READ: Acts 17:19-26 PRAYER

Transcription

1 READ: PRAYER LORD Jesus Christ, use this message from Your Holy Word to convict, encourage, and strengthen your people in all of Your ways. May the words of this message be used to glorify and exalt You, our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, above all gods, above all religions, above all creeds, above all faiths, above all beliefs, above all philosophies, and above all the wisdom of man. In Jesus Name, Amen! INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY Although the Gospel was foreign to the Athenians, Paul preached it anyway. Without apology, Paul preached Jesus and the resurrection. It is he whom the Holy Spirit inspired to write: For I have determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ and Him crucified 2 Cor. 2:2 Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given unto me for you to fulfill the Word of God. Even the mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations but is now made manifest to His saints. To whom God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Whom we preach warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every many perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labor striving according to His working which works in me mightily Col. 2: They Brought Paul to the Areopagus 1. Paul s DOCTRINE was new Acts 17:19 21 (NKJV) 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are 1

2 bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean. 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. ℵ And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus Paul s open air preaching in the market place of Athens paved the way for his appearance in the highest Athenian court called the Areopagus. The Areopagus was the name for the court body as well as the name of the location where court was held the Areopagus council met at the Areopagus! The location of the Areopagus was atop a limestone hill it was the hill of Ares who was the Greek god of war. This Areopagus location was also called Mars Hill (Mars is the Roman god equivalent to the Greek Ares); here the 100-member Areopagus council would meet for the purpose of hearing Paul in order to approve or disapprove his new, foreign doctrine of Jesus and the resurrection. Interesting facts about the Areopagus in Paul s day Areopagus = martial peak - This hill belonged to (Ares) Mars and was called Mar s Hill; so called, because, as the story went, Mars, having slain Halirrhothius (hell-er-roth-ee-iss), son of Neptune, for the attempted violation of his daughter Alicippe (alliss-aw-pay), was tried for the murder here before twelve gods as judges. The council of the Agropagus had ruled Athens before it became a democracy in 620 B.C. 1 In Paul s day, it exercised jurisdiction especially in matters of religion and morality 2 where philosophical, moral, and religious matters were heard and 1 NIV Archeological Bible, Acts ESV Study Bible, Acts 17:16 footnote. 2

3 evaluated. 3 This is where the custodians of teachings that introduced new religions and foreign gods gathered. 4 the Acropolis, a precipitous mass of rock around which the city spread out in roughly circular fashion. Lower than the Acropolis and a short distance to the NW is the Areopagus, or Mars Hill, where in A.D. 51 St. Paul preached his sermon on the unknown god. 5 The Areopagus remained the ruling council of Athens, making decisions for that city, in the first century B.C.E.; it continued late into the empire. 6 Rome viewed it as the highest administrative body and court in the town. 7 The Areopagus had jurisdiction over the introduction of foreign gods. No one could introduce new deities without the approval of the governing body of the Areopagus council. Official teachers in Athens had to be licensed by the Areopagus council; you could say they needed an Athenian teachers credential. Therefore, it is clear as to why Paul was summoned to appear before the ruling tribunal of Athens. He was accused of being a proclaimer of foreign gods because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection, and the Areopagus council would determine whether or not Paul would be allowed to lawfully continue to teach Jesus and the resurrection in Athens. Paul s New Doctrine ℵ 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 3 KJV Study Bible, Thomas Nelson, Acts 17:18-19 comment. 4 NIV Archeological Bible, Acts 17:17-19 notations. 5 Freedman, D. N., Herion, G. A., Graf, D. F., Pleins, J. D., & Beck, A. B. (Eds.). (1992). In The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday. 6 Keener, C. S. (2014). Acts: An Exegetical Commentary: 15:1 23:35 (Vol. 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 7 Ibid 3

4 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean. To the learned philosophers of Athens, Paul had introduced a new doctrine. The Gospel Jesus and the resurrection was this new doctrine. Athens had never heard the Gospel before! Our God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ wants the world to hear His Gospel. He wants people to hear the Gospel who have never heard the Gospel before. He wants His people to go to places where the Gospel is has not be preached! Matthew 28:18 20 (KJV 1900) 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be preached to every tribe, tongue, kindred, and nation. There is no human being presently living on planet earth that is exempt from God s desire for them to hear the Gospel, repent of sin, and believe in the vicarious (substitutionary) death and resurrection of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ: Acts 1:8 (KJV 1900) 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Though the Gospel was strange or foreign to their ears, yet God expected Paul to preach the Gospel, and God expected the Athenians to repent of sin and believe the Gospel. 4

5 The Athenians Knew the Gospel was New - 21 ℵ 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. They wanted to know what Jesus and the resurrection meant. The extent of their interest was not that they were seeking the Lord but simply wanting to hear something new. The Gospel was certainly new, yet this new doctrine was not exactly the type of new thing the Athenian scholars and citizens wanted to hear after all. Though they indulged themselves in telling or hearing of every new thing that came along, they did not crave the truth of the Gospel. There are many people like the Athenians in our culture they want to hear and talk about everything and anything except the Gospel. They crave every new fade, new piece of technology, every new cell phone, and every new movie, but when it comes to craving the promise of eternal forgiveness and new life in Christ, new life in Christ is rejected but new movies, games, and cell phones are embraced. As in ancient Athens, millions of Americans will indulge in anything and everything except the truth of the Gospel of Christ. God was giving the Athenians exactly what they craved to hear something new, yet the irony is the fact that what was truly new, the Gospel of God, they rejected. 5

6 2. Paul s DEDICATION to preach Christ Acts 17:22 23 (NKJV) 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus council alone! He was the only one; he was the only Christian. Brothers and sisters, learn to stand alone when the Gospel of our risen Lord Jesus Christ is at stake. Stand alone! Paul notes that the Athenians were very religious people you can be religious and spiritually lost. Being spiritual or religious does not mean you are saved from eternal hell. Though the Athenians were religious people, Paul still declared the One True Gospel to them this is God s heart. No matter how religious your up brining may have been and no matter how religious your culture may be, you must abandon your religion and repent of your sins and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the One True God s message to all humanity repent of sin and believe in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul communicates directly and clearly that Athen s religions and religious culture are wrong and that Jesus Christ is right! This apostle did not apologize, him and haw, or placate his audience with relativity and a soft, wimpy presentation. No! He fired the Gospel gun at will without fear. Paul was confident and at home with the Gospel or our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Are we? This godly man encountered a culture of lies, hypocrisy, false religion, and intellectual prowess and never missed a beat in declaring the 6

7 Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must follow His example. To the Philippians he wrote: Philippians 1:18 (NKJV) What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. Though Paul was gracious and kind, he did not hesitate to declare the truth of Athen s need for repentance and faith in the One True God the Lord Jesus Christ, the unknown God, the one whom they worshipped without knowing and to forsake all others! Paul was not a man pleaser: Galatians 1:10 (NASB95) For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. Win, lose, or draw Paul s purpose was clear! He would not back down from declaring the one whom they ignorantly worshipped the unknown God the Lord Jesus Christ to these dedicated inquisitors in the face of their insults and radically misguided devotions. Throughout Athens, there were altars dedicated to the unknown god. In the sixth century B.C. it was said that a poet from Crete named Epimenides turned aside a horrible plague from the people of Athens by appealing to a god of whom the people had never heard. An altar was built to honor this god, whom the Athenians now called the unknown god. 8 8 The NKJV Study Bible. (2007). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. 7

8 3. God does not DWELL in temples made with hands 24 Acts 17:24 (NKJV) God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Paul doesn t swing and miss! He knocks the theological ball out of the park! Paul s purpose was clear: Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you The One they worshiped without knowing is the God who created the universe! Why is He the Creator of everything? It is because He is Lord of the universe heaven and earth not just earth not just heaven but heaven and earth! He does not dwell in mere man-made temples as the Psalmist declares: Psalm 115:3 6 (KJV 1900) 3 But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: Eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: Noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: Feet have they, but they walk not: Neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; So is every one that trusteth in them. 1 Kings 8:27 (NASB95) 27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! 8

9 Isaiah 66:1 2 (KJV 1900) Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, And all those things have been, saith the LORD: But to this man will I look, Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, And trembleth at my word. Jeremiah 23:24 (KJV 1900) 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 4. The God of the Bible is DIFFERENT than all other gods - 25 Acts 17:25 (NKJV) 25 Nor is He worshiped with men s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. By this Scripturally sound statement, Paul renders the Athenians 20,000 plus deities worthless, irrelevant, sacrilegious, and inconsequential. If the unknown God does all this, then there is no need for any other god and all the other gods must be false! Ever bold and standing in the midst of a college town filled with multitudes of man-made idols and shrines, Paul shares that the unknown God is not worshipped with men s hands. To say something like that takes guts! Paul had guts! We need the kind of faith that Paul possessed; a faith that does not cower under intense scrutiny and isolation. God is the one who gives this kind of faith, for: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Romans 10:17 9

10 Paul s stand alone, endure anything kind of faith in Christ came from hearing the Word of God. Genesis 2:7 (KJV 1900) 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Isaiah 42:5 (KJV 1900) 5 Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, And spirit to them that walk therein: Zechariah 12:1 (KJV 1900) The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, Which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, And formeth the spirit of man within him. Paul told the truth though the truth would have been offensive and viewed as intolerant. Through Paul, the Athenians learned that the unknown God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and He doesn t need anything from anyone. What can we give the Giver of life? What can we give the Giver of breath? What can we give the Giver of all things? Paul s presentation is brilliantly intelligent and astoundingly simple! People who claim to be tolerant, people who claim to be progressive, people who claim to be universalist all roads lead to heaven and people who claim to be open minded need to hear and believe one message the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 10

11 5. God s sovereignty DETERMINES how history unfolds 26 Acts 17:26 (NKJV) 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, Paul continued to present the unknown God as the Sovereign Being over all His creation. It is He who created the human race from one woman: Genesis 3:20 (KJV 1900) 20 And Adam called his wife s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. The True God, the unknown God, created one race the human race! There is no intelligent argument for racism since every single human being that has ever existed came from the same woman! Racism is a profound gesture of ignorance and unbelief in the One True God and His Sovereignty over all. The Sovereignty of God The Sovereignty of God communicates that God is the One who ultimately decides the future and fate of humanity and how history will play out on planet earth. It was a miraculous work of God that ended WWII! It was not a lucky gamble that D-Day would be successful on June 6, 1944 because the weather had to be just right! It was a miraculous work of God that ended the American Civil War! It wasn t the outstanding leadership, skill, and expertise of the North s Generals! The sheer grit of the American people did not win the Revolutionary War! On June 28, 1787, the Constitutional Convention was deadlocked and embroiled in bitter controversy. Benjamin Franklin rose and made the following plea to the delegates: In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who 11

12 were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth -- that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages... I therefore beg leave to move -- that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessing on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of this city be requested to officiate in that service. 9 The Sovereignty of God has guided affairs of men throughout the ages and will continue to do so until the end of the age! Daniel boldly proclaimed to king Nebuchadnezzar: Daniel 4:17 (NKJV) 17 This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men

13 Listen to the words of this letter written by President George Washington during the French and Indian war that illustrate his knowledge of God s sovereignty in his life: "I take this very opportunity of contradicting the first and assuring you that I have not yet composed the latter. But by an all-powerful dispensation of providence, I've been protected beyond all human probability or expectation, for I had four bullets through my coat, two horses shot under me, yet escaped unhurt, although death was leveling my companions all around me." 10 Not only does Paul proclaim that the unknown God is sovereign over all, but he also teaches that God has determined mankind s appointed times of history in which nations would exist and disappear. He is the only One who determines the borders for all peoples on earth. America s border stems from sea to shining sea and from Canada to Mexico not because we have won wars and purchased land but because (according to the Bible) God s sovereignty over America determined those borders! Deuteronomy 32:8 (KJV 1900) 8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, When he separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people According to the number of the children of Israel. Prayer: May the Lord Jesus Christ give us the understanding, boldness, and love of Paul. May we faithfully proclaim to the Athenian world today that there is no God but the God of the Bible, and Jesus Christ His Son is the only way to heaven. Help us, Lord Jesus, to declare Your truth to this generation. Amen. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, He died on the cross for our sins, He rose again from the dead on the third day, He ascended into heaven, He presently sits at the right hand of the Father, He makes intercession for all His saints, He rules over all, and He will return to establish His kingdom on this earth. Repent and believe the Gospel, dear Friend. Repent and believe the Gospel