Why Did God Overlook 'Times Of Ignorance?'

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, and we are in the Book of Acts Chapter 17.Dave, last week we did read Acts:17:29Forasmuch 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.
See All..., and I want to read it again, and I want to talk about one phrase in here just to get your perspective.Acts:17:29Forasmuch 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.
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Dave:

Paul is speaking to the Greeks, philosophers, stoics, Epicurians and so forth, at Mars Hill.

Tom:

Right.“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 andman’s device.”Now, I’d like to go over, “is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” and particularly, “graven by art”.Now Dave, you’re a world traveler, and when Ruth goes along with you she takes you to museums, and I think you’ve probably been in all of the best museums throughout the world, and certainly much of the art and the artists, especially for a time in the history of man, much of the art has been of a religious nature.

Dave:

Yes, most of it.

Tom:

I would say, I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts; it’s in design, but I studied art, art history, and so on, and what about this “graven by art”?Is the Bible, the individuals mentioned in the Bible, are they fair game for artistic representation, or not?

Dave:

I don’t think so, Tom.First of all, Tom, it would be idolatry to try to make a depiction of God or Jesus, Jesus is God, which is done, not so much God, but you’ve got this bearded grandpa up in the sky, you’ve got it at the headquarters of the Eastern Orthodox church and the Russian Orthodox church just out side of Russia.We didn’t have a chance to get over there, Tom, when we were in Russia recently.

Tom:

You’ve been in the Sistine Chapel, it was there.

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

Supposedly a portrayal of God.

Dave:

Yeah, but plate portrayals of Jesus, although mostly of Mary in the Catholic church, it’s number one, as you said, it’s a lie.

Tom:

Well, it’s a false image no matter how you cut it.It’s a reduction or a depiction that’s false.

Dave:

But we have not only pictures of the godheads like in a gold or silver stone engraved by art men’s device.Tom, in the Old Testament, Exodus Chapter 20, God absolutely forbids cutting stones to make His altar, going up by steps to His altar, because man’s efforts has nothing to do with salvation.It cannot contribute to it, it doesn’t impress God, He doesn’t need anything.As Paul just said earlier, He doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.He’s not worshipped with men’s hands, Paul said a few verses earlier, as though He had of anything.But we are His creation, we don’t create God.The prophet Isaiah, well under God’s inspiration, he mocks the idolaters.He said, You cut down the tree, part of it you warm yourself with it, burn a fire, cook your meat and pick your teeth, and then you make an idol out of part of it.You form the idol, it has eyes that can’t see, ears that can’t hear, mouth that can’s speak.It can’t even walk although you gave it some feet and legs, you have to carry it wherever you go, and then you bow down and say, Oh, this is the great God that created the universe?You’re feeding on ashes, Isaiah says.And then he says, Those who make these idols are like them.So, God is not impressed, and yet, Tom, not in so-called Protestant churches, although some of them are going in that direction.

Tom:

Well, it isn’t just that, but the whole emerging church movement is into visual Christianity, whatever that might be, it’snot biblical.

Dave:

Right, but especially you’ll see it, South America, Europe, go to Japan, China, the Buddhist temples, they are trying to impress their gods somehow or other.They are trying to get a religious feeling, and that is not the route to Truth.Truth is, believe it or not, it comes through doctrine.That’s why God gave us the Bible in words, and I wish we had time to really talk about words.They are not physical, they don’t represent anything physical.You’re talking about God, there is no representation of God that you can come up with.You can’t even come up with a representation of justice.You couldn’t depict that, try to make a picture out of it, or truth, we know what that means, and God communicates to us through words and Jesus Christ is the living Word.Okay?

Tom:

Dave, as you know, we were just in Russia couple of weeks ago, as we are taping this program right now, and we were in Russian Orthodox—the people over there called them temples, which is really what they are.They are based on the design of the temple, they have the iconistatious, which is the wall of icons, which is just like the veil that was in the temple, and so on.But they would say, No, we don’t worship these images, they open the door to heaven through these individuals who are being painted, and they are very spiritual.They are not supposed to be so artistic, they are reproductions, and so on.But the point is, it is still, as you said, this is not the Word of God, this is not doctrine, this is experientialism, this is something that is so subjective, and that’s why throughout the history of the Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox church, the Russian Orthodox church, that’s why you have so much superstition, because it’s all based on experientialism.

Dave:

And there is a lot of superstition, Tom.Paul is laying it out.These people are into that sort of things too, they are pagans, idol worshippers.He’s laying it out.The Godhead, He’snot like gold, silver, precious stones, graven by art of man’s device.

Tom:

But Dave, isn’t this a limitation of God, whether it be in our imagination or the things that we craft, it is reducing God down to what we think, what we believe.

Dave:

So, it turns into a lie, gives a false misrepresentation of God, false ideas of God.

Tom:

No matter how beautiful or esthetic somebody might think that it is.

Dave:

Right.

Tom:

Verse 30:“And the times of his ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent”What does that mean, Dave?

Dave:

That’s an interesting expression, “He winked at.”It’slike He turned to look the other way.He overlooked some of these things:Okay, guys, your ignorance will be excused if your heart is right because, God very clearly says, “You will seek for me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.So, even though you don’t understand at the moment if your heart is right, if you really want to know the true God you will be delivered from all this nonsense.So, he’s saying, Okay, guys, I’m going to be patient with you.But His patience is running out.Paul go on to say, But now, you know, He winked at this in the past, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent of this because He’s not going to let this go on forever, there’s a day of judgment coming.

Tom:

Verse 31:“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.”

Dave:

So, that’s interesting, Tom.God has appointed a day when this world will be judged, that’s number one, very clear.So, no matter what you think in this life or what you do, you don’t escape when you die.Obviously, He’s going to judge all men, then they must somehow be brought back.

Tom:

Dave, what about those who do plead ignorance?Is that going to be a valid excuse before the Great White Throne Judgment?

Dave:

No, because the next book in the Bible that follows Acts is Romans, and in Romans 1, very clearly says they are all without excuse.Because, you look around the universe, you couldn’t believe that this idol that you formed with your hands created the universe?The universe was here before you made this idol.It’s why Isaiah said, They are feeding on ashes.So, they are all without excuse, but God was patient.I think it’s talking, in another sense, not just with people in the past, but I think it’s talking about, as far as history goes God has been patient, He’s looked the other way.But impatient with our ignorance and our folly, that doesn’t mean we will escape judgment.Paul is making that clear, and you need to repent because all of your deeds, your thoughts about God as well, and the folly that you’ve expressed about the Creator of the universe!You look up at the stars an so forth—Oh, they worship the moon, you are going to judged by your conscience and by all the evidence you have around you, and that day is coming and it is going to be by a man!How about that? We need to come back and talk about that, Tom.