Acts 17:30 And at the times of this ignorance God winked; but now He commands all men everywhere to repent.
31 Because he has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He has ordained.
Back then, in the days of the Old Testament God did allow certain things to take place, which were never His ideal will. He permitted them because humanity was been gradually brought out of darkness into the full light of the gospel.
In those days some issues pertaining to God’s ideal will were fuzzy, and even when mention was made of His ideals, they may not have been cemented in one’s conscience, because customs, cultures, and the proliferation of spiritual darkness had blurred the lines between good and evil in some instances.
But ever so gradually, God made His ideal will to be clearer and clearer, until, by the time of the gospel dispensation, His ideal will was revealed in distinct lines, so that what was considered the norm, or may have been acceptable in times past, are now a hell no, after He made His ideals known.
That is what our first passage is referring to when it says God winked. In other words, up until such time that people were fully aware of His ideals, He would permit certain things to slide, not that He agreed in any way with them, but He exercised forbearance as the human family was brought to a full knowledge of His requirements.
Case in point was the common practice of polygamy where men would marry multiple women, and this was accepted as normal back then. In fact, many of the heroes of faith had more than one wife, while in some jurisdictions, it was actually the law to allow a man to have children by his mistress, if his current wife was barren.
This is what Sarah leaned on when she suggested to Abraham that he should sleep with Hagar, so that they could have children by her. And poor Abraham took the bait, under cover of the laws of the land. But what society permits, or may deem acceptable is more often than not, at loggerheads with God.
Thus, God showed His displeasure in this instance, and it is one of the examples whereby He brought us out of darkness, in some measure into His ideal will on this point. It did not stick in the human mind as it should, but God showed that His perfect ideals were violated. Let’s read:
Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
Genesis 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
All of this was considered normal behavior by folks back then, and there are certain passages that may seem as if God was okay with it. He never was, but He “Blinked” as it were, until the full knowledge of His ideal will would become set in stone.
Thus, when you fast forward to our day, under the full blaze of the gospel in America, and across the globe wherever Christianity has taken root, it is very unlikely to find those perspectives or practices being held as the norm, or being acceptable anymore, for God has moved humanity from darkness to light on this point.
Here are a couple of seemingly paradoxical passages which illustrate what is being said. On the one hand it might seem as if God is condoning something that is proscribed in the Old Testament, but then in other verses in the New Testament He says absolutely not. Let’s read:
2nd Samuel 12: 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and I gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to thee such and such things.
Matthew 19:4 And He answered and said unto them have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And he said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they two shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Therefore, because the dissemination of God’s will is progressive over the years, when you come to our day, persons should have no question in their minds as to what is right or wrong on this point. In fact, in our day, polygamy is illegal in all 50 of the U.S. states and it is prohibited by both state and federal laws.
Because of what is being condoned, hidden, and in some cases being practiced secretly, persons have come to believe that polygamy and bigamy are not as serious as they are, but the word of God differs a great deal on this matter, especially since God has taken great pains over the years to reveal to us His perfect will on this point.
God is A Spirit, and therefore, where we may think to get technical with Him, by parsing words, and by twisting and turning the letter of the law, as far as He is concerned, very much of what individuals may gloss over as being acceptable, because of societal norms, are way off kilter in God’s sight, as the final day of accounts will reveal. Let’s read:
Genesis 16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
As far as God is concerned, if you are “shacking up” with someone, and having an affair with the person, you are considered by God, to be married, for all intents and purposes. All of the cute excuses folks often make, such as we were cohabiting, in order to share the rent, because housing is too expensive in Florida, does not pass the smell test with God.
Excuses such as we had no choice but to shack up, because of the high cost of living and because of the tariffs, so that we can lessen the burden of expense, does not fly in the books of record above.
Polygamy and bigamy are both prohibited by law in the United States and is punishable by fines and/or incarceration for up to five years. This is how far the light of the gospel has brought us, since the days of Abraham when he flew under the radar of the laws of his time. So yes, on this point God is not winking anymore and any excuse to the contrary is void.
Again, failures, and sinful actions are often blamed on the weather, tiredness, hunger, the lack of sleep, other individuals, the government, the heat of the moment, and not being able to speak Spanish.
People sometimes also use God as an excuse, and when there are no more excuses, some individuals reach of the age-old favorite, the devil made me do it. There are some excuses that might be valid, such as when a person is physically incapacitated, or may be in genuine ignorance of the facts.
But in many cases, excuses are often made to shift the responsibility for one’s actions to anyone, and anything but ourselves. Making excuses is just one of the casualties of fallen human nature.
And thus, the issue of overcoming excuses has to be addressed, because we are living in the time of the investigative judgment, where no excuses would be permitted to shift one’s decided actions onto the shoulders of another.
In our time, we’re seeing a repeat of history where, too often, the shortcomings and failures of persons are shifted to anyone but the one who is at fault. It is something that we will have to confront on a very personal, and even national level, before the day of reckoning concludes.
Excuse definition: The attempt to lessen the blame for a fault or offense, to seek to defend or justify.
The following are just a few examples of what we’re speaking of and as we read observe the tendency of making excuses. Some of the excuses might seem plausible, while others, not so much. However, the issue must be pinpointed first, before we would be prepared to overcome it, by God’s grace.
The excuses folks often make will be divided up into different categories, spanning the spectrum of the human experience.
[1] Excuses dealing with temporal concerns.
We begin with the first set of excuses which pertain to temporal concerns that are often used as reasons why we cannot do God’s will. Let’s read:
Luke 14:16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.
17 And he sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, come; for all things are now ready.
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
[2] Excuses which involve relationships, where there might be a situation in which one’s family affairs are given as reasons why folks cannot do God’s will. Let’s read:
Luke 14:20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
Luke 9: 59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
[3] Excuses that are made because of a situational difficulty, which may be real, or phantom. Let’s read:
Genesis 19: 17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord.
19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.
[4] Excuses that are made because of any language barriers, such as “I cannot speak Spanish” although we now have Babbel, Duolingo, Hello-Talk, drops, Tandem, Lingo-Deer, Memrise, and so many other A.I tools for instantaneous translation, now at our fingertips. Let’s read:
Exodus 3: 7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
12 Now therefore go and I will be with your mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
After God promised to remove any language barrier, the excuses Moses made became void. When God calls anyone to serve in His kingdom, He does not ask them to take the burden of fulfilling His will to
themselves. Once they make themselves available, all of the other pieces of the puzzle will fall in place, by the power of God, as they always do. Let’s read:
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes, and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 255] A man will gain power and efficiency as he accepts the responsibilities that God places upon him.
[5] Excuses of social influence, or peer pressure. This one is huge, because in our day we have the phenomena of social influencers who may in some instances do good, if they are being led by God.
But very often, influencers prey on the gullible and the weak, and thus, lives have been lost when folks, especially the young, and the restless, may take bad advice that is thus given.
Social Media addiction lawsuits were very recently brought against Facebook, because of the alleged addictive nature of some content. While it is true that there can be some level of magnetic pull, your personal responsibility as a parent, or an individual should not be excused, as if persons have no choice whatsoever in the matter.
Furthermore, the famous chatbots such as Claude, Bestie, Alexa, ChatGpt, DeepSeek, Gemini, and Grok cannot and should not be entirely blamed for your failures.
I do not know of any instance where TikTok forced anyone by their throat, and made them do things against their will. And, in the day of final accounts, God will not be accepting excuses that Facebook or TikTok, forced us to do it, even though there may be some level of addictiveness.
The tendency to remove all responsibility from the person, and place blame squarely on the shoulders of others, or situations, is one of the issues we must address. Social influencing has always been around, ever since the day Adam fell, for this is where the habit of making excuses came from. Let’s read:
Genesis 3:11 And he said, who told thee that thou was naked? hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
In other words, if God didn’t make the tree, if He did not make the woman, and if He had not allowed the serpent anywhere near the tree this would’ve never happened. Thus, basically in a nutshell, they laid the blame squarely on God.
Therefore, what we’re now seeing is just a modern-day version of the habit of making excuses, and the fallout from social influencers continues. Let’s read:
Exodus 32: 22 And Aaron said, let not the anger of my lord wax hot: you know the people, that they are set on mischief.
23 For they said unto me, make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
1st Samuel 15:14 And Samuel said what means then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
[6] Excuses for throwing a temper tantrum. This is often blamed on a lack of sleep, because of volatile situations, or because someone got on our nerves.
When the mark of the beast rises across the globe, men, as well as demons are scheduled to get on our nerves, and thus, if we make excuses for throwing a temper now, one day we’ll have a rude awakening.
Practice makes perfect and therefore, whenever the Lord permits someone to tick you off you should use it as practice, because, if folks cannot run with the footmen, they won’t be able to run with the horses. Let’s read:
Numbers 20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock and he said to them, hear now, you rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 417] The two brothers went on before the multitude, Moses with the rod of God in his hand. They were now aged men. Long had they borne with the rebellion and obstinacy of Israel; but now, at last, even the patience of Moses gave way.
“Hear now, you rebels,” he cried; “must we fetch you water out of this rock?” and instead of speaking to the rock, as God had commanded him, he smote it twice with the rod.
Moses had spoken from irritated feeling; his words were an expression of human passion rather than of holy indignation because God had been dishonored. “Hear now, ye rebels,” he said. This accusation was true, but even truth is not to be spoken in passion or impatience.
When he took it upon himself to accuse them, he grieved the Spirit of God and wrought only harm to the people. His lack of patience and self-control was evident.
Patriarchs & prophets pp 567] The real greatness of the man is measured by the power of the feelings that he controls, not by those that control him.
So, the question is: How do we gain the victory over excuses?
The answer is by looking to Jesus, and taking full responsibility for our actions. What do we mean by looking to Jesus, and then making good choices in the positive? We mean looking to Jesus in all of the different scenarios that might occur on a personal level, and gaining strength from His course of action.
Here He is on the issue of not having sufficient sleep and having to deal with a volatile situation in which many persons would be prone to make excuses for their failures. Let’s read:
Matthew 26:20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
67 Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
68 Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee?
Matthew 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.
26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
John 19: 28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
Matthew 27: 34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
[The Desire of Ages pp 746] To those who suffered death by the cross, it was permitted to give a stupefying potion, to deaden the sense of pain. This was offered to Jesus; but when He had tasted it, He refused it.
He would receive nothing that could becloud His mind. His faith must keep fast hold upon God. This was His only strength. To becloud His senses would give Satan an advantage.
After reading all of this, where Jesus didn’t have any sleep since the evening before, let’s now stack it up against the following scenario. A Christian has only gotten five hours of sleep, and then, the following day at work, he is shouted down by a fellow worker who uses the N word and racial epithets to demean him in the eyes of his fellow workers.
He immediately blows a fuse and vows revenge, as he shakes with rage, because the hurtful words have touched a raw nerve. Later on, when asked by his boss why he behaved in this manner, he excuses his behavior by saying he did not get enough sleep the night before, and as a result, his nerves were frayed.
There are some excerpts and some passages which we will have to read at this moment, because, even though a lack of sleep, hunger and thirst and volatile situations can all add up quickly, the Christian must beware of using these as excuses for blowing a fuse. Let’s read:
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind.
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
[The Great Controversy pp 489] If those who hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them, how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would make haste to confess their sins and to put them away.
Through defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will succeed. Therefore, he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome. Let none, then, regard their defects as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them.
[The Desire of Ages pp 125] While Satan can solicit, he cannot compel to sin. Unless Christ should consent to temptation, He could not be overcome. Not all the power of earth or hell could force Him in the slightest degree to depart from the will of His Father.
The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent, faith must let go its hold upon Christ, before Satan can exercise his power upon us.
In preparation for the great final conflict, the habit of making excuses for our failures should become a thing of the past for as was stated before, persons who will be living at that time, and those who would stand like the brave, with their face to the foe, must have Christ fully formed within, to survive without blemish.
In other words, if you’re alive when things go south, you should understand that you will be tempted as if you are the only person living on the planet, and as such, we must gain the victory over any, and all types of excuses that are made in violating of God’s revealed will.
This will call for our definitive choices and decisions now, to submit ourselves to God’s royal way, so that when He may permit situations where the truth can be practiced in keeping your cool under any, and all situations, The Lord will be glorified in you, because faith that isn’t tested cannot be trusted. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp 621] The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger, a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms what was just read, and it is the will of God that ongoing submission to His will would produce the sterling characters that would be needed during the final conflict of the ages. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
God Bless!