MANY were the cities in the midst of which the apostle Paul faithfully delivered his heaven-sent messages, but from three in particular very noticeable testimonies went forth, viz., Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens (Acts 17).
Persecutions could not daunt, nor ill-treatment silence him, for his heart was sustained and his mouth filled with divine grace and power; so when he reached Thessalonica regardless of his much scourged body and his bleeding back at Philippi he tells forth the sufferings and the glories of the Christ of God, with all the earnestness of a man who was suffering for His sake. Turned out of that city, he expounds the Word of God with unabated energy in Berea; and, when again expelled, he reaches Athens, his stirred spirit warns its inhabitants of the coming judgment of God.
Long centuries have passed away since the Roman sword with one fell stroke silenced the burning lips of the apostle Paul, but as clearly today as in that far-off yesterday, preserved to us by the power and grace of God, sounds his faithful proclamation to the Thessalonians how that “Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you, is the Christ.” On the Bereans he pressed the value of the absolute, unalterable Word of God that liveth and abideth forever, testifying of the things concerning Him. To the Athenians he witnessed of the sure and swiftly approaching judgment of God, which, if His Christ is rejected and His Word despised, will most assuredly fall in withering desolation upon every unbelieving soul, and sweep it into that dark and endless perdition it has earned by its sins, where there is no mercy, no forgiveness, no hope.
The first testimony tells of mercy. “All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned everyone to his own way: but the Lord hath laid an him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)). Every child of Adam’s race is born and lives under the shadow of death, the just penalty of sin; but there was One, and that One the holy blessed Son of God, who, in His matchless love and compassion, came down from heaven to restore to God that which He took not away, and to deliver man from the degradation and misery he had brought upon himself. Who could bear the blame of having “gone astray,” and “turned everyone to his own way”―the grave and forever separating sin of forgetting God and doing one’s own will, from which all other offenses spring, which lay a stain and a shame on man, and in which all have their part? “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). Jesus bore it. He who was the absolutely perfect One gave Himself for our sins, and all the terrible wrath of God came down on Him because of them.
“It behooved Christ to suffer,” so holy was He, so spotless, so completely all that God delighted in, that He was the fit One to meet Him about the question of sin. The claims of God have been more than met. He has been greatly glorified by the life and death of Jesus. Now the obedience of Christ is in the place of the disobedience of Adam, and His love and trust have filled the heart of God. Surely it behooved Him to rise again from the dead, for it was not possible that the grave could hold Him. He has gone up in triumph through the heavens, and, as man, has received glory and honor, God thus showing out His good pleasure in Him. Hence mercy is offered to everyone, whether the tale of their years and their sins be long or short, whether they be rich or poor, learned or ignorant. In the rich grace of God He has provided a righteous ground of blessing―Christ Jesus: every obstacle has been swept away, and all are invited and welcomed to come to Him without fear.
The second testimony tells of forgiveness. The Lord Jesus, in the very moment when he arrested and converted the apostle Paul, sent him to the Gentiles “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:1818To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:18)). Hence the believer is “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:2424Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (Romans 3:24)). The blessed God Himself is delighted. “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:2626To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)). “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Rom. 8:3333Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. (Romans 8:33)). And if God be for you, who can be against you? Not one jot or tittle of His unchangeable Word can pass away: it will stand forever, and they who trust it will stand also. They are made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)). “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe” (Rom. 3:2222Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Romans 3:22)).
The third testimony tells of judgment. A command to repent has come down from God, with the warning that He has “appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained” (Acts 17:3131Because 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. (Acts 17:31)). If the heart is not touched and attracted by God’s love and grace as displayed in Jesus, it must be brought down to its right place by His wrath. Bow to Him in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ everyone must, for He has said so (Rom. 14:1111For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11); Phil. 2:10, 1110That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10‑11)). It should be now in repentance and contrition, while mercy and forgiveness are to be found. If not, it must be then, in an eternity of terror and anguish, out of reach of hope, for those who will stand before the searching light and supreme majesty of His judgment throne are there only to be convicted and condemned. Truth, righteousness, and holiness will be paramount and most gloriously shown forth when the Lord Jesus Christ, by the word of God, judges all the untruthfulness, violence, unrighteousness, and wickedness that have filled the weary centuries of the inhabited earth. What an unveiling of “all the secrets of men.” Be warned, reader, lest yours be among those disclosures revealed, as they will be, in the ears of a listening universe.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)), into the eternal abode of darkness and sorrow, where everything must be consigned that is offensive to God. Consider, you that fly from all that is serious and seek only after all that is gay, what must it be to be shut up to endless sorrow? Shut in with torment in yourself and all around; shut down in everlasting night; and with the maddening remembrances of past opportunities, of the glorious face of the One who would have been your Saviour and Friend, and of the ineffable joy of the Christians you once scorned and mocked. Oh, be warned! It is only a little life that you have here, and unsatisfactory at best, but there is a long life beyond, and much in it. Receive the Christ of God, believe the Word of God, and escape the judgment of God, we entreat you.
L. J. M.