ACTS CHAPTER 17:16-34,
“Proclaiming The Unknown God in
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last message, we
looked at Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians and to the Bereans
1.1.1.
We saw that Paul reasoned to
the people in both cities from the Old Testament scriptures as he pointed out
to them how that there were many prophesies that were fulfilled in Christ’s
coming to the earth, dying upon the cross, and raising from the dead
1.1.2.
We saw how that the
Thessalonians were persuaded after much preaching of the gospel from the
scriptures by Paul, however the Bereans were more noble for they actually
searched out the scriptures to see if the things that Paul preached were true
1.1.3.
We saw the importance of
being in the Word of God by:
1.1.3.1.Reading it
1.1.3.2.Studying it
1.1.3.3.Meditating upon it
1.1.3.4.Memorizing it
1.1.3.5.Sharing it
1.2.
Today, which is Easter
Sunday, we are going to continue in our study of the book of Acts, and we will
look at how the church was started in the city of Athens
1.2.1.
I initially thought about
teaching a topical ‘Easter Message’, however as I studied the text for our
message today I realized that Paul was doing nothing but preaching the ‘Easter
Message’, as he preached to the Greeks in the city of Athens
1.2.1.1.It was the resurrection of Christ which Paul preached to the
philosophers at the Aeropagus on Mars Hill in Athens
1.2.2.
Having been driven out of
Thessalonica and then
1.2.3.
Paul has been in Greek culture
during both of his missionary journeys (our study today occurs during the
middle of his second journey), however no where has he been more in the center
of Greek culture than he is now in the city of
1.2.4.
Paul noticed that the
Athenians tried their hardest to accommodate any and every god
1.2.5.
Paul’s spirit was vexed as
he stayed there among them, for they were so religious and yet so far from the
true and living God and knowing the truth that leads to salvation
1.2.6.
Paul sought to preach to the
people of Athens about the One true God who is creator of all, the sovereign
ruler, the One who is the sustainer of all of creation. He sent His Son from all eternity to be the
Savior and Messiah for mankind, and now after Jesus’ crucifixion to pay for the
sins of mankind, He has raised Jesus from the dead
1.2.6.1.We will see today that it is the reality of the risen Lord which must
overturn all other religions and philosophies
2.
VS 17:16 - “16
Now while Paul was waiting for them at
2.1.
The city of
2.2.
2.2.1.
Idolatry was
so prevalent in the city that it was said that in
2.2.2.
There were
over 30,000 gods that the people worshipped in the city of
2.3.
All of the
gods of the Greeks were much more human than god-like, for their gods were
beset with all of the frailties and faults that humans have.
2.3.1.
As is always
the case with idolatry, the gods of the Greeks were mere extensions of
themselves, for people make their gods to be in their own image.
2.4.
Being the
godly man that he was, Paul was grieved at the extent of the idolatry in Athens
as Luke records that his ‘spirit was being provoked within him as he was
beholding the city full of idols’.
2.4.1.
If our spirit
is not provoked and grieved while living in a culture that does not honor God,
then we should question the reality our relationship to God.
2.4.2.
I believe
that had Paul traveled here to the upper Midwest of the U.S. during our day he
would have been equally troubled in his spirit because of the fact that so many
people are religious, there are so many churches and people who go to church,
and yet there are so few people who are truly born-again by Christ and trying
to live their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit as witnesses for the Lord.
3.
VS 17:17-18 - “17
So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing
Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be
present. 18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were
conversing with him. And some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish
to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he
was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” - Paul was reasoning with the Jews and
God-fearers in the synagogue and with whoever was present at the market place
3.1.
Here in
3.2.
There were two groups of people with whom Paul
reasoned:
3.2.1.
‘Epicureans’
3.2.1.1.They were agnostics (or atheists) who did not believe
in the afterlife and tried to live this life to the fullest. They loved eating lavish meals and having
material comforts, some gratified and indulged themselves grossly in all manner
of fleshly indulgence, and, they tried to remove from their life anything
painful or uncomfortable.
3.2.2.
‘Stoics’
3.2.2.1.They were pantheists for they saw God as in everything
but not transcendent from it. Their
emphasis was on personal discipline and self-control. Pleasure was not good and pain was not evil. Their pride was enflamed as they saw no need
for God in their lives, but believed that they controlled their destiny. They placed “virtue” as their ideal, yet were
hypocritical in practice of it.
3.3.
Some called
Paul an ‘idle babbler’, which really comes from a phrase meaning ‘a seed
picker’. Birds would eat seed here and
there in the streets, and this seems to be the way that the people looked at
Paul’s teaching.
3.3.1.
They thought
that he got some of his message here and some there, however there was no
cohesion in his philosophy, and as a result it didn’t make any sense to them.
3.4.
Another group
was confused and said of Paul that he was proclaiming multiple deities, since
they thought that Jesus Christ was one deity and ‘the resurrection’ was another
deity.
3.5.
In the market
place of our cities where we live today, there are so many people with different
beliefs and ideas, and we Christians need to understand where a person is
coming from in their philosophies and belief systems, and then pray and allow
the Lord to show us exactly how He wants us to communicate the gospel to each
individual we meet.
3.6.
There is abundant proof for the open minded and seeking to be persuaded
that the resurrection of Christ is a fact of human history. Spurgeon once preached about the proofs for the
resurrection of Christ saying, “Yet
beyond a doubt it can be shown that there is as much evidence for the
resurrection of Christ as for any fact in history. There is, probably, no fact
in history which is so fully proven and corroborated as the fact that Jesus of
Nazareth, who was nailed to the cross, and died, and was buried, did rise
again. As we believe the histories of Julius Caesar — as we accept the
statements of Tacitus — we are bound on the same grounds, even as historical
documents, to accept the testimony of Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John,
and of those persons who were eye-witnesses of his death, and who saw him after
he had risen from the dead. That Jesus Christ rose from the dead is not an
allegory and a symbol, but it is a reality. There he lay dead, friend or foe to
witness, — a corpse fit to be committed to the grave. Handle him, and see. It
is the very Christ you knew in life. It is the very same. Look into those eyes.
Were there ever such eyes in any other human form? Behold him! You can see the
impress of sorrow on his face. Was there ever any visage so marred as his, any
sorrow so real in its effects? That is the Emperor of Misery, the Prince of all
Mourners, the King of Sorrow! There he lies, unmistakably the same. Now, mark
the nail-prints. There went the iron through those blessed hands; and there his
feet were pierced; and there is the gash that found out the pericardium, and
divided the heart, and brought forth the marvellous blood and water from his
side. It is he, the selfsame Christ! And the holy women lift limb by limb, and
wrap him in linen, and put the spices about him, such as they had brought in
their haste, and they lay him down in that place — in that new tomb.”
3.7.
In the
market place, Paul preached the gospel message of the death and resurrection of
Christ, and the message of the resurrection of Christ overturns all other
religions and philosophies, for the resurrection of Christ teaches us:
3.7.1.
Man is
sinful and the scripture teaches us
that ‘the wages of sin is death’, thus the resurrection of Christ shows us that
it is indeed our sin which brings forth death, for Christ was sinless and thus
death could not hold Him down.
3.7.2.
There is a
spiritual nature to man and thus he
does not just consist of flesh and bones, for God has breathed a spirit into
man making him a living soul. Christ’s
body died, but His Spirit was still alive and it was the power of God which
raised up Christ’s body from the grave.
3.7.3.
Christ is now the reigning Lord, for having been
raised from the dead He is ‘Lord’
3.7.4.
After
leaving this life through death, man will have to give account of himself to
God for how he lived his life.
3.7.5.
Every natural law of physics and science must bend if
God wills it, for Christ’s resurrection from the dead to immutable eternal life
overturns them all.
3.7.6.
Nothing shall be too hard for the Lord to do.
3.7.7.
Christianity must be superior to all other religious, for every other religious
leader is dead and buried in a grave, however Christianity is the only religion
whose founder is not buried for He has an empty tomb.
3.7.8.
Since God’s Word prophesied that Christ would be
raised from the dead, it shows that God’s Word is true and thus that everything
else that is prophesied in it will likewise come to pass.
3.7.8.1.“…Thou
wilt not let thy Holy One undergo decay”, Psalm 16:10.
3.7.9.
We who believe in Christ and live for Him in this life
have absolute assurance that we too will be resurrected to new life one day, for
Christ is indeed the firstborn of many brethren. Thus, our new body will also be like
Christ’s, unable to decay, age, or decline, and as 1 Cor. 15 tells us it will
be raised in power and glory as Christ’s body.
3.7.10.We who believe in Christ have absolute
assurance that we will spend eternity with Jesus.
4.
VS 17:19-21 - “19
And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what
this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 “For you are bringing some
strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.”
21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their
time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)” - The men in the market place took Paul to the
Areopagus on Mars Hill so that they could all hear what his philosophy or
religion consisted of
4.1.
The
philosophers there in
4.2.
The
‘Aeropagus’ was evidently run something similar to a continual ‘open mic’ where
each person could get up and give their particular philosophical viewpoint
about their particular god which they worshipped.
4.3.
These people
in
5.
VS 17:22 - “22
And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of
5.1.
This sermon
of Paul’s on Mars Hill is an incredible testimony to the gift that the Lord
gave him to relate to different types of people and share the gospel with
them.
5.1.1.
Paul’s
approach was kind, gentle, and drew in the crowd and gained their interest,
while he also used tact, and related to the people in a way that they could
identify with.
5.1.1.1.The Athenians were very
proud of being very religious people in all aspects, therefore Paul was not
cutting them down or mocking them in saying these words, rather he was saying
something to them which they would receive as a sort of polite compliment. This remark allowed Paul to gain their attention and favor initially.
5.1.1.2.Paul’s observation of the Athenians was something that
stirred his curiosity concerning their culture, they were ‘very religious in
all respects’.
5.1.1.3.We Christians must learn to be kind, gentile, and use
respectful tact and polite manners with the people of this world, especially
when we are desirous of sharing the gospel with them.
5.1.2.
Paul’s method
was as an apologist, as he gave a defense of his faith to the men.
5.1.2.1.This sermon by Paul has been viewed by church leaders
as being the prototype of what true apologetics should consist of and thus in
Bible schools and seminaries it has been closely studied in this regard.
5.2.
There are
many in our world today, many even within the church, who are religious,
however they do not have a personal relationship with Christ as their personal
Lord and Savior. They need to come to
salvation (to be ‘saved’) by receiving the resurrected and living Lord Jesus
Christ into their heart and life.
5.2.1.
I myself grew
up in a denomination where the gospel was never preached, and therefore even
though I was often participating in church and church activities, I still did
not have eternal life for I had not yet received Christ as Lord and Savior.
6.
VS 17:23 - “23
“For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I
also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ What therefore
you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.” - Paul tells them that he will proclaim to them
the ‘unknown God’
6.1.
The Athenians
were so careful to honor every god within their city that they thought that
they had better create an altar to ‘an unknown god’, lest they should offend
some god which they had not yet heard of.
6.2.
Paul decided
that he would use the name of the ‘unknown god’ as a platform to declare the God
who is the creator of all and over all, and above all “so-called gods” which
are merely the creation of man.
7.
VS 17:24 - “24
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven
and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;” - Paul tells them about the omnipotent and
omnipresent God who is creator of all
7.1.
Paul told the
Athenians about God who created all things that exist: ‘God who made the world and all things in
it’.
7.2.
Further, Paul
told them that God is master reigning over all of His creation on earth and in
heaven: ‘Lord of heaven and earth’.
7.3.
Paul possibly
offended the people somewhat when he told them the sober truth that the real
God who is creator of all and master over all of the universe ‘does not
dwell in temples made with hands’.
7.3.1.
If you remember back in Acts, Paul first heard these words uttered by
Stephen the martyr as Paul stood by while Stephen was being stoned to death for
preaching the gospel.
7.3.2.
Paul was
really saying that man cannot place God in any kind of a box, for He is
sovereign ruler over all creation, and as the sovereign ruler over all of the
universe He is fulfilling His will in all of creation, and the question now for
man is merely whether or not he is willing to go along with God’s plan for his
life or instead choose to defy God.
7.3.2.1.If anyone shall ever come to know God in a personal
way, it shall be upon the terms which He has laid out, and in His timing not
theirs.
7.3.2.2.Men must realize the futility of trying to meet God
upon their terms. It would do men the
most good if they would just humble themselves before God and ask Him what it
is that He would want for them to do.
7.3.2.3.It is always futile to try to place God in a box
because He will simply find those who are willing to walk in His ways and be
led by Him, and He will call them and begin and establish His work through
them.
7.4.
Paul’s
defense of the gospel showed the folly of and undermined the entire religious
system of the Greek culture of
8.
VS 17:25 - “25
neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He
Himself gives to all life and breath and all things;” - Paul tells the Athenians that God doesn’t
need us, we need Him
8.1.
Paul tells
the Athenians that God is perfect and complete in Himself and that He does not
need to be ‘served by human hands’, or angelic for that matter.
8.1.1.
He is far above man, and His thoughts are so
much greater than mans, and besides, He is the one who ‘gives to all life and
breath and all things’.
8.1.2.
God’s
greatness and superiority over man is seen in that there is nothing that any
person on earth has which has not been given to him by God Almighty.
8.1.2.1.There is no talent that we may have, no ability we
possess, no possessions which we hold to which we cannot say that it has not
been God who has given this to us or allowed us to be in circumstances where we
were able to be able to do this.
8.1.3.
We Christians
need to realize that we are doing God no favors by following Him, just the
opposite is true. We should rather
consider ourselves as having incalculable blessings in our life because the
Lord has extended any of His manifold mercy, grace, and love to us.
8.1.3.1.There are some people who seem to have the heart
attitude that they are doing God a favor by going to church or being involved
in some ministry or whatever, however God in reality does not need any of us
for He is perfect and complete in Himself without any of us.
9.
VS 17:26-27 - “26
and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the
earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their
habitation, 27 that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him
and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” - Pauls tells the Athenians that God has
created all of the tribes, all of the nations where the tribes live, and this
is because of His desire that they should seek Him and get to know Him
9.1.
Paul tells
the Athenians about how that God created one man and woman, and from them has
come ‘every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth’.
9.2.
Paul tells
them that it was God who ‘determined their appointed times’, that is, He
overrules mankind and though they may think that they are making all of their
own decisions and controlling their own destiny, He is actually leading and guiding
them and all that they do.
9.2.1.
Since God
overrules all of our actions whenever we are unruly and rebellious anyway, then
we Christians ought to try our best to be the best followers of Him that we can
be. That would be the wise thing for us
to do since God is going to win every battle anyway one day.
9.3.
Paul tells
the Athenians that ‘they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him
and find Him’. In essence, Paul tells
them that they should ‘feel after God’, to try to seek for Him and seek to know
Him.
9.4.
Finally, Paul
interjects that in reality God is ‘not far from each one of us’. In essence, God is near and desiring a
relationship with men if they would but be willing to genuinely seek Him and be
taught and learn from Him.
9.4.1.
It is only a
man’s sin that separates him from God, and when that sin is removed through
Jesus Christ, that man may come to know God and have fellowship with Him.
9.4.2.
Religion is
man’s attempt to reach God through his own works and self-effort, however the
‘Christianity’ that is taught in the Bible teaches us that it is God who has
provided a way for us to know Him, and if we go through that door that He has
opened through Christ and the shed blood of Calvary’s cross we shall be saved.
10.
VS 17:28 - “28
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have
said, ‘For we also are His offspring.’” -
Pauls tells the Athenians that we ‘live and move and exist’ in God
10.1.
In this
verse, Paul quotes from a couple of the Greek poets of their day. These quotes were designed to qualify the
truth in what he was saying in order to make it more palatable to them.
10.1.1.To the Jews Paul reasoned to them from their own
scriptures, showing them how that Christ in His death and resurrection
fulfilled the prophesies concerning the Messiah. However, to these Greeks who were idolators
yet very religious and caught up in the philosophies of men, Paul quoted their
own poets in order to try and persuade them concerning the gospel. Of course, he must also quote some scripture
in order for them to come to salvation, however his method for preaching the
gospel is much different among them as opposed to the Jews.
10.1.2.We see here how that Paul’s approach in preaching to
this very Greek culture which was wrapped up in philosophy and religiousity of
every sort was so different from any of the sermons which we have seen him
preach, for he designed his previous sermons for a primarily Jewish audience.
10.2.
Paul believed
that people are God’s offspring in the sense they have all been created in His
image as creator.
11.
VS 17:29 - “29
“Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature
is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”
- Paul reasons with the Athenians that
since they are the offspring of God that they should not liken God to an
inferior manmade item
11.1.
Paul really
shows the folly of idolatry in this sermon of his, and in particular in this
verse. He tells the Athenians that since
man was created by God and in His image, then they should not think that His
nature is like an image created by man of silver or stone, or by any of the
arts or imaginations of man.
11.2.
God is so
much higher and greater than man that without God giving to man a revelation of
Himself , he would never be able to comprehend very much about the nature of
God.
11.3.
Paul tells
the Athenians that since they are God’s offspring they should not try to create
a god with their own hands, for their being an offspring of God means by
definition that they are a much lesser being than He, just as the clay pot is
lesser than the potter who fashioned it.
11.4.
Men should
realize the great folly that it is to try and create a god that you
worship. This has got to be an act of
utter futility and one of the greatest wastes of anyone’s energies.
12.
VS 17:30-31 - “30
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to
men that all everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which
He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed,
having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”” - Paul tells the Athenians that God has
previously overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He is calling everyone to
account, calling them to repent
12.1.
Paul tells
the Athenians something that is interesting in verse 30. He tells them that God has ‘overlooked the
times of ignorance’ of men who were blinded and living their lives out of
ignorance of God and His ways. It is as
if he said that God had winked at their foolishness, however now man was much
more accountable to God for his life.
12.2.
Now, God has
given His only-begotten Son in order that men might be saved through Him. Now that Christ has been raised from the
dead, the gospel is being proclaimed, and men are being told that they ‘should
repent’ since their is a judgment day coming to separate to eternal destruction
all those who have not received Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior.
12.2.1.Paul tells these Athenians that they need to change
their thinking and lifestyle in order to serve the true and living God.
12.2.2.A person must turn from his life of sin, that is from
going his own way and not loving the Lord and following His path for him. Thus, ‘repentence’ means taking a 180 degree
turn in your life, and turning to go God’s way.
12.2.3.Non-believers must come to the place of ‘repentance’
in their lives before they can become Christians. There is no salvation apart from
repentance. People must repent of their
sin and rebellion against God, and commit all of their way to Him before they
can receive the salvation that Christ gives to them. Only those who repent and receive Jesus
Christ will escape that Great White Throne Judgment of Non-believers that is
coming.
12.3.
Paul tells
the Athenians that Jesus Christ is the One who ‘will judge the world in righteousness’,
or by His righteousness.
12.4.
Just when
Paul gets to the point in his message where he wants to really explain the
heart of the gospel message, that Jesus Christ has died, been buried, and been
raised up from the dead, he is interrupted from his speech by the Athenians.
13.
VS 17:32-34 - “32
Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but
others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out of
their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were
Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”
- When the people heard about the
resurrection of Christ they began to polarize towards rejecting his message or
wanting to know more
13.1.
There were three reactions amongst the crowd
concerning Paul’s sermon:
13.1.1.There were some who ‘began to sneer’ at him.
13.1.1.1.The thought of eternal life,
or eternal existence in some sort of form, would have made sense to the
Athenians, however the thought that a human being who had died and been buried
for 3 days, and then had come back to life was hard for them to swallow, and
thus many sneared and laughted at him.
13.1.2.Others told Paul, ‘We shall hear you again concerning
this’.
13.1.3.Some men joined him and believed.
13.2.
There were
only a few believers made from this sermon, but none the less the planting of
the church at