Acts 17:30

Acts 17:30 says, And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.  Paul got to the heart of the matter.  At one time, God had left them in their ignorance.  That is not to say that God ignored the world for a time, but that the time had not been right for the Messiah to come.  People have always known enough to find God, but when Jesus came into the world, God revealed Himself completely.  We today have the written word, the Bible, but more importantly we have the living Word, the Holy Spirit, to witness to us.  Again, even to the worst of sinner, God is not far off.  Verse thirty-one adds, Because 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.  Then, Paul told them that God had appointed a day when He would judge the world by the righteous of one man, Jesus, and His death, burial, and resurrection.  I am glad that God is not going to judge me by my righteousness, but instead by my relationship with Jesus.  His righteousness covers all people, but only becomes valid when we enter into a personal relationship with Him.  If I am dying of thirst, and someone places a cup of water in front of me, it is real.  Still, it only does me good if I drink it, which is to have a personal relationship with that water.  Those around Paul were dying of a spiritual thirst, and he set the Living Water before them.  Verse thirty-two continues, And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.  Some mocked Paul about the resurrection or the dead and some said they would hear more another day.  The Living Water was there, but they chose not to drink.  Some people today still put salvation off until tomorrow, which may never come for many of them.  Verse thirty-three states, So Paul departed from among them.  Paul had shared the gospel, and if they refused to believe, there was no reason for hm to stay any longer.  If we are witnessing today and realize that those we are witnessing to are never going to believe us, there is no reason to stay and argue.  Verse thirty-four adds, Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.  Still, some stayed with Paul and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.  All those there heard the same message.  Some mocked, some waited, but some believed.  We cannot dwell on those who mock and delay.  We can only celebrate when even one person believes.