The time of Ignorance

METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA

DIOCESE OF OSOGBO

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, 17^TH MAY, 2020.

GOD’S WORD TO GOD’S PEOPLE.

THEME: “The time of Ignorance.”

             “Igba aimo.”

TEXT: Acts of the Apostles 17:30

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”

“Pelupelu igba aimo yii ni Olorun ti foju fo da; sugbon nisisinyii o pase fun gbogbo eniyan nibi gbogbo lati ronu pi wada.”

The popular city of Athens was already at a period of its decline when Paul visited the place with the good news about Jesus Christ. Though the city was still recognized as a center of culture and education, but the glory of its commerce and politics had since gone down. Athens had a well-known university and many beautiful buildings, but it was no longer an influencial city it used to be. Rather it was maintained by its rich idolatry, novelty and philosophy (Acts 17:16-21). Arrival of Paul in the city was therefore not as a sightseer, but as one who has come to win souls and transform lives. He did not miss his opportunity of winning men and women of Athens back to the true God. He called them out of their ignorance unto the knowledge of the only true God. Our world, today, is not in any way different from the world in the time of Paul. To rescue humanity from ignorance, we, preachers of the gospel, need to be like Paul, we must have our eyes opened and our heart broken with passion for souls of men and women which are already at the verge of destruction.

In the text appointed for our old testament reading today, the sixth Sunday of Easter, Acts 17:22-31, Paul had to confront two opposing Philosophies and high level of idolatry as he witnessed for Christ in Athens. He was faced with the Epicureans who taught human beings to “enjoy life” and the stoics who asked people to “endure life” to the stoics; pleasure was not good and pain was not evil, but the Epicureans believed in pursuit of pleasure and the love of good living without pain and anxiety. The most significant issue in our text which stirred Paul in the face at Athens was the worship of many and different deities (gods) which included THE UNKNOWN GOD (Acts 17:23) Hence, when he had the opportunity to address the council of the Aeropagus, which was responsible for watching over both religion and education of the people of Athens, Paul started with a compliment: “…I perceive that in all things you are very religious…” (Acts 17:22)

Truly, the people were so religious that they even had an altar to “the unknown god.” The question here is that, how is it possible for people to worship the god they did not know? How would such god be of help to them? Paul saw their ignorance as an opportunity to introduce the only true God who created the heaven and earth to them. He thus shared four (4) basic truth about the living God with them as he did while preaching at Lystra (Acts 14:15-17).

1.    Paul showed them the greatness of God, the Creator (Acts 17:24): Contrary to the teachings of the Philosophers, such as Epicureans (atheists) who believed that everything in the world was matter and the Stoics who said everything was God, Paul boldly declared that God made the world and everything in it and remained the Lord of all that he had made. He is never a distant God who could be separated from his creation. He is a great God whose greatness does not affect his concerned for the needs of human beings who are the crown of his creation (Acts 17:25).

2.    He spoke about the goodness of God and his power to provide (Acts 17:25). It must be understood by all that we (human) are not the one serving God, but it is God who serves us (Matt. 20:28). God is self-sufficient and thus needs nothing which human beings supply. Brothers and sisters in Christ, if we believe that God supplies all that we need: life, breath and all things, then it means that our God is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). He gave us life and sustains the same by his goodness (Matt. 5:45). He should therefore be well known to us.

3.    He taught them about God’s rulership (Acts 17:26-29). The gods of the Greek, according to Paul were distant beings who had no concern for the problems and needs of their adherents, but the God of Creation is also the God of history and geography. Paul added that the entire land of the Greeks, which they revered was a gift from God. It is the government of God that determines the rise and fall of nations and all their governments (Dan.4:35). This God is not a distant deity, therefore human beings ought to seek God and come to know him in truth (Acts 17:27)

4.    He also called their attention to the grace of God our saviour (Acts 17:30-34). As Paul, brought his message to a close, he gave the obvious evidences of God’s grace. He talked about how long the patient God was with the sin and ignorance of human beings (Rom. 3:25, Acts 14:16) It does not mean that human beings were not guilty (Rom.1:19-20), but God only held back his divine wrath. He sent his Son (Jesus Christ) to be the Saviour of the world (John 3:16), and now he commands all human race to repent of their foolish and wicked ways. Paul made the people of Athens to understand further that the Saviour was killed and he resurrected from the dead, and certainly he will return to judge the world.

Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters in the household of faith, are we still living in ignorance at this era of post-modernity? Do we really know the God we serve? Or are there some of us who still give their worship to an unknown god? Remember that the Bible says, “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits (Dan. 11:32).” Yes, enough of living in the past, let us come out of our pretense and hypocrisy, and face the reality of life, especially at a time like this when Church buildings are under lock and key. When peoples’ hearts and body are troubled confused and restless, because COVID-19 has left us to choose between life and livelihood, especially in Nigeria where this ongoing attack of pandemic has brought a lot of setback on our economic and religious life.

This pandemic has further shown the limitation of human wisdom, frailty of human beings and fruitlessness of our efforts as human without God. We have all seen how ignorant the whole world is in a time like this. The Bible says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me, because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hos. 4:6).

Yes, many of us had lost the knowledge of the true God in us and have failed to seek him. We have followed and served other gods, even the unknown god, in ignorance very many church goers have rejected the Creator and Saviour of the world in ignorance and chose unfamiliar and unfriendly gods instead. Some people choose money as their object of worship, some love sex, power and position more than God the Creator of heaven and earth, while some other people preferred idols which are controlled by demons to the true God. Enough is enough, let us all embrace the self-sufficient God and worship him, let us remember that God has promised to forgive all our wicked and evil deeds which we committed in the time of ignorance. He wants all men and women, boys and girls and rich and poor to come to repentance.

Men and brethren, let us confess our ignorance to God, let us confess our helplessness and foolishness to him so that we may find necessary help from him. Let us come unto Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, accept him as our only saviour from the grip of COVID-19 or Corona-virus, and he will give us his Holy Spirit who will teach us all things (John 14:16-26). This is where the profane; the government needs the sacred which is the Church. Jesus Christ, Lord and Head of the Church can give the Holy Spirit to Pharmacists, and other medical practitioners and researchers with which they could discover COVID-19 vaccine and the right medication for other terminal diseases in our world today. We must believe in God and his Son, Jesus Christ, for solution to all our life problems. No other god or human being can help us except God Almighty the Creator of heaven and earth, in whom we live, move and have our being. Without God and his Christ, we can do nothing. (John 15:5). I have shown all of you, life and death, choose life today and you shall live, for the time of ignorance, our God has overlooked. He wants everyone to turn to him and trust him for life now and hereafter.

Let us pray.

 

Rt. Rev. A.K.O. Ogunrinde, JP, FICT.

Bishop, Diocese of Osogbo.

Chairman OS-CAN.