“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, Acts 17:30

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A closer translation would be, “Therefore, indeed, having overlooked these times of ignorance, God now commands all men everywhere to repent.”

Paul has been speaking about the nature of God, contrasting what He is like to what man may suppose. In the previous verse, Paul noted that He is not like gold, or silver, or stone that can be shaped by art and man’s devising. Now, he takes this line of thought and begins to redirect it toward what God expects, saying, “Therefore, indeed.”

In the previous verse, Paul said, “therefore.” He now states it again, stressing it to ensure the thought is offset in the minds of his audience –

“For we are also His offspring.”
“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God…”

“…we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.”
“Therefore, indeed, having overlooked these times of ignorance…”

Paul is shaping his argument to lead to a conclusion. Before he gets there, he is ensuring that those listening will carefully process what leads up to it. Understanding this, he continues, saying, “having overlooked.”

It is a word found only here in Scripture, hupereidon. It essentially means to take no notice of or to disregard. Vincent’s Word Studies says, “to suffer to pass unnoticed.” This does not mean that it is either condoned or accepted. But God has allowed man to do what he has done without telling them otherwise that what they are doing offends Him.

Unfortunately, some older translations say, “God winked at.” Depending on how one takes the translation, that can mean a variety of things not intended by the apostle. For example, the KJV used the word “wink” five more times, and they are all with a negative connotation that has nothing to do with what Paul is saying here.

Paul is saying that God has simply not paid attention in a particular manner to what the nations were doing. While Israel was given the law and explicitly told to not conduct themselves in such a manner, punishing them when they did not obey, God allowed the nations to do what they willed without any warning of the consequences. Thus, without a law to direct the nations, Paul refers to this as “these times of ignorance.”

The article and noun are both plurals, “these times.” In the Bible, there are various dispensations that God has used to work out His redemptive plans. While the nations were doing as they saw fit without any particular direction from God, He had called and made a covenant with Abraham.

From there, He chose a particular line of Abraham’s descendants to continue His redemptive intentions. This led to Israel and eventually the time of the law. The law was given for a fixed and particular set of purposes leading to the coming of the Messiah. In His coming, He fulfilled the law that was given to Israel alone.

With that, the law was set aside and a New Covenant was introduced. This New Covenant was with Israel and the House of Judah, but – unlike the law – it was not limited to them. Rather, it is inclusive of all peoples, allowing them to come into the commonwealth of Israel. Because of this, Paul next says, “God now commands all men everywhere.”

What God is now doing is no longer limited to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people, nor is it limited to the land of Israel or the city of Jerusalem, as if people were responsible to go there to meet with the God of Israel. It is a new direction where anyone at any location can be accepted. However, there is an expectation laid on the people who have carried such incorrect notions about God. That is “to repent.”

The Greek word is metanoeó. It signifies to change one’s mind, to think differently, to reconsider. Paul has been speaking about the nature of God. He has noted what God is like and what God is not like. For those who have misunderstood the nature of God, he is telling them that they must change their mind about Him and think differently. Jesus, while responding to the woman at the well in John 4 provides the meaning –

“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’
21 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” John 4:19-24

This is what people are to change their minds about. They are no longer to live under incorrect ideas about what God is like and how He should be worshiped. Rather, they are to change their minds and accept this special revelation of Himself that is proclaimed through the New Covenant. Paul will explain in the next verse how the people can be sure that what he says about God is true.

Life application: Paul never introduced the idea of sin into his discourse. He has only told the people where their thinking is wrong. Elsewhere, he says –

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19, 20

The people of Athens (and by extension the people of the world) had no law from God about idols that could bring about the imputation of sin. Paul states that explicitly in Romans 5:13, saying that “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Therefore, Paul could not have been telling the people to repent of sin. And, indeed, he was not telling them this. He was telling them to repent (think differently) concerning their faulty ideas about God.

Today, people use the word “repent” in a completely incorrect manner. They equate it to the active ending of something, such as sin. “You must repent of (stop doing) XXX in order to be saved.” That is not the gospel. One is saved by grace through faith and that is in believing the gospel which says that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

Only after being saved will stopping incorrect behavior have any meaning. Be sure to present the gospel without adding the baggage that is often heaped upon people. To add to the gospel is to present a false gospel.

Glorious Lord God, You have done everything necessary for us to be saved. All we need to do is accept that by believing in the full, final, forever, and finished work of Jesus. May we present this to others clearly and without addition so that they understand what they need to do. Faith! You are looking for faith in Your faithless creatures. What more can we add to what Jesus has done? May we never presume to do so. Amen.