Proof of the Resurrection

Acts 17:30-31

April 11, 2004

 

Human thought tends to cycle with new names attached to philosophies and theologies that have existed for centuries. Ancient Epicureanism predated the modern pursuit of pleasure as the highest good man can achieve. The hedonist that lives for pleasure is a modern counterpart. God really has no place in his life. Eternity just does not enter the picture. Epicureans were early evolutionists, thus denying God as Creator and consequently, rejecting any kind of divine accountability for his lifestyle. None of us can deny the radically negative influence that evolution has had on the morals of our nation. This kind of anti-supernaturalism lives for the present and considers the gospel message to be a fairy tale.

 

Its companion in the ancient world, Stoicism, parallels modern beliefs that find God to be in everything and every religion. This is pantheism, a belief that denies the transcendence of God and His holiness. Stoicism further considers mankind's destiny determined by fate and not by divine providence. They sought to be one with nature and to find happiness by living in harmony with the environment. Stoics are still around.

 

In this kind of setting, Paul stood for the gospel on Mars Hill, the ancient Areopagus, in the cultural and philosophical center of the first century world. At the heart of his dialogues with Athens' Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, Paul focused on the resurrection of Christ. But talk of bodily resurrection seemed to be a strange, new religion to the thinkers of Greece. "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" they asked, dubbing Paul a "seedpicker" or "idle babbler" that had no original ideas but had only gathered and assembled scrap thoughts the same way that a sparrow gathers random seeds. In their thinking, he had borrowed ideas from different religions and philosophies, synthesizing them into his own brand of religion. They further expressed, "He seems to be the proclaimer of strange deities." That sounds strange to our ears! Yet their reaction stemmed "because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection." As Paul explained the nature and character of Christ, along with the His atoning work at the cross, affirmed by the resurrection from the dead, they reacted. They had no concept of resurrection. At best, some of the Stoics would have thought that death meant absorption with the cosmos while the Epicureans denied any future existence at all.

 

So what would you talk about had you been Paul? How would you have phrased your argument for Christ and the gospel? There is no more enlightening passage for dealing with the modern trends affecting our own day than this passage summarizing Paul's talk at Mars Hill. He does not acquiesce to the false teaching dominating Athens. Central to his dialogue is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

I wonder if we put this much weight on the resurrection in our own discussions with others about the living God and His Son, Jesus Christ? Do we see that the message of Christianity and all of the hope that we have in the gospel rises or falls at just this point?

 

As Paul continued to explain his teaching about the "Unknown God" that he was making known to them, he demonstrates that the hinge upon which his whole theology turned was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not simply one of many interesting facts about Christ; it is the hinge-point of Christian belief. But how does Paul prove this in his argument? What place does the resurrection have in your own understanding of divine revelation?

 

I. The resurrection declares God's mercy

 

Because Paul was preaching Christ and the resurrection, he was accused of being an "idle babbler" and "a proclaimer of stranger deities." All of this was because of the message of Christ as the Incarnate God - "because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection." What was it that the Athenians found so strange in the preaching of Christ? In the first place, they thought that the divine nature could be contained in idols of gold, silver, and stone, formed by men's hands and imaginations (v. 29). Paul demolished such ideas, showing the utter folly of deity contained in an inanimate object. They were ignorant of the nature of God, so the apostle declares God as Creator and Sovereign (v. 24), who is transcendent rather than contained in idols or temples (v. 24, 29), and who is totally self-sufficient, needing nothing from the world that He created (v. 25) - which is totally unlike the pantheon of Greek deities. This God created all humanity from one man, dispelling the evolutionary teaching of the Epicureans, and He wisely governs the works of His hands through acts of providence, dispelling the fatalism of the Stoics (v. 26). Consequently, it is only "in Him we live and move and exist," which even a contemporary of Stoicism's founder, Zeno, agreed with, "For we also are His offspring" (a quote from the Greek poet Aratus, 3rd century B.C.).

 

In the second place, these Greek philosophers had no concept of life after death and the bodily resurrection. The only slight exception was the Stoic idea of assimilation with the soul of the universe upon death. So Paul lays his groundwork. The one, true God, unlike the gods represented by the 30,000 statues of deities lining Athens' streets, purposefully created men to have relationship to Himself. Men are to "grope for Him and find Him," realizing that our reason for existence is found only in union with Him, as Paul triumphantly asserts, "in Him we live and move and exist" (literally, keep on existing). But how do we keep-on-existing in relationship to this God? If the Epicureans were right, then the bodies die and there is no more existence. If the Stoics were right, then the physical was evil and had to be tolerated, while the soul had no personal qualities but would be like a drop of water splashing into the ocean of the universe after death. But there is a resurrection of the dead! They could not understand the concept of resurrection without understanding something of the nature of God as Creator, Sovereign, and Judge. And because He is Judge, there are eternal consequences to this life. God has made gracious provision to face judgment through Jesus Christ, whom He raised from the dead as a testimony to His power over death and authenticating the work of Christ.

 

So as this summary of his address to the Athenians draws to a close, Paul explains that God is not fickle like the Greek gods but a God of mercy. His mercy has been demonstrated in the reality of the resurrection of Christ.

 

1. Sovereign disposition

 

To begin with, we are reminded that we must not presume upon God's mercy. He is a God of mercy, thankfully, but He shows mercy at His own pleasure. As Paul told the Romans, "'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy" (9:15-16). In this case, mercy is shown to the nations by God overlooking the times of ignorance prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ: "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." Paul had already reminded the Athenians that they worshiped "an Unknown God." Though they prided themselves on knowing virtually everything, they did not know this God. They worshiped Him "in ignorance" (v. 23). Not only had they worshiped many other gods but they also had not properly worshiped the living God! Though inexcusable, God did not strike them with the judgment that they deserved. He "overlooked the times of ignorance," restraining judgment for generations until that time that God revealed Himself through His Son, and provided the way to relationship to Himself through Christ alone. Now the overlooking is over. God has called them into accountability to the gospel by the resurrection of Christ proclaimed among them.

 

2. Dramatic shift

 

But a change has occurred from the previous generations. "God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." The little adverb "now" points to a dramatic shift in the divine economy of the universe. Now everything is different! For centuries men did not have the full revelation of God that came in Christ. They had pointers to the redemptive work of Christ through the sacrificial system in the Tabernacle. The holy days pointed to a day of greater fulfillment. Every time the sacrificial blood of a lamb was poured out on behalf of the one offering sacrifice, sinners were pointed to the mercy of God and provision of God for salvation. But now, what had been for so long only in shadows has become substance!

 

Even the Greeks that had wrongly worshiped before an altar to the Unknown God, denying Him as the transcendent God before whom there is no other, were called to a change in their worship and beliefs. God will not accept being wrongly worshiped. The fact that God has raised Jesus from the dead after His substitutionary death renders men inexcusable for rejecting the revelation of God in Christ.

 

3. Universal declaration

 

And so the Lord God makes a universal declaration, "God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." The call to repentance is in itself a universal declaration of man's sinfulness. All men must repent because all men are sinners (Rom 3:23). God the Creator has been offended, as men have chosen to go their own way in spite of all the moral laws inherent in nature and conscience calling for conformity to the divine will (Rom 1:18-23). Even apart from the written revelation, God has revealed enough of "His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature" so that men are "without excuse" for the folly of their sin and rebellion against God (Rom 1:20). So God calls for repentance, turning from sin, changing one's mind about the way he thinks about God and His way and will.

 

This transcendent God is approachable, having demonstrated this by raising one of our own race - Jesus Christ, from the dead. So through Christ, He calls for us to repent. Have you taken this call to repentance seriously? This word seems to have fallen from our vocabulary because of the distaste we feel in thinking upon our own sinfulness. We tend to reject reminders of it, opting instead for a touchy-feely relationship to God. But hear the word of the Lord. He calls all of us to repentance. Ray Pritchard points out that repentance implies a change of mind about the way we think about life, God, happiness, etc. "Repentance is a change in the way you think that leads to a change in the way you live" [An Anchor for the Soul, 100]. J. I Packer reminds us, "Repentance is a fruit of faith, which is itself a fruit of regeneration. But in actual life, repentance is inseparable from faith, being the negative aspect (faith is the positive aspect) of turning to Christ as Lord and Savior." He further explains

The New Testament word for repentance means changing one's mind so that one's views, values, goals, and ways are changed and one's whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly; mind and judgment, will and affections, behavior and life-style, motives and purposes, are all involved. Repenting means starting to live a new life [Concise Theology, 162-163].

 

So, have you repented of your sins and turned to God through Christ? Have you heeded what God has declared all men to do - to repent?

 

II. The resurrection declares God's warning

 

The call to repentance is underscored by the warning of judgment. If God calls upon us to repent but there is no consequence if we do not, then how much attention will humanity pay to the divine command? The resurrection of Jesus Christ serves to remind us that there is something else after this life. In Paul's argument, the fact of the resurrection of Christ is proof of divine judgment. "Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

 

1. The promised day

 

God has "fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness." He draws an inference from his previous call to repentance. Literally, he says, "in view of the fact that He has appointed a day in which He will judge humankind in righteousness." It is a reality, Paul reminds us, that all of us have a destiny with Judgment Day. To be "fixed" is a word used for putting or placing an object on a table. He has "appointed a day" which none of us knows, for the world to be judged.

 

Think about the aim Paul has at this point. If God the Creator has provided through the costly death of His own Son the justification of sinners, and having proved this through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, then we can be certain that all men will be judged on the basis of how they have responded to Christ. The resurrection of Christ affirms the certainty of the Day of Judgment where each of us will have to come face to face with how we have responded to Him.

 

The course of humanity is not hurling helter-skelter into some kind of cosmic abyss. No indeed; we are on course for "a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness." How can we get this into our minds so that it affects our whole disposition about life? We celebrate the resurrection of Christ today. We acknowledge it as historical fact, a certainty that has already taken place. What Paul argues is just as certain as the resurrection has already taken place, a Day of Judgment just as certainly shall take place. You can ignore it but it will still take place. You can shift your theology to accommodate different ideas, but that will not change your destiny with Judgment.

 

2. The promised action

 

The promised action of that Day is that "He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed." One of our human race will sit before us as Judge - Jesus Christ. His judgment will not ignore the facts in each individual nor will it ignore the provision of God made for each of us to be saved from divine judgment through Christ. He judges in righteousness or with justice. No one will be wrongly judged. We occasionally read of someone that received an unjust sentence for a crime that he did not commit but that will not be the case in the appointed day.

 

"Righteousness" is weighted with legal meaning. It is a moral or just righteousness. It conforms to the particular standards of God's moral nature and the character that He has established for His creation. The same righteousness that demanded the death of God's own Son at the cross to satisfy divine justice in forgiving unworthy sinners is the same righteousness that will be exercised at Judgment (Rom 3:21-28). Perhaps Jonathan Edwards' description will help us to fathom this reality.

The end for which there is any judgment at all is to display and glorify the righteousness of God; which end is more fully accomplished by calling men to an account, bringing their actions to the trial, and determining their state according to them, the whole world, both angels and men, being present to behold, than if the same things should be done in a more private way. At the day of judgment there will be the most glorious display of the justice of God that ever was made. Then God will appear to be entirely righteous towards every one; the justice of all his moral government will on that day be at once discovered. Then all objections will be removed; the conscience of every man shall be satisfied; the blasphemies of the ungodly will be forever put to silence, and argument will be given for the saints and angels to praise God for ever: Rev. 19:1-2, "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power be to the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments" [Works, II, 192].

Are you well prepared for that day and the certainty of God's righteous judgment?

 

3. The promised Judge

 

The Judge is identified: He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Though we likely do not have Paul's complete address, since this would have taken only two or three minutes to deliver, we can assume that when he spoke of the Man of God's appointment, he gave some explanation of the Incarnation. That seems logical, especially in light of Christ being identified as the Judge of all mankind. As a Man, Jesus Christ fully identified with humanity. He was "tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Heb 4:15). So He fully understands the people He judges, and knows the weight of temptation and its strain upon us. He is one that "sympathizes with our weaknesses," as the same passage in Hebrews explains.

 

But as God, Jesus Christ is sufficient to judge all humanity. He knows every thought and deed, being omniscient. Nothing has passed His careful gaze into the minds and hearts of every person. Because He is righteous, His evaluation of each thought and deed is perfectly just; no one can level a charge of "unfair." On His own part, Jesus Christ fully conformed to the Father's will. Every moral demand made upon humanity, Jesus Christ met completely. As one that is perfect in every aspect of His being, we can be assured that His judgment will be thorough, precise, and absolutely just.

 

Yet there is another thought added when we consider that the One that God has established as the only Mediator and Savior to also be the Judge. Samuel Davies, a contemporary of Edwards, states this powerfully in a sermon on this text.

It is also fit that Christ should be the supreme Judge, as it will be a great encouragement to his people for their Mediator to execute this office: and it may be added, that hereby the condemnation of the wicked will be rendered more conspicuously just; for, if a Mediator, a Saviour, the Friend of sinners, condemns them, they must be worthy of condemnation indeed [Sermons, I, 521].

III. The resurrection declares God's proof

 

It seems that once Paul pressed the matter of the resurrection his audience reacted, cutting him off from further explanation. "Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this" (v 32). The resurrection always brings out the scoffers since it defies human ability or imagination. None of us can raise anyone from the dead. Between those of us gathered this morning, we've been to hundreds of funerals and gazed at the lifeless bodies of those we've sought to remember. But none of them has returned from the dead. Sending someone to Saturn seems more plausible than the dead being raised! Yet this is precisely the hope centered in the gospel. Because God has raised His Son from the dead, all of us that are in Christ will one day be bodily raised in like fashion, united with His glory. Even those that do not know Christ will be raised to face the eternal horrors of God's righteous judgment. Christ's resurrection is God's proof of the future He is unfolding.

 

1. Divine voice in the resurrection

 

Bringing up the resurrection did not serve as an oral table decoration; it was the focal point of Paul's sermon. God has "furnished proof," that is of the certainty of the future in judgment and eternal blessing, "having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Christ's resurrection declared as no verbal statement can, God has accepted the death of Christ on our behalf. His justice is satisfied! Christ's declaration on the cross, "It is finished," received the divine "Amen" in the resurrection. It means that nothing else can be added to complete the work of Christ. God proved His acceptance of sinners through the bloody, substitutionary death of Christ by raising His Son from the dead. The penalties of eternal justice have no more claim on those that are raised in the likeness of Christ.

 

Ponder it again, my friend. The empty tomb declared that death has been conquered for the believer, sin has been forgiven, and eternity secured. That's why Peter, one of the first witnesses of the resurrection, could assert, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Pet 1:3-4). Is your confidence to face the judgment of God in the crucified and risen Christ?

 

2. Divine pledge in the resurrection

 

There is a divine pledge found in the resurrection. God "will judge the world in righteousness" through Christ. The proof is in the resurrection. In other words, Paul is reminding us that when we think of Christ's resurrection we are not only to think of our hope and our eternity secured, but we are also to think of judgment. The resurrection is a dividing line. The mystery of the gospel is no longer hidden since the Savior has been crucified publicly and then raised from the dead, having appeared to hundreds of witnesses (I Cor 15:6). The divine economy is no longer obscured by the metaphors and prophecies of the Old Testament. Christ is raised from the dead! And with this reality is the certainty that when you breathe your last breath, and your eyes close in death, it is not over. Eternity begins. The question each of us must face this morning, in light of resurrection of Christ, is, "Am I ready to face eternity?" Have I cast my trust upon Christ, demonstrating that faith by repentance?

 

3. Divine certainty in the resurrection

 

It is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18), and yet He has "furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Literally, it implies that God has brought forward the evidence of Christ's sufficiency as Savior and fitness as Judge by raising Him from the dead. He faces the skepticism of men that doubt and deny the truth of Scripture and certainty of divine judgment. God Himself declares, "Here's my proof of eternity, righteous judgment, and hope for sinners: I have raised My Son from the dead."

 

To ignore the certainties bound up in the resurrection reveals a heart callused by sin. It shows a stubborn disposition, so bent on your own way, that you are willing to defy the clearest evidence of what lies beyond death. Jesus Christ has risen from the dead! Have you believed in Him?

 

Conclusion

 

Christ's resurrection is central to the biblical message. There could have been no resurrection without the crucifixion. And there would have been no crucifixion had God not purposed through the sacrifice of His own Son to satisfy His own justice and secure forgiveness for us. Have you repented and turned to Christ? That's what the message of the resurrection calls for in each of us.

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