesus, Resurrection and Judgement, were inseparable from the Gospel Christ proclaimed. Well okay, so this apostle Paul guy, who wrote a solid half of the NT, talks about Judgement, Moses talked about it, but surely Jesus meek and mild would never Everyone likes the Jesus of Christmas, cute and cuddly baby Jesus, most like Him as our great Saviour and teacher, dying for us. Very few feel comfortable with the idea of Jesus as Judge, as Paul described him in the Areopagus. In fact Jesus mentioned Hell and the Judgement, and talks about present and future Justice more than any other voice in the entire NT! Chew that one over. In one of His parables He shows us quite fascinatingly about the Judgement, that answers lots of questions about the character of God, and raises many more about His justice and how it works. Matt 13:24-30 The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Weeds) If you have ever spent any time on a farm, or gardening for that matter, this will make perfect sense. If you haven t spring is coming. Jesus begins one of His- the Kingdom of God parables A man sowed a field with good seed. While everyone was sleeping His enemy came and sowed weeds among his wheat. When the wheat grew up, there were the weeds also. The owners servants ask, Do you want us to go and pull the weeds up? It s a logical question, it makes sense in many ways. Take them out now so they don t leave seeds behind for next year. Take them out now so the wheat can fully make use of the nutrients available to them. Yet the owner replies, no. Because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.
The weeds are those who are guilty those who have strayed, the wheat are those who have repented of their sins and returned to God. The harvest is a image used by Jesus throughout the NT to refer to the Last Judgement. A question that is commonly asked is if God is a God of justice, why does He not crack out the lightning bolts right now, let er rip. I know so many people who were dealt an injustice by someone and they got off without being dealt any justice whatsoever. We hear this voice echoed very strongly in the book of Psalms. Examples But there is also a flip side Examples Depending on what end of the stick you are facing depends on how you answer that doesn t it. If you know you are guilty you want just a bit more time, you want God to be forgiving. Let s come back to Ex. 34 Who will by no means clear the guilty. If this is still sitting the wrong way with you, this is partly a good thing, this shows you are being pulled and stretched. That s when God will teach us the most. Think back for a moment on all of the other characteristics of God we ve looked at (back of bulletin). Remember when we first began I drew your attention to how they were ordered. I said It is amazing that in this list, the above ordering is given. Some people create lists about God and place His judgement at the very beginning. God is Holy and hates sinners, some say, true, but Ex 34 radically alters our understanding on God. Those Attributes that declare God s goodness, as when He is said to be gracious, or merciful and long-suffering, they show what God is in Himself, and delights to be: those which declare His wrath and severity, show what He is upon provocation, and the occasion of sin; not what He chooses to be, but what we do as it were compel and necessitate him to be. Archbishop John Tillotson (1630 1694), The Mercy of God Make no mistake about it, if we push Him, He WILL unequivocally hold those who rebel against him (to use a term from last week) fully accountable, as the parable of the wheat and the tares so vividly displays, because He is still a Holy God, and a God of Justice. But that is not His ultimate WILL or DESIRE for us. It comes at the very end of His self-revelation to Moses in Ex. 34, because He created us, He loves us, and He yearns for us to repent and return to Him. There is a story of a Christian monk who lived in the Egyptian desert: The monk was asked by a certain soldier if God would forgive a sinner. And he said to him: Tell me, friend, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away? The soldier replied and said: No. I will mend it and put it back on. The monk said to him: If you take care of your cloak, will God not be merciful to those created in His own image? Remember when we examined God s forbearance. That the Hebrew word was quite funny. That it meant God had a long nose, that it took a long time for the flames of His wrath to erupt, that He had a long fuse.
The very fact He allows the weeds to grow amongst the wheat in His field demonstrate just how great is His forbearance and love for us. He is willing to wait, to bear with us, to see what happens, to buy us time to repent and come back to Him. If it were otherwise and if God were to stand forth on the moment as the avenger of iniquity, the church would lose many of its saints; and certainly would be deprived of the apostle Paul. St. Jerome (ca. 345 420 CE) The problem with forgiveness in the face of the need for justice to be exacted upon the guilty is that it frequently creates the appearance of injustice. How is it that God forgives someone who has done heinous crimes, repents, turns their life to Christ, where is the justice? What about the victims of those crimes. What about those scenarios that would produce, in effect, the appearance of injustice? If God bears with us, who is it that bears the guilt and sin? 1 Pe 2:24- tells us Justice is done at the Cross, He Himself [Jesus] bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. The Cross represents Justice, that God bears with us, our sin cost Him His own son, For God so loved the world Ex. 34 Who will by no means clear the guilty, and the rest of the Bible makes it quite clear, that in the end all who continue to turn from God will receive their dues, but that in the meantime Christ bore that sin on the cross, and bears the sin of those who have turned to Him. Joel 2:12 14 sums up Ex 34 quite well Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind Him. Expand v. 27 Yet He is actually not far from each one of us But when Paul finished talking to the Athenians, there were three reactions to the Gospel of Jesus (of which the Judgement and Justice is integral to): 1) Some scoffed at the notion of Judgement and the Resurrection 2) Others Investigated the matter further 3) Some believed What will we choose to do? Let me suggest we repent and live as if Jesus were returning tomorrow! Prayer: O God, forgive my sins, reform my way of life, and keep me safe from hateful things, O Merciful and compassionate God, forgive us trespasses, and help us to forgive those who trespass against us. Reckon not every sin of your children, but cleanse us with the cleansing of your Truth, and direct our steps towards Jesus that we may walk in holiness of heart and do what is good and wellpleasing in your sight. Amen. 1 Clement 60:1 2 (ca. 96 CE)