According to published reports, serious plans are being made for public and private (governmental and commercial) missions to Mars, as milestones of manned space exploration in the 21^stcentury.  Not so long ago, this was purely the stuff of fiction.

H. G. Wells’ novel War of the Worlds, appearing around the turn of the 20^thcentury, was instrumental in sparking imagination concerning all things Martian. Then came the famous radio dramatization of October 30, 1938 by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater Company—a live broadcast that according to some, caused a panic with its realistic portrayal of a Martian invasion of Earth.

In the 1950s and 60’s, all of the fascination with Mars and even some anxiety about Martians persisted.  Curiosity and the visceral thrill of a good scare (in a controlled setting, of course), filled theater seats and made millions globally, for the film industry. People were intrigued, even if made a little nervous, by the exotic prospect of meeting a man from Mars.

The 1963 debut of a TV situation comedy called, My Favorite Martian, allowed audiences to consider the prospect in the safety and comfort of their own living rooms, accompanied by reassuring laugh tracks. The character for whom the show was titled lived with an earthling, and posed as his Uncle Martin.  “Martin” had been marooned on earth, stranded by the unfortunate mechanical breakdown of his spaceship.

I still remember the weird antennae that would suddenly extend from the back of his head to give him that “other worldly” aspect.  He had some strange powers, too, as I recall, though I’ve forgotten what they were.  Through the decades since the show first aired, global entertainment media, mass merchandizers and serious scientists have continued to focus attention on, and fuel interest in, Mars.

Bible readers may recall that the Apostle Paul once spoke at a place called Mars Hill, while waiting for his ministry team to arrive in Athens (Acts 17).  The venue was known by the ancient Greeks as the “Hill of Ares,” named for the Greek god of thunder and war.  Ares’ counterpart in Roman mythology was Mars (hence, Mars Hill).

In the Athens of Paul’s day, a group called the Areopagus, a sort of city council, exercised civil authority over local religion and morals.  The Areopagus had heard of Paul’s street preaching about Jesus and the resurrection, to whoever happened to visit the Agora (marketplace).  The council may even have been aware that Paul was doing the same in the town synagogue, among Jews and God-fearing Gentiles.

According to historical records, the Athenians loved to tell and hear the latest gossip and new ideas from travelers passing through from around the world.  Scripture says that they spent their time doing little else.  So naturally, Paul was “brought” to Mars Hill, where council members could hear him for themselves.

Paul knew that he would be speaking to a worldly, Hellenistic audience, composed of both pagan pantheists and humanistic philosophers (the latter having already derided him as a “babbler”).  But it was just the kind of opportunity he liked and for which, no doubt, he often prayed. The bits of his address captured in Acts, show that Paul was in rare form on this occasion—alert, shrewd, respectful, yet pulling no punches.  In other words, God’s grace was with him and the Holy Spirit spoke eloquently through him.

Although deeply troubled by the sight of idols, shrines and pagan temples everywhere he looked, Paul did not pound the Mosaic Law to condemn his hosts, their city and their proud tradition.  Instead, he began by recounting his experience visiting the city for the first time.  Paul observed that the Athenians were obviously quite religious.  He had even, he said, seen an altar dedicated “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD” [an insurance policy against accidentally ignoring and thus offending a deity of whom they were unaware].  Paul then cleverly uses this superstitious precaution as a springboard to introduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ, declaring that Jesus is the unnamed God whom the Athenians already worshipped, without fully realizing it.

In developing his presentation, Paul respectfully challenged the idea that shrines and temples built by finite human beings could contain an infinite god (an obvious absurdity).  Paul gently but firmly pointed out that the creator of heaven and earth could not, would not depend on the food and drink offerings of fallible and feckless mortals to sustain it.  Next, Paul confronted the notion that statuary designed and fashioned by human art and skill from hewn lumber, quarried stone, smelted ore and mined gems could somehow transform into living gods worthy of worship.

Paul contrasts such thinking with a biblical worldview, asserting, among other things, that the true God is a personal God, not a nebulous force or a collection of demigods.  This God created the universe and all creatures, including people.  It is He who determined the table of nations, as well as the geographic limits of each and the duration of their existence.  As such, He is the Lord of heaven and earth.

To support his argument, Paul quoted well-known Greek philosophers and poets, who declared that human beings are God’s offspring, and members of the greater human family.  Building on this foundation, Paul showed that the true God remains actively involved with and in control of His creation, leaving nothing to chance.

This God, Paul said, could not be the product of human minds and hands.  And He would be far too great to live in manmade shrines and temples.  Paul asserted that God had graciously overlooked such claims in the past, because they arose from ignorance.  But now that Christ had been revealed, the expectation had changed.

Paul proclaimed that, unlike the many counterfeits, Jesus is the real thing. Now that He is known, God calls on all people everywhere to repent and follow Jesus, because “[God] 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.”  (Acts 17:31)

Talk about the man from Mars!  As far as the council was concerned, Paul might just as well have sprouted antennae right in front of them, climbed into his flying saucer and zoomed home to the red planet!  According to Scripture, it wasn’t Paul’s comments about the nature of God that had caused them to levitate from their seats.  It wasn’t the case against idolatry.  It wasn’t the idea of universal judgment on a day of God’s choosing, the date for which had already been set on His divine calendar.  It was not that the bar had been set impossibly high (God’s holy standard of righteousness).  It was not even the fact that God planned to entrust the task of judging to “that man whom he hath ordained.”

No, what really brought the curtain down on the meeting was Paul’s statement that God had raised Jesus from the dead as proof of His acceptability as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world: “And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked…” For them, the idea that God had created and ordered the universe down to the smallest detail, was one thing; but to believe that a God of such awesome power could raise a dead body back to life again?  Well, that was plainly going too far.  Clearly.

“But, others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.”  So! While some jeered, others were intrigued and wanted to hear more.  The council had made no move to stop Paul from “preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” Nobody had even suggested doing so. This may be significant, as the Greeks were comfortable with belief in the immortality of the soul, but had no parallel tradition concerning the future bodily resurrection of mortals. To the Greeks of ancient Athens, the apostle was bringing a “new doctrine…strange things to our ears”—alien teaching from the Hill of Mars!

And there was even better news.  As Paul left the now disbanded meeting, “certain men” believed and joined him, as did Damaris, an apparently prominent woman in Athens (inferred from the fact that she is specifically named).  Also among those who confessed Jesus that day was “Dionysius the Areopagite…”—a member of the council itself.  This man named after the Greek God of wine and ecstasy, was ready to repent and throw himself on God’s mercy.

These Athenian skeptics had glimpsed the future and it was out of this world.  They wanted to live there and experience God’s love and grace and resurrection power.  They thought they had heard it all, until they listened to a man from Mars and found themselves saying, “Take me to your Leader!”  Paul was more than happy to oblige.

Which camp are YOU in—those who sneer at Christ’s resurrection and mock God’s promise to judge humanity, those who want to hear God’s plan of salvation again before making a decision, or those who believe and want adoption into God’s family NOW?

To those in the first group, please know that although you think me a fool, I am praying for you.  You are in for a seismic shock from which there is no recovery.  Please scroll up and read Acts 17:31 again.  Let it sink in.  You will notice that no allowance is made for sarcasm or ridicule.  Your opinion will not be asked and your protests of disbelief will not sway the judge.  Don’t harden your heart and turn your back on Jesus.  He is your only hope (and mine).  He loves you and longs to save you.

To those in the second group (the undecided and the holdouts), I am praying for you, too. Don’t let contented worldliness destroy you.  It is already robbing you of friendship with Jesus.  Unless there is an immediate end to your stalling and procrastination, it will also steal your opportunity to receive His gifts of pardon and eternal life. You are not guaranteed another moment. Please hurry.  May God give you the urgency you lack.

To those in the third group, who desperately want to live, I pray that God will grant you the washing of regeneration and the faith to believe and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  To you He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  “No man can come to me, except the father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44).  By faith you sense the Father drawing you to Jesus. Come to Him.  Come now.  If you do, you have His promise: “I will raise [you] up at the last day.”

KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  (Romans 10:9)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
•  “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)

HOW TO BE SAVED:

1. Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
2. Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
3. Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord and Master of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
4. Believe His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams and character).