“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” Acts 17:30
Acts is one of my favorite books of the Bible and Chapter 17 is one of my favorite Chapters. Here, in the city of Athens ( at Mars Hill no less), the Apostle Paul preaches the Gospel. And what is at the heart of his sermon? Repentance! Now put yourself in Paul’s shoes. Here, in the Very Mecca of the Philosophical World, Paul has the shot of a lifetime; to Preach the Gospel to some Athenian Philosophers! So, would you be on pins and needles, minding your P’s and Q’s? Would you be “holding back”?
Not Paul!!! What does he declare? That they “Should Believe”, or that they “Should Have Faith”? NO! That they “Should Repent”!!! I know I sound like a One Trick Pony, but this is So Crucial for the Church today. Unless the Church returns to a Biblical Gospel, it is convincing untold thousands that “all is well” with their souls. IT IS NOT!!! If there is No Repentance, there is No Salvation, period, end of story. There is a reason Jesus used the word “Broad”, and “Many” in Matthew 7. Could this “deficiency” be one of the reasons?