People living in our day generally don’t want to listen to a Christian message that demands anything of us. The preference is for a message that is not threatening, not confrontational, that doesn’t intrude into our personal space, and that doesn’t offend us. The preference of many is to hear a diluted Christian message that is attractive to the ear, but that lacks substance, that doesn’t deal with our true condition before God, and does not demand anything of us, but leaves us just as we are.
But the early Christians who are our best example of how to present the Christian message, spoke the word of God with such authority, that people were affected by it. The effect that Paul’s message had on the people at Athens was deep (Acts 17:16-34). It affected everyone who heard the message in some way. There were some people who believed the message, there were others who wanted to hear more about it, whilst there were others who totally rejected the word of God which was preached through the apostle Paul. All who heard the message were affected in some way by what God spoke to them through Paul.
Paul made it clear that God calls people everywhere to repent. He also made it clear that it is critical we do this, because there will be a day of judgement where the Son of God who died for us will be our final judge.
Acts 17:30 – “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The change which God asks from us is a change that is so radical, that it affects our mind, our emotions, our will, so that our entire being is restored back into a relationship with God. God doesn’t just want a part of a person, He wants the whole person. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” – Mark 12:30
Heart, soul, mind, strength – that is the whole person.
