Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus Sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515.
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead.
Acts 17:30.31.
Yesterday we read of the uncertainty of a scholarly atheist in questions concerning God, his fear of religion and the discomfort he feels, because “some of the most intelligent and learned people I know are believers in the religious sense.”
Now it is no longer necessary for anyone to be unsure about matters concerning God. The apostle Paul explained to the highly educated Athenians of his day that the times of ignorance were past: God has revealed Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. And God Himself has given the proof of Jesus’ divine Sonship and office of Judge of all mankind by raising Him from the dead.
Both for the death and the resurrection of Jesus there were numerous, irrefutable testimonies (cf 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). And Christ had sufficient enemies who would have been only too pleased to disprove this witness, if they had been able to. But the Romans had guarded Jesus’ tomb in vain, and the Sanhedrin, the counsel of the Jews could not deny that His grave was empty. There is therefore assurance for everyone who has not already made a professed stand against God. Read the biblical accounts of the Lord’s death and resurrection. They are sufficiently convincing.
Image: By Raphael – Royal Collection of the United Kingdom, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1718078