THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER, FRANKLIN MA Acts 17:22-31 Our Mantle of Evangelism: We are called to share the Gospel. May 29, 2011 The Sixth Sunday of Easter As we began our life together as the Church of the Redeemer we were told that we have a mantle of evangelism we ve been called to share the Gospel message. Do we have our priorities straight? Do we ever stop for a few minutes to pray and think about what God is asking us to do or perhaps not to do? One of the most popular Broadway shows of all time is The Phantom of the Opera. It s currently running in New York tickets range from $26.50 to $201.50. There was a couple in Atlanta who read that Phantom was playing on Broadway. They wanted to see it so badly that they purchased tickets months in advance and planned their vacation around a trip to New York. The long-awaited day came and they flew to New York City. They went to the Majestic Theater, presented their tickets, walked in and sat down in wonderful seats, seven rows from the front, near the orchestra. They found that the entire theater was filled, except for the seat right next to them. At the intermission, the man leaned over and spoke to the woman in the second seat away from him and commented how they had waited for months to get their tickets. He wondered, when there was such a demand for tickets, why would someone not come. Did she have any idea? She said, Yes, as a matter of fact, these two seats are mine this one and that one. She explained further, You see, that seat belonged to my husband and he died. The man said, Oh, I m I m terribly sorry. But couldn t you have invited a friend to come with you? Her answer was classic. She said, No, they re all at the funeral home right now. Do you have your priorities straight? Do you ever stop for a few minutes to think and pray about what God is asking you to do or perhaps not do? An
2 individual who served with me on a recent Anglican Fourth Day weekend sends a Bible verse each day by email. I received the following verse on Friday: my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. [Acts 20:24 NLT] Paul said that as he spoke to the elders of the church in the Greek city of Ephesus it s recorded in the 20 th chapter of Acts. During the Sundays of Easter we ve been reading about the early days of the Church. In last Sunday s reading we heard how Paul used the Scriptures to explain to the crowd that gathered in Thessalonica to prove that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead. He said This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ [the Messiah]. And what happened? He and the Christians with him were attacked by the crowd and dragged before the civil authorities. They shouted, These men have turned the world upside down and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. As we study The Acts of the Apostles and read the sermons preached in the early Church we find that the resurrection of Jesus is at the center of each message. The bottom line of Paul s message at the Areopagus that was the place where the court of justice met in the open air on the hill west of the Acropolis in Athens the final summary of Paul s message is in verses 30 and 31 in this morning s reading: The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. God has given assurance to all by raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead the message of Easter is at the heart of our faith. If Jesus were not physically raised from the dead Paul says that our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom
3 he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.[and] we are of all people most to be pitied. [1 Corinthians 14-17, 19 ESV] In the first century, Athens was a city filled with philosophy, high culture and religion. One ancient writer said it was easier to find a god than a man in Athens. First Paul presented his message to the Jews in their synagogue, but he had little or no success. He then followed the pattern of the Greek teachers and took his message to the marketplace where people assembled to discuss philosophy and transact business. Two main philosophies were popular in Athens at that time. The Stoics were materialistic and almost fatalistic in their thinking; their system was built on pride and personal independence (that may have a familiar ring as we look at our culture today). The Epicureans desired pleasure; their philosophy was grounded in experience, not reason (that may have a familiar ring as well). And Paul confronted both groups with the Gospel message. His sermon is a prime example of the preaching in Acts to non-believers. Although it s rooted in Old Testament concepts, he appealed to the Greek philosophers by interacting with their thoughts, even quoting their own writers in a well-informed, respectful way. His main subject was the error of idolatry (and we have our own idolatries today). Paul begins and ends with the theme of idolatry, clearing the way for a presentation of the Gospel. Let s look at how he did this it may be helpful for us as we reflect how God wants to use us to share the Good News of Jesus with the people in our lives. He began politely: standing in the midst of the Areopagus, [he] said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The unknown god was one of many gods worshipped by
4 the ancient Greeks. Paul used this altar to the unknown god to preach to them about the True God about whom they appeared ignorant. In his message there are four great truths about God that were important for his audience to understand and for us to understand as well. First, look at verses 24 and 25: The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. The Greeks had several theories about creation and even held to a form of evolution. Paul clearly stated that God created everything and that He didn t live in temples made by men. God gives life to all and men and women can really give nothing to Him. It says in Psalm 146:6: He who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever. Isaiah 42:5 God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. So first Paul is saying: God is the Creator. Second, God is the Governor He rules; He s sovereign over all things. Verses 26 through 29: And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for In him we live and move and have our being Being then God s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. One man, in verse 26, refers to Adam, in whom all people find their origin. This idea would have appealed to the Stoics strong sense of human brotherhood. Paul thus affirms that the entire human race came from Adam and rules out any
5 kind of racism, since the various ethnic groups all came from one man. Feel their way toward him implies a kind of groping around in darkness, without really knowing how to find God, though they hoped that they would. The reality is that He is not far from each one of us implies that God hears our prayers and knows our hearts (even these philosophers in Athens who didn t know Him). God leads people to seek Him, in the hope that they will find and worship him, yet all people fall short of seeking God if they try to do it on their own. Isaiah urges: Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near [55:6 ESV] Jeremiah wrote: Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? [23:23 ESV] God is the Creator. God is the Governor. Third, God is the Savior verse 30: The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent Paul urges his hearers to move beyond the great Greek culture by referring to it as times of ignorance. With all their wisdom and culture, the Greeks had failed to find the true God who commands people everywhere to repent of their sins and if they repent and believe in His Son, He forgives them. People need to start by looking at themselves rather than things they have created because our idols often impact our lives. Paul is clear the time for repentance is now and then, he had begun, he offers a solution to their ignorance. God is their Savior. Fourth, look at verse 31: he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. First, God is the Creator. Second, God is the Governor. Third, God is the Savior. And fourth He s the Judge. God has appointed a day of judgment and the Judge will be His Son, Jesus Christ. He proved this by raising Him from the dead as I said at the beginning this is at the center of our faith the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The resurrection is decisive and it brings either rejection or acceptance of the Gospel.
6 Psalm 96 says, the LORD comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. [verse 13] If we trust in Christ, He will save us; if we reject Him, He will judge us at a day known to God alone. Even Jesus said, But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. [Matthew 24:36 ESV] It didn t happen on May 21 st, but the message is Be ready for no one knows the day of the hour. If we continue on in Acts, beginning at verse 32, we find out what happened next. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, We will hear you again about this. So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed When you or I offer the Gospel message to people we ll find these same attitudes. Some people will openly oppose it; some will mock it; others will postpone making a decision; and others will hear it and believe. Scripture is clear: God will hold all people accountable, the philosophers of ancient Athens, you, me and all the people in the world. Jesus is not just a religious teacher. His resurrection is at the center of God s plan for history and it s the basis of our Christian hope. It s the central evidence for all who believe in Christ. And importantly, the resurrection placed Jesus at the right hand of God, demonstrating His authority to be both the giver of salvation and the judge that Paul describes in his letters. Do you have your priorities straight? Do you ever stop for a few minutes to pray and think about what God is asking you to do or perhaps not to do? As we continue to read in Acts we find that Paul kept right on going as a servant of Christ sharing what God had done in his life and what He has done in Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world and as Christians, you and I are called to do the same. J. I. Packer, considered one of the most influential evangelical Anglicans in North America, wrote: Evangelizing, therefore is not simply a matter of teaching,
7 and instructing, and imparting information to the mind. There is more to it than that. Evangelism includes the endeavor to elicit a response to the truth taught. It is communication with a view to conversion. It is a matter, not merely of informing, but also of inviting. Paul is powerful model about how to do this. Are you ready? Think about Jesus promise, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. [John 15:7-8 ESV] For God so loved the world, not just a few, The wise and great, the noble and the true, Or those of favored class or rank or hue. God loved the world. Do you? Father Jack Potter+